What is miso paste and how do you use it?

Even though I have enjoyed countless bowls of miso soup, I never gave much thought to the key ingredient in that comforting broth: miso paste. That is, until I started cooking professionally. I dove into learning more about the essential Japanese ingredient. Turns out miso soup is just the beginning of how you can use the savory condiment in your cooking.

Miso has an incredibly deep, earthy flavor developed through fermentation. It’s salty but also rich in umami and mildly sweet. Being able to use just one ingredient and have it deliver so many flavors vital to a balanced dish is practically a gift to a cook, and miso does that job so well.

I started adding it to stews and marinades and brushing it over meat with a bit of honey and vinegar for balance. Everything seemed better with a little miso. This guide explains what miso paste is and helps you find the best miso paste recipes to add to your repertoire.

What is miso?

Miso paste is a fermented condiment made from soybeans, salt and koji, which is the key ingredient responsible for fermentation in miso. To make koji, a cooked grain or legume, most commonly rice, is inoculated with the mold Aspergillus oryzae. After a few days of growth, it’s ready to be combined with cooked soybeans, salt and water so the fermentation process can begin. Over time, the enzymes in the koji break down the protein and starch in the soybeans, which ultimately creates the flavor and gentle sweetness in miso.

The grains or legumes used to make the koji, as well as the length of fermentation, are responsible for the color and flavor of the finished miso paste. For example, barley miso is maltier and less sweet than rice-based miso. The longer miso ages, the darker it becomes and the more intense its flavor becomes. Miso can ferment anywhere from a few months to years.

Beyond the flavor, miso has health benefits and is rich in vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It also has all the health benefits of fermentation, which can aid digestion and promote a healthy gut. Look for refrigerated, unpasteurized miso if probiotics are something you’re seeking. Just be sure not to boil or cook it for too long or you’ll kill the good bacteria.

Types of Miso

When shopping for miso, you’ll see various types, often organized by color and age. Miso can be shelf-stable, but most of the time you’ll find pouches or containers in the refrigerated section. Checking the label can help distinguish whether the miso is vegan, contains seafood, or uses grains or legumes besides white rice, such as adzuki beans or barley. Some, but not all, miso is gluten-free, so look for that indicator if necessary.

• White miso (shiro miso): This is the lightest miso and has the mildest flavor because it hasn’t fermented for as long as other varieties—as little as three months. Since it’s slightly lower in sodium, the natural sweetness is more upfront. It works well in dessert recipes and light, uncooked dishes where a bolder miso could easily dominate.
• Red miso (aka miso): Red miso is aged longer than other varieties and has a higher proportion of soybeans to grains. This makes red miso saltier than white miso and gives it a bolder flavor. It’s best for hearty stews, meaty braises and marinades, as it can overwhelm light, fresh flavors.
• Yellow miso (shinshu): This all-purpose miso ranges in color from a deep yellow to a light brown. The color may be similar to that of miso made with barley, but many yellow misos are made only with rice. The flavor falls somewhere between white and red miso. It’s more assertive than white and slightly saltier, but it lacks the funk of red miso that many find overwhelming. It’s incredibly versatile, so you can use it everywhere from soups to dressings.
• Mixed miso (awase): This miso has the best parts of other misos in one because it’s a blended miso, usually white and red. With a light brown color, you’ll have a touch of sweetness from the white miso with earthiness from the red. It’s a great option if you find yourself searching for a middle ground and want a little more oomph than what white miso alone offers. You can also make your own at home, playing with the ratios of each kind to find your ideal balance. Use it anywhere you’d use red or white.

How to Use Miso

Miso paste is included in many classic Japanese dishes, including miso ramen and miso soup. It tastes fantastic with other Asian sauces, but it can also be used more broadly. As a standalone ingredient, it can bring the same savory punch to pasta recipes as browned bits of pancetta or anchovies do. In sauces like our miso gravy, it helps thicken liquids and adds a creamy texture without dairy. It pairs wonderfully with citrus and vinegar, making it perfect for a miso dressing you can spoon over any salad.

Miso’s earthy nature is a natural match for root vegetables. I like to blend a spoonful into carrot ginger soup, mash it into steamed Japanese sweet potatoes or use it to roast miso chicken thighs, a simple sheet-pan dinner with baby red potatoes. A batch of miso butter is an easy way to season simple veggies or a piece of steamed fish.

On the sweet side, miso provides a dose of salt to counter the sugar in dessert recipes, adding notes of caramel and a nuttiness reminiscent of browned butter. It makes these peanut butter miso cookies taste extra nutty without becoming too salty or overwhelming the peanut butter. Instead of finishing homemade caramel with a big pinch of salt, whisk in some miso for an incredibly balanced sauce you’ll want to spoon over ice cream or drizzle over a caramel latte.

Tips for Using Miso

• Store it properly: Miso should be stored in the refrigerator, even once a shelf-stable variety has been opened, for 3 to 12 months, depending on the type (aged miso lasts longer). To prevent miso from drying out or oxidizing, store it in an airtight container. If your original packaging has a lid that doesn’t clip on tightly, you can press a piece of food storage wrap directly against the surface or transfer the whole thing to a separate container. For longer storage, you can freeze miso in a freezer-proof container—it won’t freeze solid!
• Avoid chunks of miso in your recipes: Miso is a thick paste, so you have to be a little thoughtful of how you add it to your recipes so you don’t bite into a ball of miso. It’s not harmful, but the intense, salty flavor will certainly prevent you from tasting much else and send you for a glass of water immediately. In dessert recipes, you can cream it with softened butter or whisk it into warm melted butter. Before adding miso to stews, whisk it with a little hot broth until smooth and then pour it in.
• Cook miso gently: Boiling miso deadens most of the layered, deep flavors and turns it into more of a salty paste. Plus, it will kill the good bacteria and probiotics produced during fermentation, negating some of its health benefits. This is why most soups or stews with miso add it toward the end, shortly before serving, or brush it over meat as a glaze once it’s almost done cooking. Broiling miso replaces some of its natural flavors with heavy caramelization, which is one exception to using high heat with miso.