Easy Miso Butter

Miso Butter has become one of my favourite condiments, or rather flavouring ingredients, and I’ve been making a batch almost every week. I use it melted over sweet potatoes or steamed green beans, with grilled fish or salmon, to sautee mushrooms, as a dip with radishes and in many more ways. In this recipe, I will teach you how to make miso butter, freeze it and use it in different ways.


Miso butter recipe

I’m so excited to share this recipe with you guys. It’s one of those ingredients you might spot in a hip Asian fusion restaurant but given how easy it is to make at home, I have no idea why I didn’t start whipping my own batch sooner. Better later than never!

What Is Miso Butter? 

It’s pretty much what it sounds like – a mixture of miso paste and softened butter. I use a couple of other ingredients in my recipe but in its most basic form, it is just those two.

Miso butter is the most delicious and versatile condiment that is full of that savoury, salty umami flavour and can be used in many ways as a sauce, spread, filling or seasoning. 

Miso is a Japanese paste made from fermented soybeans and koji (think of it as a fungus fermenting starter culture), plus rice, barley and other ingredients.

I have a whole article on miso and its nutritional profile here, but in a nutshell, it is a fermented food and even though its made from soybeans and say brown rice or barley, the fermentation reduces the number of antinutrients that are usually present in those foods and are sometimes avoided. 

This tasty butter is gluten-free, keto and low-carb friendly and is high in vitamins A, K and D.

 
How to make miso butter

What Kind Of Miso Should I Use?

There are a few different types of miso on the market and it can be confusing as to which one to buy.

Ideally, you should be getting the unpasteurised, fresh fermented miso that is kept in the refrigerated section of the supermarket. This is when all that beneficial bacteria are alive and…well…beneficial. It also tastes better in my opinion.

If you can’t get fresh, unpasteurized miso, the paste you find in a packet in a pantry section of the store will still work as the flavour additive. 

You can use white or brown miso paste in this recipe. Brown miso has a slightly stronger flavour and will give you a darker miso butter but either can be used. I used brown miso. 

Where To Get Miso?

Fresh, unpasteurized miso paste is usually sold in a jar or a tub and you’re most likely to find it in health food stores and places that tend to sell healthy foods (e.g. Whole Foods, Harris Farm etc) and Asian grocers.

Although, these days you can usually find it in large supermarkets as well. Look for it near tofu or tempeh products in the refrigerated section. Otherwise, you can get it online and the pasteurised, packet miso is quite easy to find.

 

How To Make Miso Butter

For this recipe, I made a large batch of miso butter as I wanted to show you how to freeze it for later.

Often, I will whip up a couple of tablespoons of the stuff to use with grilled fish or veggies for dinner. But, it’s super handy to have ready-to-go miso butter in the fridge or freezer to save time. 

For the most nutritious miso butter, you will need good quality, unsalted butter (ideally grass-fed) and unpasteurized miso paste (brown or white). I like to add a little Sriracha hot sauce and garlic to my batch but you can omit those if avoiding garlic or chili. 

Miso butter ingredients

Step 1. Take the butter out of the fridge and cut it into cubes. Leave it to soften on the counter or you could pop it in a bowl in a microwave for 15-20 seconds or in a hot oven. Don’t melt the butter, just let it soften slightly.

Having said that, sometimes I use this recipe to make miso butter sauce, in which case I melt the butter and mix it with miso, Tamari and Sriracha and it’s fabulous over veggies, rice, quinoa or with grilled protein.

How to make miso butter - Step 1

Step 2. Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend together until whipped and smooth. You might need to scrape the ingredients off the sides halfway. Have a little taste. Good, eh? 

How to make miso butter - Step 2
How to make miso butter
 

How to use miso butter

Or rather, how would you not use miso butter?

It’s incredible with baked or roasted vegetables (try my OMG-so-good miso butter baked sweet potatoes!) or stirred through steamed vegetables of any kind (especially green beans). I like sauteing mushrooms and onions in miso butter and adding it to scrambled eggs.

You can use it to make miso butter with fish or salmon (melted over the top) or bake miso butter chicken.

Try grilled steak with miso butter sauce or stir it through quinoa or brown rice for a tasty plant-based dish. I also love adding a dollop inside portobello mushrooms and roasting, grilling or BBQing those till the butter is melted into the flesh of the mushroom. 

Stir it through zucchini or any noodles of choice and add to flavour cauliflower rice (or regular rice). 

Use it as a dip with radishes, raw carrots or spread over rice crackers or sourdough toast. 

Finally, add a dollop to any stew or soup to enhance its flavour and texture. 

Japanese sweet potatoes with miso butter
 

How To Store & Freeze Miso Butter

Once the butter is whipped, transfer it into a container or a bowl and store in the fridge covered with a lid. It will keep quite well in the fridge (a few weeks, similarly to butter) but for longer storage, you can freeze it.

In fact, I like freezing it in a log shape, which you could then move to the fridge for everyday use.

How to freeze miso butter for later - Step 1

Cut a large piece of parchment paper and place the miso butter in the middle. Shape it into an oval lump, then wrap gently into a log or a roll with parchment paper and twist the ends. It will look like a confetti bonbon. 

How to freeze miso butter for later - Step 2

Pop it in the freezer and voila! After an hour or so, the butter will freeze in this shape and next time you unwrap it, you can simply slice off as little or as much as you need.

Frozen miso butter

More Recipes With Miso

Want to Save This Recipe?

Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!

Save Recipe

By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cooked & Loved

Delicious miso butter

Miso Butter Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Author: Irena Macri
Servings: 16 tablespoons
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Japanese Fusion
Print Pin Save
4.75 from 8 votes
Calories: 72kcal
Versatile and nutritious, miso butter can be used in many different ways. Melt it over grilled fish or chicken, stir through steamed or baked vegetables, use to sauté mushrooms or eggs in, or add to stews and soups for extra umami flavour. Learn how to make miso butter at home below.

Ingredients 

  • 150 g unsalted butter cut into cubes and slightly softened (5 oz.)
  • 2 tablespoons brown miso paste unpasteurized
  • 1 large garlic clove finely diced
  • 1 teaspoon Sriracha hot sauce, optional but really nice
  • Food processor
  • Parchment paper if freezing

Instructions

  • Take the butter out of the fridge and cut into cubes. Leave it to soften on the counter or you could pop it in a bowl in a microwave for 15-20 seconds or in a hot oven. Don't melt the butter, just let it soften slightly.
  • Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend together until whipped and smooth. You might need to scrape the ingredients off the sides halfway.
  • Transfer to a jar, bowl or a tub and store covered with a lid or wrapped. It can be refrigerated for a few weeks or you can freeze it (see instructions above).

Nutrition

Calories: 72kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 0.4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 8mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin A: 237IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 0.1mg
Keywords: Keto, Condiments, Butter, Miso
Tried this recipe?Mention @cookedandloved or tag #cookedandloved

SAVE THIS MISO BUTTER RECIPE TO PINTEREST

how to make miso butter recipe
Irena Macri
By Irena Macri

About the author: Hi, I’m Irena Macri. I share delicious recipes that I have cooked and loved. I am a published cookbook author, have been food blogging for over 10 years and have a Diploma in Nutrition. You will find many healthy recipes as well as my favourite comfort food. More about me here | Subscribe to my newsletter and freebies

Comment or Rate This Recipe

Made the recipe? Please leave a rating as it helps other readers to discover this dish. You don’t need to leave a comment if rating a recipe, unless it’s 3 stars or below.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Comments

15 Comments
  1. 5 stars
    Thank you very much for your efforts to inform people about healthy food varieties. If you please also provide menus for autoimmune nutrition. Thank you very much

  2. What if one is not wanting to use any soy. Me trying to stay on a gluten, dairy free, grass fed diet to keep down inflammation. Does help.

    1. I’m afraid this recipe might not be the best choice then. A really nice alternative is anchovy butter. You can do butter, garlic and a few salted anchovies for a delicious umami flavour. You can also add in some fresh herbs like chopped parsley.

  3. 5 stars
    I love flavored butters, and I make this one all the time! It’s one of my favorites! So full of flavor

  4. 5 stars
    Such a fantastic flavor! I can definitely see how this has become your favorite condiment. It sounds so good and I love the minimal prep time.

  5. 4 stars
    I love the look of this recipe, however I have a question about the gluten free part as I am a little confused at how it can be gluten free if the miso has barley in it? Or did you specifically use a barley free variety of miso paste? I would love to know some gluten free versions of miso if they exist!

    1. Hey Biddy, I don’t know if I specified but I usually by rice-based miso. Look for brown rice miso.

See all comments »

You Might Also Like

515 Shares
Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap