5 Minute Creamy Miso Butter (for Salmon, Pasta and More!)

This easy 5 minute miso butter recipe is the perfect umami rich, creamy savory topping for your favorite recipes. Whether you are making fish, steak, chicken, pasta or roasted veggies, this garlic miso butter will take the flavor to the next level.

If you haven’t tried miso butter yet, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s full of rich umami flavor, savory to the max and oh so good! It will be one of your new favorite condiments for sure.

Miso butter takes the best from both worlds – miso and butter – and turns it into something divine. Miso is a thick paste made from fermented soybeans. It’s a traditional Japanese seasoning used in all kinds of recipes from miso soup to marinades. Though in today’s word of food fusion, miso isn’t limited to Japanese cuisine.

When combined with butter, this savory, rich paste becomes flavorful and elevates butter to a whole new level of deliciousness! I like to keep some in the freezer to turn anything from veggies to salmon to chicken – whatever – into a delicious dinner that has people asking for the recipe.

Why Make This Recipe

This miso butter recipe takes just minutes to prepare and will be handy to have on hand in the fridge. If you’ve ever opened the fridge and wondering how you are going to season your fish, chicken, or vegetables you’ll be happy you have this miso butter ready to go.

Here are my favorite things about this easy miso butter recipe that you’ll love too:

• Quick and easy – there’s no cooking time and it’s ready in just 5 minutes
• Versatile condiment – you can use it on any number of dishes in place of regular butter
• Long shelf life – once you make a batch it’ll last for a few weeks, and even longer in the freezer
• Balanced flavor – with a creamy, umami taste
• Magic sauce – its remarkable how it can take the flavor of your dish from so-so to outstanding

Ingredients

You’ll only need 4 ingredients to make this simple, yet delicious miso butter.

• butter – you’ll need about half a stick of butter to blend with the miso paste. I used salted butter but you can use either that or unsalted butter and taste and adjust salt level to your preference. 
•  white miso paste – I had white miso on hand so this is what I used. I prefer the taste of white miso since it’s more mellow but you can use red or yellow miso paste or whatever type of miso you have on hand or like best.
• garlic – if you don’t have fresh garlic you can use jarred but fresh truly does taste best in this recipe.
• Finely ground black pepper – this adds a touch of spice! I mean, it’s pepper so it’s subtle but adds welcome complexity without being overly dominant.

How to Make Miso Butter

Miso butter is so simple to make! Here’s how to do it:

1. Place room temperature butter along with the other ingredients in a small bowl.
   
2. Use the a spoon or fork to mash the ingredients well. Stir until well combined, smooth and creamy.
   
3. Use this flavorful compound butter right away or store in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes – Tips and Tricks

Freezing Miso Butter

For longer storage, roll into a log, wrap in parchment paper and then place in a freezer safe bag or wrapped in plastic wrap and slice off as needed. It will be good frozen for 3-6 months depending on how well it’s wrapped. Slice miso butter from frozen log and use as needed. 

You can also transfer the miso butter into an ice cube tray and just remove a block at a time. Or freeze in the tray, remove once frozen, and transfer the blocks to an airtight container or bag.

Ways to Use Homemade Miso Butter

The uses for this miso butter are truly endless. You can swap it out for regular butter in pretty much anything to add additional depth. Here are some of my favorites:

• Spread on toast, garlic bread or served with a bread basket
• Melted on top of a good steak
• Slathered on oven baked salmon fillet or other fish
• Melted onto pasta, brown rice, or quinoa in place of olive oil or butter in a side dish
• As the star of a butter board
• Replacing regular butter in oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
• Tossed with air fried broccoli, green beans, sweet potatoes, shiitake mushrooms or other veggies
• Stir a touch of miso butter into your favorite soup recipes

And if you’re looking to use up that miso paste, my fresh salmon crudo and miso noodle recipes are both amazing! Miso paste has an incredibly long shelf life so it doesn’t hurt to keep some in the fridge.

What’s the difference between types of miso paste?

Miso is made by fermenting soybeans and grains (rice, wheat, barley, etc.) with koji, a form of mold. There are a few different types of miso used in Japanese cooking: white miso, shiro miso, yellow miso, and red miso but the two main options are red and white. The difference between red and white miso goes beyond the actual color.

There tends to be a larger percentage of soybeans in red miso and they are fermented longer than their counterparts in white miso. For this reason, the darker the miso, the more intense the flavor. White miso is the mellowest and red the most pungent, with everything else falling somewhere in between.

Red miso also tends to be saltier than white and contains more protein. You can easily substitute one for the other in a recipe and adjust the salt level to account for this if needed.

Where to buy miso paste

Most large grocery stores will carry miso. You can find it in the Asian aisle or for some brands, in the refrigerator section.  If your grocery store doesn’t carry it you may need to visit a few Asian grocery stores or Amazon to find it.

Is miso paste gluten-free?

Since it is fermented with rice, barley wheat or other grains, it miso is not always gluten free. If you need it to be, choose look for the gluten free label on packaging. Miso Master makes a high quality gluten-free miso, sold in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods. Plus the company is sustainability minded which is always a plus.

Can you use miso butter as a spread?

Yes! You can spread miso on bread, crackers, pita, or anything else. It has more depth of flavor than regular butter giving it a unique flavorful twist. It would be awesome on a butter board!