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Home » Recipes » Miso Pesto Ramen

March 28, 2018

Miso Pesto Ramen

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This vegan Miso Pesto Ramen is the perfect weeknight dinner. Quick to prepare, packed with wholesome ingredients, and incredibly savory. Whip up the pesto, get some noodles boiling, and grill quick-cooking shrimp for a balance dinner that comes together in 30 minutes. 

black plate with green pesto-covered pasta on top of marble with tarnished spoonThis Miso Pesto Ramen was inspired by Bon Appetit’s stunning miso pesto recipe. It truly had me at miso. Their photo is so stunning and vibrant, plus just the idea of it—miso in pesto—I was hooked immediately. It’s such a great idea, and so simple. I immediately wanted to give it a try, but with my own twist on it.

What’s In Miso Pesto

This Miso Pesto is earthy and savory, yet bright and vibrant, plus it’s packed with wholesome ingredients. To make it my own, I opted for dark leafy baby kale in addition to a hefty amount of cilantro and fresh lemon, olive (or avocado) oil, walnuts, and of course, miso. This pesto, tossed with ramen noodles (the good ones), then finished with perfectly grilled shrimp (optional) and toasted sesame seeds, makes for one helluva meal.

Food processor with chopped herbs, walnuts, lemon zest, garlic, and miso on marble

dry bundle of noodles on marble
Pureed pesto in food processor on marble

get the noodles >>>

Make Homemade Pesto

I don’t know about you, but I like to make my own sauces, dips, and dressings. Mostly because I like the freedom of it, but also because I can control what goes into them. And it’s not that I can’t eat the same kind of salad dressings week after week, because I can.

Hell, I’ll whip up a big batch of dressing or marinara sauce, eat it all week, and be very content. So it’s not that I get bored, I just like having the creative freedom—hence—homemade pesto. Plus, with just a few basic ingredients you can make just about any kind of dressing or sauce you like.  

Pesto covered noodles being pulled up from a black plate on marbleMiso Pesto: Great for Meal Prepping

Anyway, you’d think I’d be a great meal prepper, I sound like I have the makings to be one. Plus, my meals usually consist of separately prepared foods that I just throw into a bowl, like roasted sweet potatoes and veggies, greens, a cooked grain of sorts, and an egg.

But realistically, I’m not the best meal prepper. I don’t make hummus on Sundays, or whip up massive batches of roasted veggies and prepared salads. It just doesn’t happen. And because of that, I need to have an arsenal of go-to dinners that take very little time while also being meal-prep friendly, because I can be hopeful, right? And did I mention G hates leftovers? Yeah, that’s a big one. It kills me. But secretly I’m kind of OK with it, because I love leftovers.

Anyway, this Miso Pesto Ramen is one of those recipes. It comes together uber quickly, but can also be prepped ahead, leaving just the cooking of the noodles and the shrimp for the night of. To add fuel to this glorious weeknight-dinner-fire, the pesto freezes well, which means on any given night,  dinner is just minutes away.

 black plate with green pesto-covered pasta on top of marble with tarnished spoonAnd to answer your question, no, I do not have this pesto stocked in my fridge or freezer. I may aspire to be a meal-prep queen, but I’m far from it. A girl can dream, can’t she? 

black plate with green pesto-covered pasta on top of marble with tarnished spoon

Make sure to tag me @ZESTFULKITCHEN ON INSTAGRAM or comment below if you make this Miso Pesto Ramen! 

To pin this recipe and save it for later, you can click the button on any of the photos, or the red button on the side bar or below the recipe.  Happy cooking!

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Pesto covered noodles being pulled up from a black plate on marble

Miso Pesto Ramen

  • Author: Lauren Grant of Zestful Kitchen
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 servings (1¼ cups pesto) 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stove top/ no-cook
  • Cuisine: Japanese
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Description

This Miso Pesto Ramen is the perfect weeknight dinner. Quick to prepare, packed with wholesome ingredients, and incredibly savory. Whip up the pesto, get some noodles boiling, and grill quick-cooking shrimp for a balance dinner that comes together in 30 minutes.


Scale

Ingredients

  • 4 cups baby kale
  • 2 cups cilantro leaves and tender stems
  • ¼ cup walnuts, toasted
  • 2 tablespoons white miso paste
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon minced lemon zest
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ¼ cup olive or avocado oil
  • 1 package (9.5 ounces) dry ramen noodles (such as Hakubaku)
  • ¾ pound raw, peeled and deveined shrimp (optional)
  • Black pepper
  • Toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Process baby kale and cilantro in a food processor until finely chopped. Add walnuts, miso, garlic, sesame oil, juice, zest, salt, and pepper flakes; process until a finely minced and nearly resembles a paste; scrape down sides of bowl. With processor running, slowly drizzle in oil and process until smooth; season with additional salt and set aside.

Season shrimp with salt and pepper, then thread onto four skewers. Coat a grill pan or cast iron skillet with nonstick spray. Heat pan over medium-high and grill shrimp until pink and cooked through, 2–3 minutes per side.

Cook ramen noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain and transfer ramen to a large bowl. Add three quarters of the pesto to the noodles and toss to combine. Add pesto to cooked noodles and toss thoroughly combine, gradually add reserved pasta water to reach desired consistency.

Divide noodles and shrimp skewers between serving dishes and sprinkle with sesame seeds.



Nutrition

  • Calories: 351
  • Sugar: 2g
  • Sodium: 1402mg
  • Fat: 10g
  • Saturated Fat: 1g
  • Carbohydrates: 51g
  • Fiber: 4g
  • Protein: 14g
  • Cholesterol: 0mg

Keywords: Miso Pesto, Miso Pesto Ramen, Miso Pesto Shrimp Ramen

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a comment below and tag @zestfulkitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #zestfulkitchen!

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Filed Under: 30-Minute Meal, Healthy Dinner Recipes, Lunch & Dinner, Pasta & Noodles, Recipes, Sauce, Spring, Winter Tagged With: Quick and Easy, Vegan, Vegetarian

About Lauren Grant

Lauren Grant is a professional culinary food scientist, food writer, recipe developer, and food photographer. Lauren is a previous magazine editor and test kitchen developer and has had work published in major national publications including Diabetic Living Magazine, Midwest Living Magazine, Cuisine at Home Magazine, EatingWell.com, AmericasTestKitchen.com, and more.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brittany Poulson says

    March 29, 2018 at 9:16 pm

    This dish looks amazing! I love the color of the pesto on those noodles! I can’t wait to try it out. 🙂

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      March 30, 2018 at 3:49 am

      Thanks Brittany, I hope you enjoy it! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Deborah @ Confessions of mother runner says

    March 30, 2018 at 12:23 am

    This sauce looks amazing! I would definitely love this

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      March 30, 2018 at 3:48 am

      Thanks Deborah! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Nora says

    June 27, 2018 at 4:05 pm

    I have a strong distaste for cilantro but the miso pesto still sounds delicious–could I substitute the cilantro for basil?

    Reply
    • Lauren says

      June 28, 2018 at 4:27 pm

      Hi Nora!
      Basil would be a GREAT alternative to cilantro! I think that sounds delicious!

      Reply

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