Miso Pesto Ramen

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. 

This 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.

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.  

Miso 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.

And 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? 

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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