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Ramen Noodles With Miso Pesto

Ramen noodles with miso pesto on a white plate.
Photo by Alex Lau

Springy ramen noodles and a cilantro-miso sauce bring a welcome twist to a classic pesto recipe.

Ingredients

2 servings

4 cups baby spinach
2 cups cilantro leaves with tender stems
1 Tbsp. white miso
1 garlic clove
1/2 cup grapeseed or sunflower oil
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt
2 (5-oz.) packages fresh ramen noodles
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Toasted sesame seeds (for serving)

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Bring a medium pot of water to a boil.

    Step 2

    Meanwhile, purée spinach, cilantro, miso, garlic, grapeseed oil, sesame oil, and lemon juice in a blender until mixture is smooth and very green. Season with salt and pour pesto into a medium bowl.

    Step 3

    Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and add to bowl with pesto. Add butter and toss until butter is melted and noodles are coated in sauce.

    Step 4

    Divide noodles between bowls and top with sesame seeds.

  2. Do Ahead

    Step 5

    Pesto can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Color might darken slightly.

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How would you rate Ramen Noodles With Miso Pesto?

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  • This is delightful and so easy to prepare. And I made it sans butter...

    • Susan Hemmer

    • Hobe Sound, FL

    • 10/23/2021

  • The green color was very satisfying. But this left me wondering if I was missing something. Overall: buttery but boring.

    • cookndc

    • Washington, DC

    • 8/4/2021

  • Absolutely delicious!! I loved the color - it will be perfect on St Pats day. I added lots more garlic, because I love garlic. Also zested a half lemon and added that as well as all of its juice. Put it on pasta because that is what I had, topping it was parm cheese and red pepper flakes. Definitely making this again.

    • al44322

    • Silver Spring MD

    • 2/23/2021

  • Really simple but tasty and satisfying. I used rice noodles and thawed frozen spinach. Easy, healthy weeknight dinner

    • zannieq

    • ct

    • 2/3/2021

  • Super easy, used an immersion blender, worked fine. Definitly take the time to coat the noodles otherwise a super simple tasty recipe!

    • amggiles2156

    • Burlington, VT

    • 1/7/2021

  • This is excellent. Easy to remember, prepare, and vary based on ingredients at hand. I have substituted ramen with lower cal fresh soybean noodles, miracle noodles and also soba... all delicious. I've used shallots, scallions, onion instead of garlic. We have enjoyed it both hot and cold. What I believe to be key: Fresh greens, miso, butter, toasted sesame, and lemon. Love!

    • lbrebrick844

    • SD

    • 1/31/2020

  • This is my second post on this one (I complained about the green)--forgot to mention that I reduced the oil to half to reduce the stunning calorie count and it worked out just fine and tasty!

    • ksadamson

    • Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

    • 1/18/2020

  • We enjoyed the flavors of this dish as written and it comes together in a few minutes which earns high points, but I think it lacks visual appeal. Green is actually my favorite color, and this whips up a stunning green, but monochromatic. Maybe instead of the blender, I'll try the food processor next time to give it a little more texture?

    • ksadamson

    • Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

    • 1/18/2020

  • I liked this (after doctoring it up substantially), but my partner did not. For reference, I used 5oz spinach, 4oz cilantro, 2 TB white miso, 2 tsp lemon, 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, no garlic, and served with udon. Topped with sesame seeds and a tiny pinch of red pepper flakes. Used about half the pesto for 2 substantial servings. I would make this for myself (not my partner), but agree with the last reviewer that it needs some whole vegetables to make it feel substantial. Not sure what though. Weirdly I might try sweet potatoes.

    • Anonymous

    • Colorado

    • 1/17/2020

  • I am obsessed with this and couldn’t wait til Wednesday when it’s the official cook90 meal. I think it would really help to have something so leafy as spinach measured in weight because my pesto turned out shockingly bland despite having so many delicious things in it. I’m guessing my ratios were off. Anyways that’s easily fixed by adding more of said delicious things - I also threw in some soy sauce. I used dandelion greens in addition to the spinach cuz I needed to use them up. Finally, I tossed some thawed edamame and halved snow peas in with the ramen for the last minute of cooking. I know there’s a lot of spinach in there but I need some whole veggies too or it just doesn’t feel like a meal. I can’t wait to make it all again.

    • telltiffany6738

    • Lily Dale, NY

    • 1/7/2020

  • This was an interesting concept, but not that exciting from a flavor standpoint. Maybe more miso would have helped? I didn't like it enough to bother tweaking and trying again.

    • Anonymous

    • 9/10/2018

  • The nutritional value is based on (2) servings that's why the calorie count is so high. By the way, it was delicious!!

    • rsweet1

    • Southfield MI

    • 3/26/2018

  • Like the other review said, I think this made too much pesto. The flavor was delicious and it was easy to make! I served with wasabi pea crusted tuna and it was perfect together. I also garnished with some white and black sesame seeds.

    • smellyson

    • Houston, TX

    • 3/21/2018

  • The calories from just the oil and butter are nearly 1100. I cut the oil down to a tablespoon and minced the spinach and cilantro before using the immersion blender. A teaspoon each of balsamic vinegar and water helped it blend. From that point, add just enough more liquid to make the pesto useable.

    • arthomas1

    • East of Boston

    • 3/19/2018

  • A good variation on pesto! This makes WAY more pesto than needed, so I actually used 4 packages of noodles and it's still dripping with pesto, you could probably use 5 and still be fine. I think this nutritional info is super off. There's no way the calories are that high.

    • jeri_l

    • NYC

    • 3/15/2018

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