Miso Butter Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Servings: 10 servings

Miso butter is a delicious compound butter made from miso and unsalted butter that is packed with savoriness. I like adding chives or caramelized onions to give the butter even more flavor, but you can leave it out. Slather it on toast or use it to add an umami boost to roasted vegetables, pasta, freshly cooked rice or savory oats! The chive version of this recipe will yield about 1/2 cup of miso butter; the onion version will yield just under 1 cup.

Prep Time10

Ingredients

Miso Butter with Chives

8 tablespoons (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoon white miso, adding more if desired (see note 1)
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives, can sub with thinly sliced scallions

Miso Butter with Caramelized Onions

2 tablespoons neutral oil, such as safflower, canola, or grapeseed oil
3/4 pounds (340g/3 cups) finely chopped yellow onions
8 tablespoons (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoon white miso

Instructions

Chive Version

In a bowl, use a fork to mash the miso into the butter. Then, use a spoon or silicone spatula to finish mixing the 2 ingredients together. Taste the miso butter and see if the flavor is to your liking. Feel free to add more miso if you want more savory flavor.
Sprinkle the chopped chives over the butter and mix everything together until well incorporated. Serve the miso butter with toasted bread, roasted vegetables, or add a dollop to your morning oats!

Caramelized Onions Version (My Favorite)

Fill a small bowl with water and place it next to the stove. You’ll need it to deglaze the pot or pan later.
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven (or a large stainless steel sauté pan or skillet) over medium heat Once the oil is shimmering, add the onions and reduce the heat to medium-low.
From this point on, you’ll be spending a lot of time around the stove, monitoring and stirring the onions every 3 to 4 minutes (more often as you near the end of the cooking process).
Once the onions start turning light brown, and there’s significant brown spots stuck to the pan, reduce the heat to low. Use a wooden spatula to scrape off the brown spots (also known as a glaze).
After 30 to 40 minutes of cooking, the brown glaze at the bottom of the Dutch oven (or pan) can be incredibly difficult to scrape off. If that’s the case, you’ll need some water to help deglaze the pot or pan. Push the onions to the side, exposing the stuck-on brown glaze. Pour about 1 tablespoon of water over the glaze and use the spatula to distribute the water. Once the brown spots are no longer stuck to the pot/pan and the water evaporates, spread the onions over the pot/pan again. Deglaze as often as needed.
Keep stirring the onions every 2 to 3 minutes, until they turn into a rich brown color. The total cooking time for me is usually between 50 to 60 minutes.
Once the onions are done caramelizing, transfer them to a bowl and let them cool to room temperature.
In a bowl, use a fork to mash the miso into the butter. Then, use a spoon or silicone spatula to finish mixing the 2 ingredients together. Taste the miso butter and see if the flavor is to your liking. Feel free to add more miso if you want more savory flavor.
Add the caramelized onions to the butter and mix everything together until well incorporated. Enjoy!

Notes

Type of Miso to Use: I like using white miso (or shiro miso) for the miso butter because it has a mild taste. Note that the salt level of miso can vary across different brands. I’ve tested this recipe with several different brands of miso and found that the amount above was fine, even for the saltier miso. If you find the miso butter to be too salty, feel free to add more butter. You can also use red miso (a more fermented miso) and make a 1-to-1 substitution with white miso. Note that red miso has more savory and a slight funky fermented flavor.
Storing Miso Butter: Refrigerate the butter in a container and use within 1 to 2 weeks. The butter can be frozen and stored for months. To freeze the butter, spread it over a piece of parchment or wax paper and then shape the butter into a log. Roll the log inside the sheet of parchment or wax and twist the ends to seal it. You can transfer the log to a freezer bag, if you like. When you are ready to use the butter, slice off whatever you need.
Doubling the Caramelized Onions: This process takes a long time, and I often cook a big batch at once. You can cook 1.5 pounds of diced onions with 3 tablespoons of oil. The cooking directions will be similar to that outlined above. The main difference is that it will take longer for the onions to brown and caramelize. It takes me about 80 to 90 minutes total. I know some of you may try to speed up the process by bumping up the heat. Be careful because you may burn the onions. I prefer to be patient and cook the onions slowly to prevent burning. You will need about 1/3 cup or 80g of caramelized onions for this miso butter.

Nutrition

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