With al dente spaghetti tossed in delicious Japanese-style seasoning, this fast and easy Miso Butter Pasta with Tuna and Cabbage makes a quick meal you’ll love. It takes only simple pantry ingredients and is ready in just 15 minutes!
Looking for the best pasta recipes that call for just a handful of pantry ingredients and little prep work, but still deliver big flavors? This Miso Butter Pasta with Tuna and Cabbage is exactly what you’ll need.
Why You’ll Love This Japanese-Style Pasta
Japanese home cooks take advantage of canned fish for busy days or when we don’t have time to shop. In my kitchen, I always have a few cans of sardines, anchovies, and tuna. They are survival food with lots of potentials. When you combine the canned fish with essential pantry staples like rice and pasta, it turns into a full-blown meal, like this Japanese-style pasta.
In this recipe, I used a combination of canned tuna and long-lasting cabbage in the pasta, and season it with Japanese flavors. While cabbage lends freshness and crunch, the tuna adds bulk, depth, and complexity.
The whole meal takes me only 15 minutes to put together. It’s delicious, super convenient, and economical!
What You’ll Need to Make Miso Butter Pasta
Here are what you need to make this pantry-focus pasta:
- Spaghetti – Or any kind of pasta you prefer/have.
- Cabbage – Substitute with frozen peas or other greens you have on hand.
- Canned tuna – For vegan/vegetarian, use deep-fried firm tofu, tofu puffs, or more vegetables.
- Garlic – It adds extra flavor!
- Miso – It can be any kind of miso you enjoy.
- Butter – I use unsalted, but if you only have salted butter, please adjust the amount of salt in the pasta water, miso, or soy sauce.
- Soy Sauce – A splash of soy sauce makes a difference, yes, really!
Miso For Extra Umami
As simple as the pasta sounds, it doesn’t compromise on flavor. Thanks to miso, the secret weapon in my Japanese pantry, it gives the dish a much-needed sweet-savory umami oomph.
Although you can use any type of miso for this recipe, my recommendation is this organic Kodawattemasu Miso by Hikari Miso. It is by far my favorite miso that I have been using for over a decade! I’ve been sharing delicious and easy miso recipes every month in partnership with the company, so do check out if you enjoy miso in the recipe.
And remember that every type and brand of miso has a different level of saltiness. So it’s important to taste your miso first, then adjust the desired amount of miso for each recipe.
Itadakimasu!
Keep this Miso Butter Pasta recipe in your back pocket now, and throw it together any night of the week when simple is your life mantra.
Cooking for kids? Feel free to sprinkle over with some shaved parmesan. Enjoy!
If you like this miso-infused pasta, check out my creamy miso pasta with tofu and asparagus. It’s vegetarian-friendly!
Other Japanese-Style Pasta Recipes on Just One Cookbook
- Creamy Mushroom and Bacon Pasta
- Classic Mentaiko Pasta
- Ume Shiso Pasta
- Japanese-style Pasta with Shrimp and Broccolini
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Miso Butter Pasta with Tuna and Cabbage
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (for cooking the pasta)
- 7 oz spaghetti
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 leaves green cabbage (5 oz, 142 g)
- ½ (5-oz) can albacore tuna (preferably packed in olive oil) (I use 1 can of 2.8-oz, 80-g Japanese-brand canned tuna)
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp miso
- ¼ cup reserved pasta water
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp mirin
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Cook the Spaghetti
- Start boiling 4 quarts (16 cups, 3.8 L) water in a large pot (I used a 4.5 QT Dutch oven). Once boiling, add 1 Tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and 7 oz spaghetti.
- Stir to make sure the noodles don’t stick to each other. While waiting for the pasta to cook, prepare the other ingredients. Tip: I usually reduce the pasta‘s recommended cooking time by 1 minute since I will continue cooking it in my sauce afterward. You should be able to prepare the other ingredients in 10 minutes while the spaghetti cooks. If you finish cooking the spaghetti first, drain it.
To Prepare the Ingredients
- Meanwhile, prepare the other ingredients. Peel 2 cloves garlic and thinly slice them.
- Remove the tough core of 3 leaves green cabbage and cut into 1-inch-square pieces.
- Drain ½ (5-oz) can albacore tuna (preferably packed in olive oil). Break any big chunks into smaller pieces (optional).
To Cook the Miso Butter Pasta
- Heat 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. While the oil is still not hot yet, add the garlic to start infusing its flavor into the oil. Make sure to coat the garlic with the oil.
- When the garlic is sizzling and well coated with oil, add the cabbage and coat with the oil for 2 minutes or so.
- Add the canned tuna and toss it together with the cabbage.
- Add freshly ground black pepper, 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, and 1 Tbsp miso. Stir to mix well and let the butter melt completely.
- Reserve ¼ cup reserved pasta water and add to the frying pan.
- Shake the pan and mix all the ingredients together. Make sure to dissolve the miso during this time.
- Add 2 tsp soy sauce and 2 tsp mirin.
- When the spaghetti is done cooking, pick up the noodles with a pair of tongs (or you can quickly drain in the sink) and add to the pan. Toss the spaghetti to mix it all together.
- Season the spaghetti with freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add salt if needed. The reserved pasta water I added has enough salt, so I do not add additional salt here. Serve the pasta to individual dishes. Enjoy!
This was absolutely amazing! The whole family loved it. Easy, delicious and had all the nutrition we needed. I added shelled edamame and dressed with nori/sesame sushi seasoning because I had it. Thank you!
Hi Sumitra! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed Nami’s recipe!
Thank you so much for your kind feedback and sharing your cooking experience with us.
Happy Cooking!🥰
This recipe is easy and delicious. Nice meal to put into your weeknight rotation when you want something quick and simple. For one serving I used 1/2 a can of (in water) and 2oz dry pasta and maybe add a little extra cabbage and it comes in around 400 calories and very filling. 😊
Hi Teresa, Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
Your Miso Butter Pasta looks so delicious! We are so happy to see the photo. Thank you for sharing it with us. 🥰
I just made this for lunch and it was soooo good! And satisfying and filling.
And easy to make too! At the moment I can’t put much brainpower to cooking, but instead of making spaghetti with a jarred sauce *again* this recipe came to the rescue.
Will make it again soon, so good!
Hi Martina! We are so happy to hear you enjoyed Nami’s recipe!
Thank you for trying her recipe and for your kind feedback.
Happy Cooking!