Date Night Pasta with Miso Mushrooms

Date night pasta with miso mushrooms and kale is the perfect easy pasta dinner recipe! Made with a whole pound of mushroom, gluten free pasta, lots of kale, and a homemade miso ginger sauce, this date night pasta with miso mushrooms is on your table in 25 minutes, made for meatless Monday, and is perfect for date night!

miso mushrooms date night pasta plated

Pin this Date Night Pasta with Miso Mushrooms for later!

If you are thinking about celebrating Valentine’s Day – either at home or at a restaurant – chances are you are thinking about pasta! For me, romantic dinners are associated with Italian food and a glass of wine.

And I couldn’t let this week’s holiday pass without sharing one of my favorite meatless pasta dishes with you.

miso mushrooms date night pasta in a bowl topped with cheese

DATE NIGHT PASTA WITH MISO MUSHROOMS

Yes! Does that not sound amazing, or does that not sound amazing?!

It sounds amazing! And tastes amazing too, I promise you.

The thing that I absolutely love most about this dish is that it is hearty and filling (thanks to the mushrooms!) without weighing you down like a lot of traditional pasta dishes. And it is packed with extra protein thanks to the chickpea linguini.

chickpea linguini for miso mushrooms date night pasta

and an at-home Valentine’s Day wouldn’t be complete without an easy date night pasta!

I absolutely love doing date-night at home. Of course it helps out my wallet, but it more than that, doing date night at home is such an intimate way to show someone how much you love them.

For me, food is the ultimate way to bring people together, to gather around the table, to connect, and to show your love.

Food is my love language.

miso mushrooms date night pasta in two bowls with cheese

So, when it comes to date night dinners, they need to be:

  • easily paired with wine – bonus points if there is wine in the dish!
  • a little indulgent… because HELLO, it is date night after all.
  • and makes you feel good! The last thing I want is to feel overly full and sluggish when we’re snuggling on the couch after dinner. 

I’m a firm believer in the power of date-night at home. And this date night pasta dish is a fun spin on traditional Italian food, thanks to miso!

miso mushrooms date night pasta plated

What is miso? And how do you make miso mushrooms?

Miso is a paste (similar to the consistency of peanut butter) made from fermented soybeans that is used in traditional Japanese cuisine. It adds a salty umami flavor to dishes.

I first learned about miso while watching Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat with Samin Nosrat on Netflix. In the salt episode, Samin learns the incredible process of fermenting miso which often takes over a year!

There are several varieties of miso; most often you can find a light or white miso that is yellow or beige in color and a red or dark miso. The color is indicative of the length of fermentation (longer fermentation = darker in color) and the strength of flavor. Red or dark miso is stronger and saltier in flavor.

Mushrooms are often found in Japanese cuisine and lend themselves incredible well to pair with miso. They easily take on and absorb the flavors of the miso-ginger sauce used in this pasta dish.  

miso mushrooms date night pasta in two bowls

how to make miso mushroom pasta – and a few tips for a delicious, easy pasta dinner at home:

Make the sauce: Add garlic, ginger, and miso to the basin of your food processor and pulse to combine. Add rice vinegar, maple syrup and coconut aminos. Process until completely combined. Set aside. Note: miso is very thick and often gritty in texture. I find that using my food processor is easier to fully combine the sauce.

Cook the pasta:  Cook pasta according to the package directions, drain and set aside. Sometimes I reserve a little pasta waster in case the sauce is too thick. Then I can add it to loosen up the sauce without diluting it. 

Cook the mushrooms: Over medium, heat olive oil. Add mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms get nice and juicy, about 3-5 minutes. Add kale and saute until wilted. Mushrooms are very absorbent – don’t be afraid of adding more olive oil if you need it!

Assemble your date night pasta: Add the cooked pasta in the skillet with the mushroom and kale mixture. Top with the miso-ginger sauce and toss to combine.

Serve the pasta immediately, topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

And if you love this easy, at-home date night pasta, you will love these other date night dinners:

One Pan Coconut Curry Pork Meatballs

Mediterranean Turkey Bowls with Savory Yogurt

Prosciutto Wrapped Cod with Blistered Tomatoes

Grilled Greek Salmon Kebabs

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miso mushrooms date night pasta plated

Date Night Pasta with Miso Mushrooms

  • Author: Ellie
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 15 min
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 2 servings 1x
  • Category: Main
  • Method: Stovetop

Description

Date night pasta with miso mushrooms and kale is the perfect easy pasta dinner recipe! Made with a whole pound of mushroom, gluten free pasta, lots of kale, and a homemade miso ginger sauce, this date night pasta with miso mushrooms is on your table in 25 minutes, made for meatless Monday, and is perfect for date night!


Ingredients

Scale

For the miso-ginger sauce:

3 cloves garlic

2 inch knob of ginger

1/4 cup miso

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons maple syrup

2 Tablespoons coconut aminos

For the pasta:

1/2 pound gluten free pasta

Olive oil

16 oz mushrooms, chopped

Salt and pepper

1 bunch of kale, chopped

Parmesan cheese for topping


Instructions

Make the sauce: Add garlic, ginger, and miso to the basin of your food processor and pulse to combine. Add rice vinegar, maple syrup and coconut aminos. Process until completely combined. Set aside.

Cook the pasta:  Cook pasta according to the package directions, drain and set aside.

Cook the mushrooms: Over medium, heat olive oil. Add mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms get nice and juicy, about 3-5 minutes. Add kale and saute until wilted.

Assemble your date night pasta: Add the cooked pasta in the skillet with the mushroom and kale mixture. Top with the miso-ginger sauce and toss to combine.

Serve the pasta immediately, topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!


Keywords: pasta, mushroom, vegetarian, date night, easy dinner, weeknight dinner

Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!

miso mushrooms date night pasta plated with text overlay

 

 

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5 thoughts on “Date Night Pasta with Miso Mushrooms

  1. Hallie

    This looks soooo good. I am curious about the maple syrup and the sweetness it would add to the dish. It seems as though the other ingredients without the maple syrup would make an incredibly savory dish.

    Reply
    1. Ellie Post author

      Hi Hallie – thank you! Honestly you need the maple syrup to offset the miso. Miso is very very salty and the maple syrup balances it out!

      Reply

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