This simple, flavorful bowl of spaghetti starts off in the same way a French onion soup does: with lots of onions. Instead of spending the better part of an hour getting cooked down in a skillet to get the same sweet-savory depth, these onions get kissed with umami-rich miso to achieve big flavor fast. The miso-caramelized onions melt into the stock, resulting in a silky sauce that coats every inch of the pasta. We love spaghetti for this, but any long noodle will work just fine.
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What you’ll need
Large Straight-Sided Skillet
$200 At Amazon
Wooden Spoon
$7 At Amazon
Tongs
$21 At Amazon
Heatproof Measuring Cup
$26 At Amazon
Microplane Grater
$18 At Amazon
Ingredients
4 servings
2
3
2
4
1
1
12
2½
¼
Preparation
Step 1
Heat 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil and 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter in a large high-sided skillet over medium-high. Add 2 large onions, thinly sliced; season with kosher salt. Cook, stirring often, until onions are softened and brown around the edges, 10–14 minutes.
Step 2
Add 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, to skillet with onions and cook, stirring constantly, until softened and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add 1 Tbsp. white miso and cook, stirring constantly, until browned and beginning to stick to bottom of pan, 1–2 minutes. Pour in 1 cup low-sodium beef or chicken broth or water, scraping up any browned bits stuck to bottom of pan, and cook, stirring, until miso is dissolved, about 2 minutes. Season generously with freshly ground pepper. Reduce heat to low and keep onion mixture warm until pasta is ready.
Step 3
Meanwhile, cook 12 oz. spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 1 minute less than package directions.
Step 4
Using tongs, transfer pasta to skillet (a little water coming along is okay). Increase heat to medium and add 2½ oz. Parmesan, finely grated, remaining 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter, and ½ cup pasta cooking liquid. Cook, tossing often and adding more pasta cooking liquid by ¼-cupful as needed, until cheese is melted and sauce clings to pasta, about 2 minutes.
Step 5
Divide pasta among bowls and top with ¼ cup 1½"-long chives and more finely grated Parmesan; season with pepper.
Leave a Review
Reviews (20)
Back to TopSO GOOD!! The chives don’t need to be in the spears though.
Matt
California
10/19/2023
Made this after hearing it on Kitchen SOS coupled with using the Jovial brown rice pasta and it was a pretty good weeknight. I paired it with seared scallops and a side of roasted zukes which turned out tasty. Going to experiment with maybe blending the onion mixture to avoid the strings/fibers? of the onions or maybe stirring it into a mac and cheese-style casserole. My onion mixture never got as dark as in the pics and paired with the brown rice pasta, it was all sort of monochromatic until I added the chives and parm lol. Will endeavor to caramelize it more next time. And there will be a next time!
Anonymous
Los Angeles, CA
8/31/2023
This was really lovely, and I'll be making it again. It's a great reminder that when in doubt, just put miso in it. I'm writing this in August, which is all about zucchini population control, so I added a big one sliced in half-moons along with the raw onion. It cooked down into the same browned and jammy consistency as the onion. I also added Aleppo pepper when that step was done. I used chicken stock to deglaze and next time I think water would be fine (all are mentioned in the recipe), there's a lot of salt from the miso and the salting step with the raw veg. I am one person but made the recipe as written because I anticipate this freezing very well for a lazy day.
Anonymous
Raleigh, NC
8/17/2023
To Anonymous below - it’s in Step 4. You add the pasta to the skillet.
Anonymous
San Antonio TX
8/2/2023
I've read this recipe several times and I don't see when you are supposed to add the onion mixture to the pasta! Am I blind?
Anonymous
Detroit, MI
8/1/2023
Delicious! This came together so easily and with minimal ingredients. I think next time I'll add thyme for a bit more of that classic french onion soup flavour.
Katie
Vancouver, Canada
5/11/2023
This was really good. I made it as written, but had some leftover roast chicken and roasted, sliced zucchini, so I shredded the chicken, cut the zucchini in half and added them at step four. Although the recipe standing alone would have been fine, it's a really great way to use up leftovers.
Laurel819
Santa Fe, NM
4/10/2023
So good! French onion soup pasta is a perfect description. I did caramelize the onions for a good 30 minutes and used red miso (what I had on hand).
Liz 505
Yrisarri, NM
4/2/2023
Very tasty and easy, provided you allow extra time for caramelizing the onions as mentioned my other commenters. Forgoed the chives and instead sprinkled some furikake on top.
Fiona
Toronto, ON
3/15/2023
I've made this 3 or 4 times now. Absolutely love it. I do take more time to caramelize the onions than the recipe recommends though. No regrets.
Matt R.
Buffalo, NY
2/22/2023
I have a toddler and and an 8mo, we made this together and had a silent dinner for the first time in a long time. It was delicious, and even my partner who is not a fan of meatless let a lone without a defined protein ate two servings. Added extra onion because we were going out of town and they were old. Delicious
Anonymous
Salinas Ca
1/8/2023
This was so good! I did cook the onions longer; used red miso; added some mushrooms and shrimp. Lots of flavor, pretty easy.
Anonymous
Chicago, IL
1/6/2023
Really delicious and fast - perfect for week day home office lunch time! Only next time I would not add extra salt to the onions, even though the recipe told me to in step 1. Maybe its my miso or my stock, but the whole thing ended up rather salty. I will make it again for sure.
max
Germany
12/28/2022
for the recipe, is it white miso paste or is white miso something entirely different?
Anonymous
New York, NY
12/24/2022
Answers the question, what if french onion soup were pasta? Cooked the onions for ~25 minutes so they were closer to caramelized. Perfect comfort food, it was a huge hit in my house.
Meredith
San Francisco, CA
12/15/2022