10 Unique Ways To Enjoy Natto - Easy Natto Recipes You Can Make At Home

Looking for new ways to enjoy natto? In case you’re unfamiliar with natto, it’s a Japanese superfood that’s loaded with nutritional benefits. Natto is basically made of fermented soybeans and is quite infamous for its sticky, slippery, slimy texture and pungent flavor. We know, sounds super appealing!

In recent years, natto has become more popular overseas because, as we mentioned, it’s super good for you. With its ever growing popularity and it popping up more frequently in grocers overseas, you may have even seen it and wondered ‘how can I incorporate it into my diet’? Some of you probably also wonder ‘how do I prepare it’? 

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’d like to provide you with 10 unique and easy ways to enjoy natto so that you can reap the benefits of this powerful superfood. 

What Is Natto?

Before we dive into our 10 ideas, let’s first briefly discuss what natto is and what it tastes like. Simply put, natto is fermented soybeans that have a sticky, slimy texture. This probably does not sound appealing to a lot of people, but natto is super popular in Japan and is enjoyed on a daily basis by many. 

What Does Natto Taste Like?

So, what does natto actually taste like? First of all, you’ll notice that natto has quite a strong smell (kind of similar to funky cheese), but the smell is actually stronger than the taste. 

Despite natto being a fermented food, it does not have a sour taste. The fermented soybeans themselves are almost a tad bitter, and honestly do not have much flavor on their own. That’s why a soy-based seasoning packet and sometimes a karashi (hot mustard) packet are included with the natto beans.

How To Eat Natto?

Natto is usually enjoyed over a bowl of rice. To prepare it, all you have to do is mix it in its package using a pair of chopsticks until it becomes more stringy and foamy, then, pour the included seasoning packet(s) into the beans and mix well until evenly distributed. You pour the seasoned natto over rice, and some people like to top if off with a raw egg, chopped green onion, or even kimchi. It’s as simple as that.

Natto Toast

The easiest way to enjoy natto (besides eating it over a bowl of rice) is by putting it on toast! Now putting natto on toast might sound a bit strange, but stay with us. Eating natto on toast has actually become quite popular in Japan, as many people tend to choose bread over rice for breakfast these days. 

As we mentioned in our original natto article, eating natto on toast is more of a new-age way to enjoy the slimy superfood. All you need to do is plop your prepared natto onto the center of a piece of bread, spread some Japanese mayo around or on top of the natto, and then finish everything off with a piece of cheese or even an egg before toasting it in the oven. It’s really as simple and easy as that.

Natto Grilled Cheese

Is natto toast not doing enough for you? No problem! Just turn your natto toast into natto grilled cheese and you’ll be good to go! You can even add kimchi to your natto grilled cheese if you want to make things more funky. Bonus points for using Kewpie mayo to grease the bread instead of butter. 

Natto Tamagoyaki

Another breakfast idea for natto is natto tamagoyaki. You can use our recipe for tamagoyaki and just add a small amount of natto beans to each layer for a nutritious and filling breakfast. Adding chopped green onions or shirasu (whitebait) to natto tamagoyaki is also popular as well. 

Natto Miso Soup

Yup, that’s right. You can even add natto to your miso soup! Just add natto along with your other favorite ingredients for miso soup and you’re good to go. This is a good meal idea for when you want to eat something nutritious but don’t have a lot of time to cook.

Natto Salad

Some people choose to add beans to their salad, so why don’t you replace the beans that you would normally use with natto? Or, you could make a really simple coleslaw-esque salad by mixing shredded cabbage, natto, and Japanese mayo together. 

Natto Pasta

Okay, again, this one might seem a bit strange, but don’t click out of this article yet! Make a simple miso butter sauce for your pasta, and then add natto to it! Then finish it off with black pepper and grated parmesan cheese. This is actually a pasta that has become quite trendy in the past few years, as it makes a perfect quick lunch. 

(Note: Pasta almost always means spaghetti in Japan, but you can use your favorite type of pasta.)

Natto Fried Rice

Want to add a bit more nutrition to your fried rice? Have you ever thought about adding natto to it? Probably not right? But give it a try! Natto surprisingly gives fried rice a refreshing flavor, and it makes it a little bit healthier. This is an especially delicious dish to enjoy during the hot summer months. (If you don’t have a go-to fried rice recipe, be sure to check ours out!)

Natto Doria

Another hearty way of enjoying natto would be by adding it to doria. Doria is basically Japan’s take on a casserole, making it nice and hearty. You can simply use our doria recipe, but add a bit of natto into it!

Natto Sushi

Natto sushi is a rather common way of eating natto in Japan. You’ll probably see it in two ways: natto hosomaki (thin sushi rolls) which are commonly sold at convenience stores or are made at home or natto gunkan maki (literally battleship rolls) which are popular in conveyor belt sushi restaurants. Why don’t you try making one of these forms of natto sushi at your next sushi party?

Neba Neba Don

This way may be the most interesting way (and might put the most people off, honestly) of eating natto. The neba neba don is comprised of slimy foods like natto, okra, tororo (grated mountain yam) and sometimes even a raw egg all topped over a bowl of rice. All of these ingredients are super nutritious and slimy, so if that’s your thing, then you might want to give this one a try. If you want to learn more about neba neba foods, be sure to check out this article.

Storing Leftover Natto

If you try out one (or a few, or all…) of these recipes, you’ll probably end up with natto leftovers. To store your natto (we’re talking about the sealed packets you’ll buy straight from the grocery store), make sure to keep them in your refrigerator or freezer, natto beans will not stay fresh if kept at room temperature. 

While natto can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days, and in the freezer for even longer, we recommend consuming it within 3 to 4 days for ultimate freshness.

If you make any of the above recipes, store them how you normally would in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Do keep in mind that natto does tend to absorb the flavors of food around it, so keep it away from other strong-smelling foods in your refrigerator.

Want to learn more about the health benefits of natto? Be sure to check out our nattokinase article! If you’re looking to buy natto products online, you can also browse our natto collection. 

Which natto recipe do you want to try first? Let us know in the comments below!