Garlic butter pasta is the perfect recipe when time is of the essence and you want to keep things simple without sacrificing flavor. It is garlicky, delicious and with just 5 main ingredients you can have this pasta recipe from the kitchen to the table in 30 minutes. A perfect meal for a busy weeknight
Serve with air fryer boneless chicken thighs, chicken breast, cauliflower steak, or air fryer broccoli to make it a vegetarian or meatless Monday meal.
Garlic parmesan butter spaghetti
You’ve got to love a 30 minutes dinner that requires minimal prep, super affordable, and is budget-friendly. This recipe has “simple” written all over it and it is no lie. No two words for it, this is one of the simplest recipes made for man.
Spaghetti tossed in rich garlic butter sauce then finished off with freshly grated parmesan for a light creamy sauce and chopped parsley. Does it sound like something from the menu of a restaurant to you?
Dare I say that you can make this recipe in 15 minutes, yes you can, especially if you have more than one cooker burner. This is about to be your family favorite, I say that a lot about many of my recipes but this will definitely change your mind.
Garlic butter sauce is such a match made in heaven and it is perfect with just about anything and everything because it does deliver on flavor. It is versatile and not only great with pasta alone, you can also use it for gnocchi, tortellini, or any type of noodles.
Apart from parsley, I haven’t used any other herb to spice up my spaghetti, that said, you can use any other herbs of choice such as Italian herbs or Herb de Provence. To be honest I don’t think you would be needing it for this simple pasta recipe.
Related post: garlic lemon pasta and garlic bread
Ingredients
Pasta: you can use any pasta of choice, I personally prefer spaghetti as it works well with recipes with not much sauce.
Garlic: I used a sufficient numbers of garlic for this recipe, you can adjust it to taste or use roasted garlic for a mellow garlic taste and flavor.
Chili: I used fresh chili but you can substitute for red pepper flakes
Butter: you can either use unsalted or slightly salted butter just be mindful to adjust accordingly when salting the dish later on.
Salt to taste
Parmesan cheese: this is optional but recommended
Spinach: This is also optional but great for extra nutritional value especially if serving as it is.
Pasta water: to emulsify the butter sauce.
How to make garlic butter pasta
Bring the spaghetti to a boil in salted water according to the packet instructions and cook until al dente. Reserve some pasta water to use with the sauce later on. Drain and set aside.
Heat butter on medium heat until melted, add chopped garlic and chili, and sauté until fragrant and garlic begins to brown but not burnt.
Add the pasta to the garlic butter sauce and quickly toss to combine or use a kitchen thong. Add about ½ cup of pasta water to the spaghetti, grated parmesan, chopped parsley if using, and toss to combine. The addition of water will emulsify the butter and make the sauce smooth.
If using spinach, now is the time to add it, stir into the pasta, take it off the heat and serve immediately.
What to serve it with
Oven roasted broccoli and cauliflower
Tips
Make this parmesan garlic butter pasta vegan by using vegan friendly parmesan cheese. Alternatively, check this vegan parmesan recipe from the minimalist baker for how to make it from scratch in easy steps.
Apart from spinach, you can add peas, mushrooms or zucchini to the pasta.
Use any pasta of choice, short or long with any shape. I would personally use pasta like fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti, noodles or angel pasta for this type of recipe.
How to store
In my opinion, garlic butter pasta is best served fresh but if you have any leftovers, let it cool completely before storing in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
To reheat: you can either do so in the microwave as it is quicker or over the stove top. Add a splash of water when reheating so that the pasta doesn’t become rubbery when reheating
Freeze: not recommended but if you must, then store in labelled individual containers for up to 3 months.
More 30 minutes recipes
Pan fried gnocchi with spinach
More garlic butter recipes
Garlic butter smashed potatoes
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Garlic Butter Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 350 g Pasta you can use any pasta of choice
- 2 jalapenos chopped sub with red pepper flakes or freshly ground black pepper
- 70 g butter you can either use unsalted or slightly salted butter just be mindful to adjust accordingly when salting the dish later on.
- Salt to taste
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 3 cups spinach
- 1 cup pasta water to emulsify the butter sauce.
Instructions
- Bring the spaghetti to a boil in salted water according to the packet instructions and cook until al dente. Reserve some pasta water to use with the sauce later on. Drain and set aside.
- Heat butter on medium heat until melted, add chopped garlic and chili, and sauté until fragrant and garlic begins to brown but not burnt.
- Add the pasta to the garlic butter sauce and quickly toss to combine or use a kitchen thong. Add about ½ cup of pasta water to the spaghetti, grated parmesan, chopped parsley if using, and toss to combine. The addition of water will emulsify the butter and make the sauce smooth.
- If using spinach, now is the time to add it, stir into the pasta, take it off the heat and serve immediately.
Notes
- Make this parmesan garlic butter pasta vegan by using vegan-friendly parmesan cheese. Alternatively, check this vegan parmesan recipe from the minimalist baker for how to make it from scratch in easy steps.
- Apart from spinach, you can add peas, mushrooms, or zucchini to the pasta.
- Use any pasta of choice, short or long with any shape. I would personally use pasta like fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti, noodles, or angel pasta for this type of recipe.
Nutrition
Nutritional data: Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients and brands you use. Under no circumstances will thedinnerbite.com be responsible for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information.
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