• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
    • WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY
  • Recipes
    • Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
    • Meatless Monday
    • Appetizer
    • Air fryer

The Dinner Bite logo

menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
    • WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY
  • Recipes
    • Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
    • Meatless Monday
    • Appetizer
    • Air fryer
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Pasta Recipes » Garlic Butter Pasta Recipe

    Published: Apr 26, 2021 · Modified: Jul 11, 2022 by Ajoke · This post may contain affiliate links ·

    Garlic Butter Pasta Recipe

    Skip to Recipe - Print Recipe

    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.

    spaghetti an tong in a cast iron pan.

    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

    spaghetti with grated parmesan.

    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 number of garlic cloves 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.

    Parmesan cheese: this is optional but recommended

    Spinach: This is also optional but great for extra nutritional value especially if serving as it is.

    Salt to taste

    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 it into the pasta, take it off the heat and serve immediately.

    a close up on spaghetti in a pan.

    What to serve it with

    Simple baked chicken legs

    Air fryer steak

    Air fryer chicken breast

    Oven roasted broccoli and cauliflower

    Steamed instant pot broccoli

    Herbs de Provence chicken

    a pan of garlic butter spaghetti with spinach and a black tong.

    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.

    a plate of spaghetti place beside a pan of pasta.

    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.

    scoop of spaghetti on a kitchen tong.

    More 30 minutes recipes

    Pan fried gnocchi with spinach

    Creamy bacon pasta

    Gorgonzola gnocchi

    Instant pot jambalaya

    Quick spaghetti Bolognese

    More garlic butter recipes

    Garlic butter rice

    Garlic butter smashed potatoes

    Lemon butter sauce for fish

    If you made this easy pasta recipe, don’t forget to leave me feedback. Tag me @thedinnerbite on Instagram and save away to your Pinterest. Please subscribe to the blog if you haven’t for free new recipes in your inbox

    garlic butter spaghetti in a cast iron pan pushed to the side with a tong.

    Garlic Butter Pasta Recipe

    Ajoke
    Garlic butter pasta is the perfect recipe when time is of the essence and you want to keep things simple without sacrificing flavor.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Total Time 20 mins
    Course Dinner, Main Course, Pasta
    Cuisine American, Italian
    Servings 4
    Calories 507 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 350 g Pasta you can use any pasta of choice
    • 2 jalapenos chopped sub with red pepper flakes or freshly ground black pepper
    • 6 garlic cloves chopped about 1 Tablespoon
    • 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

    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.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 507kcalCarbohydrates: 67gProtein: 17gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 352mgPotassium: 359mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 2711IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 196mgIron: 2mg

    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.

    Keyword buttered pasta, garlic butter pasta, garlic butter spaghetti
    Tried this recipe?Mention @thedinnerbite or tag #thedinnerbite!
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
    4 shares

    Filed Under: Main Dishes, Meatless Monday, Pasta Recipes

    About Ajoke

    Hello, Nice to meet you! Welcome and thanks for visiting my food blog "The Dinner Bite". Feel free to browse through, you are guaranteed nothing here but a yummy experience

    Previous Post: « Crispy Fish Burger Recipe
    Next Post: Air Fryer Broccoli »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. judy says

      July 09, 2022 at 1:21 am

      Hi, How much garlic should be used in this recipe? I don't see it in the ingredients list.

      Reply
      • Ajoke says

        July 11, 2022 at 2:11 pm

        Hello Judy, I used 1 Tablespoon, I have now updated the recipe. Thank you for your observation, kindly let me know how it turns out for you.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Hi! I'm Ajoke.

    It is really nice to meet you! Welcome and thanks for visiting my food blog "The Dinner Bite". Feel free to browse through, you are guaranteed nothing here but a yummy experience.

    More about me →

    Trending Recipes

    • Easy Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe
    • Instant pot fish (frozen Cod)
    • Salt and Pepper Chicken Recipe
    • Easy Iced Coffee Recipe

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Policy

    Contact

    • Contact

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 The Dinner Bite