Garlic Butter Pasta
Buttery garlic comfort: This Garlic Butter Pasta boasts just the right amount of savory garlic butter sauce that coats your favorite pasta topped with grated parmesan and fresh parsley! Perfect for an Italian-inspired lunch or dinner!
Who’s in the mood for Garlic Butter Pasta? All? Yay!! This main dish recipe is so, so good! Salted just right, this garlic butter pasta recipe is a perfect balance of buttery and garlicky with just enough parm to enhance those flavors. Fresh parmesan keeps it from being too heavy, but it’s still a comforting, cozy food delight!
Whether you’re making this pasta dish for an Italian-inspired dinner, or for a simple yet elegant lunch, you’ll be making this go-to recipe again and again.
Garlic Butter Pasta Ingredients
- Pasta: I love using spaghetti in this recipe, but you can choose your favorite dried pasta, from penne to angel hair and more.
- Garlic: I highly recommend using fresh garlic in this recipe. Once you taste the freshly-sliced garlic cooked in butter and parmesan, you’ll swoon. However, if all you have is bottled, minced garlic, you do you.
- Butter: use unsalted butter so you can control the exact amount of saltiness you’d like in your garlic butter pasta.
- Parmesan: here, store-bought grated parmesan is fine.
- Parsley: use fresh parsley for the best taste, and dried parsley if needed.
- Salt and pepper: we’ll be using these pantry staples to taste, so we can get the pasta exactly the way you like it.
Garlic Butter Pasta Sauce
We love garlic and we love butter around these parts, so it’s no surprise that the garlic butter sauce for pasta we’re using is decadent and delicious. Made with pantry staples like butter, fresh garlic, salt & pepper, and parmesan, this sauce is easy to make and better than store-bought!
How to Make Garlic Butter Pasta
This garlic butter pasta is so easy to make for a simply delicious Italian-inspired dish that’s buttery garlic comfort in a dish.
1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add salt, then cook the pasta according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of pasta water, then drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet to medium heat. Melt butter, then add in sliced garlic and cook until fragrant. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Add drained pasta and some reserved pasta water to the skillet. Toss to coat, adding pasta water as needed for a slightly-thick sauce.
4. Remove from heat and add parmesan and parsley. Toss to mix well, then serve topped with more parmesan and parsley. Enjoy the best garlic butter pasta!
What to Serve with this Garlic Butter Pasta Recipe
- Protein: serve pasta topped with cooked shrimp, seared tofu, or grilled chicken breast
- Bread: who doesn’t love serving bread with pasta? I recommend: my favorite Garlic Toast, this mouthwatering Roasted Garlic Bread, or a juicy Tomato Sandwich.
- Salads: Balance the creamy with the sweet by serving this Asian Salad, this red wine vinaigrette-topped Chickpea Salad, and this impressive 7 Layer Salad.
- Sides: veggie-rich roasted bell peppers, blistered green beans, and easier-than-you’d-think air fryer potato wedges.
Tools You Need
Garlic Recipes
Be sure to try my other pasta recipes, including Erik’s favorite Pesto Pasta Salad, this simple ‘n tasty Tomato Basil Pasta, and my fave Pesto Pasta. Leave a comment letting me know what you thought of this garlic butter pasta!
Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤️
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Garlic Butter Pasta
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 cups 1x
Description
Buttery garlic comfort: This Garlic Butter Pasta boasts just the right amount of savory garlic butter sauce that coats your favorite pasta topped with grated parmesan and fresh parsley! Perfect for an Italian-inspired lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
Pasta
- Salt
- 8 ounces spaghetti or other dried pasta
Garlic Butter Sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4–5 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- ½ cup grated parmesan, plus more for topping
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add in a big pinch of salt and pasta. Cook according to package directions. Turn off the heat and reserve 1 cup of pasta water.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet to medium heat.
- Add in butter and garlic, cooking for about 1-2 minutes or until just lightly cooked and fragrant. Stir in salt and black pepper.
- Add pasta and some of the reserved pasta water to the skillet. Using heatproof tongs, toss to coat completely in butter and garlic. Add more pasta water as needed to create a slightly thick sauce.
- Remove from heat and add parmesan and parsley. Toss again to mix well.
- Serve topped with more parmesan and parsley.
Notes
You likely won’t need to use the entire cup of reserved pasta water—we’ll have it on hand to add as much as needed to create a sauce of desired consistency. I used just ½ cup.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian, American
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Quick and delicious pasta recipe! I love this recipe for busy days (any day really) but it’s so simple and flavorful to make! It’s always a hit, thank you!
Woohoo! I’m so pleased that you enjoyed the recipe, Heather!
So simple but so tasty and comforting!
Glad you liked it, Katherine!
This recipe is great! It’s so straightforward, but incredibly tasty and oh so buttery!
You know it! Gotta let those garlic and butter flavors shine.
Enjoyed this for diner tonight and it was a savory success! Quick, easy, inexpensive and delicious; the perfect meal for a busy weeknight, indeed!
Yay! I know, sometimes you’re just strapped for time and you can’t make an elaborate meal. So glad you enjoyed it!
The rich, buttery sauce infused with the perfect amount of garlic created a comforting and flavorful dish that was both simple and satisfying. This recipe has quickly become a go-to in my kitchen for a quick and delicious meal!
That’s absolutely amazing to hear, Gianne! Here’s to many more delicious nights of pasta dinner fun!