Garlic Pasta Recipe (Garlic Butter Pasta)

garlic butter pasta on a white plate with a basil sprig by the side.

5 from 2 votes

Garlic Pasta Recipe (Garlic Butter Pasta)

Garlic Pasta Recipe is a simple yet flavorful dish made with spaghetti, olive oil, butter, garlic, herbs and spices. In this Italian inspired Garlic Butter Pasta recipe, cooked spaghetti is tossed in a delicious garlic butter sauce made with extra virgin olive oil, butter, garlic, herbs, spices & pasta water. Makes for a quick, easy and comforting lunch or dinner.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Total Time40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian, World

Diet: Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 696kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

Cook Spaghetti

250 grams spaghetti
5 cups water
1.5 teaspoons salt or add as required

More Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons Butter - unsalted
2 tablespoons garlic - minced
1 teaspoon smoked paprika - * read point no 4 in the notes section for substitutes
½ teaspoon ground black pepper (black pepper powder)
3 tablespoons parsley - chopped
3 tablespoons basil - chopped
2 teaspoons lemon juice
few pinches of salt - if needed, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cooking Pasta

Begin with boiling water with the salt in pot or saucepan.
Take the spaghetti and place them inside the boiling water carefully. Do not break them prior to keeping them in water. Simply keep them in water.
Once they start cooking, they will soften and then you can immerse the top of the spaghetti with the help of pasta tongs inside the water.
Cook spaghetti until they are al dente or just about cooked with a bite in the center.
Using strainer, drain the cooked pasta water, but do reserve ½ cup of pasta water. Set the spaghetti aside.

Make Garlic Butter Sauce

In a sauté pan or frying pan, take extra virgin olive oil and butter.
Keep on a low heat and let the butter melt.
When the butter melts, add minced garlic.
Stir to mix the garlic evenly with the butter and olive oil mixture.
Cook garlic on a low heat until it become golden.
Stir occasionally while cooking garlic.
First the garlic will become light golden.Keep a check as once the garlic becomes light golden it can burn or brown too much within the blink of an eye.
Once the garlic turns light golden, keep on stirring often until garlic starts to turn golden. Turn off heat when the garlic becomes golden.
Place pan on countertop.
Add smoked paprika and black pepper.
Stir to combine and mix. The spices will cook with the residue heat of the fats.
Ensure that the spices are evenly mixed with the garlic and olive and butter mixture.
Next add reserved pasta water. Place pan on stovetop and begin to heat.
Keep in mind that the reserved pasta water already has salt in it.
Simmer the mixture for about 1½ to 2 minutes on medium-low heat or until the sauce thickens slightly and is emulsified well.

Make Garlic Pasta

Using pasta tongs, add the spaghetti to the prepared garlic butter sauce in the pan.
Toss and mix well with the help of the pasta tongs. Cook pasta for 2 to 3 minutes or until all the liquids have dried up.
Add lemon juice and stir to combine. Lemon juice can be reduced or skipped altogether according to your taste preferences.
Lastly add the chopped herbs - parsley and basil.
Mix again and turn off heat. Check the taste of the prepared Garlic Butter Pasta and add a few pinches of salt if needed.
Serve Garlic Pasta hot or warm garnished with some vegetarian parmesan cheese or basil or parsley if you like.

Notes

Easily mince the garlic cloves with a garlic press.
Remember to cook spaghetti al dente or according to package instructions.
If you like, make the garlic pasta sauce, only with butter.
* Instead of smoked paprika, opt to use cayenne pepper, Kashmiri red chilli powder or sweet paprika. Adjust as needed.
The amount of salt can be adjusted according to your needs and requirements. If you prefer less salt in your food, add less salt when cooking the spaghetti with water.
In recipes like these, I add salt when cooking pasta and do not add it later. If you prefer less salt, reduce the quantity and add it when cooking the pasta. You can always adjust the salt after you mix the spaghetti with the garlic butter sauce.
Ensure to use fresh garlic. Frozen garlic may not work well.
Be attentive while frying the garlic as in matter of seconds they can turn from light brown to black. Keep heat to a low and stir often for even frying and cooking of the minced garlic.
Use fresh herbs of your choice. But note that each herb will give a different flavor profile to your Garlic Pasta.
Swap dried herbs with fresh herbs of your choice. For 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs, substitute with 1 teaspoon of dried herbs. Note that you could always add less dried herbs if you want.
For a vegan take on the recipe, use only olive oil.
For the pasta, use linguine instead of spaghetti. Whole wheat spaghetti can also be used. Noodles also work well. You could also try to make the recipe with angel hair pasta, but do reduce the pasta water slightly while making the garlic butter sauce.

Nutrition