This all-time basic pasta recipe is a favourite of children and adults. What’s to not like, proper? Pasta, butter, and cheese. What’s attention-grabbing is I didn’t develop up with this dish. Ours was an American chop suey residence. (That’s a really New England dish of elbow macaroni, floor beef, and tomato sauce.)
After I lastly had a plate of spaghetti, butter, and parmesan someday in school, I didn’t get it. What? No tomato sauce? What? No meat? However the easy magnificence of the dish gained me over. I’ll admit that I do are likely to go overboard with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. What can I say? I’m a cheese fiend.
Why Our Testers Liked This
The testers have been smitten with the simplicity of this weeknight pantry staple. They cherished that it may very well be personalized to go well with their tastes and that it happy even the pickiest of eaters. It’s no shock that they’re calling this recipe “a strong winner.”
What You’ll Have to Make This
- Spaghetti–Use your favourite model of good-quality dried pasta for this recipe. You possibly can substitute a distinct kind of lengthy pasta, resembling fettuccine or linguine if you happen to choose. And a few of us even attain for egg noodles.
- Butter–You need to use both salted or unsalted butter for this pasta dish, however if you happen to use salted, make sure you style the pasta after stirring within the garlic butter sauce to see if it wants any further salt.
- Garlic–Be at liberty to regulate the quantity of garlic to fit your tastes. Utilizing the complete 4 garlic cloves will give the pasta loads of garlicky taste, however if you happen to choose a mellower chunk, scale it again to 2 cloves.
- Parmesan–This easy pasta recipe depends on the standard of the components to shine, so please, for my sake, use a superb, freshly grated Parmesan right here. Skip the pre-shredded stuff.
- Pasta water–That is the key ingredient. A ladleful or two of the pasta water will assist deliver the entire dish collectively and make the sauce creamy and splendid.
Learn how to Make Pasta with Butter
- Soften the butter with the oil in a skillet over medium warmth.
- Add the garlic cloves and prepare dinner till aromatic. Take away the skillet from the warmth and let the garlic infuse the oil.
- Prepare dinner the spaghetti till simply al dente in a big pot of boiling salted water. Drain the spaghetti in a colander, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- Dump the cooked pasta into the skillet with the garlic butter.
- Add the Parmesan cheese and toss properly.
- Stir in a little bit of pasta water and proceed to prepare dinner till the water is absorbed by the pasta and the sauce is clean and creamy.
- Toss within the parsley and season with salt and freshly floor black pepper.
- Serve with (loads of) additional Parmesan on the facet.
What Can I Add to Plain Pasta?
I’m all for simplicity. However generally I can’t depart good (and easy) sufficient alone. To lend a bit of extra oomph to this pasta, think about including:
- Crushed red-pepper flakes
- Panko sauteed in oil and well-seasoned with salt and pepper
- Crispy pancetta or bacon
- Chopped toasted walnuts or almonds
- Drained canned tuna in oil
- Seared shrimp or scallops
- Recent lemon zest
Useful Suggestions
- Reserve about 1/2 cup of pasta water when draining the spaghetti in case you want a bit of additional liquid to complete the dish or reheat it.
Storage and Reheating Directions
Retailer leftover pasta in a sealed container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. I don’t suggest freezing cooked pasta. It has a blech texture when reheated.
Reheat the noodles within the microwave or a skillet over low warmth. Add a splash of reserved cooking water and stir sometimes whereas reheating it.
What to Serve with This Recipe
This buttered noodles recipe pairs splendidly with virtually something. Serve it with a easy protein, resembling oven-roasted hen thighs and a few boiled greens, garlicky broccoli rabe, or roasted asparagus.
Extra Nice Straightforward Pasta Recipes
Write a Overview
In the event you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, think about leaving a evaluate, a star score, and your greatest picture within the feedback under. I really like listening to from you.–David
That is my all-time favourite method to have spaghetti. How will you beat simply plain ol’ salty spaghetti and butter? There’s nothing flawed with retaining it easy.
Dal R.
Forestall your display screen from going darkish
Soften the butter and warmth the olive oil in a big skillet over medium warmth. Drop within the crushed garlic cloves and let sizzle to infuse the oil, 5 to 7 minutes. Take away the pan from the warmth.
Carry a big pot of well-salted water to a boil. Prepare dinner the pasta simply shy of the time specified on the package deal. Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
Drain the spaghetti and dump it into the skillet with the garlic butter. Return the skillet to medium-high warmth.
Sprinkle within the Parmesan cheese, add among the reserved pasta water, and prepare dinner, stirring frequently, till the sauce is clean and calmly thickened, 3 to five minutes. Take away the garlic cloves, if desired.
Stir within the parsley, season with salt and pepper, and serve with the Parmesan on the facet.
- Storage–Retailer leftover pasta in a sealed container within the fridge for as much as 3 days. I don’t suggest freezing cooked pasta. It has a blech texture when reheated.
- Reheating–Reheat the noodles within the microwave or a skillet over low warmth. Add a splash of reserved cooking water and stir sometimes whereas reheating it.
Serving: 1 portionEnergy: 453 kcalCarbohydrates: 59 gProtein: 14 gFats: 18 gSaturated Fats: 6 gMonounsaturated Fats: 9 gTrans Fats: 0.2 gLdl cholesterol: 21 mgSodium: 228 mgFiber: 3 gSugar: 2 g
Vitamin info is robotically calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
Recipe © 2024 David Leite. Images © 2024 David Leite. All rights reserved.
Recipe Testers’ Critiques
Pasta with butter is each Italian child’s favorite meal! To be sincere, it’s nonetheless a responsible pleasure of mine. There’s nothing extra comforting and it’s actually one of many quickest issues to prepare dinner.
That is only a barely extra “grownup” model with the addition of garlic and parsley, however the beauty of it’s that it’s easy sufficient to customise to your personal style. It’s good for a weeknight…or late night time…or once you’re ravenous and may’t be bothered to prepare dinner something that requires any effort.
This easy pasta with butter and Parmesan has, and at all times shall be, a staple in our home.
This garlic butter pasta is a superb weeknight staple. Straightforward, fast, and made out of just about what one has readily available within the pantry. It’s fairly garlicky for my liking, so the subsequent time I make it, I’ll lower the garlic again by half.
I served some grilled garlic shrimp and rapini together with this and it made for a satisfying and fast meal.
Lastly, a dish my son LOVED! He’s 13 years previous and the pickiest child I’ve ever identified. He ate this pasta with butter and Parmesan so quick I didn’t even see it go. He had seconds, then thirds. I barely had any and needed to make it once more the subsequent day. A strong winner I’d say.
I’m at all times on the lookout for an attention-grabbing facet to serve, and this one didn’t disappoint. I had a garlic shrimp recipe that wanted a facet, and this one appeared good. Bonus factors for a fast prep time and pantry-handy components.
Every part about this pasta with butter and Parmesan is tremendous simple, and no uncommon components. You possibly can even substitute dried parsley, though the style gained’t be the identical. I extremely suggest utilizing recent garlic for the very best taste because it’s the primary taste focus right here.
One other nice function of this recipe is the power to regulate with out it failing: extra/much less garlic, extra/much less salt, cheese or no cheese, and so forth. Make it as soon as, and you may tweak it as desired later. I consider this shall be one to make time and again.
As a leftover, this additionally works properly. It’s good for individuals who prepare dinner additional to have leftovers readily available for later. I discovered the easiest way to reheat is by microwaving. Add a little bit of liquid if wanted: water, butter, or a little bit of cream work properly.
In the event you plan to make use of some as leftovers, I like to recommend including the cheese to the person servings and resisting the urge so as to add it into the entire recipe. Stray cheese doesn’t reheat properly.
What can I say a few merely scrumptious spaghetti dish? Carry it on! This recipe does simply that. It’s the spaghetti model of garlic bread, besides the leftovers are useable the subsequent day.
I made the recipe as is then added arugula to the spaghetti within the final minute of cooking and crushed pepper flakes. These additions offered color, flavour, and shaved a little bit of the potential carb load regret.
I served my spaghetti as a facet dish to paprika-smoked hen legs. It was an ideal flavour mixture. Truthfully, you’ll be able to serve this alone or pair it with virtually something, and it will be nice. Go for it!
