Garlic Butter Pasta (Print View)
Comforting pasta with rich garlic butter sauce, lemon, and Parmesan
# What You Need:
→ Pasta
01 - 12 oz spaghetti or linguine
→ Garlic Butter Sauce
02 - 4 tbsp unsalted butter
03 - 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
04 - 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
05 - 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
06 - Zest of 1 lemon
07 - 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
08 - 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
09 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
10 - 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
# How to Make It:
01 - Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water according to package instructions until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup of pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta.
02 - While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant but not browned. Stir in the red pepper flakes and lemon zest.
03 - Add the drained pasta to the skillet. Toss to coat in the garlic butter sauce, adding reserved pasta water as needed to loosen.
04 - Stir in the lemon juice and half of the Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
05 - Divide the pasta among serving plates. Top with remaining Parmesan and chopped parsley.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- This comes together in 25 minutes but tastes like it simmered all afternoon
- The sauce clings to every strand of pasta so you get flavor in every bite
- Most ingredients are already sitting in your pantry right now
02 -
- Garlic goes from fragrant to burned in seconds, so stand right at the stove and do not walk away
- That pasta water is liquid gold, it contains salt and starch that helps the sauce cling to every noodle
- Add the lemon juice off the heat or the sauce might separate or taste strangely sharp
03 -
- Use room temperature butter so it melts quickly and evenly without sizzling too aggressively
- Grate your lemon zest before juicing the lemon, it is much harder to zest a squeezed lemon