Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, a dish that became a staple in our home the first time we tried it! This is the perfect weeknight dinner that can be made in less than 30 minutes. It doesn’t require too many ingredients so you can use your pantry staples to create a beautiful and flavor Italian dish.
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Pasta is life! Check out My New Favorite Noodles with Peanut Sauce if you think pasta is life too!
I can eat pasta for every meal and I wouldn’t get tired of it. Maybe I should say carbs are life but pasta just has this extra coziness that comes with it. It always reminds me of childhood, when I had no worries in the world, life was good!
Fast forward to now, life is a little more stressful for sure. Of course, we try and deal with things as we go but, I always make sure to make myself some comfort food from time to time whenever it’s needed. I sit down and mindfully enjoy every last bit of my pasta dishes for sure! Best feeling in the world if you ask me 🙂
Now I present to you my new addiction…
This spaghetti aglio e olio recipe is the easiest and most addicting of all… So be careful!
You read that right… This super easy pasta recipe is extremely addictive. Probably because it requires very minimal effort… From start to finish this will probably take you about 20 minutes to make.
That’s why I like to think of this pasta recipe as my #1 pick when it comes to easy weeknight dinners. I usually add a little something on the side of it to make it more filling but in general everyone loves it at the house. So I make it pretty often!
I often like to make this aglio e olio pasta and make my marinara sauce with a secret ingredient on the side because we love garlic and tomato sauce on our pasta too!
What’s so special about this garlic spaghetti recipe
This recipe is one of my favorite easy recipes because
- Easy
- Flavorful
- Nutty
- It is vegetarian and vegan.
- The perfect side dish or main dish recipe!
- Only takes 20 minutes to make.
What’s spaghetti aglio e olio?
spaghetti aglio e olio, literally means spaghetti with garlic and oil. This is a classic and simple Italian dish that can be made quickly to satisfy everyone’s palate. Seriously! Even the little ones love this spaghetti recipe.
The two main recipes as the title says are gonna be your olive oil and garlic. The recipe also calls for red pepper flakes that makes your finished pasta dish look a little more fun with a subtle hint of spiciness.
This extremely simple recipe tastes incredible because it uses basic good quality ingredients for the most perfect Italian restaurant quality meal. So if you’re craving Italian make this simple spaghetti aglio e olio at home to satisfy all your senses!
Ingredients for spaghetti aglio e olio
- Spaghetti– Spaghetti is the more traditional pasta to use with this dish but if you don’t have spaghetti on hand you could always go with linguine, fettuccine or anything you have in your pantry. This dish will come out delicious regardless.
- Olive oil– I like to use the best olive oil I have. It gives it such a better flavor.
- Garlic– This is what will give your pasta that amazing garlicky, nutty flavor. I like to use a lot of garlic since it’s the main flavoring ingredient in this recipe.
- Crushed red pepper flakes– This is what will give your pasta a little bit of a kick. If you are sensitive to spicy food feel free to skip this completely or start with just ¼ tsp.
- Optional garnishes– You can go wild here, use chopped parsley, parmesan cheese, lemon juice or zest and even spinach or kale. Anything goes if it’s something you enjoy eating to be honest.
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How to make Spaghetti aglio e olio
- First, start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the spaghetti and cook until al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking about halfway through, heat the olive oil, sliced garlic and red pepper flakes in a sauce pan over medium heat. Sauté the garlic until it gets light golden brown. Don’t walk away from the pot because it was burn fairly quick. If the garlic is sautéd before the pasta is ready, make sure to move it away from the heat so that it doesn’t burn. At this point you can transfer the garlic, red pepper flake, and olive oil mixture to a larger pot.
- Once the pasta is cooked, use toto transfer the hot pasta over the olive oil mixture, add in ¼ cup of the pasta water and sauté one last time on medium heat until the water has evaporated. Taste the pasta and add in any salt of red pepper flakes if necessary.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and some parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
A few recipe tips
When you’re making your spaghetti with olive oil and garlic make sure to keep these tips in mind:
- Keep an eye on your garlic. It can go from beautiful golden brown to burnt quite quickly so stay close and monitor it to get that perfect garlic infused olive oil.
- Don’t forget to salt your pasta water! The spaghetti needs to be cooked in salted pasta water for it to taste as good as possible!
- Make sure to prep all your ingredients before you start cooking. This way you don’t need to stop the cooking process to chop some parsley or anything like that.
How to upgrade this spaghetti dish?
I love making this spaghetti recipe because it is so easily customizable. Some of the things I like to add to it to make it a full dish would be:
- Protein– I love adding grilled chicken, anchovies, or sausages to my spaghetti aglio e olio because it makes it complete and whole lot more filling.
- Veggies– I also love adding a side of veggies so that I have a well rounded meal. Try out roasted veggies or steamed veggies for the perfect side dish.
You could also add a few sides to this pasta for a whole balanced meal:
- Add some garlic bread to make it resemble an Italian restaurant meal.
- Add a salad on the side to keep the whole meal balanced.
The possibilities are endless though so if you end up adding a different side of topping to your pasta dish please let me know in the comments down below because I would love to try it.
How to store leftovers
To store this spaghetti dish, place it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
To reheat it, you can either pop it in the microwave or reheat it on the stove over medium-heat with a splash of water. If you’re following the stove method, toss your spaghetti to get them evenly reheated.
Lighter Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
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Lighter Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
Ingredients
- 12 oz spaghetti
- ¼ cup good olive oil
- 6 large garlic cloves Thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup pasta water/starch water
Optiona garnishes
- shaved parmesan cheese
- chopped parsley
- sun dried tomatoes
- lemon juice/zest
Instructions
- First, start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add in the spaghetti and cook until al dente.
- While the pasta is cooking about halfway through, heat the olive oil, sliced garlic and red pepper flakes in a sauce pan over medium heat. Sauté the garlic until it gets light golden brown. Don't walk away from the pot because it was burn fairly quick. If the garlic is sautéd before the pasta is ready, make sure to move it away from the heat so that it doesn't burn. At this point you can transfer the garlic, red pepper flake, and olive oil mixture to a larger pot.
- Once the pasta is cooked, use tongs to transfer the hot pasta over the olive oil mixture, add in ¼ cup of the pasta water and sauté one last time on medium heat until the water has evaporated. Taste the pasta and add in any salt of red pepper flakes if necessary.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and some parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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