5-Ingredient Garlic Butter Parmesan Pasta
This quick & easy garlic parmesan pasta is perfect for lazy nights when you don’t feel like cooking! You just need 5 ingredients (that you probably already have!) for a simple dinner that’s ready in 30 minutes. Pair it with your favorite protein or veggies for a satisfying dinner the whole family will love!
⏰ TIME: 30 mins | 🤑 COST: $5.37
🍝 5 INGREDIENTS
The following text may contain Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this post at no additional cost to you.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Sometimes you just need a simple, easy pasta dish you can make with stuff you already have at home. Especially after a long day at work or in between grocery shopping days!
That’s why you’re going to love this recipe that checks all the boxes for a simple yet delicious dinner under 30 minutes!
🍝 This garlic parmesan pasta recipe is:
- Made with just 5 ingredients
- Ready in 30 minutes
- Pretty customizable
- No heavy cream required!
- Makes great leftovers
- Easily paired with chicken, steak, or salmon
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made this pasta after long days at work. I’ve eaten it by itself, and also paired with chicken cutlets or veggies.
For this particular batch, I used heart shaped pasta from Trader Joe’s since it was around Valentine’s Day. This makes a perfect date night dinner and of course it’s also perfect for a Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day dinner!
These buttery, garlicky noodles are also a hit with picky eaters and kids!
🍝 Love creamy cheesy pasta? Check out this delicious 5-Ingredient Ravioli with Garlic Cream Sauce!
Free 5-Day Meal Plan
(WITH 5-INGREDIENT RECIPES!)
Join my email list and I’ll send you the FREE 5-Day Meal Plan! As a bonus, you’ll also receive my monthly newsletter which includes a FREE brand new meal plan every month, plus exclusive access to all my free printables! 💖
Ingredients You’ll Need
(The red chili flakes in the ingredients picture above are optional! I forgot to take a pic without the chili flakes bottle 😅)
- Pasta: Any shape works for this recipe. I used heart-shaped pasta since it was around Valentine’s Day!
- Olive Oil: I usually don’t include olive oil in my ingredient count, but it’s such an important part of this recipe! You want to make sure you use olive oil in particular for its flavor that pairs so well with the rest of the ingredients.
- Butter: You can skip this ingredient and just add a bit of extra olive oil, but adding just a bit of butter is going to make the pasta so creamy, flavorful, and delish!
- Garlic: The star of the show in this recipe (and really any pasta recipe! 😝) Make sure to use fresh minced garlic for the best flavor.
- Parmesan Cheese: Makes the pasta salty, cheesy, and creamy! I used shredded parmesan cheese, but grated would work perfectly fine too.
📌 OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS: My favorite part about this recipe is that it’s so customizable! I added 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes to the olive oil to kick the flavor up a notch, but this is totally optional. You can also bulk it up with protein and veggies of your choice – breaded chicken, meatballs, spinach, or kale would do exceptionally well in this recipe!
SUBSTITUTION IDEAS
📌 Pasta: You can really use any pasta type or shape you want. Feel free to swap for gluten-free or chickpea pasta. You could also use whole wheat if you prefer, but just know that it will change the taste and texture of this recipe quite a bit!
📌 Olive oil + butter: I like to do a mix of each for the best flavor. You can definitely use all olive oil and skip the butter if you prefer a lighter pasta. You can also skip the olive oil and do only butter, but just be aware that it’s add a good bit of calories and unhealthy fats to the dish.
📌 Parmesan cheese: Swap for Asiago or Pecorino Romano cheese. You can also try a blend of these cheeses too!
📌 Garlic: If you don’t have any fresh garlic on hand, you can use ~1 teaspoon of garlic powder, 2 teaspoons of garlic paste, or 2 teaspoons of jarred minced garlic.
Equipment You’ll Need
The following text may contain Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this post at no additional cost to you.
- Large saucepan or pot: For boiling the pasta. You also want to have a colander to drain the pasta!
- Large deep skillet or sautee pan: You want to make sure it’s a skillet that’s deep enough to prep the sauce and hold the added pasta. You guys know that my favorite is the T-fal saute pan!
How to Make the Garlic Butter Parmesan Pasta
1. Cook the pasta
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until according to package directions, until it’s all dente. VERY IMPORTANT – Make sure to reserve about 1/2 cup – 1 cup of pasta water before draining the pasta! We’re going to use the reserved pasta water later to thicken up our sauce.
2. Prep the sauce
Heat olive oil and butter together in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Don’t turn up the heat too high! About medium heat will do 😊
Once the butter has melted, turn the heat down just a bit to medium-low. Add the minced garlic to the skillet.
Cook the minced garlic for about 1 minute, stirring frequently, until it’s starting to brown and smells fragrant. Watch the garlic closely to make sure it doesn’t burn!
3. Add the drained pasta to the skillet
Add the drained pasta to the skillet. Make sure you’ve reserved some of the pasta water before draining the pasta! Toss until the pasta is coated.
Slowly add the reserved pasta water, about 2 tablespoons at a time. Mix to coat the pasta well. I added about 1/3 cup of reserved pasta water, but you can add a little more or less depending on your preference.
4. Add the parmesan cheese
Turn the heat down to low. Add in Parmesan cheese to the skillet and mix until it’s coated and starting to melt. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
5. Serve and enjoy!
Divide the pasta into individual serving bowls or plates. Top with a little extra Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!
Notes & Suggestions
- Make it lighter: If you want to decrease the calories and fats in this recipe, skip the butter and use 6 tablespoons of olive oil instead. You can also reduce the amount of Parmesan cheese to just 1/4 cup.
- Add some protein: Breaded chicken cutlets, grilled chicken strips, meatballs, shrimp, or steak strips all pair perfectly with this pasta!
- Add some veggies: Add spinach or kale at the very end, and let them wilt into the pasta. You can also add steamed broccoli or roasted zucchini at the end.
- Keep an eye on the heat. Make sure to melt the butter, saute the garlic, and melt the Parmesan cheese all on low-medium heat to prevent the ingredients from burning.
- Feel like this recipe is too bland? Add 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes in Step #2 right before you add the garlic. This will make the olive oil-butter mixture slightly spicy and give it some heat!
Storage Instructions
The following text may contain Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this post at no additional cost to you.
- Make Ahead: While this pasta is best eaten fresh, you can definitely still adapt it for meal prep. Portion everything out into individual meal prep containers and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freezer: Not recommended, since the sauce may change texture during the freezing process.
- Reheating: Add a splash of water to loosen up the sauce, and microwave for about 1-2 minutes until the pasta is warmed through.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Printable Recipe Card
5-Ingredient Garlic Butter Parmesan Pasta
Equipment
- Large saucepan or pot for boiling pasta
- Large deep skillet
Ingredients
- 16 oz dry pasta any shape
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- ½ cup parmesan cheese shredded
Pantry staples
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions, until al dente. Reserve about ½ cup of pasta water, then drain.
- Prep the sauce: Heat olive oil and butter together in a large deep skillet over medium heat until the butter is melted.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add minced garlic to the skillet. Cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, just it's golden-brown and fragrant. Don't overcook the garlic!
- Add pasta to the skillet: Reduce the heat to low. Add the drained pasta to the skillet, and toss gently to coat. Slowly mix in the reserved pasta water, about 2 tablespoons at a time, until the pasta is coated in a light sauce. I added about ⅓ cup total of reserved pasta water, but you can add more or less depending on your texture preference.
- Add parmesan cheese: Sprinkle in shredded Parmesan cheese. Toss until the cheese has melted and the pasta is evenly coated.
- Serve and enjoy! Serve in individual plates or bowls. Season with salt & pepper or a little extra Parmesan cheese according to taste. Enjoy!
Notes
- Make it lighter: If you want to decrease the calories and fats in this recipe, skip the butter and use 6 tablespoons of olive oil instead. You can also reduce the amount of Parmesan cheese to just 1/4 cup.
- Add some protein: Breaded chicken cutlets, grilled chicken strips, meatballs, shrimp, or steak strips all pair perfectly with this pasta!
- Add some veggies: Add spinach or kale at the very end, and let them wilt into the pasta. You can also add steamed broccoli or roasted zucchini at the end.
- Keep an eye on the heat. Make sure to melt the butter, saute the garlic, and melt the Parmesan cheese all on low-medium heat to prevent the ingredients from burning.
- Feel like this recipe is too bland? Add 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes in Step #2 right before you add the garlic. This will make the olive oil-butter mixture slightly spicy and give it some heat!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it went!
I’m always open to suggestions, comments, or feedback on tweaking my recipes. If something wasn’t clear or if you think a step could be done better, or you added your own edits to this recipe, send me a message!
Unfortunately, I’ve had to disable comments due to the large number of spam links & comments from unsafe sites. I’m hoping to add the comments section back once I can find a good spam blocker plugin!
Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!
Looking for more 5-ingredient dinner recipes?
