Easy Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
This classic Spaghetti Aglio e Olio, or Garlic and Oil Pasta, is a truly easy pasta recipe. Made with just 4 basic ingredients: spaghetti, olive oil, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, and it's ready in less than 15 minutes. Adjust the amount of fresh garlic and crushed hot pepper flakes to your taste!
Servings: 6
Calories: 444kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or to taste
- Sea salt to taste (or kosher salt)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
Instructions
- Boil water: Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta.
- Cook the pasta: Once the water is boiling, add in the spaghetti. Stir it in the boiling water. Keep stirring it while it’s cooking.
- Heat the olive oil: In a large sauté pan, add the oil on medium-high heat.
- Add the garlic: A few minutes after you have the pasta cooking and when the oil is shimmering, lower the heat of the sauté pan to medium. Add the garlic to the oil.
- Sauté the garlic: Cook the garlic until it is a nice light golden brown (should take 3-5 minutes). Add in the crushed red pepper flakes (or peperoncino) and stir to combine with the garlic and oil.
- Remove from the heat: Once the garlic reaches a light golden color, remove the pan from the heat. Meanwhile, the pasta keeps cooking . (Optional)Stir in the parsley (you could reserve some to toss on top at the end, it's up to you)and a teaspoon of salt.
- Drain the pasta: Cook the pasta until it's just before al dente (set a timer for 1 minute less than the cooking time on the pasta instructions so you don't forget). Reserve a 1/2 cup of starchy pasta water.
- Cook with sauce: Immediately add the drained pasta and the reserved pasta water to the garlic oil sauce. Use tongs or a spoon to continuously toss together for 1-2 minutes, until the pasta is finally al dente.
- Check the salt: Taste the pasta, and if needed, add salt. If you like it more spicy, add some more crushed red pepper flakes.
- Serve: Plate up the pasta while it’s very hot and ENJOY!
Notes
- Pasta: I have only had this dish with spaghetti. If you want to stay authentic, use only spaghetti. Choose a very good quality spaghetti. If you can find bronze cut, that would be even better and will cook up nice and al dente.
- Olive oil: Use a very good quality extra-virgin olive oil. It is the base for the sauce, so keep that in mind, as it will make the sauce taste even better.
- Garlic: Adjust the amount of fresh garlic to your taste. You could slice it or mince it. The minced garlic will brown very quickly, so you'll have to carefully watch it while you cook it in the hot olive oil.
- Hot pepper: Adjust the heat to your liking. If you don't like spicy, do not add in any hot pepper flakes. My kids do not like spicy, so I only add it in for those that do.
- Add-in: This is a really great pasta dish to add seafood to. Shrimp or calamari would be great.
- Leftovers: Any leftovers will stay fresh in the fridge for a couple of days in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Calories: 444kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 181mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 0.3IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg