a.k.a. Spaghetti with Garlic and Butter
Spaghetti Aglio e Burro
Equipment
- Normal Kitchen Utensils
- Tongs Recommended
Ingredients
- 8 Oz. Spaghetti
- 4-6 Cloves Garlic Very Thinly Sliced
- 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 2-3 Heavy Pinches Chopped Parsley
- 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes Plus More to Taste
- Salt for Pasta Water
- Optional Additions
- 1-2 Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1-2 Anchovy Fillets
- 1/2 Lemon Zest and Juice
Instructions
- Boil water for the pasta. Since you will use the pasta water to help emulsify a sauce, you want a little less water than normal – to concentrate the starch. Use 8-10 C of water in a pot over high heat.
- While the water boils, heat 3 Tbsp of the butter over low heat in a pan or pot large enough to toss the spaghetti in later. You will need room to jostle and stir the spaghetti to create the sauce at the end.
- When the water is boiling, add 3-4 tsp of table salt (or 1-1.5 Tbsp of kosher salt), reduce the heat to medium, and add your spaghetti.
- Cook the spaghetti to about a minute before al dente (roughly 1 minute before the earliest time range on the package, which is usually 8-9 minutes).
- While the spaghetti cooks, add the garlic and chili flakes, and (optional) anchovies, to the melted butter and cook over low heat. You want to heat the garlic to a light golden color, being careful not to burn it. There should be just the faintest bubble/sizzle in the garlic.
- Once the spaghetti is cooked, pick it straight out of the water (with kitchen tongs or a large fork) and add it to the hot butter and garlic.
- Add a splash of the pasta water (roughly 1/4 C) and stir the pasta pretty vigorously to help emulsify the pasta water and oil together.
- Continue stirring and flipping the pasta, mixing the pasta water and butter together, for 1-2 minutes until a sauce forms and thickens. If the pasta seems a little dry, add a few more tsp of pasta water as necessary and continue stirring for another minute.Note: this will be a very light sauce, and it will still generally be butter forward. Don't expect a perfect emulsification.
- Once the sauce is where you want it, cut the heat and mix in the parsley and (optional) lemon zest and juice to taste.
- Taste for salt and red pepper, then top with the (optional) parmesan cheese and enjoy!
Spaghetti Aglio e Burro: My Buttery Twist on an Italian Classic
Spaghetti aglio e burro personal spin on a comfort food favorite. If you’ve ever made spaghetti aglio e olio, you’ll recognize the bones of this recipe right away—garlic, pasta, and heat. But instead of extra virgin olive oil, I swap in butter for a velvety finish that’s rich, cozy, and totally crave-worthy. It’s basically Italian buttered noodles, but with a bold garlic kick and that slight chili warmth we love from aglio e olio.
I call it spaghetti aglio e burro—a name that’s not traditional in Italy, but still makes perfect sense. Aglio means garlic, and burro means butter. This isn’t a dish with deep historical roots like carbonara or cacio e pepe, but it follows all the same principles: a short list of ingredients, cooked simply and well. If garlic and butter are already in your kitchen, you’re halfway there.
A Butter-Based Pasta Inspired by Southern Italian Simplicity
Traditional aglio e olio comes from Naples, in southern Italy, where olive oil rules the kitchen. But in northern Italy, especially regions like Lombardy and Piedmont, butter is the fat of choice. This aglio e burro blends those two mindsets—southern technique with northern richness. The result is silky, savory, and deeply comforting.
Unlike heavy American butter sauces, this dish stays relatively light. The garlic is gently toasted in butter, not drowned in it. A splash of pasta water helps the sauce cling to each strand of spaghetti without becoming greasy. It’s the kind of pasta you can throw together after a long day—or even as a midnight snack.
Optional Additions: Lemon, Anchovy, and Zest
You can enjoy this dish in its purest form with just garlic, butter, chili, and pasta. But if you’re like me, you might like to play around. One of my favorite additions is a quick squeeze of lemon juice. That adds a little acidity to cut through the richness. If you’re feeling fancy, zest the lemon in there too.
Want more depth? Try melting in an anchovy fillet with the garlic. It melts into the sauce and won’t make the dish taste fishy—just savory and a little more complex.
Want Another Simple Italian Pasta?
If you’re looking for another simple, authentic pasta, definitely check out cacio e pepe. It’s bold, peppery, and made with just cheese, black pepper, and pasta water—nothing else.
Some content generated with the help of ChatGPT | OpenAI: https://www.openai.com/
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