Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Spaghetti aglio e olio is Italy’s way of saying yes to “fast food, but make it fancy, please”. Just garlic, chili, parsley, and olive oil: simple, tasty, and ready in under 15 minutes.

If you like easy pasta recipes, check out our broccoli pasta, red pepper pasta, lentil pasta, or pasta pomodoro.

Garlic and oil pasta (🇮🇹 aka spaghetti aglio e olio or aglio, olio e peperoncino) is one of the many Southern Italy’s gift to the world. Born near Naples and now beloved everywhere for being simple, cheap, and insanely good.

Think of it as the budget-friendly spin on spaghetti with clam sauce, minus the seafood but packed with flavor: extra virgin olive oil, loads of garlic, a kick of chili, and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.

Traditionally it’s made with spaghetti, but feel free to break the rules and use linguine, bucatini, vermicelli, or even angel hair.

It’s delicious as-is, but also the perfect blank canvas for tossing in your favorite veggies or leveling up with your own twist!

Louise and I love tossing some creamy cannellini or butter beans in the sauce to make it a meal.

• Garlic: fresh, best if grated or finely minced.
• Olive oil: must be extra virgin and good quality.
• Red chilies: fresh, thinly sliced, or dried red pepper flakes.
• Parsley: best if Italian flat-leaf parsley.
• Pasta: pick a long-shaped pasta like spaghetti, linguine, bavette, bucatini, tagliatelle, fettuccine, and even angel hair pasta. Use bronze-cut (it says so on the package) for best texture.

Step 1: Cook the Pasta

Bring a big pot of water to a boil. Salt it generously, then drop in your spaghetti.

Cook until just shy of al dente (about 1 minute less than the package says). Give it a stir or two so it doesn’t stick.

Before draining, scoop out a cup of that starchy pasta water. It’s liquid gold for the sauce.

Step 2: Make the aglio e olio sauce

Finely chop or grate the garlic, parsley, and fresh red chili.

Pour the extra virgin olive oil into a large skillet and set the heat to low. Once the oil is warm, not sizzling, add the garlic and chili.

Let it sizzle gently for about 30 seconds, then turn off the heat. The residual warmth will keep infusing the oil without burning the garlic (burnt garlic = bitter sadness).

If the pan gets too hot, lift it off the burner and tilt it so everything gathers to one side.

Just before the pasta’s done, warm the sauce back up over low heat. When the garlic starts to sizzle again, stir in the chopped parsley and let it dance in the oil for 15 to 30 seconds.

Step 3: Build the dish

Add the drained pasta to the pan. Pour in a splash of the reserved pasta water and a pinch of salt. Toss everything together over medium heat for about a minute, until the spaghetti is silky and fully coated.

When the sauce clings to the pasta and there’s no liquid left in the pan you’re done.

• 💪 Add Protein: Toss in buttery cannellini or butter beans, or sauté some shrimp right in the garlicky sauce.
• 🍋 Add Lemon: Grate in some lemon zest and squeeze in a bit of juice. It’s fresh, zingy, and totally transforms this dish into a delicious pasta al limone.
• 🥦 Add Veggies: Throw in a handful of spinach and let them wilt into the sauce, or mix in tender broccoli florets (boiled or steamed).
• 🤫 Add Miso: Okay, hear us out! Yes, miso in an Italian classic sounds wild, but have you tasted our Miso Pasta in a garlic and oil sauce? One spoonful adds a rich umami boost that you’ll never forget.

More Easy Pasta Recipes

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• Pasta puttanesca
• Sun-dried tomato pasta
• Pastina

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Creamy Tomato Pasta

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If you tried this Spaghetti Aglio Olio recipe or any other recipe on our blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it goes in the comments. We love hearing from you!