5-Ingredient Garlic Parmesan Pasta
Five ingredients, one pan, dinner done in 20 minutes.
It's a weeknight, you're tired, and you don't want to think. This garlic parmesan pasta is the answer. It leans on the classic Italian tradition of letting butter, garlic, and good cheese do all the heavy lifting — no sauce to make, no complicated technique. Spaghetti cooks while you toast garlic in butter, then everything comes together in the same pan. The result is glossy, savory, and genuinely satisfying. It won't win a dinner party, but it will get you fed fast with almost no cleanup. Expect a rich, garlicky bowl that tastes like you actually tried.
Ingredients
- 8 oz spaghetti — or linguine
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 5 unit garlic cloves — thinly sliced or minced
- 0.75 cup finely grated Parmesan — plus more to serve; freshly grated melts best
- 1 tsp kosher salt — for pasta water, plus more to taste
Method
- 1 Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tsp kosher salt, then cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Before draining, scoop out 1 cup of pasta water and set aside. Drain the pasta.
- 2 While the pasta cooks, melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, for 3–4 minutes until fragrant and just barely golden — watch it closely so it doesn't burn.
- 3 Add the drained pasta to the skillet. Pour in ¼ cup of the reserved pasta water and toss to coat everything in the garlicky butter.
- 4 Remove the skillet from heat. Add the Parmesan a handful at a time, tossing constantly and adding more pasta water a splash at a time until the sauce is glossy and clings to the noodles.
- 5 Taste and adjust salt. Serve immediately topped with extra Parmesan and a crack of black pepper if you have it.
Variations
- Add protein — Toss in a handful of cooked shrimp or sliced grilled chicken at step 3 to make it more filling without changing the method.
- Faster swap — Use pre-minced garlic from a jar (about 1½ tsp) to cut prep down to under a minute — the flavor is slightly milder but still great when you're exhausted.
- Lemon brightness — Squeeze half a lemon over the finished pasta and add a pinch of red pepper flakes to lift the richness and add a little heat.
Notes
The pasta water is not optional — the starch in it is what turns butter and cheese into a cohesive sauce. Don't skip it. Freshly grated Parmesan (not the green canister) melts dramatically better. Leftovers tighten up in the fridge; reheat in a skillet with a splash of water to loosen.
Equipment that helps
- Large skillet — A wide surface lets you toss the pasta evenly in the garlic butter without it piling up and steaming.
- Box grater or Microplane — Finely grated Parmesan melts into the sauce without clumping — pre-shredded cheese won't behave the same way.
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