My recipe for the Garlic Butter Sauce for Pasta was first published on Life Tastes Good where I am a contributor.
A recipe for Garlic Butter Sauce for Pasta! This quick and easy sauce is perfect for garlic lovers and comes together with only a handful of ingredients.
Garlic is the star in this quick and easy Garlic Butter Sauce for Pasta!
Toss the sauce with your favorite pasta and enjoy simply with grated Parmesan and fresh parsley or pair with grilled chicken or seafood for a flavorful side perfect for weeknights.
It is especially a dream for garlic lovers with EIGHT cloves of minced garlic. Don’t love garlic as much as I do? Play around with the amount to fit your palate.
How to make Garlic Butter Sauce for Pasta
Making a sauce for pasta doesn’t get much easier than this! With only two basic ingredients, the sauce comes together in less than 15 minutes including the time to cook the pasta!
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring often, until al dente, just tender. Reserve 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) of the pasta water. Drain the rest and set aside.
While the pasta is cooking, place a large pan over medium heat. Add the butter and melt.
Once the butter is melted, add the garlic cloves and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds to one minute. Do not brown. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
Toss the garlic butter sauce with the al dente pasta and 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) reserved pasta water. Top with Parmesan, parsley, and additional salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately.
What type of pasta pairs with Garlic Butter Sauce?
I paired the sauce with one of my favorite pasta shapes, Bucatini. Becoming more and more available in larger supermarkets, Bucatini is a tubed pasta similar in shape to spaghetti, but it has a hole running through the center that is perfect for soaking up the garlic butter sauce.
You can of course also use spaghetti, penne, rotini, or another personal favorite.
Do I have to salt the pasta water?
Yes! It’s that simple. Always salt the pasta water. Why? Because as pasta cooks, it absorbs the water, right?
By cooking pasta in salted water, you are infusing the pasta with seasoning to enhance the flavor of the pasta in every bite.
Salting the pasta water adds another layer of flavor to your dish, so always salt the pasta water.
Why use unsalted butter?
I use unsalted butter in cooking and baking almost exclusively mainly because it allows me to control the amount of salt I add to the food.
Different butters have different salt levels, so by using unsalted butter it gives me the control over how much salt is added to my dish. By seasoning the food and tasting as I go, I can add just the right amount of salt for our tastes.
Serving Ideas
I often have a bowl of just this Garlic Butter Sauce with Pasta. It is quite good on its own, but also pairs well with grilled chicken and seafood.
Mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, other greens like basil or arugula, and caramelized onions would be wonderful additions to incorporate some vegetables.
You can also brown the butter a little before adding the garlic. As the butter darkens, it takes on a nutty quality to give this dish an extra boost of flavor. Definitely keep an eye on it though, because butter can quickly go from browned to burnt.
Looking for more pasta sauce recipes?
Try these…
- Homemade Garlic Alfredo Sauce
- Homemade Basil Pesto
- Šalša (Croatian Tomato Sauce)
- Pasta con Salsa Caruso (Uruguayan Pasta with Caruso Sauce)
Garlic Butter Sauce for Pasta Recipe
Adapted from Pinch of Yum
Garlic Butter Sauce for Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound (450 grams) dried pasta
- 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) reserved pasta water
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter
- 8 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup (25 grams) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring often, until al dente, just tender.
- Reserve 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) of the pasta water. Drain the rest and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, place a large pan over medium heat. Add the butter and melt.
- Once the butter is melted, add the garlic cloves and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds to one minute. Do not brown.
- Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.
- Toss the garlic butter sauce with the al dente pasta and up to 1/4 cup (60 milliliters) of the reserved pasta water to create a smooth sauce.
- Top with Parmesan, parsley, and additional salt and pepper if desired. Serve immediately.
Alexandra
This is beautiful – simple and delicious. Garlic and butter works perfectly with pasta.
Diana
I’m a huge fan of garlic and I think that I tend to add too much garlic to my cooking! This pasta sauce is so simple and easy, perfect for a quick midweek dinner.
Mikayla
I do love garlic, this is a perfect easy topping for a quick bowl of pasta!
Madcitymomma
I think I will try this sauce on a grilled steak. I know, not heart smart.
Mushrooms sautéed in the sauce. Yum
Tara
Sounds perfect with steak!
Amethyst211
Can this be used in lasagna
Tara
Hi! Unfortunately this sauce is made to just lightly coat pasta, so it is not really sturdy enough to hold and layer in a lasagna.
Roses
I am a fan of garlic. Your Garlic Butter Sauce for Pasta recipe is great. My son likes it too. Thank you for sharing it.
Tara
So glad you enjoyed it!
Ronda
Ooooh la la! This simple dish just looks so delicious and FRESH! Gorgeous photos, as always!
Tara
Thank you Ronda!
Janelle
This looks so delicious and beautiful! Can’t wait to make it! 💚
Thanks for the recipe.
Becky
Delicious!!! I did what the others suggested and added more garlic and less of the herbs and my picky eater loved it! I added frozen veggies to make it a meal in one dish.
Tara
Thanks so much Becky! So glad you all enjoyed it 🙂
Becky
This was fast and easy and infinitely better than the italian diner on the corner. Thank you for this easy recipe. My daughter loves it!!!
joan
Sounds good. In the blog directions you say to save 1/4 cup of pasta water and combine with the garlic butter over the pasta before serving but the actual directions does not say that. which do I follow
Tara
Hi Joan! Thanks for the catch! I added that step during an update and missed adding it to the card. Fixed now!
Tracey
So good. Served over goat cheese & black truffle ravioli (frozen, Private Selection brand from Safeway) and it was perfect.
Regina
It was really nice – quick and so much better than the pasta sauce that comes in those bottles. Quick and easy recipe 😊
Tara
Thank you Regina! So happy to hear!
Becky
I use this as a sauce for spaghetti squash. Tonight I added marinated grilled chicken for a full meal. It was amazing!!
Tara
Thanks so much Becky! Sounds like the perfect meal!
Kenny
Holy smokes! So. Much. Flavor. I’m a sauce-a-holic and thought this wouldn’t be enough to coat the dozen or so large-ish shrimp and lobster stuffed ravioli, but it totally was. So yummy! So easy! I’ll be using this sauce A LOT.
Anna
This was incredibly good and easy. The whole family enjoyed it. Perfect light sauce over pasta!
Paula Plato
This sauce is so good. I added 2 chicken breasts and a little more pasta water. This will be a new favorite recipe.
Tara
Thank you so much Paula!
Teemun Store
So yum! Good Good!
Austin
Dope recipe. I added 1/2 tsp paprika, 1tsp white wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp Tabasco, fresh squeezed lemon to brighten it and *slightly* thickened the pasta water.
Served with fresh shrimp.
10/10 will make again. Thank you!!!
Krystal
Loved this recipe! Made it with mushrooms, spinach, and salmon. Better than most pastas I’ve had at restaurants. Thank you 👏🏻
Tara
Thank you Krystal! So happy to hear!
Stacy
This is a delicious sauce. I grow my own garlic and I’m always looking for different ways to use it. I also sauteed some shrimp and garlic and butter and then mixed it all together with some fresh ground pepper and grated Parmesan ( don’t use craft ) It’s Amazing! Might add fresh mushrooms to it next time.Thanks!