Make this easyGarlic Butter Pasta with Parmesan Cheese in just 15 minutes, with just a few common ingredients. Creamy, cheesy, garlicky with a touch of peppery heat.
Cook the spaghetti al dente according to package instruction, and when draining make sure to reserve some pasta water to use in the sauce.
With about 5 minutes left on the pasta, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.
When the butter is melted, add in the chopped shallots and cook for a minute while stirring.
Then add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute while stirring.
Add the Worcestershire sauce and mix, followed by the white wine. Cook for 30 seconds to allow some of the liquid to evaporate.
Add the pasta and the pasta cooking liquid, and mix well.
Add the parmesan and mix well.
Serve topped with a lot of fresh ground black pepper and extra parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
Ingredient notes & substitutions
Salted butter can be swapped for unsalted butter and a a pinch of salt. It can also be swapped in part or fully for olive oil, with some change to the (still delicious!) taste.
Fresh ground black pepper does make a difference for this recipe - but if you don't have it, use the pre-ground kind
Spaghetti can be switched for another type of pasta, preferably another thin kind like linguine, tagliatelle or angel hair, but others also work. You can also use fresh homemade or store-bought pasta instead of dry pasta.
Shallots can be substituted for red or yellow onion, or leeks
White wine can be switched for sparkling white wine - champagne, prosecco, cava or something else
Minced garlic adds more garlic flavor than chopped garlic - feel free to use either depending on how garlicky you like it
Parmesan cheese can be switched for Pecorino cheese or a generic "Italian hard cheese"
Tips & tricks
Cook the pasta al dente and not more. The best way to find out if the pasta is done is to taste it - I do this the first time when it's 1 minute left according to the package instructions. It should be soft, but still give some resistance when you bite into it. When you think "maybe it should have just one more minute" - it's usually done.
Keep the temperature at medium when making the sauce, to avoid burning the garlic
Pasta cooking liquid is the secret to making this sauce really creamy - don't skip it!
Make it even better with fresh homemade pasta. This will cook quicker, so get the pasta water started and then add the pasta to the water just before you add the Worcestershire sauce to the garlic butter sauce.
Make it vegetarian by switching Parmesan for an Italian "Parmesan-style" hard cheese without animal rennet
Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days
Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months
Recipe variations & additions
Fresh herbs like chopped parsley or basil at the end
Veggies like cherry tomatoes for a bright pop of flavor, or roasted peppers for a different flavor profile. I would add both of these at the end to preserve their texture.
Bacon - because bacon makes everything better
Mushrooms - add them to the butter first of all, and add more butter until they are not absorbing any more. Add a few extra tablespoons of butter for the sauce, followed by the shallots and the minced garlic.
Spinach - to get some more nutrients in there. I'd add it at the same time as the pasta.
Chopped walnuts - raw or roasted - for a bit of a crunch