Spaghetti aglio e olio is the perfect meal when you’re low on time, money and energy. It’s a simple combination of spaghetti, olive oil and garlic that makes a quick, delicious dinner with just a handful of affordable ingredients.

Here we serve our spaghetti aglio e olio with delicious homemade garlic bread. But a side salad goes great with this pasta too.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio served on a black plate with two pieces of garlic toast in the background.

What is aglio e olio?

Aglio e olio is a traditional Italian dish. It is classic, simple and delicious! Aglio e olio means olive oil and garlic.

For this recipe, minced, or thinly sliced garlic, is sautéed gently in olive oil until fragrant. Then the garlic oil is tossed with pasta, seasoned with a little salt, and that is it.

Since the olive oil is the star of this dish, use a good extra virgin olive oil.

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Spaghetti aglio e olio ingredients

Pasta – Spaghetti is ideal for this recipe, other noodles will work well too
Salt – We need salt for the pasta water, plus a little for the finished dish (we use kosher salt)
Oil – Extra virgin olive oil is best but a light tasting olive oil will work too
Garlic – Use plenty of garlic in this spaghetti aglio e olio recipe, if the cloves are on the smallish side add a couple extra cloves
Fresh Parsley – For garnish but it adds a little freshness to the dish
Grated Parmesan Cheese – The cheese is for serving and optional, but for me it’s a must

How to make spaghetti aglio e olio

Start the pasta water before making the aglio e olio. It only takes a few minutes to heat the olive oil and cook the garlic, so start the pasta before getting started on the oil.
Start a large pot of water over high heat. Bring the water to a full boil. It will take about 10-15 minutes for the water to come to a full boil.
Drop the pasta in the boiling water and cook it to package directions for al-dente. Remember to add about 2 tablespoons of salt to the water after it comes to a boil.
Before draining the pasta, reserve at least one cup of the cooking water. I use a ladle to remove some of the water and keep it in a glass measuring cup. Drain the pasta and add it back to the pot.
Make the garlic oil – Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the olive oil is hot, but nowhere near smoking, add the garlic to the skillet.
Cook the garlic gently for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. You’ll know it’s done because the garlic will become very fragrant. Take the skillet off the burner or the residual heat will continue to cook the garlic.
The trick to this dish is to cook the garlic gently over moderate to moderate low heat, and stir it frequently. Don’t leave the garlic unattended. Give it your full attention.
Garlic burns very easily and if it does, it becomes bitter and pretty much inedible. If your garlic burns (it happens) toss it and start over.

Serve and garnish

Add the garlic oil over the cooked spaghetti and toss well. Then add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water and continue tossing until the noodles are slippery and really easy to toss.

Season the pasta aglio e olio with salt, to taste and toss well. As a reference we added 1 teaspoon to ours.

Garnish with fresh parsley and serve it with parmesan cheese, if desired.

A close up of spaghetti aglio e olio served on a black plate of two pieces of garlic toast in the background.

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4.60 from 5 votes

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Spaghetti aglio e olio is the perfect meal when you’re low on time, money and energy. It’s a delicious dinner that comes together quickly, with just a handful of affordable ingredients.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: pasta aglio e olio, pasta with garlic oil, spaghetti aglio e olio, spaghetti recipes

Servings:

Calories: 408kcal

Ingredients

16 ounces Spaghetti cooked to package directions for al dente
2 tablespoons Kosher Salt for the pasta water plus extra for the finished dish (about 1 teaspoon)
6 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
5-6 Large Garlic Cloves minced
1 tablespoon Fresh Parsley chopped for garnish
Grated Parmesan Cheese for serving, optional

Instructions

Start the pasta water before making the aglio e olio

Start a large pot of water over high heat. Bring the water to a full boil. It will take about 10-15 minutes for the water to come to a full boil.
Add 2 tablespoons of salt to the water after it comes to a boil.
Drop the pasta in the boiling water and cook it to package directions for al-dente.
Before draining the pasta reserve at least one cup of the cooking water.
Drain the pasta and add it back to the pot.

Make the garlic oil

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
When the olive oil is hot, but nowhere near smoking, add the garlic to the skillet.
Cook the garlic gently for about 1 minute, stirring constantly. You’ll know it’s done because the garlic will become very fragrant.
Take the skillet off the burner or the residual heat will continue to cook the garlic.

Finish the spaghetti aglio e olio

Add the garlic oil over the cooked spaghetti and toss well.
Then add a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water and continue tossing until the noodles are slippery and really easy to toss.
Season the pasta aglio e olio with salt, to taste. As a reference we added 1 teaspoon of salt to ours.
Garnish with fresh parsley and serve it with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Notes

It only takes a few minutes to heat the olive oil and cook the garlic, so start the pasta before getting started on the oil.

Nutrition

The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate.This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.