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This is the easiest one-pan garlic butter pasta you will ever make, all ready in just 10 minutes. Ditalini pasta is lightly toasted to bring a nutty flavor to the simple butter sauce with garlic powder – no cheese needed. It’s the adult version of butter noodles!
A Quick Look: Garlic Butter Pasta
- Cooking time: 10 minutes with zero prep time.
- Servings – This will serve 4 people as a generous side or main dish.
- Main ingredients: Pasta, garlic powder, broth, salt and pepper.
- When to serve: You need an easy and cheap comfort food dinner super fast. Also makes an excellent side dish for air fryer filets.
- Dietary information: This recipe fits a Heal Your Headache diet and Mediterranean diet, as well as gluten free and dairy free with edits.
- Why you’ll love it: This butter pasta is a garlicky version of buttered noodles without cheese, but it cooks all in one pan. The flavor and creaminess comes from the cooking technique, with only 4 main ingredients needed.
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In this recipe, the starch released from the pasta combines with the butter to create a natural creaminess without any cheese added. This is a butter pasta recipe both kids and adults will love, and one of the easiest pastas you will ever make.
For something with a little more protein, try this one-pan Boursin salmon pasta, or cream cheese pasta and Boursin cheese pasta if you’re looking for a creamy pasta with cheese.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Butter – Because of the minimal ingredients, you want to use a good quality, salted butter for the best flavor. I prefer one with higher fat content like a European-style butter. Kerrygold is my favorite, but Plugra, Vermont Creamery, and President butter are all good.
- Pasta – A smaller pasta like ditalini is great for this dish. I believe orzo or macaroni would also work well, but I only recipe tested this with the ditalini. Because this recipe is all cooked in one pan, it’s better to not substitute a larger pasta as it may make a big difference in cooking times and not toast as well.
- Garlic powder – Most garlic butter pasta recipes use fresh garlic, but I wanted to make this dish as simple as possible and not require another step of peeling and mincing garlic, which would also require more dishes. For a more pungent garlic flavor, you can substitute 2-3 cloves of freshly minced garlic. I tested the recipe both ways, and found garlic powder to be surprisingly lovely in this dish.
- Broth – Vegetable broth or chicken broth will work for this recipe depending on what you have on hand or the flavor you prefer. If you want to add more protein, I highly recommend a homemade rotisserie chicken bone broth!
Variations
- Extra creamy – Add 1/4 cup heavy cream at the end of cooking.
- Parmesan – Add 1/3 cup parmesan cheese off the heat at the end of cooking. If the pan is too hot, the parmesan will stick to the pan. This variation is not HYH diet compliant.
- Gluten free – Use a small gluten free pasta, like Jovial stelline or this corn ditalini.
- Dairy free – Use your favorite butter-flavored substitute. Use ghee, if tolerated, for those who are lactose-free.
- High protein – Add cast iron roast chicken, store-bought rotisserie chicken, or shrimp, or use bone broth instead of regular broth.
How to Make One-Pan Butter Pasta
Step 1: In a large skillet that you can cover with a lid, add 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the pasta to the pan for about 1 minute, stirring consistently until lightly toasted.
Step 2: Stir in the garlic powder, broth, kosher salt, and black pepper.
Step 3: Bring the broth to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 8-10 minutes, checking at the 8 minute mark to make sure the pasta isn’t getting dry. If the pan gets too dry, add more broth.
Step 4: Cook until almost all the liquid has been absorbed and the pasta is the perfect al dente texture. Turn the heat off and add in 2-3 more tablespoons of butter, stirring until creamy. If using heavy cream, add it right here. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as desired.
Troubleshooting Tips
- Not enough sauce? Add more broth 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.
- Too soupy? Uncover the pasta and simmer for 1-2 minutes.
- Sauce thickened too much as it cooled? Briskly whisk in 2 teaspoons of warm broth or water to help to re-emulsify the sauce.
Serving Suggestions
- Protein – This is the perfect basic side dish or main dish, so it pairs well with so many different things, like air fryer flank steak or an easy halibut recipe.
- Salad – I recommend complementing it with a vinaigrette-based salad like this apple fennel salad or bibb lettuce salad.
- Roasted vegetables – Pair it with these roasted carrots and parsnips or bang bang brussels sprouts.
- Bread – A good baguette or garlic bread is a simple pairing.
Storage and Reheating
When I make this garlic butter pasta for my kids, I always seem to have a few leftovers, so I keep some extra broth on hand for reheating. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Because this is such a simple recipe, I don’t recommend freezing.
To reheat, place the pasta back into a pan on the stovetop, and heat over medium-low heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons broth to soften the sauce up. For more creaminess, you can add an extra tablespoon of butter.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
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10 Minute Garlic Butter Pasta
Ingredients
- 4-5 tablespoons salted butter, divided
- 10 ounces ditalini pasta
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder, or 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2½ cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, plus more if needed
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for topping
- Optional: 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add pasta to the pan and cook for about 1 minute, stirring often, to lightly toast the pasta. Stir in the garlic powder, broth, salt, and pepper.
- Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring halfway, until the pasta is al dente and almost all of the liquid has been absorbed. Check around the 7-8 minute mark and if the pan gets too dry, you can add a little more broth.
- Turn off the heat and add in 2-3 more tablespoons of butter. If using the cream, add it now. Taste and season with more salt if desired. Serve immediately and top with more freshly ground black pepper.
Notes
- Fresh garlic substitute – I recipe tested both ways and found garlic powder to be very good without the extra dishes/effort, but understand some people may prefer fresh. Use 2-3 garlic cloves, minced, and stir that into the butter in step 1.
- Other pasta types – Ditalini pasta is widely found and a small, tubular pasta. It’s perfect for toasting. You’d want to substitute it with another small pasta like macaroni or orzo, however the cooking times may change slightly.
- Don’t have a lid? Cover the skillet with a larger sheet pan.
- Extra creaminess – The sauce is slightly creamy on it’s own, but adding 1/4 of heavy cream or 1/3 cup parmesan (not HYH) would make it even more creamy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for this recipe Alicia!
If following HYH, I guess we should make our own broth?
This will become a staple meal for my family of 5! My kids added meatballs and a side of broccoli and I ate it as is. It is very versatile and great to eat on its own!
This was the best comfort food and I couldn’t believe how easy and good it was for very few ingredients. I even loved it reheated!
Thank you!