Aglio e Olio – Garlic Oil Spaghetti – is the classic Italian pantry pasta made with just 3 basic ingredients: pasta, garlic and olive oil. Use a good olive oil, sauté the garlic gently and get the salt amount right, and you’ll be blown away by how delicious something so simple can be!
“Aglio e Olio is not bland!”
A friend once casually mentioned in passing that they tried Aglio e Olio and they couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about, it was pretty meh and bland. To which I gasped loudly in sheer shock (nobody ever accused me of over-reacting😆) and launched into a passionate defence of this classic Italian pasta. So simple – just garlic and olive oil – but it’s sooooo delicious!
After some grilling, it became clear where the problem was, and I’m here to preach the same to you:
Don’t skimp on the oil;
You’ve gotta salt it properly.
Get those right, and I promise it’s can’t-stop-eating-it delicious!
PS Algio e Olio is pronounced “alio olio”. Silent “e” and silent “g”. The literal translation is “garlic and oil” which is exactly what this pasta is!
Ingredients in Aglio e Olio
Here’s all you need to make this classic Italian pasta.
Spaghetti – I use a whole 500g / 1 lb packet to serve 4 to 5. Allow 100 – 125g / 3.5 – 4.4 oz per person for a pasta like this without a meaty sauce.
Spaghetti no. 5 is the standard thickness I use for Spaghetti Bolognese, Baked Spaghetti and most spaghetti recipes. But any long strand pasta – or even short pasta – will work!
Garlic – It’s gotta be fresh! Six big cloves.
Extra virgin olive oil – Pull out your good stuff, because it’s a key flavour in the sauce. We only cook over medium-low heat so the garlic doesn’t burn and the lovely olive oil flavour is preserved.
Note on quantity – The recipe uses 1/2 cup which may sound like a lot, but for 5 servings it’s only 1.6 tablespoons per person, and there’s no other fat in the sauce. You can use less, but remember – the oil is the sauce, so less means less flavour and coating!
Parsley – A good amount of parsley adds freshness and colour into this pasta. But if you don’t have any (and there have been many times when I’ve made this late at night when I haven’t), feel free to use chives or dried parsley instead.
Dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) – This adds a little bit of heat and some nice little red specks in the pasta. Feel free to leave it out and add a good grind of black pepper instead.
Salt – We need some for the pasta cooking water, and some added into the sauce. If you don’t use enough, it will taste bland! So please use the amount specified in the recipe card. 🙂
Quick ways to add veg into this
My mother did such a great job of brainwashing me, I have it drilled into my head that a meal isn’t complete without some vegetables.
The easiest way is to add vegetables that can cook in the pasta water along with the spaghetti. Asparagus, broccolini and green beans are my favourite – just add them towards the end of the pasta cooking time so everything is ready to drain together. I don’t use broccoli. because the florets get waterlogged and there’s not a massive amount of sauce here.
Or, toss a few handfuls of baby spinach into the pan when you add the pasta. It wilts in seconds. Zero extra pans, virtually zero extra effort!
How to make Aglio e Olio
The key is to sauté the garlic slowly enough so it has time to infuse the oil with plenty of flavour, but with enough heat so it turns pale golden rather than just sitting there uselessly bloating in warm oil. Whatever you do, don’t be impatient and turn up the heat too high because garlic is bitter when burnt, and we use a lot of it in this pasta!
Finely slice the garlic, making them equal thickness as best you can so they cook at the same rate.
Pasta first – Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, then add the pasta and cook it per the packet directions minus 1 minute so it’s al dente (just cooked, firm to bite, not soft and mushy). For spaghetti no. 5 (the standard thickness), the packet usually says 12 minutes so cook for 11.
Reserve water – Just before draining, scoop out one cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside (we need it to make the sauce). Then drain the pasta in a colander (though if you time it right, you can transfer the pasta with tongs straight into the garlic oil!)
Sauté garlic – While the pasta is boiling, heat the oil in a large deep pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 – 3 minutes until it is light golden. Add the red chilli flakes and cook for 20 to 30 seconds or until the garlic is golden. Do not let the garlic become dark golden or brown, it will become bitter and go all through your pasta!! 😩
Pasta and reserved water – Add the pasta, 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta cooking water and the salt.
Toss, toss, toss! Using two wooden spatulas, toss the pasta (still on the stove, but turn it up to medium high) for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes until the water pooled in the pan disappears and the strands are shiny and coated in garlic oil.
What’s happening here is that the starch in the pasta water and on the pasta itself emulsifies with the oil to create a sauce that clings to every strand rather than pooling in the pan. This is the proper Italian way to finish pasta – tossed with the sauce and a splash of pasta cooking water. It’s why I use this technique in virtually all my pasta recipes! 🙂
Parsley then serve – Toss through the parsley then immediately divide between bowls. Pasta waits for no one, so serve it up hot and freshly made! Though if at anytime the pasta does go too sticky or cools because everyone is too slow to get to the table, you can revive it easily with an extra slosh of the pasta water and tossing again on the stove.
Oh, and a shower of parmesan is a must for me. I am very generous with parmesan with Aglio e Olio!
So there you go! That’s how I make Aglio e Olio. I know there’s a gazillion recipes online already and really, does the world need another one? Probably not, but this little corner of the internet we call RecipeTin Eats is a collection of foods I love to eat, and this is one pasta I really love to eat that I used to make frequently during my corporate days.
There’s nothing groundbreaking, nothing I do differently from traditional recipes, but the one thing I do insist on is measuring out the salt properly, to make sure your spaghetti isn’t under seasoned (bland!) or overly salty (inedible and can’t be saved).
Oh! One more thing to mention:
What I do with leftovers – spaghetti fritters!
These are so good, it is almost worth making Aglio e Olio just to make these! I just mix chopped up spaghetti with an egg and cheese (I literally use scissors in the bowl of leftover pasta), then pan fry it until crisp. From 2 cups of spaghetti, 1 egg and 3/4 cup of cheese, you will get 13 to 14 fritters. Add a dipping sauce (Aoili pictured) and a fresh leafy salad and you’ve got yourself a whole extra meal! 🙂
I’ve popped the spaghetti fritters recipe in the recipe card below. I meant to write up a separate post for them but I ran out of time. Sorry! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Aglio e Olio (Spaghetti with garlic olive oil)
Ingredients
- 500g/ 1 lb spaghetti (I use No 5 spaghetti but any long strand pasta will work)
- 2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt , for cooking pasta (halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)
Garlic Oil Sauce
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (the better the oil, the tastier your pasta!)
- 6 large garlic cloves , finely sliced
- 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes (red pepper flakes), optional – sub pinch of black pepper for not spicy
- 1 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt, +50% for flakes)
- 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley (Note 2)
- 1/2 cup reserved pasta cooking water (see Step 2)
For serving
- Parmesan or parmigiano reggiano , finely grated, for serving
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
- Cook pasta per packet minus 1 minute in salted water, reserve water, drain. Slowly sauté garlic in oil, add chilli flakes, then pasta, 1/2 cup pasta water and salt, toss, finish with parsley. Serve.
FULL RECIPE:
- Cook pasta – Bring 4 litres / quarts of water to the boil. Add the 2 teaspoons of salt and the pasta. Cook for the packet direction time, MINUS 1 minute.
- Scoop then drain (IMPORTANT!) – Just before draining, scoop out 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Then drain the pasta.
- Garlic oil – 4 minutes before the pasta is ready, heat the oil in a large ~30cm/12" deep pan over medium heat. (Note 3 if you don't have a pan this size). Add the garlic and sauté gently for 2 – 3 minutes until it is a very light golden brown – don't rush this step, it's key to infuse the oil with garlic flavour. Add the chilli flakes and stir for 20 – 30 seconds until the garlic is light golden, do not let the garlic become brown, it will be bitter.
- Toss, toss, toss! Add the drained pasta, 1/2 cup pasta cooking water (125 ml) and the salt. Toss over medium high heat until you no longer see water and oil pooled on the base of the pan, it has combined to form a sauce clinging to the pasta (~1 – 1 1/2 minutes). Add parsley, quickly toss through. The pasta should be slippery and slick with sauce. If at any point the pasta gets sticky or gluggy, just add another slosh of pasta water and toss to loosen.
- Serve immediately with a shower of parmesan.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More simple pastas
Really quick and easy ones that come together in 20 minutes or less!
Life of Jaffle
We’ve barely started spring but the summer weather arrived on the weekend here in Sydney, with blazing hot 30°C days (86°F). This marks the start of Jaffle’s pool life, which means Tattoos by Jaffle is now officially open for business:
I was thinking by the look on Jaffle’s face he was wanting another swim. I saw a recipe for Garlic chicken on Facebook cooked in a skillet but when I googled under tin eats nothing came up. Wasn’t sure if someone is using your profile
Regards Kathryn
I’ve often wondered Nagi – what brand/s do you classify as ‘good’ olive oil? I use Monini but not sure if that’s a good one or not – please give me some others. Thanks
I would love to use the “Myrecipe tin”, but I can’t find a heart anywhere to click
I add toasted pignoli nuts to my pasta with garlic and oil and it is amazing!
Very yum. And yes, took me back a lotta years when my Mum was tapped we would have “buttered spaghetti.” This will be on my rotation now.
You know, I actually have “buttered spaghetti” on my list of recipes to share. I used to make it a LOT during my uni years!!!
I had this on the weekend at a Pub in Moruya, they used linguine and the freshest, crunchiest local prawns with sliced chilli. It was delicious! Now I can make it myself.
Oooh WOW! That sounds so amazing!
What a fabulous and simple recipe. Add some pangratatto on top for extra wow.
YES! Pangrattato would be fabulous on this! – N x
Oh Nagi – I can sympathise with the scratches as I’ve been there too! Hope they heal quickly 😊
Love the recipe, I have previously cooked this and loved it but had forgotten about it so thanks for the reminder. Can’t wait to make it again 😊
Dog scratches are BRUTAL!!! So glad this reminded you of an old favourite Patsy, hope you get a chance to make it! – N x
I have been wondering about your cute new puppy and I was so happy to see his picture. Thanks for sharing
Aww! He’s growing up way too fast Jan! 😭 – N x
I used to make this dish ALL of the time — my friends in Italy and my father-in-law tuned me into this fabulous food. I’m so glad you posted this because I’ve all but forgotten about it!
Jaffle looks so sweet and happy!
Time to bring it back Nadine!! So simple, SO good! – N x
Def one of my favourites, but I always use linguine or spaghettini….. and I mix half butter/EVOO. Sometimes I had lemon too 🍋 I make a similar dish just using basil, parsley and loads of garlic. Jaffle looking adolescent 💛😎💛 Happy Spring in Oz 🌷from 🍁
Exactly how I make it too, Susan 😃 Same as Nagi’s but sometimes with a little butter and that dash of lemongrass juice at the end just adds a little bit of zing!
Half butter and EVOO sounds delicious! And yes – Jaffle is suddenly looking VERY adolescent! 😂 – N x
Hi Nagi.
My mom made this dish so many times! I do too but never taste the same.
I always read your receipes and make some of them
Thanks for always sharing
Love to you and Jaffle
You’re so welcome Patricia! Hope you get a chance to try this one 🙂 – N x
Just a quick PSA here: when you’re cooking pasta it’s a great idea to heat your serving dishes. The pasta stays warm longer and sauces don’t coagulate too quickly. (Actually I recommend heating plates or bowls for all your hot meals: steak, soup, eggs and bacon…)
Yes! I do that actually 🙂 I just use the microwave. I should pop that tip in the recipe! Thanks for the reminder Lori – N x
The simple recipe is great as is. It can also be used as a base to make dozens of other ingredients 1,2,3 at a time. Eg add small pieces of of prosciutto, smoked salmon, pastrami,,,or. green peas, red,green or yelllow peppers,etc the possibilities are nearly endless and all delicious.
YES! One of the reasons I love this recipe so much 🙂
YUM! This is one of my favorite dishes and can’t wait to make it ala Nagi….awesome!
As others have said, leg tattoos….been there, done that (to me, that is, from a too eager, big ol’ neighbor dog, through jeans no less).
Ha! Glad I’m not alone with my Jaffle tattoos 😂 Hope you love the pasta Vicki! – N x
for some reason can not play the video anymore f how to make it
Oh no! Thanks for letting me know Diane – I’ll look into it! – N x
I think this recipe looks good! Gonna try this. And your legs!! Goodness! I know how that is… Enjoy your summer coming up!
Jaffle got me GOOD 😂 Hope you love the pasta! – N x
My family has this dish on Christmas Eve since I could remember and some was served with the flat anchovies. You make me miss my family. Thank you for my walk down memories lane.
Your pup is adorable!
What a lovely food memory ❤️ Thank you for sharing it! – N x
A brand like Squisito, Zafarelli, Pastificio, Molisano …. Often available in Green grocers or Harris Farm ….. Italian pasta is the best 🙂
100% agree, I go to our local Italian deli or Harris usually! – N x
WOW it’s the first time i read a true recipe in a no-Italian site.
In Italy we do it in this way. Somebody, expecially in the south Italy grates pecorino cheese 50% parmesan.
With the leftover pasta we do Frittata di pasta alla Napoletana which is a big recipe good for family sunday lunch e for picnic in the summer or in beach.
Nagi you are Honorary Italian Chef
Honorary Italian Chef!! I will VERY happily take that 😂 – N x