Meals with pasta and garlic
Garlic transforms pasta into something that tastes genuinely intentional.
These meals are fast, cheap, and — if you season them right — actually delicious.
Easy meal ideas
Aglio e olio
Fry sliced garlic in olive oil until golden, toss with pasta and starchy pasta water.
Garlic butter pasta
Fry minced garlic in butter, toss with cooked pasta and a splash of pasta water.
Garlic soy noodles
Fry minced garlic in oil, add soy sauce and a little butter, toss with noodles.
Pasta with roasted garlic
Roast a whole garlic head at 400°F for 40 min, squeeze cloves and mash into cooked pasta with olive oil.
How to stretch these ingredients
- Slice garlic thin — it cooks faster and gets crispy rather than bitter
- The pasta water is the sauce — don't skip it
- Chili flakes added to the garlic oil make a huge difference
- Fresh parsley stirred in at the end lifts the whole dish
- Parmesan or any hard cheese grated over the top is the finishing move