20-Minute Creamy Garlic Butter Pasta

Creamy garlic butter pasta tossed in a silky parmesan sauce with fresh garlic, butter, parsley, lemon, and a little red pepper for the easiest 20-minute dinner.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Ready in about 20 minutes

• Uses simple pantry ingredients

• Creamy, garlicky, buttery, and family-friendly

• Works as a meatless dinner or a side dish

• Easy to add chicken, shrimp, spinach, or bacon

Ingredients

• 12 oz spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine

• 4 Tbsp butter

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 6 cloves garlic, minced

• ½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp black pepper

• ½ tsp red pepper flakes

• ¾ cup heavy cream

• ¾ cup freshly grated parmesan

• ½ cup reserved pasta water, more as needed

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice

• 2 Tbsp chopped parsley

• Optional: grilled chicken, shrimp, crispy bacon, or spinach

Instructions

1. Cook pasta in salted water until al dente. Reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water before draining.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter with olive oil over medium-low heat.

3. Add garlic and cook for 30–60 seconds, just until fragrant. Do not brown it.

4. Stir in salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, heavy cream, and ½ cup pasta water.

5. Add parmesan and stir until smooth and glossy.

6. Toss in the pasta until coated. Add more pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.

7. Finish with lemon juice and parsley.

8. Serve immediately with extra parmesan.

Recipe Tips

• Use freshly grated parmesan for the smoothest sauce.

• Don’t let the garlic brown, or it can taste bitter.

• Save pasta water before draining because it helps the sauce get silky.

• Add extra pasta water slowly until the sauce coats the noodles.

• Serve right away for the creamiest texture.

Easy Add-Ins

• Grilled chicken

• Shrimp

• Crispy bacon

• Spinach

• Mushrooms

• Broccoli

• Crushed red pepper

• Lemon zest

Looking for more easy pasta dinners? Try these next:

• Marry Me Chicken Pasta

• One Pot Dirty Spaghetti

• Garlic Butter Shrimp Pasta