Creamy Garlic Pasta
Sometimes the simplest pastas are the best ones. Six cloves of garlic, butter, cream, and a proper hard cheese, that’s really all it takes to build a sauce with genuine depth.
Starting the garlic in a cold pan rather than a hot one is the key step here. It infuses the butter and oil gently as everything heats up together, instead of catching and turning bitter.
Ready in 20 minutes, start to finish. It’s the kind of pasta you can make with barely anything in the fridge and it’ll still taste like you put in real effort.
Creamy Garlic Pasta
PASTA · DINNER · EASY
Simple, fast, and genuinely full of flavour
Starting the garlic in a cold pan means it infuses the fat gently instead of catching and turning bitter, so you get all the flavour without any of the harshness.
Letting the sauce properly reduce for the full 10 minutes gives it a clingy, coating consistency, rather than something thin that just pools at the bottom of the bowl.
Adding the pasta straight from the pot with a bit of its starchy water helps the sauce grip every strand, so you get proper coverage in every bite.
Creamy Garlic Pasta
Ingredients
- 500 g Pasta of Choice
- 14 g Unsalted Butter
- 5 ml Olive Oil
- 6 Garlic Cloves Minced
- 400 ml Thickened Cream
- 80 ml Chicken or Vegetable Stock
- 60 g Grana Padano Cheese Grated
- 120 g Baby Spinach Washed
- 5 g Flat Leaf Parsley Chopped
- Salt & Pepper To Taste
Method
- Place a large pot of water over high heat, season with salt to taste, and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta as per your packet instructions.
- In a large pan, add the butter, oil and garlic while the pan is still cold. Place over medium-high heat and allow the butter to melt, infusing with the garlic as the pan heats up. Sauté for 2 minutes or until sizzling. Don't brown too much.
- Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil, mixing well. Once boiling, add the thickened cream and seasoning to taste, and mix well. Bring back to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes or until reduced and thickened.
- Add the spinach, mix through until wilted, turn off the heat, and check for seasoning.
- Add the cheese and mix through to combine, then transfer the pasta straight from the pot into the sauce, adding some of the pasta water if needed.
- Serve in bowls and garnish with flat-leaf parsley.
Absolutely delicious and perfect for beginners!!!
It’s one of the best! So happy you enjoy it, Alicia. Thank you.
Love this, Jack, thank you!
I’ve made it three times in the last few weeks and everyone loves it. I did fry off some chorizo in a separate pan, adding it with the spinach. I guess you could do the same with bacon 🥓 or pancetta? I also added some grated nutmeg with the cheese, which happened to be pecorino as that’s what I had – Yum! 😋
Thanks for the great recipes and your hard work.
You’re very welcome, Timothy. So glad everyone’s been enjoying it. The addition of chorizo would be fantastic, yes you can definitely do the same with bacon or pancetta. Thank you!