Name: Garlic Butter Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 120 g Unsalted Butter; 5 Garlic Cloves (Minced); 5 g Flat Leaf Parsley (Chopped); 1.5 tsp Chilli Flakes (Optional); ½ Lemon (Juiced); 500 g Linguine or Pasta of Choice; Salt & Pepper (To Taste); 14 g Unsalted Butter; 4 rashers Streaky or Back Bacon (Diced); 25 g Panko Bread Crumbs; Salt & Pepper (To Taste)

Garlic Butter Pasta

PREP

10 mins

COOK

20 mins

SERVES

DIFFICULTY

Easy

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Chef Jack Ovens

Qualified Chef · 1.63M Subscribers

Updated August 2026

Simple ingredients, done properly. Butter cooked to a foamy stage, garlic fried low and slow until golden, then finished with lemon and parsley.

The pasta finishes cooking directly in the sauce, so it actually absorbs the garlic butter instead of just sitting in it. Small step, big difference.

A crispy bacon and panko crumb on top adds the crunch this dish needs, just keep it separate until you’re ready to serve.

Garlic Butter Pasta

PASTA · DINNER · EASY

Why You'll Love This Garlic Butter Pasta

Simple Ingredients, Real Technique

Cooking the butter to a foamy stage before the garlic goes in builds a nuttier, deeper flavour than just melting it and moving straight on.

Finishing the pasta in the sauce rather than just tossing it through at the end means every strand actually picks up the garlic butter flavour, not just the top layer.

The bacon and panko crumb on top is what takes this from a simple pantry pasta to something genuinely worth serving to guests.

Garlic Butter Pasta

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 30

Calories: 870kcal

Servings: People

Metric - Imperial

Ingredients

Garlic Butter Pasta

120 g Unsalted Butter
5 Garlic Cloves Minced
5 g Flat Leaf Parsley Chopped
1.5 tsp Chilli Flakes Optional
½ Lemon Juiced
500 g Linguine or Pasta of Choice
Salt & Pepper To Taste

Bacon & Panko Crust

14 g Unsalted Butter
4 rashers Streaky or Back Bacon Diced
25 g Panko Bread Crumbs
Salt & Pepper To Taste

Method

Bacon & Panko Crust

Place a pan over medium-high heat. Add the diced bacon and fry for 2 minutes, or until lightly browned and the fat starts to render. Add the butter and panko breadcrumbs and continue frying for 1½ minutes, or until everything is golden and crispy. Remove and place into a bowl.

Garlic Butter Pasta

Bring a saucepan or pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta 1 minute less than the packet instructions.
Place a large high-rimmed pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and bring it to a foamy stage (about 3 minutes), stirring frequently. Add the garlic, reduce the heat to low, and fry for 1 minute, or until golden and crispy, mixing the entire time.
Add the lemon juice, chilli flakes (optional), and seasoning to taste. Mix well.
Add the al dente pasta straight from the water into the garlic butter sauce, draining off any excess water. Add most of the flat-leaf parsley, reserving a little for garnish, and mix well to combine. Check the seasoning, adjust accordingly, and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Serve the pasta in bowls, and top with the bacon and panko crumb, cracked black pepper, and the reserved flat-leaf parsley. Dig in.

Chef's Tips

Watch the garlic closely once it hits the low heat — a minute is often all it takes to go from golden and crispy to burnt and bitter, so stay right by the pan.

Cook the pasta a minute under the packet time — it finishes cooking directly in the garlic butter sauce, which is what lets it properly absorb all that flavour.

Keep the bacon and panko topping separate until serving, not mixed through — adding it straight onto each bowl right before eating keeps it crispy, rather than going soft sitting in the sauce.

Storage & Reheating

This is best eaten fresh, as the crispy bacon and panko topping will soften once stored with the pasta. If needed, the pasta will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container, stored separately from the bacon and panko topping. Reheat the pasta gently in a pan or the microwave with a splash of water or extra butter to loosen the sauce, and add the bacon and panko crumb fresh after reheating.

Serving 250gCalories 870kcalCarbohydrates 100.3gProtein 27.4gFat 39.6gSaturated Fat 20.7gPolyunsaturated Fat 3.62gMonounsaturated Fat 12.54gTrans Fat 1.1gCholesterol 106.5mgSodium 576.6mgPotassium 475.3mgFiber 4.5gSugar 4.4gVitamin A 822IUVitamin C 4.44mgCalcium 55.4mgIron 4.9mg

Common Questions

Can I freeze this?⌄

Not recommended. The garlic butter sauce tends to separate once frozen and thawed, and the pasta's texture suffers too. This one's best made fresh or kept in the fridge for a few days at most.

Why cook the pasta a minute under the packet time?⌄

It finishes cooking directly in the garlic butter sauce, which lets it absorb the flavour properly instead of just being coated in it at the end. It also stops the pasta from turning mushy by the time it's plated.

Why keep the bacon and panko topping separate until serving?⌄

If it sits mixed through the hot, saucy pasta, it goes soft almost immediately. Keeping it separate and adding it right before eating keeps it crispy.

Can I leave out the bacon for a vegetarian version?⌄

Yes, just leave the bacon out of the topping and fry the panko in butter on its own until golden and crispy. It'll still add the same crunch, just without the smokiness.