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)
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 and 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:
Hi there beautiful Nagi . . . oh goody – another fabby recipe for us – yes, I have made Aglio e Olio before – but somehow your recipes and energy are inspiring me to add to this weeks plan!!!
However, I must say that I think you have missed the most important “hot tip” in your notes!!!! And that is . . . . . choose the best (Italian) spaghetti you can find – it just doesn’t compare to budget spaghettis and to do this simple recipe justice as well as the quality olive oil, you must include quality (Italian) spaghetti.
Perhaps its quality (Ozzie) spaghetti, but for me, the ‘simpler’ the recipe, the more important the quality ingredients.
Love what you do . . . bless you xoxoxox
May I ask which brand spaghetti you use?
My late mother used to make a similar version done the same way as yours using olive oil with paprika, then served with crumbled Greek. Feta if you want
A favourite pasta recipe ! Aaaah yes the scratches when our blue girl Pixie was alive she would koala 🐨 grip my arms whilst on the toilet ….I swear I looked like a meth addict at one stage – I still have the scars 😅🐾 she although thought it was hilarious
I don’t know what leftover pasta is…. BUT those fritters look good Great idea.
I grew up on this and it was my dad’s favourite pasta.
So quick and delicious. I like a little chili in mine.
Ouch!
My big teddy bear used to have no concept of personal space and we (beach walkers) were perpetually scratched and would try and bury our feet in the sand. He has mellowed with age and with the boredom of always being on the lead in case there’s a roo over the dunes! Not sure that my legs and feet have!
Ohhhh yum!!!! I’ve made this dish a number of times!! It is one of my family’s favourite pasta dishes! To change it up a bit, I sometimes put juice of 1/2 a lemon to the pasta just before serving. It’s not strictly traditional but it adds a delicious zing and freshness that pares really well with olive oil.
This is a fave and often on rotation in the household (… occasionally spiced up with chilli, anchovies and maybe lemon)
My husband and I will also add capocollo to ours! I’ve recently started including canned tuna ☺️
Did the bird fly out of that tiny gap in the window?
Mmm, this is what I’m making tonight! But… 1 cup? How many ml (milliliters)? I’m in Sweden, we only use the metric system here.
Hi Masja! A cup is approx. 250 ml – from Kirsten in Denmark
Thank you, Kirsten! Nagi usually has both in her recipes.
Tusind tak från Stockholm!
250ml
Hi Masja, 1 cup is 250ml in Australia. It all works out all right, though, once you add the pasta water and toss, toss, toss. It becomes a very little like the beginning of making mayonnaise even though it’s nothing like it. Very, VERY YUM!! Have fun and enjoy! 🙂
Thanks Susan! I know the trick with the pasta water. Was thinking more of the olive oil. That should be just right!
This has made my day! One of my absolute favourite pastas to eat. I love your explanation of steps in the technique – as usual, making cooking great meals accessible to us all. Thank you! This one is definitely happening this week.
Can add prawns…if so how and when
Thankx
Delicious! I also always top mine with some pangratatto as well as the Parmesan for some extra crunch.
It gets the name garlic bread pasta in our house ❤️
This is my most favourite pasta and when in Italy it was my go to. I have added this to my account, so looking forward to cooking this,
Thank you, Maria
Ouch! Have you considered introducing Jafgle to rubber flippers or booties?? 😳 And, as far as the recipe is concerned… I can’t wait to try it, although I will have to wait, because I’m doing a spicy take on zucchini slice that came up on the ABC website today and for which I discovered your fabulous taco seasoning. So many recipes, so little time! 😋
It took me awhile . . . a few trips to Italy to eat real Italian food, a few really able cooking friends teaching, to realize that what you are saying is gospel truth -aglio e olio is THE classic way to cook and eat good pasta. Love it above all! Am smiling at your bonus idea of the egg and cheese fritters – brilliant! Summertime at the pool . . . he did not really do all that, Nagi, did he 🙁 ? Yoicks – are there no professional swimming teachers for canines? These tattoos HURT! Bestest to you both, but . . .
This looks delicious! You’ve explained it well! Will be making this weak! Thank you!
Wow!! I’ve been waiting ages for this recipe, dear Naji! ❤️ I’ll definitely be trying it!
You are honestly my number one chef! The first thing I do every morning when I wake up is check your website for inspiration on what to cook. 😍
And please, don’t forget the cacio e pepe as well… 😉 You are simply the best!
Lots of love from Malta 🇲🇹❤️
I’ve been making Alio e Oglio my entire life (I’m not Italian). It’s my number 1 favourite pasta. I always add a few anchovy fillets and let them break down in the oil. People don’t even know they are there but it works amazingly!
Good luck Nagi! It looks like he was using you as a springboard! Keep massaging in the arnica cream for bruises.