Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

I’m going to keep this headnote as short and simple as this beautiful and light, classic recipe known as Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. “Aglio” is Italian for garlic and “Olio” is Italian for olive oil. Therefore, this Neapolitan dish is done in minutes as it only contains olive oil, garlic, optional red pepper flakes and pasta. It can also typically feature Parmesan and parsley, which I do here. But what amplifies the dish to the max is the addition of Better Than Bouillon Italian Herb Base from the Culinary Collection!

This post was sponsored by Better Than Bouillon/Summit Hill Foods.

Watch The Video!

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Cook The Pasta

Pot of salted boiling water on stove
We’ll begin by boiling a pot of water on the stove. Once boiling, salt it.
Spaghetti placed in pot
Then, add some spaghetti to the boiling water. It’ll become limber pretty quickly, so use a utensil to make sure it’s fully submerged in the boiling water.
Spaghetti boiling in pot
Then, bring the temperature down to medium – this will prevent spillage of the pasta water onto the stove, avoiding a big mess.

Make The Aglio e Olio

Olive oil in sauté pan shimmering
As the pasta’s cooking, let’s shift our focus to making the Aglio e Olio. To a sauté pan, add olive oil, which is the “olio” portion of the dish. Heat it up. Once shimmering…
Garlic added to pan
…add in a bunch of garlic! This is key to the dish as it’s the “aglio.”
Crushed red pepper flakes added to pan
Optionally (and traditional to the dish), add some crushed red pepper flakes for some spice.
Jar of Better Than Bouillon
And the secret ingredient to set this Aglio e Olio over the top? Some Better Than Bouillon Italian Herb Base from the Culinary Collection!
Scooping Better Than Bouillon out of jar
Scoop some of the base out of the jar…
Placing Better Than Bouillon in pan
…and into the frying pan!
Sautéing the galic, red pepper flakes and bouillon in olive oil
Sauté the garlic, red pepper flakes and Better Than Bouillon Italian Herb base for a few minutes, until the garlic is lightly browned, but not burnt. Kill the heat and remove from the burner.

Taste the Pasta

Cooked spaghetti on pasta fork
By now, our spaghetti should be just about done to “al dente” perfection. This means it should be just ever so slightly undercooked and have some bite to it.
Man trying out spaghetti to make sure it's cooked
In fact, taste it to make sure you’re happy. That’s always the best way! (Just blow on it first).

Reserve Some Pasta Water

Reserving 1 cup of pasta water
Once you’re all set, reserve a cup of the pasta water prior to straining. This will ensure we have a starchy and salty element to bring everything together at the end – especially with such a light sauce.

Drain The Pasta

Draining spaghetti and water through a colander
Pour the remaining pasta and water through a colander.
Shaking off spaghetti in colander
But don’t rinse it! We don’t want the spaghetti to lose the starch which will help it marry to the aglio e olio nicely. Just shake it a few times.

Marry the Pasta with the Aglio e Olio

Spaghetti added to sauté pan with aglio e olio sauce
Now it’s time for the wedding of the pasta and the sauce to make it a true spaghetti aglio e olio! Add the spaghetti directly to the sauté pan with the algio e olio.
Adding pasta water to pan
Then, add the pasta water (start with half a cup – you can always add more later).
Adding grated Parmesan cheese to pan
Many prefer this dish with a grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, plus it helps marry the past to the sauce nicely. Therefore, I prefer to add it, but you can leave it out for sure!
Using wooden spoons to mix the pasta with the ingredients in the pan
Toss it all together and then let everything rest in the pan for a few minutes for it all to come together before serving.
Plated spaghetti aglio e olio
Plate some up and top with additional cheese, red pepper flakes, and fresh parsley for a lovely look!

The Taste Test

Man twirling pasta on fork
And now comes the time to give the pasta a twirl of the fork!
Man trying pasta
I love eating long noodles such as spaghetti. It’s a bit of a challenge to not look silly, but a fun and delicious one at that. Goes great with my Garlic Bread as well.
Man holding jar of Better Than Bouillon
And there you have it, folks! The most amazing Spaghetti Aglio e Olio elevated to the next level thanks to Better Than Bouillon Italian Herb Base from the Culinary Collection!
Yield: 6

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

I’m going to keep this headnote as short and simple as this beautiful and light, classic recipe known as Spaghetti Aglio e Olio. "Aglio" is Italian for garlic and "Olio" is Italian for olive oil. Therefore, this Neapolitan dish is done in minutes as it only contains olive oil, garlic, optional red pepper flakes and pasta. It can also typically feature Parmesan and parsley, which I do here. But what amplifies the dish to the max is the addition of Better Than Bouillon Italian Herb Base from the Culinary Collection!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 pound spaghetti (or any pasta you prefer)
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
  • 12 cloves garlic, either thinly sliced or minced, or prssed
  • 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Italian Herb Base from the Culinary Collection (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon – 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
  • ½ - 1 cup reserved pasta water
  • 1/2 - 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus more for topping (optional)

Instructions

  1. Fill an 8-quart pot half of the way with water and place on the stove over high heat. Once it achieves a rolling boil, add the salt and reduce the heat to medium-high. Add the pasta and gently stir until fully submerged in the water. Setting a timer, cook according to the package instructions for “al dente” (or the shortest amount of time the box suggests). Once the timer goes off, take a quick moment to pause what you’re doing. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the remaining water and cooked pasta through a colander in the sink. Do not rinse the pasta once drained. Just let it rest in the colander until called for.
  2. As soon as the pasta is added to the water, add the olive oil to a nonstick 4-5-quart sauté pan and bring to medium heat. Once shimmering (about 3 minutes), add the garlic, Better Than Bouillon (if using) and red pepper flakes (if using) and sauté for 3-5 minutes, until the garlic is lightly browned. Turn the stove off and remove the pan from the heat.
  3. Add the cooked and drained pasta to the pan along with the Parmesan (start with 1/2 cup), ½ cup of the pasta water, and parsley (if using) and toss to coat everything in the oil. Feel free to add up to ½ cup more each of Parmesan and pasta water, if desired. Let rest for 5 minutes.
  4. Serve immediately topped with additional Parmesan, olive oil and parsley, if desired.

Jeffrey's Tips

The optional red pepper flakes are given in a range because how spicy you want it is up to you. Even 1 teaspoon will be spicy. Feel free to taste the oil before adding more that until you’ve reached your spicy heart’s content. And in place of red pepper flakes from the market, this is actually the perfect dish to use those hot spices you may have gotten and forgotten about when on a trip to Italy! And if you don’t want it spicy at all, leave them out.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. NOLADeb

    As always, Thank You for sharing your recipe, tips and tricks. ⭐

    • Adding salt to boiling water when adding the pasta – increases the water temperature and keeps the water boiling. The goal when cooking pasta is – Never let your water stop boiling!

    • If you add salt to the water when you put the water on to boil – you are simply ‘boiling salt’ – which (depending on what material is used to make the cookware) can sometimes cause pitting to the cookware.

    • The wooden spoon trick absolutely works! #Physics

    • I have added Better Than Bouillon – Italian Herb – Culinary Collection to my shopping list.
    🍝💕🧄🍃

  2. Alexander

    Hey Jeffrey,

    Can you please update the recipe to include when you’re supposed to add the better than bouillon? My wife didn’t watch the video and forgot to add it in. Just wanted to give you a heads up.

  3. Antonio Brown

    Made it tonight and I would definitely decrease the oil by 1/2 to 1/4 cup. Other than that it has a good flavour. Definitely can cook up some mushrooms and chicken to jazz it up a bit for a good meal.

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