Aglio e Olio Express Pasta (Printable Version)

Fast-cooked spaghetti with fragrant garlic oil and chili flakes for a bright, flavorful meal.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 7 oz dried spaghetti

→ Infused Olive Oil

02 - 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
03 - 4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
04 - 1 tsp red chili flakes

→ Garnish

05 - 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
06 - Sea salt, to taste
07 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
08 - 2 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

# Directions:

01 - Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water before draining.
02 - Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add sliced garlic and sauté gently until fragrant and lightly golden, about 1 to 2 minutes without burning.
03 - Stir red chili flakes into the garlic oil and cook for 10 seconds.
04 - Add drained spaghetti to the skillet and toss well to coat. Add reserved pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce.
05 - Season with salt and black pepper. Remove from heat, toss with chopped parsley, and plate.
06 - Top with Parmesan cheese if desired and serve immediately.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • It's impossibly quick—truly ready in the time it takes pasta to cook, making weeknight dinners feel less like a chore.
  • The flavors are bold and clean, letting you taste the olive oil and garlic exactly as they should be, without anything masking their beauty.
  • No cream, no butter, no complicated techniques—just your hand and a willingness to let good ingredients speak for themselves.
02 -
  • Don't let that garlic burn—it happens in seconds and turns bitter, ruining everything; medium-low heat is your friend.
  • Pasta water is not an afterthought, it's the invisible glue that turns oil and pasta into something cohesive and silky rather than separate.
  • Timing matters; this dish waits for no one, so have your plates ready and your parsley chopped before the pasta even drains.
03 -
  • Reserve pasta water before draining, not after—it's easy to forget once the water's gone, and you can't get it back.
  • If your kitchen runs cool or your skillet is old and slow to heat, give yourself an extra minute for garlic to soften; rushing it will only bring burnt flavor and regret.
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