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Spaghetti Aglio e Olio is perfect for throwing a tasty homemade meal on the table on the fly. Here I share with you the master recipe for how to make the best Italian Spaghetti Aglio e Olio you can make.
There are times you cook spaghetti aglio e olio for no other reason than taste alone. But in Italy, where to say spaghetti aglio e olio is popular would be a massive understatement, there are many secrets to its success:
Why Spaghetti Aglio e Olio is an Italian Treasure
- Quite simply, it’s hard to think of anything as tasty, satisfying, and quick to throw together as Spaghetti Aglio e Olio.
- It’s perfect for impromptu get togethers. Whip it up for company that you invited little more than two seconds ago.
- It’s the quintessential spaghettata di mezzanotte (midnight spaghetti). A go-to after the theatre, opera, a late movie, concert…
- It’s a savior when you have nothing in your cabinets, no ideas for what to cook, and you really don’t feel like thinking! Nor going out or ordering in. Wait! A few cloves of garlic are in the house, and some spaghetti. There you go, a tasty meal on the table in around 15 minutes!
- Bonus – It’s also one of the most economical meals on the planet.
Aglio e Olio Pronunciation: a’-lyhee-oh eh oh’-lee-oh
Ingredient Notes
Part of the appeal of spaghetti aglio e olio is the ease of keeping on hand just a few simple ingredients. Only garlic, olive oil and spaghetti are really needed, along with peperoncino if you like, and a light sprinkling of parsley for a touch of color.
- Garlic (Aglio) – Choose as fresh as you can find. You want the bulb to ideally be plump, white and shiny. Avoid old garlic (gray, dull, shriveled, or has green shoots). We generally put about 1 clove of garlic per person.
- Olive oil (Olio d’ Oliva) – Choose a good quality, ideally extra virgin olive oil that you’ve kept in a cool dark place. You want it to taste good in its own right. Note, this is a pasta dish where you can’t skimp on the olive oil, as it is needed to keep the pasta from sticking together!
- Pasta – Spaghetti is the pasta of choice for aglio e olio, an easy pasta to keep perpetually in stock. I recommend thin spaghetti, which has a more elegant texture. Nothing too thin though, such as angel hair, since very thin spaghetti requires more oil so that it doesn’t stick together, as well as more careful cooking. Linguine can work too.
- Chili Pepper (Peperoncino) – I like to use chili powder for its convenience and consistency of heat. You can also use pre-crushed chili pepper, or crush your own whole dried chili pepper, and dry-toast it briefly in the skillet. Take out the seeds if you like less heat. Don’t like hot pepper? You can leave it out, or substitute freshly ground black pepper.
- Italian parsley – Parsley is optional, but the green really adds a nice color contrast. Use flat-leaf Italian parsley. I highly recommend a light touch because although it makes for a prettier dish, it can overpower the garlic. I am a huge parsley lover, but I add very little here.
How to Make the Best Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
This is a dish all cooks and non-cooks alike know how to make in Italy. It all starts with the aglio e olio base, the Italian soffritto: sauté garlic in olive oil. Then toss with pasta. It couldn’t be any simpler! Like many simple things, however, it does take a little mastering.
And the wonderful thing is that once you master it, you can make a myriad of pasta dishes with aglio e olio as your base. Pasta with Rubies, Italian Broccoli Pasta and Spaghetti alla Bottarga are just a few of the many easy and quick pasta dishes that start as aglio e olio.
Don’t let anyone tell you there is only one way to make this iconic Italian favorite! Despite its simplicity, spaghetti aglio e olio has a million passionate cooks who all profess the very best way to make it! The best or even “correct” way to make aglio e olio differs according to who you ask, and varies from person to person, with regional influences in play. (See below recipe card for one example.)
To start, everyone has their preference for how to cut the garlic, if at all.
Cutting the Garlic
How you like to cut the garlic becomes part of your aglio e olio style. Here are some options:
Quick note: some people remove the shoot inside each garlic clove for better digestibility, especially with older cloves of garlic.
- Thinly sliced rounds – (As thin as you can slice it) Takes practice, but beautifully fried thinly sliced garlic is gorgeous and delicious. This is probably our all-around house favorite way.
- Thick Rounds – (Around 3mm) I’ve been served spaghetti aglio e olio this way in Italy on occasion, and it’s one of my favorite ways to make it at home for myself. Thick rounds of garlic are slowly cooked to gently caramelize the sugars until tender and golden. Expect it to take around 8 extra minutes. I like to cook this version in a small saucepan so that the oil comes up to a higher level in the pan.
- Little matchsticks – An aesthetic choice.
- Finely chopped – This is the easiest way to cut it, but not necessarily the easiest to cook. Keep in mind, the smaller the pieces, the easier they are to burn.
- Whole garlic – Peel the clove and add it whole to the oil, crushing it a little to release more flavor, if you like. Once lightly sautéed, it can be removed from the oil before tossing with the pasta. This is great for those who may be intolerant to digesting garlic, yet still want to enjoy the garlic flavor.
Important -Whichever size or shape you choose to cut the garlic, the important thing is to keep the pieces of a fairly consistent size and thickness. Tiny stray pieces brown too much or burn before the larger pieces are ready. Garlic that is past golden imparts a bitter flavor. If this happens, it is best just to discard it and start again.
Master Sautéing Tips
Don’t Burn the Garlic! (and How to Save the Garlic!)
I imagine every one has burnt sautéed garlic at one time or another. We still do after making hundreds of aglio e olios. It’s an exercise in focus. Garlic can go from white to burnt in a flash.
- So, my first Tip: the heat should be only hot enough to get the garlic barely sizzling.
- Second Tip: as soon as it starts to even hint of turning color, it is time to remove it from the heat, because it will continue to cook and brown. At this point, it can even be too late, depending on how high the heat. This is why many recipes just say to not let it color at all! But if you can get it mastered, you get more flavor with that beautiful golden color. The total sauté time is around 2 minutes.
- One more Tip: Sometimes you can save the garlic at the last moment. If it has just started to color too quickly, you can try to save it by: quickly taking it off the heat and then very quickly pouring more olive oil on it to dilute the hot oil, thus cooling it down.
Storing
Aglio e olio is not very conducive to leftovers. It is a dish to be prepared quickly and enjoyed as soon as it is ready.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 oz (½ lb) thin spaghetti
- 4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (see Notes for variations)
- 1 pinch chili pepper, powdered or crushed (optional)
- 1 pinch Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large covered pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, tender yet still firm to the bite.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large enough sauté pan or skillet to accommodate the spaghetti. Add the garlic and chili pepper and cook, letting it barely sizzle, until the garlic just starts to turn golden, around 2 minutes. Remove from heat immediately, as it will continue to cook.
- Drain the pasta and add to the pan of garlic along with around ¼ cup of the cooking water. Toss over high heat until water is completely absorbed. Sprinkle with a pinch of fresh Italian parsley and serve immediately.
Variations on Preparing the Garlic
-
- Finely chop
- Cut into short matchsticks.
- Slice into thick rounds (about 3mm) and gently stew on lower heat to caramelize the sugars until tender, around 10 minutes. I use a small saucepan for this so that the oil comes to a higher level in the pan.
- Use whole garlic – Great for those intolerant to digesting garlic or who just prefer a subtle garlic flavor. Add the whole peeled clove to the oil, crushing it a little to release more flavor, if you like. Remove from the oil before tossing with the pasta.
Nutrition Info: Click to Expand
There are Many Best Ways to Make Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
“No, no, no no, no.” Our Roman friend sat by the fireplace at our old Tuscan table. With a weekend house in Tuscany, he had popped in to say hello as we were beginning to get hungry. Of course we invited him to join us for a quick spaghettata of aglio e olio, and endeavored to prepare it our usual way.
“No, no, no. Non si fa cosi! (This is not how it’s done!),” as he reproachfully clicked his tongue and waved his head in concern. We had chopped the garlic too fine, the wrong shape, and where were the breadcrumbs? The “correct” way to make aglio e olio was to add breadcrumbs!
Our extremely civil and amiable Roman friend is a very good cook who, true to his Calabrian family upbringing, adds breadcrumbs to spaghetti aglio e olio. Of course his animated admonitions were taken with a lighthearted shrug and a smile . . . which actually lead to an additional scolding that this was no funny matter! I smiled again, and we then enjoyed a great afternoon together at our old Tuscan table with an impromptu meal of spaghetti aglio e olio and a local Tuscan Chianti.
We did end up changing our recipe around that time, but not as a result of that lunch. It was a little osteria, a short bike ride away from our home in the countryside of Tuscany that prompted our now favorite upgrade for when you want to take aglio e olio to the next level: Chitarra Aglio e Olio. (Coming soon!)
