Recipe
Spaghetti aglio e olio
Italian · 20 min · EasyVegan
Spaghetti tossed with garlic gently sizzled in olive oil, chili flakes and parsley. A pantry dinner in fifteen minutes.
Photo: adrian vieriu on Pexels
Aglio e olio means garlic and oil, and that's nearly all there is to this Roman classic. Sliced garlic sizzles gently in olive oil with chili flakes, then emulsifies with starchy pasta water into a silky sauce.
With so few ingredients, technique matters: cook the garlic slowly so it turns golden, never brown, and save plenty of pasta water.
Spaghetti aglio e olio recipe
By FeastPick Kitchen · Updated October 11, 2026
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 20 min
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb (450 g) spaghetti
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) good extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 to 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1/2 cup (15 g) fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Salt
- Zest of 1 lemon (optional)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it well. Cook the spaghetti until 1 minute short of al dente. Before draining, scoop out 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water.
- While the pasta cooks, put the olive oil and garlic in a large, cold skillet. Set over medium-low heat and cook gently for 4 to 6 minutes, swirling the pan, until the garlic is pale golden. Watch closely: burnt garlic turns bitter.
- Add the red pepper flakes and cook for 15 seconds, then immediately add 1/2 cup of the pasta water to stop the cooking.
- Add the drained spaghetti to the skillet and toss vigorously over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes, adding more pasta water a splash at a time, until the sauce turns glossy and clings to the pasta.
- Toss in the parsley and lemon zest, taste for salt, and serve right away.
Tips
- The traditional version has no cheese, which keeps it vegan. Most dried spaghetti is egg-free, but check the label.
Storing leftovers
Best eaten straight away; it doesn't reheat well.
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