Spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino is one of the easiest pasta dinners you can make...but you'd never know it by the taste! This dish is positively packed with spicy, garlicky flavor, and comes together in a cinch.
Spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino literally translates to spaghetti with garlic, oil, and chili pepper, and that's just about all there is to this dish! Okay, it also has salt, water, and some parsley. But it's one of the most minimalist pasta dinners out there. I've got some easy pasta recipes in my arsenal, like my vegan cacio e pepe and cherry tomato pasta, but this one is the reigning champion when it comes to both simplicity and flavor.
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This dish is sometimes referred to as midnight pasta, because it's so simple you could easily whip it up as midnight snack — not that I'm recommending doing that. I find super garlicky, spicy pastas like this are best served for dinner!
The only real prep work in this recipes is mincing some garlic and chopping some parsley. It takes about twenty minutes to throw together, and the taste will blow you away.
Ingredients You'll Need
Below you'll find a list of ingredients in this recipe, with notes and substitutions. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the post to see the full recipe, including the amount of each ingredient.
- Dried spaghetti. Prefer another pasta shape? Use it! I find that long noodles, like spaghetti, capellini, and linguine work best for distributing the olive oil based sauce, though.
- Olive oil. Don't cheat! Olive oil is essential to this recipe, and it will give the dish the most amazing flavor. I do not recommend swapping it out with another oil. Use extra-virgin olive oil for the best possible flavor.
- Garlic. Use big, fresh garlic cloves. How do you know they're fresh? The bulb will feel firm, with plump cloves, and the peel will probably stick to the cloves, which is kind of a pain, but a great sign that your garlic will be super flavorful.
- Crushed red pepper flakes. These will add a nice amount of heat to the dish.
- Fresh parsley.
- Salt.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Start cooking your pasta. Be sure to generously salt the water, and set the timer so that it just cooks until al dente. Save some of the water your pasta cooked in when you drain it. We'll be using it in a bit.
Step 2: Heat your olive oil in a large skillet, then add your minced garlic. Slowly cook the garlic, stirring constantly to prevent it from burning, until it turns golden brown.
Step 3: Add your chili flakes to the skillet, then briefly sauté them with the garlic. Keep on stirring so nothing burns.
Tip: If anything does start to burn, simply take the skillet off of heat. Keep stirring while the ingredients cool down a bit.
Step 4: Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and give it a toss. Crank up the heat and add some of your reserved pasta water. Let the pasta cook for a minute or so.
Step 5: Take the skillet off of heat, then add some fresh parsley and salt. Toss everything up to distribute the ingredients.
Step 6: Your spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino is ready to serve! Divide it up onto plates or into bowls, and dig in while it's hot! Serve it plain, or top it with a sprinkle of vegan Parmesan cheese or alongside some vegan meatballs.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about two days. The best way to reheat it is in skillet over medium-high heat with a little bit of water added, cooking and stirring the pasta until it's hot.
You can also heat up your leftovers in a microwave, placing them in a microwave-safe bowl with a few splashes of water and covering the bowl with a damp paper towel before zapping.
Variations
- Add veggies. Sauté some vegetables such as spinach, broccoli rabe, or asparagus, and add them to your pasta.
- Use fresh chiles. Got some fresh chile peppers in your fridge? Feel free to use them instead of the chili flakes, or with the chili flakes, for extra heat.
- Add fresh basil. Swap out the parsley with some fresh basil.
- Add lemon. For a refreshing twist, add a squeeze of lemon juice or some lemon zest.
Frequently Asked Questions
The pasta cooking water will contain some starch from the pasta, which will help bond the sauce and pasta, giving the final dish an amazing texture. Having said that, if you accidentally drained your pasta without saving the water (it happens!), feel free to use plain hot water.
Yes, it is! The red pepper flakes give it a nice kick. For a milder version, reduce the amount of them. For a heat free version, leave them out (technically, this would just be spaghetti aglio olio).
You can! Just use your favorite gluten-free spaghetti.
Unfortunately, I don't recommend that. Olive oil is an essential part of this dish (it's in the name, after all!), and without it the pasta will be dry and lacking in flavor.
More Pasta Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dried spaghetti
- â…“ cup olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
- ½ cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it according to the package directions until it's al dente. Reserve about one cup of the pasta cooking water, then drain the pasta into a colander.
- When the pasta has just a few minutes left to cook, pace a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the minced garlic. Sauté the garlic, stirring often, until it turns golden brown, about three minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic burn. Immediately remove it from heat if you start to see this happen.
- Add the chili flakes to the skillet with the garlic. Sauté everything for about one minute, still stirring constantly (Note 1).
- Add the pasta to the skillet. Toss it using a pair of tongs to coat it in olive oil. Raise the heat to medium-high, then add ½ cup of the pasta cooking water to the skillet. Continue cooking and tossing the pasta for about a minute, until most of the water has evaporated. You can add more of the reserved water if it becomes too dry.
- Remove the skillet from heat. Add the fresh parsley and salt to taste. Use the tongs to combine everything.
- Divide onto plates and serve.
Notes
- Hopefully you timed everything well and your pasta is ready to go at this point. If not, no worries — simply take the skillet off of heat until the pasta is done cooking.
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