If you are a garlic lover, you are going to absolutely love this garlic parmesan pasta. This pasta is made with 12 cloves of garlic, heavy cream, and bucatini pasta.
Restaurant Style Garlic Parmesan Pasta
Say hello to our most favorite pasta of all time. This garlic parmesan pasta is such a simple pasta with big flavor. It is everything you love about a pasta and more. The creamy sauce, the perfectly cooked pasta, and the fact that it is ready in under 1 hour is amazing. MUAH, so good.
We have a heck of a lot of delicious pasta recipes on The Cheese Knees but if you are looking for a pasta that everyone will love, look no further, people.
Why we’re obsessed with this pasta
It’s a one pot dish. Easy clean up after a delicious meal.
Garlic lovers unite. The creamy and garlic-y sauce is show stopping.
Feels fancy but is incredibly easy to make.
Featured Ingredients
Garlic: garlic is the star of this recipe, it’s in the name. We use 12 cloves of garlic in this recipe and you can taste it. This is a recipe where you do not what to use pre-minced garlic or frozen garlic paste. Fresh is better in this case.
Parmesan: parmesan is another important ingredient. We highly suggest you use freshly grated fine parmesan cheese.
Heavy cream: the pasta sauce for this dish is made with a little broth and heavy cream. The heavy cream thickens with help from the starch from the pasta to make a creamy pasta sauce.
Bucatini pasta: the preferred pasta for this dish is bucatini. It is hearty, holds pasta sauce in the middle of the noodle, and doesn’t fall apart when it cooks. Whatever pasta you use, try to use a hearty noodle.
How to Make Garlic Parmesan Pasta
Sauté onion + garlic
How do we get the pasta sauce so garlic-y and flavorful? Step #1, sautéing the garlic is crucial to releasing the flavor of the garlic and creating a delicious flavor base for the sauce.
Make the pasta sauce
Once you have sautéed the onion and garlic deglaze the pan with white wine and add the broth to the Dutch oven. Slowly drizzle the heavy cream into the dutch oven to create the base of the creamy sauce.
Add the dried pasta to the sauce
Finally, add the dried bucatini pasta to the Dutch oven and when the pasta softens fold the pasta into the sauce.
Let the pasta cook
Once the pasta is covered by the sauce, add the fresh thyme and a parmesan rind (if you have it) to the pasta and stir. Cover the Dutch oven and let the pasta simmer in the sauce for 15-20 minutes.
DO NOT FORGET TO DO THIS. We highly suggest stirring the pasta every five or so minutes to be sure the pasta is not sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Add the parmesan and toss
Uncover the Dutch oven and check the pasta is fully cooked. If it still has a bite to it, add a few tablespoons of broth to the pot and allow the pasta to cook until done.
Once the pasta is cooked, add the parmesan cheese to the pot and stir until melted and creamy.
Here’s a tip for more pasta sauce. If you like pasta with a lot of pasta sauce, add more
Top Tips for Garlic Parmesan Pasta
- Longer pasta types tend to work better. This dish has been tested with penne and other shorter pastas and they didn’t turn out. We used bucatini but you can use fettuccini, spaghetti, or linguini.
- The vegetable broth we used is made from a bouillon paste, it has a ton of flavor. If you use boxed vegetable broth you may need more salt. Feel free to use any type of broth.
- You can use whole milk instead of heavy cream. Your sauce will much richer if you use heavy cream.
Try it!
Parmesan Cheese Recipes
Love parmesan cheese? Check out some of our very best recipes featuring parmesan cheese!
FAQ
Can I use a different cheese in this recipe?
If you don’t have parmesan cheese we suggest that you use another salty and hard cheese. Pecorino Romano would be the best substitute.
Can I add any other ingredients to this recipe?
Yes, you can add sautéed vegetables, frozen peas, or steamed broccoli.
How to I thin out this garlic parmesan pasta?
If you would like to thin out your pasta sauce add about 1/4 cup more of vegetable broth to the Dutch oven.
Storage
Once the pasta is cool, add the pasta to an airtight container and place the pasta in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To reheat this pasta, add the pasta to a pan and add a few tablespoons of broth to the pasta and heat the pasta over low until warm.
Garlic Parmesan Pasta
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion minced
- 12 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1.5 teaspoons salt separated
- ¼ cup chardonnay
- 2.5 cups vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 8- oz. uncooked bucatini pasta
- 1.5 cups finely grated parmesan cheese +rind
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add olive oil.
- When the olive oil is fragrant, add the onion to the pot and add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the onions. Saute for 3-4 minutes or until almost translucent.
- Add the minced garlic to the pot and toss with the onion. Sauté for an additional 1-2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Deglaze the pot with chardonnay and remove the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add the vegetable broth and lemon juice into the pot. Stir until combined.
- Drizzle the heavy cream into the pot and whisk until combined and then add the remaining salt.
- Add the uncooked pasta to the pot and bring to a boil. Be sure to push the pasta around in the liquid.
- Turn the heat to low, and a parmesan rind (if you have it) and fresh thyme to the pot and cover. Let the liquid simmer for 15-20 minutes. Stirring the pasta periodically so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Remove the cover from the pot and remove the rind from the pot. If the pasta is al dente add the parmesan to the pot and toss. It will melt immediately. If the pasta is not yet al dente, stir, place the cover back on the pot and simmer for an additional 1-2 minutes.*
- When the pasta is cooked, sprinkle the lemon zest into the pot and toss. The pasta will be creamy and delicious. Serve with chopped fresh parsley.
Tips & Notes
- We tested this pasta with a few different types of pasta and found that longer pastas work better. We used bucatini but you can use fettuccini, spaghetti, or linguini.
- We used a vegetable broth made from a bouillon paste, it has a ton of flavor. If you use boxed vegetable broth you may need more salt. Feel free to use any type of broth.
- You can use whole milk instead of heavy cream.
- If the pasta is not cooked in step 9 and there isn’t a ton of sauce in the bottom of the pot, add ¼ cup of water to the pot and stir. This will give the pasta a bit more water to absorb and cook in.
