Olive Oil and Garlic Pasta (Vegan Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Recipe) (2024)

It's time for an at-home date night and it's going to be a good one! Spaghetti Aglio e Olio is a simple, comforting pasta dish made with roasted garlic (aglio), olive oil (olio), fresh parsley, and some crushed red peppers. It's ultra easy to make and yet incredibly gourmet. Use your favorite gluten-free pasta for a meal with no allergens and all the flavor!

Valentine's Day is almost here and...well, it might look a little different this year because of COVID. If you're planning an at-home date night, you don't have to order in to get a restaurant-quality meal! Put a tablecloth down, light a couple candles, and get out the nice dishes, because we're making Spaghetti Aglio e Olio right in your kitchen.

Instructions

This flavorful, comforting pasta dish is filled with roasted garlic, olive oil, fresh parsley, and some crushed red pepper spice. Ooh, it's a good one! But so easy to make too! You won't believe how gourmet this meal tastes. Here's how to make it:

Prepare the pasta: Fill a 5.5dutch oven with 10 cups of water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Add the pasta and set a timer for the instructed cooking time on the box. Once the noodles are done cooking, reserve ¼ cup of the starchy pasta water before draining. Drain the remaining pasta water and place the cooked noodles back in the dry pot. Toss with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to prevent sticking.

Making the garlic and olive oil sauce: Heat a 12-inch large cast ironskilletover medium heat. Add oil,roasted garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and saute.

Addcaramelized onionsif using (highly recommended). Use a wooden spoon to break up theroasted garlic cloves. They will diffuse and sort of melt into the oil as they cook. Saute until fragrant to infuse the oil with flavor (about five minutes – longer is fine over low heat just be sure to stir often to prevent burning). Add any cooked veggies or white beans if using.

Bringing the dish together: Add cooked pasta and toss well. Add ¼ cup reserved pasta water and toss well over medium heat. Saute for another five minutes. Add the parsley (and spinach if using) during the last minute of cooking. Taste and adjust flavors as needed.

What gluten-free pasta brand should I use?

I LOVE the brand Jovial for gluten-free pasta. It boils and tastes just like regular pasta! Your favorite brand would work great here, though. If your family eats gluten you could even use regular pasta. You can find gluten-free pasta options in pretty much any grocery store pasta aisle these days. I used Capellini brown rice noodles, which are long and skinny...like spaghetti but even finer!

Is this dish spicy?

Spaghetti aglio e olio is a really simple and yet classic Italian pasta dish that's absolutely brought ALIVE by the spices and fresh ingredients you add in. I use roasted garlic, caramelized onions and fresh parsley.

With a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flakes for some heat (I leave these out or just do a tiny bit if my kids are going to be eating with us!), it's absolutely divine. Adding. the starchy pasta water makes the sauce extra creamy. The slight spiciness of the pepper flakes is a great compliment to this creamy, filling pasta dish.

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Sides

If you feel like creating a restaurant meal at home, I'd suggest pairing this Aglio e Olio with a Kale Caesar Salad, a side of quick and easy asparagus, a Sparkling Cherry Spritzer to drink (you can make this with or without alcohol!) and some Dark Chocolate Avocado Truffles to sample for dessert. You'll feel like royalty...Bon Appetit!

This recipe was inspired by a NY Times recipe for Midnight Pasta with Roasted Garlic, Olive Oil, and Chile. I love finding ways to make recipes that look SO good work for vegans and people with allergies. What recipe would you love to see made vegan and/or allergy-friendly? Comment below and let me know or find me on Instagram!

More Easy Vegan Pasta Recipes

If you are looking for more easy vegan dinner recipes then you can try my Spicy Red Lentil Veggie Pasta recipe, or my for simple pasta dinners.

For pasta recipes that are even quicker to make or use less ingredients you have to try these super simple vegan pasta dinners:

• Vegan No-Boil Pasta Bake
• Easy One-Pot Pasta
• One-Skillet Baked Butternut Squash Pasta with Sage

Top Tip!

Near the end of this recipe, after adding the pasta to the olive oil and garlic sauce, it may be tempting to skip cooking them together for 5 minutes as said in the recipe. However, this step is crucial for this recipe!

This recipe is fantastic because it brings out the simpler flavors of parsley, roasted garlic and olive oil by allowing them to diffuse together in that 5 minutes. The addition of the pasta water also brings the dish and flavors together.

So, don't skip this step! Instead I would use that 5 minutes to taste the dish and adjust the flavors as needed.

This vegan Aglio e Olio recipe is a fresh, comforting and flavorful dinner recipe … all while being vegan (no meat, eggs, or dairy!), gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and soy-free. It’s a super nutritious dish that everyone can enjoy!

I hope you make it andtag me on Instagramso I can see your mouthwatering plate of pasta. You can also leave a review below to help anyone else who may want to try this recipe! Finally,sign up for my newsletterto receive easy, delicious, and nutritious plant-based recipes right to your inbox. Enjoy!

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Olive Oil and Garlic Pasta (Vegan Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Recipe)

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5 from 1 review

• Author: Elaine Gordon
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 2 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

It's time for an at-home date night and it's going to be a good one! Spaghetti Aglio e Olio is a simple, comforting pasta dish made with roasted garlic (aglio), olive oil (olio), fresh parsley, and some crushed red peppers. It's ultra easy to make and yet incredibly gourmet.Use your favorite gluten-free pasta for a meal with no allergens and all the flavor!

Ingredients

UnitsScale

• 5 cloves garlic, minced OR 2 large heads garlic, roasted*
• 12 ounces capellini, spaghetti, fettuccini or linguini pasta noodles (any long pasta noodle - gluten-free if desired)
• ½ tablespoon salt for pasta water
• ¼ cup reserved pasta water
• ½ cup good-quality olive oil
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (plus more for garnish)**
• ¼ teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup firmly packed fresh Italian flat leaf parsley leaves (plus more for garnish)

Garnishes:

• fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
• vegan Parmesan cheese, grated***
• red pepper chili flakes
• freshly ground black pepper

Serve with:

• Caramelized Onions, chopped (highly recommend this!)
• Restaurant-Style Sautéed Mushrooms
• Baby spinach (add with parsley if using)
• broccoli, roasted or steamed
• white beans (one 15-ounce can, drained and rinsed)

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Instructions

1. If using roasted garlic, roast two heads of garlic ahead of time (air fryer method or oven method).
2. Fill a 5.5 dutch oven or pot with 10 cups of water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Add ½ tablespoon of salt to the water. Add the pasta and set a timer for the instructed cooking time on the box. My gluten-free brown rice capellini noodles cook in 8 minutes. Once the noodles are done cooking, reserve ¼ cup of the starchy pasta water before draining. Drain the remaining pasta water and place the cooked noodles back in the dry pot. Toss with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to prevent sticking.
3. Heat a 12-inch large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add oil, minced fresh garlic OR roasted garlic cloves, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and saute. Add caramelized onions if using (highly recommended). Use a wooden spoon to break up the roasted garlic cloves. They will diffuse and sort of melt into the oil as they cook. Saute until fragrant to infuse the oil with flavor (about five minutes - longer is fine over low heat just be sure to stir often to prevent burning). Add any cooked veggies or white beans if using.
4. Add cooked pasta and toss well. Add ¼ cup reserved pasta water and toss well over medium heat. Saute for another five minutes. Add the parsley (and spinach if using) during the last minute of cooking. Taste and adjust flavors as needed.
5. Serve the pasta hot with desired garnishes (see ingredients above for suggestions).

Equipment

good quality olive oil (use code EBE25 for 25% discount)

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dutch oven

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12-inch cast iron skillet

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Notes

*To roast garlic: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Slice the top off an entire head of garlic (about ½-inch so the garlic cloves are all exposed). Wrap the garlic bulb in foil and place in a small ramekin that is oven safe. Drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil (about 2 teaspoons). Sprinkle generously with fine salt. Cover in foil tightly so the garlic is not exposed. Place the ramekin in the oven for one hour. Remove and carefully unwrap the foil to allow the roasted garlic to cool to room temperature. Squeeze the garlic head to release the roasted garlic cloves. Discard the garlic skin. See my full and detailed post on How to Roast Garlic here.

** The classic Italian dish calls for chopped fresh red chiles (peperoncini) which can be difficult to find in other countries. I substitute crushed red pepper flakes which I always have in my pantry.

***Here is my quick and easy recipe for Vegan “Parmesan Cheese”: Whisk together ½ cup super fine blanched almond flour (not almond meal), 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast, ¾teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon garlic powder. Sprinkle like Parmesan Cheese.

• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 10
• Category: Entree
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Italian

• Winter
• Valentine's Day
• Gluten-Free
• Nut-Free
• Refined Sugar-Free
• Vegan
• One-Pot
• Easy
• Quick