The Cozy Cookbook is here! This creamy Garlic Parmesan Pasta is easy to make at home in one pot! Angel hair pasta cooks in a flavorful buttery cream sauce in just 10 minutes. Pair this with chicken, steak, or shrimp for a delicious meal that your family will love!
Serve this with Creamy Garlic Shrimp or Creamy Lemon Chicken and a side of my Garlic Bread with Cheese!
Garlic Parmesan Pasta
This recipe is a GEM in our house. Even my super picky four year old loves this pasta. (I mean what kid can really say no to buttery pasta noodles?)
If you’re looking for something great to pair this with, I recommend my chicken piccata or creamy lemon chicken for that!
What’s great about this meal is that it takes 20 minutes from beginning to end, prep work and all. Set a timer, I kid you not! Nothing beats a 30 minute meal (or less) that you can rely on.
How to Make it
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, cook for one minute. Then add the chicken broth
Stir in the milk. Bring the liquid to a boil, then add the pasta.
You will eventually be able to twist the pasta into the pan as it heats up. Kitchen tongs work well for this.
Let the pasta cook for 4-5 minutes. Once the pasta is done, reduce heat to low. Add 1 tbsp butter and toss to coat. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese into the sauce and stir to combine. It will thicken upon standing.
The Trick to Extra Creamy Sauce
- Purchase a block of high-quality Parmesan cheese. Always shred the cheese yourself, it will taste and melt much better. I use Belgioioso Parmesan cheese. Note that cheese that is very aged will not melt as well.
- Turn off the heat before adding the cheese, if the base is too hot, the dairy will separate and you’ll have a grainy consistency instead of creamy.
- Add the cheese gradually as opposed to all at once. Stir it continuously as it’s added.
Using Spaghetti Instead of Angel Hair
If you prefer to use regular spaghetti: Add an extra 1/2 cup of chicken broth, an extra 1/2 cup of milk, and up to 1/3 cup more cheese. You’ll need about 12-15 minutes of cooking time, refer to the package for guidance on how much time is needed to cook the pasta.
What to Serve with Garlic Parmesan Pasta
- Creamy Garlic Shrimp
- Chicken Piccata
- Creamy Lemon Chicken
- Chicken Florentine
- Minced clams 1 or 2 (6.5 oz.) cans. Add them when you add the chicken broth.
- Chicken Milanese
- Grilled Chicken or Steak
- Garlic Bread with Cheese
- Roasted Broccoli
Storing Leftovers
- Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- You can also freeze it and store it for up to 3 months.
Try These Next
-
- Beef Fried Rice
-
- Chicken Enchiladas
-
- Pasta Primavera
-
- Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
-
- Chicken and Orzo
-
- Ground Beef Pasta
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Tried This Recipe?
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Garlic Parmesan Pasta (One Pot!)
Ingredients
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 3 Tablespoons butter, divided
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 8 oz. angel hair pasta
- Fresh Parsley, to garnish
Optional seasonings: ¼ tsp of each: onion powder, oregano, thyme, parsley, pepper.
Instructions
- Note: Angel hair cooks very quickly. Refer to the time on package and set a timer to avoid overcooking, as overcooked noodles become clumpy.
- Grate the Parmesan cheese and set it aside to allow it to get to room temperature.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat in a large skillet.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken broth and optional seasoning mix. Slowly add the milk, stirring as you do so. Bring to a boil.
- Add the pasta noodles. You can break them in half for a better fit, or allow them to heat and use kitchen tongs to twist them into the skillet as they soften.
- Let the pasta simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the noodles don't stick together. Reduce heat to low.
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter to the warm pasta and toss to coat.
- Gradually sprinkle in the Parmesan cheese, stirring as you do so, until smooth and well-combined. Note: The sauce will be thin at first but will thicken nicely upon standing. The pasta will continue to absorb more of the sauce as well.
- Sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with Garlic Bread with Cheese!
Notes
- Make sure the liquid is boiling when the pasta is added for the right consistency.
- The video shows this being made with half and half. I tend to use milk now, as the sauce ends up thickening up just a tad more than I would like with half and half, but I have successfully made it with either one! 🙂
- Purchase a block of high-quality Parmesan cheese. Always shred the cheese yourself, it will taste and melt much better. I use Belgioioso Parmesan cheese. Note that cheese that is very aged will not melt as well.
- Turn off the heat before adding the cheese, if the base is too hot, the dairy will separate and you'll have a grainy consistency instead of creamy.
- Add the cheese gradually as opposed to all at once. Stir it continuously as it's added.
- Adding Chicken: If you'd like to add chicken to this, try my Angel Hair Pasta with Chicken! It's like an amped up version of this recipe!
If you prefer to use regular spaghetti: Add an extra 1/2 cup of chicken broth, an extra 1/2 cup of milk, and up to 1/3 cup more cheese. You'll need about 12-15 minutes of cooking time, refer to the package for guidance on how much time is needed to cook the pasta.
Serve this with:
- Lemon Pepper Chicken
- Creamy Garlic Shrimp
- Chicken Piccata
- Creamy Lemon Chicken
- Chicken Florentine
- Garlic Bread with Cheese
- Roasted Broccoli
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 4 servings in this recipe.
I was wondering if I can use dry parmesan cheese? I accidentally bought that instead of fresh cheese, didn’t realize
You can use packaged cheese but it won’t melt quite as well 🙂
How much of spaghetti do you need to use for this recipe, I tried angel hair and I loved it.
I’m not sure what you mean by normal pasta, but here is the information from the blog post about using spaghetti 🙂 “If you prefer to use regular spaghetti: Add an extra 1/2 cup of chicken broth, an extra 1/2 cup of milk, and up to 1/3 cup more cheese. You’ll need about 12-15 minutes of cooking time, refer to the package for guidance on how much time is needed to cook the pasta.”
really delicious
Yayyy! That makes me so happy, thank you!💗
Delicious and easy to make!
Yayyy, so great to hear Kaitlyn, thanks so much!💗
This is my new favorite lazy day, easy, affordable meal, I love it! It’s fun to try adding in different things like rotisserie chicken, peas, and spices. Thanks for sharing 🙂
You’re very welcome Sam! I’m so happy you’re enjoying this one. I know what you mean, its a great choice for a lazy day, so easy! Thanks so much for the great review!💗
Seriously loved this recipe! Super easy and quick—even with a newborn wrapped to me! One of my favorites I’ll be adding to our weekly meal plan 🙂
Wow nice work getting this done with the baby attached to you!🙌 Thanks so much for the great review Emily!
I’m excited to try this recipe, however I’m not a big fan of “long stringy” noodles. Do you think orzo would work well instead?
Hi Amanda! I wouldn’t recommend making this with orzo as-is, I think a lot more liquid would be needed as orzo absorbs a lot more than angel hair does. I’d have to test it out to know exactly what changes would need to be made.
Good to know! And Thank you for your super quick reply!!
You are entirely welcome! 🙂
I wanted to make this recipe but you have so many ads that kept pooping up overvthe content that I finally gave up. Bummer.
Hi Delila, you can hit the jump to recipe button and it will give you the full recipe and instructions without the ads.
I just made this. It was excellent and easy to make. I will make this again
I am so happy to hear that Debbie, thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, you’re the best!! -Stephanie
Hi!
Big fan of your recipes, I am cooking newbie(bachelor life) and plan on trying new things. I made the pasta but the the sauce basically was soaked up entirely by the pasta by the time I added the parm cheese. Did I add too much pasta? Is there a way to add a form of liquid when cooking the leftovers so it wont be super dry? Because there is plenty left and it was so good. Thank you as always for your awesome and clear recipes.
Hi Jeff! Since you’re in Nevada, it’s possible that your altitude played a slight role in why the pasta absorbed more liquid, elevation can play a factor. To mitigate this just add a little more milk and/or chicken broth so that there is a little excess to make the sauce with the Parmesan cheese. You can reheat leftovers in a skillet or makeshift double boiler on the stovetop over low and heat add a little milk/chicken broth at that time as well!
As far as the amount of pasta that’s being used, I always weigh it to make sure I’m using the amount that’s outlined in the recipe. Using more will cause more of it to absorb the liquid as well.
Thank you for your support, so glad that you are enjoying the recipes!!
I was so disappointed! I followed the directions exactly for spaghetti noodles. I slowly sprinkled the fresh (expensive) grated Parmesan cheese into it as directed BUT the cheese never melted into a creamy sauce. It was clumpy. And a lot went to the bottom of the pan. My sisters and I take turns cooking dinner for our 90-year old parents and I was so excited about making this.
What could I have done wrong??? I love ALL of your recipes and have never had a flop but this one was for me.
I hate to give a bad review but am hoping whatever the solution is will help anyone else who had this problem. (I used the best fresh block of Parmesan cheese our store had so it couldn’t be the cheese. It had to be me.)
Hi Denise, it sounds like you may have used a very aged Parmesan cheese which may not have been particularly good for melting. Do you have a brand or any other information about the cheese? Per this resource: “If you’re having trouble melting parmesan cheese, it is because it is not fresh – or young – parmesan. Some of its properties will have been changed and it simply will not melt as easily, instead browning, burning, crumbling, or separating.
The older and more processed your cheese, the more likely it is to do this instead of melting.”
I looked and it is Belgioioso and it says aged over 10 months. I had no idea. I thought since it was a wedge of good Parmesan cheese, it would be good for the pasta sauce. Thank you for your help. I will see if I can find something that says “fresh” and not “aged” and give it another try. Update coming!
Ohhh- that is the exact brand that I use! I thought maybe you bought something super gourmet, but I use that brand too. (All Parmesan is aged to some extent). Alright then, we can rule out the cheese! Did you stir continuously when the cheese was added? Was the heat too low so that it wouldn’t melt? I mention not to add it to a super hot base, but maybe it was too cool? If it sank to the bottom it seems like lack of stirring may have been an issue. It’s hard to say without witnessing!
Since it said “turn off heat”, I automatically moved it off the heat source so that may be the problem. It might have cooled too quickly for the cheese to melt. And my mom and I “eyeballed” the amount of cheese and I am sure it was a wee bit more than called for😉. I did stir it but may have also saturated it. Lol
Thank you so much for your help! I knew it was ME and not your recipe. I love everything I try on your site and am asking for your cookbook for Christmas, birthday, whenever they will get it for me. Lol
Have a blessed weekend!
Gotcha! I’ve updated it to indicate to turn heat to low, instead of removing from heat, just in case! 😉 Thank you so much for your support, I hope you get my cookbook SOON!!! 😉 You have a great weekend as well!! -Stephanie