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Garlic Parmesan Pasta is light and creamy, perfect to serve as a side dish for your favorite protein or as a super simple main dish. This easy recipe is a one pot pasta with tender noodles, a cheesy, creamy garlic sauce and the best part is it’s ready in 20 minutes!
For a simple, easy meal, serve with Baked Boneless Chicken Thighs and Cheesy Garlic Bread.
Garlic Parmesan Pasta
This easy recipe is an absolute family favorite. I usually serve Garlic Parmesan Pasta with Crispy Baked Chicken Thighs or Oven Baked Chicken Breasts and some Frozen Vegetables or a quick tossed salad. I’ve also been known to just whip it up for lunch because it’s such a quick recipe.
The garlic pasta sauce is creamy and tastes like an Alfredo Sauce. To lighten it up, I used half skim milk and half heavy cream. You could use any ratio of milk and cream that you like, or even no cream at all. The more cream you use, the richer the sauce will be.
The best part you can have this dish on the table in 20 minutes, depending on how you cook it. I’ve included two methods below. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Butter
- Uncooked linguine or fettuccine noodles – this is the type of pasta I commonly use. You could really use any pasta you like but you may have to adjust the cooking time.
- Chicken broth (or stock) – if you don’t have broth handy, water can be used as a substitute. Just be sure to taste and add salt as needed.
- Salt and pepper – you can also add 1/4-½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning, dried oregano, or basil for additional seasoning.
- 1 cup milk/cream – use any ratio of milk to cream, or use half and half.
- Parmesan cheese – freshly grated off the block
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, for garnish
Step by Step Instructions
* Be sure to see the recipe card below for the
complete list of ingredients and full instructions *
- Saute garlic in a 12-inch skillet. Garlic cooks quickly, so you’ll only want to cook it for about a minute.
- Add the pasta, salt, pepper, butter, chicken stock, and milk/cream to the skillet. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. It’s hard to stir long, uncooked noodles, so using tongs works great to help toss them around in the sauce.
- Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat and cover the pan. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until pasta is cooked to al dente. You can also cook the pasta with the lid off at a higher heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes for an even quicker dish.
- Turn off the heat and toss the cooked pasta in the sauce. Add Parmesan cheese evenly over the top of the pasta, tossing with tongs to get it well incorporated and melted. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Expert Tips and FAQs
- When the pasta is cooked there should still be just a little liquid left in the pan. As you stir in the Parmesan cheese this liquid will help to create the creamy sauce.
- Add the Parmesan gradually and in a thin layer evenly across the top of the pasta, then gently toss to melt and coat the pasta. Do this in batches if necessary to ensure the cheese doesn’t clump as it melts.
- I will sometimes grate the block of cheese right into the pasta, tossing as I go, to avoid clumping.
- Always use fresh, grated off-the-block Parmesan. The pre-grated and pre-shredded won’t melt and you’ll end up with a grainy sauce.
- If your pasta sauce is too thick, just add a few splashes of milk or cream at a time. Toss with each addition until your desired consistency is reached.
- For an extra creamy sauce, or if you need to thicken your sauce, add a couple ounces of softened cream cheese.
What to serve with Garlic Parmesan Pasta
- Spicy Garlic Shrimp
- Chicken Piccata
- Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken Drumsticks
- Shrimp Scampi
- Garden Salad with Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Pan Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs
- Oven Roasted Asparagus
Storage and Reheating
Storage: Once pasta is cooled and within 2 hours of cooking, store leftover garlic parmesan pasta in an airtight container. Refrigerate for up to 3-4 days.
To reheat: You can reheat your pasta in the microwave or on the stovetop in a skillet (recommended). Before heating, add a splash of milk to help the sauce bind together, and reheat gradually and at a low temperature for best results.
More One Pot Pasta Recipes You’ll Love
- One Pan Caprese Pasta
- One Pan Philly Cheesesteak
- One Pot Creamy Chicken and Noodles
- One Pot Chicken Alfredo
If you’ve made this recipe, please come back and leave us a star rating or a comment below. Or, tag us on social media @yellowblissroad or #yellowblissroad for a chance to be featured.
One Pan Garlic Parmesan Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic about 3-4 cloves
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 8 ounces uncooked linguine noodles
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup warmed milk/cream (I use half nonfat milk and half heavy cream use any ratio of milk-cream and warm for 30 seconds in the microwave.
- 1/2 cup fresh shredded Parmesan cheese off the block
- 1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high, heat olive oil and add garlic. Stir and cook until garlic becomes fragrant and just starts to brown; about 1 minute. Add pasta, salt, pepper, butter, chicken stock and milk/cream. Stir and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until pasta is tender. OR cook and stir constantly for about 10 minutes for a quicker finish.
- Remove from heat, toss pasta, and gradually stir in Parmesan Cheese. *Pro-tip – I use a microplane and grate right over the pasta.
- Garnish with fresh minced parsley, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Instant hit!!! My 2.5 year old devoured her portion and then ate a second serving in under 5 minutes. So easy to make and super flavorful. My husband says this needs to go on our weekly routine. And what I love is how little effort it is! I feel like this can go with anything. I’m looking forward to making some shrimp garlic Parmesan pasta!
That’s awesome Laura! Thank you so much for stopping by to share.
I made a few substitutions and accidentally made a dupe for pasta roni garlic and herb! I used spaghetti noodles, heavy whipping cream instead of half & half, almond milk, water instead of broth, and added about 1/4 teaspoon of dried parsley, maybe more. I’m gluten free and used to love pasta roni, so glad to have a dupe now!
Love those happy accidents!
Delicious light recipe!
Thank you Becky!
I added some cooked carrot “coins” for some color and nutrition. Also sprinkled on some Italian herbs and served it with Italian sausage links (cooked separately with onion petals). Outside of it being slightly greasy, the pasta was very good. It is excellent with Crystal hot sauce.
Thanks!
This was simply delicious. I made it to go with some flounder filets I’m baking for tonight’s dinner.
Thanks for a fast and tasty recipe.
You are so welcome Karen! Thanks for stopping by.
My whole family loves this lighter recipe!!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Becky.
This recipe is astonishingly good for how simple it is! It has become a family favorite!
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Diana.
super simple and easy to make, my kids love this. I made this a few times and sometimes add a small handful of frozen peas.
Love the feedback Heather! Thanks for stopping by.
Made it for supper tonight. Delicious! And so easy to make. Definitely making this often.
Love the feedback Jeanne! Thanks for stopping by.
I was wondering if this could be done in a slow cooker, and if so, how would I adjust the time to make sure that the pasta comes out ok??
Hi – I don’t think this is something I’d try in the slow cooker. Milk is kind of iffy at that heat. It really only takes 20 minutes on the stove.
Super easy, super awesome! I’ve actually been making this a while now and realized I never left a review. This recipe more than deserves one 🙂
Love the feedback Jus! Thanks for stopping by.
I was very surprised at how quick this was to make…and I used fine egg noodles, which cook in 5 minutes…
And it was so good!
Love the feedback Sally! Thanks for stopping by.
First time making this.. It was delicious… Thanks for the recipe..
You are so welcome Sharon! Thanks for stopping by.
Very good! I am making for the second time in 3 days. So simple and ingredients we always have on hand. Going to teach my kids this one!
Nice! Fantastic feedback Amy! Thanks for stopping by.
I am reading this recipe and wondering does it ask for 1 cup of milk and 1 cup or cream or just one cup total. Recipe just says 1 cup milk/cream.
Hi Blanche, I explained that in the ingredients list, right after the measurement. You need 1 cup total, and any combo of milk and cream.
This is one of our favorites! I double the recipe, but would still like more sauce. What is the best way to make it saucier? More milk/cream and broth? Thanks!
Hi Shannon, because this is intended to be a one pan meal, it’s tough to adjust for more sauce. I recommend trying our Creamy Homemade Alfredo Sauce. It’s similar in flavor and you could add more garlic if you want.
Can you use half n half instead of heavy cream want to make tonight but don’t have the heavy cream?
Yes, you can use any combination of milk/cream and half & half will work.
Just finished this recipe and it is lovely and couldn’t have been any easier!! Thank you for sharing!
Awesome feedback Marianne! Thanks for stopping by.
Sorry-forgot this is 5 stars!!!
Thank you so much for the 5 stars Brenda.
Made this tonight to go with baked chicken. It was great! My husband loved it! Thank you for a wonderful recipe. ❤️
You are so welcome Brenda! Thanks for stopping by.
This recipe is downright INCREDIBLE. I always toss in a different protein/veg combo every time and its ALWAYS a hit! I never comment on recipe sites but I had to for this one. It is amazing!!
Awesome feedback! Thank you Amanda!
Made this for dinner!! I didn’t have linguine noodles so I used angel hair and a little extra cheese. Its phenomenal
Nice! Thanks for stopping by Victoria.
What would be the best way for there to be more sauce say to go over a crispy Parmesan chicken?
Probably would be easier to go with an Alfredo Sauce and cook the pasta separately.
What is the best way to add chicken to this recipe
If you’re wanting to cook it with the pasta, you could do that by dicing a large chicken breast into chunks and cooking it in a little olive oil most of the way through before adding the other ingredients. Or, you could cook the chicken separately using either my Baked Chicken Breasts or Stove Top Chicken Breast
This is an amazing dish! Whole family loves it! Great with added veggies and chicken.
Thank you so much Cory, for sharing your positive feedback.
Do you think plain yogurt could be substituted for the milk/cream?
Yogurt is a good substitute for sour cream but not for milk, so no, that wouldn’t work in this recipe.
This is a delicious recipe but I have a big family, how can I double the servings? Just double the ingredients? Thanks!
You could double the ingredients if you have a large enough pan.
This sounds delicious, but I have a question. I use roasted minced garlic for all of my recipes that call for garlic. Would it hurt to use minced roasted garlic, or is it best to use regular minced? I’ve never made my own parmasan noodles, so I have no idea how it would affect it. I use roasted minced garlic for all of my recipes that call for garlic.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to use that same sentence twice. I thought I deleted the last one. 🙂
Yes you can make that swap. I love roasted garlic too and think it would be absolutely delicious!
I had my picky/healthy eater go through my dinner pinterest board to choose some new meals to try that he would eat. Just made this, and he loved it! His friend was over and said he doesn’t normally like pasta, but he wanted his mom to make it. Whew, two wins in one! Plus, one pan! I’m in heaven.
That’s so awesome Kathy! thank you so much for stopping by!
Absolutely delicious.. I use this as a base for other pastas.. I’m recreating Cheesecake Factory’s fajita pasta using this as a base but instead I add cheddar cheese and add Mexican spices along with chicken and peppers and a touch of honey.. amazing!!!
Thank you Michele!
One of our favorites now. So good and quick!
So i have a question i don’t boil the noodles seperatkey correct?
No, they cook in the sauce.
My family and I love this recipe. My girls ask for pasta at least once a week. We add chicken or broccoli or both. So delicious thank you for sharing.
Delicious! I added a little extra Cream,Broth, and Parm. To make up for adding shredded chicken. It came out wonderful!!!!
I love adding chicken to this recipe!
Looks great, easy to make, I’ll try your recipe and see how it works:)). Love all the photos your posted. Thanks so much for sharing Kristen!
Thank you Monica!
Sounds good
How would this recipe be converted into millilitres and grams
There are lots of online calculators. I would just google the conversions.
How would you do this with fresh pasta that doesn’t need ten minutes to cook?
I would use an alfredo sauce and just add a little more garlic than it calla for, then toss it with cooked pasta. Try this recipe: https://www.yellowblissroad.com/homemade-alfredo-sauce/
I made this tonight and it was very good! It took about 30 minutes start to finish, which is great during the week. I was feeling indulgent so I used 3/4 cup half and half and 1/4 cup 1% milk. I used a little more linguine than it calls for because we like to eat (I made it for three). I added steamed broccoli with the Parmesan at the end. The only thing I’ll do differently next time is cut the salt in half because there was a little too much. Otherwise this one is a keeper!
Thank you Judy! Thanks for sharing your experience!
Is it one cup of heavy cream and one cup of milk or half of heavy cream and half cup of milk.
You need 1 cup total – could be 1 cup all cream or 1 cup all milk, or any combination of the two.
Would love to make this but what is the sodium content?
OMG!!! This is a keeper, I added a small amount of steamed broccoli and the breath of a rotisserie chicken when I tossed in the Parm! If it is too think I added some whole milk and stirred until my desired consistency! Thank you, thank you! Great recipe!
That’s a great tip, thanks for sharing!
Hard to read. You need to proof read your blogging. It would help. Good recipe once I skipped straight to it. Good photos.
I caught one typo, thanks.
i love it!
Made this tonight with some garlic shrimp on top! Delicious!! Great pasta recipe!!!
So I’m pretty new to cooking and I was wondering if it was one cup milk and one cup of cream or half a cup milk, half a cup cream?
Thank you.
It’s one cup total – so half a cup of each.
Thank you.
I have made this a few times. I adjusted the sauce slightly, as I like a saucier pasta. It is very good and very simple to make.
Yay!
Would it be ok to double the size we have a huge family and I really want this tonight!!
Yes I think that would be pretty simple to do! 🙂
Made this tonight. Everyone loved it! It was so easy.
Made this tonight with a twist. I used shrimp stock instead of chicken and added cooked shrimp. It was great and my picky husband loved it!
Oh that sounds amazing!
This was delicious ! thanks for sharing both my picky eaters at home loved this
I have made this twice. The first time according to the directions, and it tasted too starchy. The second time I boiled the noodles separately then added them, and it tasted much better.
I made this for dinner today. It was a big hit. Very easy to make and super delicious.
I’m making this tonight!! I bought a roast chicken and will chop it up and add at the end. Easy, thank you for one-pot ideas!!
How do I adjust the servings for more?
My husband loved this and that is quite a compliment. I used Half & Half instead of the 1 cup milk/cream.
Thank you so much for this amazing recipe! This is truly a one pot recipe. My whole family loves this dish!! It is so tasty. I have never cooked pasta that way and I absolutely loved it- cooking it in chicken broth and other ingredients is genius. Thank you!!
I’ve been making this since you first wrote about it several years ago. It’s my go to for a quick but filling supper. My daughter loves it so much, she requests it often and we now refer to it in our home as “The Good Pasta.” However, we are working on changing our diets and Id really like to make just the sauce of this and pour over Zoodles. Any idea how to make just the sauce itself? Thanks in advance!
I haven’t tried this recipe, but it looks pretty similar to Alfredo sauce. It’s like a basic white sauce (or béchamel if you’re feeling fancy) with garlic & parmesan cheese. It just has some extra liquid added for the pasta. So if you’re still looking for a way to alter this recipe, I’d say try one of these options:
1. look for a white sauce / béchamel sauce recipe & add garlic (if necessary) & parmesan
2. look for an Alfredo sauce recipe
3. try making this, but omit the pasta and chicken broth. After it comes to a boil, if it’s too thin, cook it a little longer & if it’s too thick, add some milk or chicken broth.
I hope one of those ideas works for you (if you haven’t found a solution already), and you can enjoy “The Good Zoodles”.
I just took another look at the ingredients, and if the idea above comes out too thin, you could try adding a little flour with the butter at the beginning. I’m thinking the starch from the pasta probably helps thicken the sauce.
If you’ve already made the sauce and it’s really runny, don’t use flour, because it will be hard to cook out the floury taste. I’d try either adding more cheese, or mix a little corn starch in a bowl with some milk, water, or chicken broth, and once it’s dissolved, add it to the sauce, and let it come to a boil to thicken it. (Don’t add corn starch to a hot liquid, because it won’t dissolve as well.)
Good luck!
Thanks for sharing…absolutely awesome as written!! Adding chicken, I can imagine, will make it even more spectacular!! 🙂
I made this last night and will definitely be making it again and again! I used 5 gloves of fresh garlic. I didn’t have low sodium broth, so I omitted the added salt. I increased the pepper to 1/2 tsp. I used half&half. At the end I added one grilled/blackened chicken breast chopped up and a pound of steamed broccoli. Incredibly easy and deicious!
I have a large family to double the recipe should I double all the ingredients?
Yes you could certainly do that!
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I added leftover grilled chicken that I had slightly warmed in the microwave. Really good and easy. My family all loved it also.
Sounds delicious!
I am going to add shrimp to it 🙂
That’s a great idea!
Love love love this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing. I make this all the time and my daughter loves it. So easy and quick. I use almond milk. Going to try adding chicken and broccoli next time.
can I cook this a day in advance and serve it cold or at room temperature? I want to serve it to a very large crowd?
I don’t think it would be that great cold.
Loved this! Tasted greats so flexible with add-ins! (Chicken (woot woot!), broccoli, etc)
This recipe is delicious. I cooked boneless skinless chicken breast in the pot first then added fresh broccoli florets after the noodles came to a boil.
Thank you for the great recipe!!
This was so easy and delicious! I followed exact except I fried up some Pancetta and crumbled over the top.
Question – for the Parmesan cheese- do you grate from a block or just the sprinkle kind ?
You could use either, and I have. However grating from the block is so much better!
My son and I love this dish!! Any ideas on how to adjust the recipe to use homemade noodles? I know they use much less cook time, and I wouldn’t want the dish to be have too much liquid. Thanks!
Sorry I haven’t tried it with homemade pasta. But let me know how it works out if you do!
Did you try this with homemade noodles? I’m wondering the same thing. I plan to add the noodles a few minutes before I’m ready for the dish, but not sure about liquid adjustments.
I made this dish, as we are in a 5th wheel for a month, and anything easy sounds wonderful. The thought of making pasta without boiling, straining, and into yet another dish, etc, was something i could not pass up. i did it as it was written, plus threw in a few fresh green beans before i put in the pasta, and then chopped up some left over meat balls, cuz i had them, and was looking for a one meal dish. Wonderful as written, plus i can see the option for lots of variations. Thanks for a recipe i will use over and over…best, Danie
This has become my go-to for chicken fettuccini….yes, I add chicken every time. We love it….thank you so much for sharing!
I just made this for dinner at the last minute for the first time. It was amazingly good! I used campanelle shaped pasta since that’s what I owned and boiled it for 13 minutes and threw in a small amount of dried parsley. I also used lactose-free 2% milk. Wow, was it good! This is going to become a staple in my house. I’m so excited I found this recipe on Pinterest. My ultra picky 11 year old ate literally one noodle as a taste and even admitted to liking it which is a big deal. This is something I always have the ingredients for too. Thank you!
I LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it about a dozen times now, always turns out great! I’ll make it as is or with chicken or shrimp or mushrooms! It’s become a fast favorite!
The first time I made this recipe I followed it exactly except I used linguine noodles instead of fettuccine. I was a little unsatisfied because the noodles were kind of mushy and all stuck together. This time, I reduced the broth to 1 1/2 cups and reduced the cooking time to 15 minutes. It was perfect! So, if you are using smaller noodles such as linguine or spaghetti you will want to reduce the liquid and the cooking time. The noodles were tender but still firm and the sauce clung to the noodles.
You can also mix up this recipe by adding whatever veggies you want to the pan when you simmer it. I added in minced onion with the garlic, and threw in some asparagus I had in my fridge when I added the noodles. It added a wonderful depth of flavor and variety of texture.
I made this tonight. We added some shredded rotisserie chicken we had! Do you know what the calorie count is on this recipe? Thanks!!!
in the first part of the instructions you say to cover while cooking but in the second part you don’t mention it. Do you cover it while cooking? Excited to try this! Thanks!
Both parts says to cover and simmer
I just made this tonight and it is delicious. It definitely does not need cream. I used 1% milk and it tasted like it was made with heavy cream. Yum. It was perfect comfort food for a cold, cold winter day.
Would you add raw chicken to this recipe? If so, when? Before the garlic? Or after? Want to make this tonight for my family. Can’t wait to try something different!
Definitely cook the chicken before adding it to the pasta. I haven’t tried it, but you could probably do it similar to the way other one pans on the site are cooked.
I made this tonight, but i tweaked it a little. i used half & half in place of milk, browned two cut up boneless skinless chicken breasts before the garlic and when it came to simmering i added a bag of frozen broccoli florets
I’m glad you left this comment! I was wondering a out adding chicken as well. Making this tonight for the first time.
Raw chicken tends to leave behind the coagulated blood. Also, any juices that run out of the chicken or moisture from frozen veggies should be take into account. It might just be several tablespoons, but you’ll want to make the adjustment as not not to overcook waiting for the thickening. Also, the browning of the chicken is both delish and pleasing to the eye. And since you’ll be adding it to the pasta, you don’t need to cook it quite all the way through(unless adding it the VERY end.) Tenders cut into pieces is quick and easy. Plus the yummy bits it leaves behind will add flavor one the liquid deglazrs the pan. Good luck fellow foodies!
These are excellent tips, thank you!!
What can I substitute for the chicken broth to make this a vegetarian dish?
I imagine vegetable broth would work well. Or you could simply use water; just be sure to add salt.
I used Better Than Bouillon Vegetable base which you mix with water to make a vegetable broth. it turned out great! I thought it was even better than when I made it with chicken broth.
Better than bouillon is the best! I use the chicken and beef all the time
We had this for dinner tonight and my oh my was it easy, delicious, and quick ! My husband and daughter absoTOOTly loved it ! :] Thank you for sharing this yummy goodness!
Being able to make dinner in one pan is such a huge help! This recipe looks delicious!
Love this recipe but does anyone know how many people this feeds? Thanks!
It should make around 4-5 servings.