I pretty much always want comfort food. As much as I love eating vegetables and healthy stuff, it’s much more common for me to really want something comforting — bean & cheese quesadilla, mashed potatoes, burgers, and pasta. Mashed potatoes and burgers usually require too much effort (especially when I’m like I NEED COMFORT FOOD STAT!). If, for some crazy reason, I am out of the necessary ingredients (tortillas, beans, cheese) to make a bean & cheese quesadilla: PASTA! Or, if I’ve already had a quesadilla that day: PASTA! Or, if I’m living in Asia and have yet to find good refried beans and cheddar: PASTA!
Since we started our travels in Asia, eight months ago, I’ve had one constant when it comes to comfort food — garlic! Pretty much every mid-level restaurant in Vietnam, as well as the other countries we’ve visited, has garlic bread on the menu. It’s cheap, it’s hard to mess up, and it totally fulfills my “I miss home and need comfort!” craving. So, when I made this pasta, I wanted it to be garlicky!
Like really, really, garlicky. This stuff is not messing around!
All in all, this sauce comes together really quickly. First, melt the butter and add the garlic. Let it cook for a minute or so, really getting that garlicky flavor into the butter. Then {this is the best part!} BLEND IT UP! I didn’t want any garlic chunks in my pasta — this is a smooth creamy sauce, remember? Blend up the butter and garlic, then return it to the pan to make a quick roux before adding the milk or cream to finish the sauce.
Once the sauce and pasta are both done, toss them together and enjoy a ridiculously garlicky, creamy, comforting meal. Did I mention you need to like garlic? You definitely need to like garlic. Since I’m on such a garlic train here, help me out: what are your favorite garlic dishes? Or comfort foods in general? I can’t really drown myself in creamy garlic butter pasta every day (or can I?) so… gimme ideas!!
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This creamy, garlicky pasta is ready in less than 15 minutes and SO easy to throw together! If you want quick comfort food, look no further!
Ingredients
- 10 oz dry pasta
- 3 Tbsp butter
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes. It should be simmering.
- After 1-2 minutes, transfer the butter/garlic to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to the saucepan over medium heat and add the flour.
- Whisk constantly, mixing the flour and butter together, for one minute. Slowly, whisking quickly, add the milk. Bring to a simmer and cook (stirring) until thickened.
- When the pasta is done, mix in the sauce. Add salt and pepper as needed.
Notes
My pasta looks especially yellow in these pictures because the butter over here is all dyed super yellow! Very annoying. Yours will probably *not* be this yellow, fyi!
Want some more pasta ideas? Here are a few of my favorites!
Smokey Delicata Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Quick Stovetop Mac and Cheese
Bacon Tomato Basil Breakfast Pasta
Creamy Pesto Pasta
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
That dish is almost sinfully gorgeous. 🙂 I’m with you on comfort food and I’m feeling pretty comfortable just looking at those great photos.
Mary says
Ha! Thanks, Maureen! xo
Jess Zimlich says
This sounds SO good. I love creamy sauces and pasta is my weakness. YUM!
Mary says
Thanks, Jess! Pasta = THE BEST. Enjoy!
Denise says
Hi, I’m a college student and I don’t own a blender. Is it possible to skip the blending step and just add flour straight in?
Mary says
Hi Denise! You certainly could — I just did it for the texture… I didn’t want chunks of garlic in the sauce. But if you don’t mind chunks (or dice it SUPER small!), you could absolutely skip the blender.
Enjoy! xo
Courtney Chandler says
I just used garlic powder (1/8 teaspoon per each garlic clove) and it came out very smooth. If you don’t like garlic too much, I recommend not using all the garlic powder, though. It gets really strong. I hope this helps!
Mary says
Thanks for the tip, Courtney! Glad you enjoyed it! xo
Meg says
Of course!
Paula Jackson says
Hi! Could you freeze this?
Mary says
Hi Paula — I have never frozen it, and don’t honestly have tons of experience with freezing sauces… but I don’t see why not! Enjoy! xo
Whitney says
What’s the pasta sprinkled with? Parsley?
Mary says
I probably used cilantro, knowing me!
Nancy says
I just made this and it is delicious! I used crushed garlic, so there was no need for the blender. I also added shrimp sautéed in butter, garlic, chopped cilantro, and a dash of cayenne powder. Very, yummy!
Mary says
YUM! That sounds like an amazing variation!!!
Jessica says
Made this tonight and it’s awesome! Thank you!
Mary says
Thanks, Jessica! Glad you liked it! Xo
Gabe says
I made it vegan (used oat milk + vegan butter) with garlic powder, still tasted amazing.
★★★★★
Rosemary Manderson says
I hate to ask but do you have calories per serving?
Mary says
Hi Rosemary! I have not calculated it for this recipe, sorry! Feel free to do so!
Anu says
Really.. It’s too much nice
Maya says
Love love love I added some onion powder and crushed red pepper for spice then I roped it off with shredded Parmesan cheese I definitely recommend it make sure you let it cook for a while though thx Miss. Mary also I didn’t use the blender but if do it again I think I will
Mary says
Thanks for the notes, Maya! Sounds like a delicious variation! xo
Alvita says
I made this for dinner. It was delicious! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
Mary says
So glad you liked it, Alvita! Thanks for the comment! xoxo
Rosemarie says
Hi! Can you use 2 percent milk?
Mary says
Hi Rosemarie! You certainly can! Enjoy! xo
Debaduti Dey says
Succulent and creamy. This is a paradise for pasta lovers (me). Thank you for this mouthwatering recipe!
Mary says
Ha! Thanks, Debaduti! I’m a total pasta lover too — woohoo! Glad to have you here! xo
Alicia says
Hi,
I tried making this sauce & did everything as per your instructions (used a hand blender) but it turned out quite runny. Any suggestions as to where I’m going wrong?
Mary says
Hi Alicia! I wish I could see what exactly you did, but the only thing I can think is that maybe you didn’t cook the roux quite long enough! It needs time to cook in order to thicken! Sorry it didn’t work out for you… better luck next time!
Emily says
If I don’t have milk, can I use something else?
Mary says
Hi Emily,
Do you have any milk-alternative? Coconut milk? Almond milk? Powdered milk? You’re gonna need something along those lines…
xo
Kendra says
I LOVE this recipe. I have made it twice now and it is amazing. The second time I added a bit of onion and feta cheese and it really took it up a notch. Thank you so much for sharing!
★★★★
Mary says
Ooh what a great idea! Thanks for the feedback — glad you like it! xoxo
AnnMarie says
Just out of curiosity, why is there an asterisk by the milk in the ingredients list?
Mary says
Great question, AnnMarie. I have no idea! I must have wanted to add a note and forgotten to do so — and now I have no idea what that note was! Maybe I wanted to note that you can use a milk alternative if you want… but I dunno! Thanks for pointing it out! (I’ve removed it now…)
Sarah B. says
How many cups of dry pasta did you use to make this recipe? I’ve searched everywhere to find the equivalent to 10 oz., but cannot find it.
Mary says
Hi Sarah — That number will vary wildly depending on what shape of pasta you’re using! What do you have? I’d say it’s maybe 2.5 cups of penne (dry), 1.75 of macaroni…
Dia says
Trying this tonight! it looks so good and it is simple enough. 🙂
Mary says
I hope you enjoyed it, Dia! xo
Genevieve says
I just made this and I tried to double the recipe. I used 4 tbsp of flour and it came out really pasty. I added mushrooms and Oregano and chicken. It was good! I couldn’t blend the garlic because it was too small of an amount. I tried mashing the garlic too… it didn’t work. Even though I used 8 cloves, the garlic flavor was faint. So, next time I will cook the garlic longer. Lesson learned: add mushrooms and Oregano, less flour or more milk, and add chicken 🙂 of course whatever spin on it will be delicious, so do what suits you best!
★★★
Cheesygarlicguy says
I like the risks u are taking 😉 hope they paid off
Samara says
The first time I made this it was delicious! Second time, I doubled the recipe and it was too pasty as well. I think 3 tablespoons of flour would’ve probably been enough or 1 1/2 cups of milk…I’ll stick to a single batch for now! So good and simple!
Mary says
Totally agree — if you double the recipe, keep the roux situation the same (e.g. do not double flour/butter for the roux). It may be time for me to re-visit my amounts here — perhaps it could be halved for the original recipe!
Karina says
Made this tonight and it was amazing! I don’t have a blender and it still turned out great! Super simple ingredients that I already had at home!
Mary says
Yay! So glad to hear it, Karina! xo
Jodi says
Looking to make this for a group of 10. This yields 2… cups? servings?
Mary says
2 servings (but somewhat generous servings). I like to do 4oz of dry pasta per person, so I’d quadruple this recipe!
Sonakshi says
I am in love with this recipe..it’s quick and easy yet does not compromise with taste..lovely comfort food.. thanks for the recipe!!
★★★★★
Mary says
Glad you enjoyed it, Sonakshi!! xo
Tan says
OMG. Delicious!!! Im a beginner in the kitchen but i was able to follow your recipe easily. Thanka so much for the party in my mouth👍👏👏👏👏
Mary says
You’re welcome, Tan! I’m glad the recipe was easy to follow, and that you enjoyed it!! xoxo
jimjkqwj says
Good, Looking for something without cheese, My son is allergic
Mary says
Hopefully he enjoys this! xo
Marty says
This recipe was amazing and inexpensive! I did add light cream, sour cream, salmon, spinach, and tomatoes. 😋😋 Next time I will add parmesan cheese! 🤗
By chance, are you on YouTube?
Mary says
OMG such great additions!!! I’ll have to give that a try. I am on youtube, but haven’t done much recently. But give me a follow — I have (perhaps foolish) ambitions of doing more videos, more regularly! What would you want to see? https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZjKYRBpx_rYaZxmGHdWgAg
Denise says
Love this recipe! I used wheat flour and almond milk as substitutes. I also had Chef shamy garlic butter ( excellent for diabetics) and mrs. Dash garlic and herb. Trying to watch salt intake. I doubled the sauce because i wanted to add onions, broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms. Delicious! Thanks!
★★★★★
Mary says
Ooh I love your addition of vegetables, Denise!! Sounds delicious! xo
Shannon says
Doubled recipe, delicious. Would be good with just a little pesto added, or sun dried tomatoes, or mushrooms. Nice, simple, basic that is good and easy. And can be switched up pretty easily for variety. Can go vegetarian or add some chicken. I absolutely love this type of recipe. Makes life simpler.
Mary says
Thanks, Shannon! LOVE the idea of adding pesto (or the others)!! xoxo
Stephanie Rummell says
Omgarsh! 😄 I used this sauce in my Shrimp Ligiuini and it was perfect! 😃 likes like this is a favorite Sunday dish in our house!😂😉Thanks for the recipe!
Mary says
Omg! Brilliant!!! I will have to add shrimp to this next time!! Thanks for the tip, Stephanie! xoxo
Chris says
I was looking for a sauce that was easy and quick for a single meal with a little left over for lunch tomorrow. I’m also eating vegan food so I subbed the butter for vegan butter and milk for coconut milk. It worked perfectly. I also added nutritional yeast and italian seasoning for more flavor. I like my food seasoned and without the added ingredients the final result was bland. Anyway, thanks for sharing!
★★★★
Chrissy says
This recipe is so goood!! And quick I tried it at home cause I didn’t have much ingredients thank you so much !! Whoever made this
Mary says
Glad you liked it, Chrissy!! xo
Laura Wenzel says
Thia eas really good! I doubled it it for 16 oz of noodles added onion and garlic powder and parsley. Threw in some lemon hwrbed cooked chicken breast. So yummy! Next time will x4 the sauce to make a lil creamier.
★★★★
Jamie says
Made this last night for my hubby’s birthday dinner. Pasta and butter is his favorite, but I think plain ol’ pasta and butter is so boring…I needed to change it up. I came across your recipe. He loved it! The kids loved it, too! I even made it vegan by using Earth Balance and Silk almond milk. Came perfectly! I doubled it to feed the family.
Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
Mary says
Glad you liked it, Jamie!! Thanks for the tips on making it vegan — glad to know that EB & almond milk work. xoxo
Shoshanna says
Followed everything precisely as stated and sauce was more like a creamy dough. Also didn’t taste like much. Had to throw it out.
★
Mary says
Sorry to hear that, Shoshanna!
Matt says
Sauce taste like white gravy with lots of garlic. Not very good
★★
Sue says
Hi! I’m usually not really good at making creamy sauces but this one was actually super easy and delicious! Thank you so much for this and I will DEFINITELY check out your other recipes! Have a nice day 🙂
★★★★★
Vanessa says
This recipe seemed bland so I spiced it up! I added a little more garlic, parsley, red chili flakes and some parmesan cheese. Turned out great!
★★★★
Charmaine says
Thanks for sharing! May I know why does my sauce get curdled? I use semolina instead of plain flour. Will that be a cause or is it the heat when i added the milk?
Chelsea says
I wanted lunch today and stumbled upon your recipe. I didn’t even think about making a béchamel for my sauce. It was a bit bland though so I added crushed red peppers, Parmesan, and onion powder. Also it was really really thick so I used some of the starchy pasta water to thin it out. Over all it came out great.
★★★★
Lilly says
it didn’t really turn out good, but I think that’s my problem. When I put it into the pasta it chunked up horribly. Too much flour?
Mary says
Hrmmm. Was the sauce smooth and done before you added the pasta? I’m honestly baffled at why it would chunk up upon adding the pasta.