These easy garlic butter noodles are glossy, garlicky, and ready in under 20 minutes, aka the perfect sidekick for a seafood boil or anything you can throw on a grill.
If you’re doing a seafood night, pair these with Garlic Shrimp (so much garlic, so little regret).
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Jump to:
- What Are Garlic Butter Noodles?
- Ingredients You'll Need
- Swaps and Add-ins
- Step-by-Step Easy Garlic Butter Noodles
- Rose's Top Tips
- Variations
- Meal Prep and Storage
- Troubleshooting
- Serve These With
- Recipe FAQs
- More Pancit and Noodle Recipes
- Did you try this recipe?
- Recipe
- Easy Garlic Butter Noodles (Under 20 Minutes)
What Are Garlic Butter Noodles?
Garlic butter noodles, the way most people know them now, trace back to Thanh Long in San Francisco. The dish came out of a Vietnamese American kitchen but was inspired by Italian garlic pasta, then built into something totally its own.
What makes it work is the mix of flavors. Maggi seasoning adds deep savory flavor, oyster sauce brings a little sweetness and richness, and fish sauce adds another layer that melts right into the sauce. Then Parmesan pulls it all together in a way that sounds unusual at first but tastes really good.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Spaghetti or egg noodles are both great here. Long noodles hold the glossy sauce better than short shapes. Fresh Chinese egg noodles from an Asian grocery store give you the chewiest, most restaurant-accurate result. Dried spaghetti or linguine is a perfectly good substitute and what most home cooks use.
- Butter and olive oil work together, the olive oil raises the smoke point so the butter doesn't burn before the garlic has a chance to cook. Don't skip the butter; it's the backbone of the sauce.
- Fresh garlic matters here. Pre-minced jarlic works in a pinch, but the flavor is noticeably milder. Mince it fine so the pieces soften into the sauce rather than staying chunky.
- Maggi seasoning is a dark, savory sauce made from hydrolyzed wheat protein. It's been used in Vietnamese home cooking for generations and it's the ingredient that makes this sauce taste like the restaurant version. Find it at any Asian grocery store, or in the international aisle at most large supermarkets.
- Oyster sauce adds body and a slightly sweet, briny richness. Fish sauce adds the salty umami punch — it smells intense in the bottle but completely mellows when cooked. Sugar balances the salt. These three work as a team; don't skip any of them.
- Parmesan is the surprise ingredient that makes this dish famous. Use freshly grated if you can — it melts more smoothly into the sauce. Bottled pre-grated Kraft Parmesan also works surprisingly well here (trust the process).
- Green onions for garnish, and reserved pasta water — don't forget to scoop some out before you drain. It's the key to a glossy, clingy sauce.
Swaps and Add-ins
No Maggi? Use 1 tablespoon soy sauce + ½ teaspoon Worcestershire + a pinch of garlic powder. The flavor won't be identical but it will still taste rich and savory.
No oyster sauce? Soy sauce or hoisin works — the flavor shifts slightly but it's still delicious. No fish sauce? Skip it or replace with a splash more soy sauce.
Want to add protein? Shell-on shrimp cooked in the garlic butter before you add the sauces is the classic move. Crab, scallops, or chicken thighs all work beautifully alongside these noodles.
Step-by-Step Easy Garlic Butter Noodles
- Cook the Noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente (slightly firm to the bite). Reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water before draining.
- Sauté the Garlic: While the pasta cooks, melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Once melted and hot, add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Be careful not to brown the garlic.
- Build the Sauce: Add the Maggi seasoning, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar to the pan with the garlic. Stir to combine and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Toss the noodles: Drain the cooked pasta and immediately add it to the pan with the sauce. Toss well to coat the noodles evenly.
- Add Parmesan and finish: Add the grated Parmesan cheese and reserved pasta water to the pan. Toss everything together until the cheese melts and a creamy sauce forms. If the mixture seems dry, add a little more pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.
- Season & Serve: Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve immediately.
Rose's Top Tips
- Do not rush the garlic. Give it a minute or two over low to medium heat so it softens and flavors the butter without burning. That step makes a big difference.
- Use plenty of garlic. Garlic noodles are supposed to be bold. If you really love garlic, you can add a little more than the recipe calls for since the butter softens the sharpness.
- Save the pasta water before draining. It helps the sauce turn glossy and cling to the noodles instead of drying out or clumping.
- Toss the noodles right away. Once they hit the pan, move quickly so the sauce coats everything evenly while it is still hot.
- Finish with a little extra butter if you want. A small piece stirred in at the end makes the noodles extra glossy and rich.
Variations
- Spicy: Add red pepper flakes while cooking the garlic, or finish with a spoonful of chili crisp. Serve with One Pan Spicy Shrimp.
- Extra-garlicky (seafood boil style): Add ½–1 teaspoon garlic powder after the fresh garlic cooks for a double-garlic hit. Pair with Singapore Cereal Shrimp.
- Sesame-style: Swap half the olive oil for toasted sesame oil. Serve with Huli-Huli Chicken.
- Lemon-bright: Finish with lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice. Pair with Chicken Karaage.
- Veggie-friendly: Skip fish sauce and use mushroom-based vegetarian oyster sauce. Stir in sautéed broccoli, snap peas, or spinach.
Meal Prep and Storage
These noodles are best fresh. The sauce absorbs into the noodles as they sit and they can get sticky or dry in the fridge. That said, leftovers keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
To reheat, use a skillet over medium heat with a splash of water or broth and toss until loosened and glossy again. Microwave works in a pinch but the texture won't be as good.
Troubleshooting
- Too dry? Add reserved pasta water one tablespoon at a time and toss hard over heat until glossy.
- Too salty? Add a little more butter and toss in a bit more plain noodles to dilute, or add a small pinch of sugar to balance.
- Garlic browned or bitter? Lower the heat next time and stir more frequently. The pan should be medium-low, not medium-high, when the garlic goes in.
- Sauce not clinging? You need more pasta water and more tossing. Make sure you're working quickly while everything is hot.
Serve These With
These noodles were made to go alongside seafood. Try them with One Pan Spicy Shrimp, Singapore Cereal Shrimp, Chicken Inasal, or Huli-Huli Chicken.
Recipe FAQs
Fresh Chinese egg noodles from an Asian grocery store give you the best texture — chewy, toothy, and they hold the sauce beautifully. Dried spaghetti or linguine are great substitutes and what most home cooks reach for. Whatever you use, cook it al dente; overcooked noodles go mushy when tossed in the hot sauce.
Yes. A combination of soy sauce + a small splash of Worcestershire sauce creates a similar savory depth. The flavor won’t be identical, but it will still taste rich and balanced.
Yes. Skip fish sauce and use a vegetarian “oyster sauce” (mushroom-based) or soy sauce.
Add reserved pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time and toss until glossy.
You can, but the flavor will be milder and less aromatic. For the strongest garlic flavor, freshly minced garlic works best in this recipe.
Bitter garlic noodles usually mean the garlic browned or burned. Garlic should only cook until fragrant—about 30 seconds over medium heat.
They should be balanced. The sugar lightly offsets the salty umami sauces—it shouldn’t taste sweet, just rounded and savory.
No. The sugar is there to balance the saltiness of the sauces, not to make the dish taste sweet. You should barely notice it. If your noodles taste sweet, reduce the sugar by half next time.
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Recipe
Easy Garlic Butter Noodles (Under 20 Minutes)
Equipment
- 1 large pot for cooking the pasta
- 1 skillet pan for the sauce
Ingredients
- 12 oz spaghetti pasta or egg noodles
- ¼ cup butter or more!
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablesppon garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon cup maggi seasoning
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon white or brown sugar
- ½ cup parmesan
- salt and pepper
- green onions for garnish
- pasta water
Instructions
- Cook the Noodles: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente (slightly firm to the bite). Reserve about ½ cup of the pasta water before draining.12 oz spaghetti pasta or egg noodles
- Sauté the Garlic: While the pasta cooks, melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat. Once melted and hot, add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Be careful not to brown the garlic.¼ cup butter, 2 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablesppon garlic
- Build the Sauce: Add the Maggi seasoning, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar to the pan with the garlic. Stir to combine and cook for another 30 seconds.1 tablespoon cup maggi seasoning, 2 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon white or brown sugar
- Incorporate the Pasta: Drain the cooked pasta and immediately add it to the pan with the sauce. Toss well to coat the noodles evenly.
- Cheese Time! Add the grated Parmesan cheese and reserved pasta water to the pan. Toss everything together until the cheese melts and a creamy sauce forms. If the mixture seems dry, add a little more pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach your desired consistency.½ cup parmesan, pasta water
- Season & Serve: Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste. Garnish with sliced green onions and serve immediately.salt and pepper, green onions for garnish
Save This Recipe 💌
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Notes
- Do not rush the garlic. Give it a minute or two over low to medium heat so it softens and flavors the butter without burning. That step makes a big difference.
- Use plenty of garlic. Garlic noodles are supposed to be bold. If you really love garlic, you can add a little more than the recipe calls for since the butter softens the sharpness.
- Save the pasta water before draining. It helps the sauce turn glossy and cling to the noodles instead of drying out or clumping.
- Toss the noodles right away. Once they hit the pan, move quickly so the sauce coats everything evenly while it is still hot.
- Finish with a little extra butter if you want. A small piece stirred in at the end makes the noodles extra glossy and rich.
