Sometimes I crave garlic. Especially when it’s garlic cooked in a little bit of salted butter. This recipe takes two wonderful flavors, Parmesan and garlic, and puts them together over whole wheat spaghetti noodles. It’s delicious. And pretty healthy (especially if you have a nice big salad on the side).
Tonight my 4-year-old told us he didn’t want spaghetti. Just a peanut butter and honey sandwich with no top, cut in triangles. Then Busy Dad agreed. He wasn’t in a pasta mood. And our little girl decided she’d rather have a sandwich too. So I told them they didn’t have to eat what I made, but that I wouldn’t make anything else tonight.
However, they all wanted leftover DOUBLE-LAYER CHOCOLATE CAKE for dessert. Ha! We decided they had to at least try the dinner if they wanted cake for dessert. And they did. And all three of them were surprised that they actually really liked these Parmesan Garlic Noodles!
Parmesan Garlic Noodles Recipe
Ingredients:
- 8-10 oz whole wheat spaghetti noodles, cooked (about 10 min.) according to package instructions (I love the organic whole wheat spaghetti from Trader Joes)
- 2-3 Tbsp. butter
- about 1 Tbsp. light olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 C. grated Parmesan cheese
- kosher salt, to taste
- about 1-2 tsp. dry parsley (mixed in) or fresh parsley as a garnish
- optional: sliced mushrooms
- optional: a pinch of grated cheddar cheese as a garnish
Instructions:
- Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Get started with instruction #2. Drain and rinse under cool water.
- Heat a skillet to medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil. Carefully swirl it around. Once all the butter is melted, add the garlic. Mix and cook for about a minute or two until the garlic is fragrant. Add sliced mushrooms, if desired, and cook a few more minutes.
- Mix in the drained spaghetti noodles.
- Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan cheese.
- Add salt to taste (remember, just a little salt at a time). If you want to mix in dry parsley flakes, you can do that now too.
- Serve with some fresh parsley and/or a pinch of grated cheddar cheese as a garnish.
Goes great with a fresh green salad! We made ours with green leaf lettuce, cucumber slices, and diced avocado. I totally would have added fresh tomatoes if we had them.
*Inspired by THIS recipe.