Browned Garlic Butter Pasta – penne pasta tossed in a browned garlic butter sauce, topped with cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and parmesan cheese.  A light, easy 20-minute meal!

Do you love no-meat pasta for dinner?  We usually go meatless once or twice a week.  This vegetarian browned garlic butter pasta with fresh basil and tomatoes is a fast, delicious meal to enjoy any night of the week.  With only a handful of ingredients (you probably have most if not all of them on hand already), this pasta dish is awesome.  Full of bright, fresh flavors this pasta recipe is a go-to recipe for my family and will soon be one for yours.  Pasta’s on and it smells A-MAZING!

IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE YOU MAY LIKE THESE TOO:

• No-Boil Spinach and Cheese Manicotti
• 30-Minute Chicken Ranch Mac n’ Cheese
• Easy Garden Fresh Italian Pasta Salad
• 4-Cheese Stovetop Mac and Cheese
• Spicy Sausage and Olive Pasta

 

DO I HAVE TO USE PENNE PASTA?

Nope! We love penne pasta but if you don’t or don’t have penne on hand, feel free to use a pound (16 oz) of another kind of pasta.  Rigatoni and bowtie are great in this recipe.  We also like it with regular spaghetti pasta.  This browned garlic butter pasta recipe would also be amazing with a good cheese-stuffed ravioli.  

THERE ARE RED CHILI FLAKES IN YOUR PICTURE. IS THIS A SPICY PASTA DISH?

This browned garlic butter pasta has a hint of spiciness but isn’t what I’d call spicy (mouth tingling, pass me some water).  If you don’t like spicy, you can omit the red chili flakes.  If you like spicy you can double or even triple the red chili flakes listed in the recipe.  I try to cook to 2 or 3 flavor profiles (sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, salty, etc).  This tends to make a dish more flavorful and enjoyable than a 1 profile dish.  Adding a little heat enhances and elevates the dish in its entirety.  It will keep you coming back for more it’s so delicious!    

FRESH, DELICIOUS INGREDIENTS AND MORE WAYS THAN ONE TO ENJOY IT!

This quick pasta recipe has just a handful of ingredients.  You can enjoy this recipe as a hot lunch or dinner or make it ahead as a cold pasta salad.  If making it as a cold pasta salad, let noodles and browned butter sauce come to room temperature then toss in cherry tomatoes, basil and cheese right before serving.  Here’s the recipe lineup:

• penne pasta
• butter
• fresh garlic
• red chili flakes
• cherry tomatoes
• fresh basil
• parmesan cheese to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

This recipe is full of bright fresh ingredients that taste great together.  It’s so easy to make and can be ready in 20 minutes or less.  That’s my kind of meal, especially these days with 4 little ones helping in the kitchen.    

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PASTA TOPPING OR SAUCE?

 

PRICE CHECK ($):

This browned garlic butter pasta is a go-to meal at our house.  It’s fast, super yummy (my girls will all eat it), and we usually have all the ingredients on hand.  If we don’t have fresh tomatoes we’ve made this recipe with a can of diced or stewed tomatoes before and it’s still really good. Prices of supplies may vary depending on location and store you purchase groceries from.  I shop bulk food stores, use coupons, watch ads and shop sales (like case lot), buy supplies in bulk to save on cost and use homegrown produce and herbs when available.  Here’s my ingredient list and cost:

• Penne pasta – $0.99
• Butter – $0.38
• Garlic – $0.30
• Red chili flakes – $0.05
• Cherry tomatoes (I grow my own tomatoes through the summer and use them when I can because they’re FREE. If I purchase tomatoes in the offseason I can usually find them on sale for around this price) – $1.50
• Fresh basil (I grow my own in the summer and fall which makes it free but in the offseason, it costs about this much if I buy a whole plant (about $4) and keep it in my window seal.  This way I can use it when I need it without having to keep it in the fridge.) – $1.50
• parmesan cheese (1/2 cup) – $0.60
• salt and pepper to taste – nominal

The total cost for this meal if I make it in the summer when my garden is producing tomatoes and basil, this meal only costs me about $2.02.  That’s less than 35¢ per serving!!! In the offseason, it’s only about $5.02 for 6 servings which is still a great price for this meal at less than 85¢ per serving.  This pasta seriously rocks with its light, fresh, vegetarian qualities and inexpensive, quick prep.  It’s a perfect meal for when you what flavor without the heaviness of a thick sauce or meat.      

Here’s the full printable recipe. Enjoy!

IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE YOU MAY LIKE THESE TOO:

• No-Boil Spinach and Cheese Manicotti
• 30-Minute Chicken Ranch Mac n’ Cheese
• Easy Garden Fresh Italian Pasta Salad
• Spicy Sausage and Olive Pasta
• 4-Cheese Stovetop Mac and Cheese