Recipe: Brown Butter Parmesan Pasta

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There is something eternally satisfying and soothing about buttered pasta. Toss warm strands of spaghetti with a pat of rich butter and a sprinkle of grated Parm and you’ve got an ultra-comforting meal that comes together in minutes. Use that as inspiration, then up the ante with nutty brown butter, golden toasted panko, and a double dose of cheese and you’ve got a comforting dish that’s fancy enough for when friends pop over.

Brown Butter Instantly Makes Pasta Night Feel Fancy
Add brown butter to any recipe, from vegetables to vinaigrette to cookies, and you know you’re in for a real treat. Here it’s cooked down over low heat on the stovetop until the milk solids caramelize into a nutty sweetness to turn a basic pot of weeknight spaghetti into a meal that tastes totally luxurious. And if that wasn’t enough to win you over, it comes together with a short list of pantry staples in about 20 minutes.

Brown Butter Parmesan Pasta
Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry spaghetti
  
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
  
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions until just barely al dente. Drain the pasta; set aside.
   
   
2. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat until foaming. Add the panko and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
   
   
3. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in the same skillet over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon so that it melts evenly. Once the butter begins to foam and form brown bits, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the butter is browned with a nutty aroma. Remove the skillet from the heat.
   
   
4. Add the pasta and Parmesan to the skillet and use tongs to toss together until the pasta is evenly coated with the brown butter and cheese. Add the reserved panko, lemon juice, and parsley and toss to combine.
   

Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Kelli Foster is the Food Editor for Plan & Prep content for Kitchn. She's a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and author of the cookbooks, The Probiotic Kitchen, Buddha Bowls, and Everyday Freekeh Meals.

 

[Rescued One]

YUM!

Thanks.

 

[Bible Highlighter]

There is something eternally satisfying and soothing about buttered pasta. Toss warm strands of spaghetti with a pat of rich butter and a sprinkle of grated Parm and you’ve got an ultra-comforting meal that comes together in minutes. Use that as inspiration, then up the ante with nutty brown butter, golden toasted panko, and a double dose of cheese and you’ve got a comforting dish that’s fancy enough for when friends pop over.

Brown Butter Instantly Makes Pasta Night Feel Fancy
Add brown butter to any recipe, from vegetables to vinaigrette to cookies, and you know you’re in for a real treat. Here it’s cooked down over low heat on the stovetop until the milk solids caramelize into a nutty sweetness to turn a basic pot of weeknight spaghetti into a meal that tastes totally luxurious. And if that wasn’t enough to win you over, it comes together with a short list of pantry staples in about 20 minutes.

Brown Butter Parmesan Pasta
Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry spaghetti
  
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
  
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
  
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to the package instructions until just barely al dente. Drain the pasta; set aside.
   
   
2. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large, high-sided skillet over medium heat until foaming. Add the panko and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
   
   
3. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel. Melt the remaining 8 tablespoons butter in the same skillet over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon so that it melts evenly. Once the butter begins to foam and form brown bits, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the butter is browned with a nutty aroma. Remove the skillet from the heat.
   
   
4. Add the pasta and Parmesan to the skillet and use tongs to toss together until the pasta is evenly coated with the brown butter and cheese. Add the reserved panko, lemon juice, and parsley and toss to combine.

Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Kelli Foster is the Food Editor for Plan & Prep content for Kitchn. She's a graduate of the French Culinary Institute and author of the cookbooks, The Probiotic Kitchen, Buddha Bowls, and Everyday Freekeh Meals.

Looks like a good recipe.

My wife and I ate at the Cheesecake Factory a while back, and she wondered what made their pasta so good. She suspected that they may have used butter. So she fried up the pasta in butter and it was awesome.

Our standard Italian pasta dish:

Ingredients:

1. Chinese LoMein noodles.
(Note: We use the brand called “Simply Asia”). Angel hair could be an alternative.
2. Chicken Broth (My wife uses the paste version and adds water to it, but it does not have to be this version).
3. Garlic.
4. Onion.
5. Olive Oil.
6. Basil.
7. Barilla Marinara sauce.
8. Butter.
9. Best frozen meatballs (alternative: Breaded chicken parm made really thin)
10. Fresh parmesan cheese that you need to grate yourself.
11. Shredded Mozzarella cheese.

Directions:

1. Boil pasta in chicken broth, onions, and garlic.
2. Fry up some garlic in a frying pan with the butter, and olive oil.
3. Once pasta is boiled (cooked), rinse out the chicken broth liquid with a colander.
4. Add the pasta to the frying pan and fry it up a bit with butter, etc.
5. In cooking pot: Fry up some garlic and onion in a little olive oil, and then place the marina sauce with the basil in it and let it simmer for a bit.
6. Place your pasta on a plate, pour the sauce, and then add the heated up meat of your choice on top.
7. Add some shredded Mozzarella.
8. Add the fresh grated parmesan cheese.

And viola.

Note: My wife mixes this recipe up a bit and so it is not always the same.

 

[returntosender]

You all make me hungry! I makethis same recipe as the first one but not with butter or flakes. I am sure like you said it is much better with butter. My only caution is not to use a generic parm as I bought some and it was bitter. Yuck, turned me off from this recipe til I can get to the store to buy another.
I like your recipe because some is already prepared, lol. Makes life so much easier, lol.

 

[returntosender]

YUM!View attachment 295231 Thanks.

Love your emoticon, lol
Time to pig out!

 

[Bible Highlighter]

Missing ingredient I wanted to add to my above recipe:

Don't forget to say grace over the meal in the name of Jesus.
It makes the meal even better.

Praise and glory unto God for all things good He has given us.
Most of all, thank you for His Son, Jesus Christ who died for our sins.