These buttered noodles will come to the rescue if you need a quick 20-minute meal! Butter, Parmesan cheese, common herbs, and a tiny bit of lemon juice are all that is required. Serve this with roasted green beans, steak, chicken, or garlic bread with cheese!
Buttered Noodles
There is something incomparable about the utmost simplicity of buttered noodles. Even though I respect some recipes that only call for butter and noodles, I'm going to give you a recipe for something that tastes much better and takes just as little time to prepare.
All you need is a basic mixture of herbs, butter, Parmesan cheese, pasta water, and a dash of lemon juice. This simple recipe will be a hit with both adults and children. See the information you need below!
How to Make It
Add pasta to boiling pasta water. Cook in accordance with the recipe. Drain the remaining pasta water, reserving ¼ cup.
When the pasta is finished boiling, add the butter and let it melt.
Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and the saved pasta water to the Parmesan cheese mixture. Shake to combine after covering.
Pasta should be added to the pot with butter, followed by a layer of Parmesan cheese and pasta water.
Serve with garlic bread and cheese after mixing with kitchen tongs.
Pro Tips
- Use Parmesan cheese and premium butter. Land O'Lakes butter and BelGioioso Parmesan cheese are my preferred brands. Make sure to use grated cheese from a block rather than shredded cheese from a bag. The consistency and flavor are much better.
- This recipe works well with egg noodles, fettuccine, or pappardelle (I used pappardelle; see link in the "tools" section below).
- To give the pasta water even more flavor, add a couple of bouillon cubes.
Storage
For up to 3 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer, store in an airtight container.
What to Serve with Buttered Noodles
- Tuscan Chicken or Mushroom Chicken
- Pork Chops in Gravy
- Salisbury Steak
- Copycat Longhorn
- Parmesan Crusted Chicken
- Chicken Milanese
- Homemade Chicken Nuggets or Fried Chicken Tenders
Buttered Noodles
Ingredients
- 8 oz. pasta, egg noodles or pappardelle work well
- ¼ cup pasta water
- ½ chicken bouillon cube, optional
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- ½ teaspoon EACH: dried oregano, dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Combine shredded Parmesan cheese, oregano, parsley, and garlic powder in a small, sealable plastic or glass container (so you can add pasta water and shake to combine later). Set aside.
- Begin boiling pasta water. Once a boil is reached, salt it generously. (I use ½ tbsp. Kosher salt.)
- Add the pasta and cook according to package instructions. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water and drain the rest.
- Optional: Combine the warm pasta water with ½ chicken bouillon cube for even more flavor!
- Add the butter to the warm pot that you boiled the pasta in and allow it to melt. Then add the pasta and toss to combine.
- Combine the reserved pasta water, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese/seasonings. Shake to combine and pour it over the pasta.
- Use kitchen tongs to toss until combined and serve with garlic bread with cheese.
Notes
Pro Tips:
- Use high quality butter and Parmesan cheese. My brands of choice are Land O' Lakes butter and BelGioioso Parmesan cheese.
- Be sure to grate the cheese from a block instead of using a bag of shredded cheese. The flavor and consistency is much better.
- Egg noodles, fettuccine, or pappardelle work well for this recipe, (I used pappardelle, link in 'tools' section below).
- Add 1-2 bouillon cubes to the boiling pasta water to add even more flavor to the noodles.
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