Name: Everyone will Love this One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Pasta
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 6 cloves garlic, minced; 1 pound uncooked fettuccine or linguine; 4 cups chicken broth; 2 cups whole or reduced fat milk (low-fat or skim milk may curdle); Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste; 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves*; Juice of one lemon (optional)

It’s a MIRACLE! My entire family LOVED this pasta and asked for seconds. Yours will too! All you need is one pot, 6 ingredients and about 30 minutes to create this magical One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta.

Many thanks to Aneto Natural for providing the broth used in the recipe and sponsoring this post.

This One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta is a Family Miracle

So, its been a minute since I’ve posted a new recipe—-okay, its been a while, actually. The past year has taken a toll on our typically weeknight meal routine. Add in two growing kiddos who are asserting their independence by contradicting and questioning EVERYTHING and you’ve got a recipe for one tired, frustrated momma (me). As a result, I started phoning in a lot of our weeknight meals. Just eat something — anything (and stop complaining!). In the last couple of months, as life has slowly resumed some sense of normalcy, I’ve done my best to reintroduce healthy weeknight meals. My track record has been a bit hit-or-miss, but this pasta…..oh man….EVERYBODY loved this pasta. There was no arguing. No complaining. They asked for seconds. They let me add VEGETABLES (more on that later). Even better? The whole recipe can be made in one pot in about 30 minutes (no joke).

What’s so great about One-Pot Pasta?

There are a couple of reasons that this dish is so special — but lets talk about my favorite one first: You DON’T have to cook the pasta before you add it. Say buh-bye to the huge pot of boiling water. One less pot to wash. One less step to worry about. The second amazing thing? By cooking the pasta directly in the pot with the other ingredients, the starch from the pasta thickens the sauce. You can use this same technique in several other one-pot past recipes I’ve created, including my One Pot Pasta with Spring Vegetables, my Leftover Ham One Pot Pasta, and my One Pot Tuna Casserole (that one will amaze you too).

Is this One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta like Alfredo?

Yes! And no. The one-pot pasta cooking technique used in this recipe creates a super-creamy, rich pasta dish that doesn’t use any actual cream. Its lighter and healthier than a traditional Alfredo, but has the same creamy, delicious flavor profile we all love. The secret to creating that great flavor? Simmering the pasta in a mixture of Chicken Broth and Reduced Fat Milk.

Of course, when you’re making a dish with such a limited ingredient list, its best to use the best possible ingredients. As always, I’m using Aneto Natural Broth in my recipe. I chose Low Sodium Chicken Broth for this recipe since it also calls for salty parmesan cheese. The broth provides a foundation of incredible flavor without adding too much salt. And since Aneto’s broths are 100 percent natural, we’re not adding any preservatives or fillers either. The other ingredients are all things you probably have in your pantry right now: pasta, garlic, butter, milk and parmesan cheese. Parsley goes in at the end to add freshness and color but you could swap in out for other fresh herbs like basil or even tarragon.

What vegetables pair well with Garlic Parmesan Pasta?

This sauce is such a blank canvas – you can add all sorts of vegetables and proteins to make this a more complete meal. I added two gigantic handfuls of chopped baby spinach to this before feeding it to my kiddos and they didn’t blink an eye. We’ve also tried it with chopped steamed broccoli and frozen peas with similar results. If you’re looking to add a protein, grilled chicken, store bought rotisserie chicken or sautéed shrimp would all be fantastic additions. Even a can of chickpeas would work nicely if you want to keep it vegetarian.

This recipe is a CLEAR winner at our house. It’s easy, tasty, endlessly adaptable and best of all, everyone in our family absolutely LOVES it. Give it a try — hopefully you’ll have similar results!