Pantry staples
15-Minute Pantry Dinners: Spaghetti Aglio e Olio
A 15-minute pantry dinner from four things you already have: spaghetti, garlic, olive oil, and chili. No shopping, no fresh ingredients needed.
- TIME
- 15 min
- SERVES
- 2
- ENERGY
- 480 cal
Some nights the fridge is bare and the last thing you want is a shop. That’s what 15-minute pantry dinners are for — real meals built entirely from cupboard staples you already own. The gold standard is spaghetti aglio e olio: pasta, garlic, olive oil, and chili, and that’s genuinely it.
It works because it leans on technique instead of ingredients. Cooking the garlic slowly in cool oil until it’s just golden, then loosening everything with starchy pasta water, gives you a glossy, restaurant-tasting sauce from four things that cost pennies. Brown the garlic and it turns bitter, so keep the heat gentle — that’s the whole skill.
Stock your pantry with dried pasta, garlic, good olive oil, and chili flakes and you’ve quietly guaranteed yourself dinner on the worst-planned nights. Anything extra — a knob of parmesan, a handful of parsley, a squeeze of lemon — is a bonus, not a requirement.
From fridge to table
How to make it
- 01
Boil the spaghetti in well-salted water until just short of tender. Reserve a mug of pasta water before draining.
- 02
Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a cold pan with the garlic and chili flakes over medium-low heat. Cook gently until the garlic is pale gold and fragrant — never browned.
- 03
Add a splash of pasta water to the oil to create a light sauce.
- 04
Toss the drained spaghetti into the pan, adding pasta water a little at a time until it's glossy and coats every strand.
- 05
Season with salt and finish with parmesan, parsley, or lemon if you have them.
