Brown Butter Sage Pasta

Name: Brown Butter Sage Pasta
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1 lb spaghetti pasta; ½ cup unsalted butter; 6-9 cloves garlic (minced); 1 tsp salt (or more to taste); ½ tsp black pepper; ¼ cup reserved pasta water; 20-25 leaves fresh sage (julienned, plus more for garnish); ½ cup parmesan cheese (shredded, plus more to taste as needed)

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This Brown Butter Sage Pasta is everything you love about Italian pastas, with spaghetti tossed in a nutty brown buttery and garlicky sauce, combined with fresh sage herbs and parmesan cheese. It is the comfort meal of my dreams.

Brown Butter Pasta is a quick, easy, and delicious dinner recipe! It’s actually really easy to make your favorite Italian pasta dishes at home in under 25 minutes…no need to use canned or jarred pasta sauce!

Brown butter pasta in a large skillet tossed in sage leaves, with a small bowl of parmesan cheese in the background

Table of Contents

Brown Butter Pasta with Sage Leaves and Cheese

There is something magical about brown butter pasta. That nutty and toasty flavors that can only come from slowly browning butter until brown bits are form, is truly magical and a culinary secret to take simple dishes to the next level.

Brown butter is my newest obsession and I don’t just add it to pasta. Check out these other incredible brown butter recipes that I’m loving such as my Brown Butter Rice Krispie Treats and Brown Butter Banana Bread. And come back for more because there will be more brown butter deliciousness in this little corner of the world wide web from hence forth.

Whenever I make this brown butter sage pasta dish, the fragrance of fresh sage herbs combined with the nutty and toasty flavors of brown butter, along with the aroma of fresh garlic is not only delicious but it never fails to make my kitchen smell amazing.

Brown Butter Sage Pasta embodies the classic flavors of Italian cuisine. It is simple, delicious, only uses a few key non-intimidating ingredients, and truly fills your heart and your stomach with pure satisfying happiness.

I love making this for a quick, no-fuss weeknight dinner. I can make this in less than 20 minutes. Feel free to serve with a simple side salad and loaf of Italian bread, or your favorite glass of wine!

Upgrade your spaghetti nights and Bon Appétit!

Ingredients

One of the beauties of this simple brown butter spaghetti recipe is the short and simple ingredient list. For a dish like this, fresh and high quality ingredients will really make a difference to the end product.

A large pot of spaghetti tossed in brown butter, sage and garlic.

Here are the ingredients needed:

fresh sage leaves – fresh sage leaves brings the fragrance of this incredible herb into your brown butter sage pasta. Avoid substituting with dried sage. The taste and texture will not be the same!
spaghetti pasta – fettuccini, angel hair and other similar pasta can also be used.
unsalted butter – this is the base of our sauce, so I highly recommend using high quality real butter, and avoid margarine. We are using unsalted butter to control for the amount of salt in the sauce. We can always add salt or parmesan and adjust it to our liking if we want it saltier.
garlic – fresh garlic is highly recommended for this recipe because the flavors are more intense. Minced garlic from the jar will not have as intense and flavorful impact to the sauce. Avoid garlic powder.
Parmesan cheese – as I always say, the best way to make Italian pasta dishes is to use good quality Parmesan. Parmigiano reggiano is always the best. Nix the non-authentic parmesan and grab a wedge of the real deal for the best taste and flavor.
salt and black pepper – use to really open up the flavors in this dish.

How to make it

Step 1: Cook the spaghetti pasta

Start your brown butter sage pasta recipe by boiling water and cooking pasta in a large pot. Follow the package instructions for the proper cooking time.

Be sure to reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water for the sauce.

When the spaghetti pasta is al dente, drain pasta water and set cooked spaghetti pasta aside.

Step 2: Brown the butter and garlic

Brown butter by heating butter in a skillet under low medium heat, let it gently boil until the foam subsides, and it turns a slight golden brown color. This process takes about 3-5 minutes.

When browning the butter, cut the butter into smaller, equal size pieces to allow for quicker melting.

Resist the temptation to turn up the heat and rush through this process. Browning butter slowly is a delicious way to bring out the wonderful nutty taste in the butter, and will completely elevate the flavors in this brown butter sage pasta recipe.

Once butter is browned, add minced garlic to the brown butter and stir to combine.

Cook until fragrant – do not overcook garlic.

Julienne fresh sage leaves into smaller pieces, and then add them to the skillet with brown butter and garlic.

Browning butter then adding garlic and sage

Step 3: Bring pasta to skillet

Add spaghetti pasta to the skillet, then toss along with that yummy garlic, fresh sage, golden brown butter.

Add the 1/4 cup of reserved pasta water to the brown butter pasta.

Finally, toss in parmesan cheese to brown butter sage pasta, and continue to toss until all ingredients are combined.

Yum, yum yum!

Tossing spaghetti in brown butter sage sauce, then adding parmesan cheese, and giving it another toss using tongs.

Last but certainly not least, serve and slurp away! Enjoy each bite to the fullest! It truly is that simple!

If you are looking for a quick and easy dinner that embodies the richness and flavors of Italian cuisine, brown butter sage pasta is the one for you.

The secrets to an amazing tasting brown butter sage pasta is using fresh herbs, high quality ingredients, and of course, browning the butter for a truly amazing sauce.

We like to enjoy our brown butter sage pasta with a simple side salad and bread, and sometimes I like to serve with Italian grilled chicken or Lemon Chicken Piccata to it for a bit of extra protein.

I hope you enjoy this simple yet stunning brown butter sage pasta recipe as much as we do!

Town down view of a large pot of spaghetti pasta tossed in brown butter sage garlic sauce

Recipe Variations

Here are a few other ingredients/vegetables I love adding to jazz up your brown butter sage pasta, and make it mine. I want to give you a very basic, strip down (yet crazy delicious!) brown butter pasta recipe, but you should totally fancy it up and truly make it your own should you choose to!

add chopped onions or shallots – cook this after browning the butter for added flavor.
cherry tomatoes – cut into half, toss with pasta in brown butter and parmesan.
dry white wine – this is great to deglaze the pan right after sauteing the garlic. It will bring another layer of amazing flavor, just be sure to cook it down before adding pasta.
pine nuts – toast pine nuts in the toaster or on skillet before adding to pasta for an added texture.

Tips and Tricks

Use unsalted butter: This gives you complete control over the flavor of your sauce. You can always add more salt, but you can’t take it away! Also, use real butter, for best flavor, not margarine.
Brown the butter correctly: Pay close attention when cooking your butter. Cook it on slow heat and remove from heat promptly once a nutty fragrant is formed. Butter should turn a dark golden brown, but be careful not to burn it.
Fresh is best: Using fresh sage leaves will give your dish more flavor than using dried sage. If you can, pluck the leaves directly from a garden or buy them fresh from a grocery store.
Get quality pasta: For the best results, opt for a higher quality pasta as the sauce will cling on to it better, thus resulting in a more perfect bite.
Don’t overcook your pasta: When pasta is overcooked, it loses its taste and texture. For the best tasting pasta, cook it al dente.
Save some pasta water: Before you drain your pasta, be sure to save some of the starchy pasta water. Adding it to sauces like this one can make them smoother.
Do not rinse cooked pasta: Rinsing cooked pasta will wash away the starch on it, making it harder for the sauce to cling onto it. To avoid cooked pasta from sticking to each other, toss them in olive oil instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use margarine instead of butter?

It’s recommended to use real butter for this recipe, as margarine won’t give you the same rich flavor and may not brown properly.

Can I use dried sage instead of fresh sage?

Yes you can, but the flavors are less intense and flavroful.

Can I add protein to this dish?

Yes, you can add cooked chicken, shrimp, or even crispy bacon for a protein boost. Choose lean, mild proteins so as to not overpower the delicate butter sage sauce.

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