Spicy Garlic Noodles are buttered bucatini noodles with added crunchy garlic chili oil, crushed red pepper flakes, and soy sauce for a slight kick in every flavorful bite. If you prefer noodles without spice, check out my Buttered Noodles recipe.
Spicy Garlic Noodles
I love pasta, so the more ways to use pasta in recipes, the better! These spicy garlic noodles are made with bucatini noodles, which are a little thicker than spaghetti. But, the best part about the noodles is the thin holes running down the center of each noodle! Big deal, you say? Well, it is, because that hole is perfect for seeping up and holding even more spicy garlic butter sauce to enhance the flavor in every bite!
Ingredients
Pasta: Well, I said my piece on how great bucatini noodles are above. But, of course, you can use whatever pasta noodles you have on hand. Or, make your own homemade pasta!
Pasta Water: Be sure to reserve about a cup of pasta water before draining the noodles. I will explain the reasoning behind this later.
Chicken Bouillon Powder: You will need chicken bouillon powder for both the noodles and the sauce (a total of 5 teaspoons). If you don’t have bouillon powder, you can use one bouillon cube, crushed, per teaspoon needed.
Garlic Chili Oil: Crunchy Garlic Chili Oil is a condiment that can be used to add a little kick to salads, pizzas, and, of course, pasta. In fact, it has become one of my favorite sauces to add to most dishes. You can make your own garlic chili oil (highly recommend!) to use or buy a jar at the store.
Red Pepper Flakes: For even more of a kick, I added crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce, as well as a garnish. There was some heat without adding the red pepper flakes at the end. So try some of the noodles first, before adding more red pepper.
Why Reserve Pasta Water?
Reserved pasta water is used in a lot of pasta dishes that have a sauce, including my Spaghetti Limone, Vodka Sauce recipe, and Copycat Carbone’s Spicy Pasta, just to name a few. Pasta water adds a salty flavor to the dish. It also helps thicken the sauce and evenly coat each and every noodle so you get that spicy garlic sauce in every bite! I only used 1/4 cup of pasta water in this recipe, but you can add as much as you need to reach your desired consistency.
How to Serve Spicy Garlic Noodles
I enjoyed a plate piled high with these noodles for lunch the other day. Or, you could serve them as a side dish. They would be delicious paired with chicken, steak, or even some meatloaf. Really, you could serve them with most main dishes.
How to Store Spicy Garlic Noodles
Once cooked, these noodles will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator. Make sure they are stored in a sealed container. When ready to enjoy the leftovers, heat up a plate of noodles in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Can I Adjust the Spiciness?
Sure! If you don’t want quite as much heat from this dish, you can lessen the amounts of some of the ingredients. You could use less of the crunchy garlic chili oil and a lesser amount of crushed red pepper flakes if you keep them in the recipe at all. But, it will still be a little spicy.
On the other hand, when someone sees the word spicy, they expect a certain level of spice. So, if this is not spicy enough, simply add more of the crunchy garlic chili oil and crushed red pepper flakes.
More Pasta Dishes
Spicy Garlic Noodles
Ingredients
Noodles
- 16 ounces bucatini noodles, or any pasta noodles you prefer
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon powder
Spicy Garlic Butter Sauce
- ½ cup (1 stick, 113 g) salted butter
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, more or less for level of spiciness, plus more for garnish (optional)
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons garlic chili oil, more or less for level of spiciness
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- ¼ cup (25 g) parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish (optional)
- green onion, thinly sliced for garnish
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Noodles
- Fill a large pot halfway with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Add bouillon powder and bucatini noodles. Cook until al dente (about 12-14 minutes).
- Reserve 1 cup of pasta water and drain the rest. Set noodles aside while you prepare the garlic butter sauce.
Spicy Garlic Butter Sauce
- In the same pot you used to make the noodles, melt the butter over medium heat. Add chicken bouillon powder, red pepper flakes, and garlic. Stir to mix together and cook for 1 minute.
- Add crunchy garlic chili oil and soy sauce and mix well.
- Add ¼ cup of reserved pasta water and stir to combine.
- Add noodles and parmesan cheese to the pot and toss to combine. Add more pasta water, a little at a time, if needed, until the spicy garlic noodles reach your desired consistency. (We only used the initial ¼ cup of pasta water.)
- Top with green onion, additional parmesan cheese, and crushed red pepper flakes. Serve warm. Salt and pepper, to taste.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
You can tag me at @iamhomesteader.
I already had the ingredients on hand to make this recipe, but I wanted to make it a meal, so I also had some ground beef on hand and added the cooked ground beef to the noodles. It actually came out pretty good and we had that for dinner. I also like the garlic noodles by themselves, too. Great recipe!