One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles

4.85 from 66 votes
122 Comments

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These One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles are as easy as they are delicious! No creams or large amounts of butter, making this meal a winner all-around!

Fork spinning Creamy Garlic Noodles.
Featured with this recipe
  1. Ingredients in Creamy Garlic Noodles
  2. Best Noodles to Use
  3. Add Chicken for a Full Meal
  4. Adding Vegetables
  5. More Add-In Possibilities
  6. Tips For Making Garlic Noodles
  7. What to Serve with Creamy Garlic Noodles
  8. Frequently Asked Questions about Creamy Garlic Noodles
  9. More Easy Noodle Recipes
  10. How to Make One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles
  11. One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles Recipe

These one pot (well, technically one “pan”) creamy garlic noodles are a HUGE hit with my whole family. We have made them at least once a month for the last several months using all sorts of variations. My kids are crazy about this easy pasta recipe and request it all the time (and I am happy to oblige because it’s SO easy)! This creamy garlic pasta recipe doesn’t use heavy cream or large amounts of butter, but it tastes JUST as good as recipes that do. Cooking the noodles in the chicken broth and milk is like magic. The recipe starts with UNcooked noodles so no draining, and only ONE POT to clean! A total win-win.

Ingredients for One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles including Parmesan cheese, chicken broth, butter, garlic, basil, salt, pepper, milk and linguine.


Ingredients in Creamy Garlic Noodles

This yummy pasta dish has a very fettucine alfredo texture and flavor, without all the heavy whipping cream. Here’s what you need:

  • Butter – just a few tablespoons, divided.
  • Garlic – four or five cloves, minced. For a stronger garlic flavor you can even use a dash of garlic powder or garlic salt in the sauce mixture.
  • Chicken broth – about 28 ounces or just under four cups.
  • Milk – Start with two and a half cups and add more if needed to thin out the sauce.
  • Linguini – Cook pasta until al dente, or with a little bite to it, before adding to the sauce. You can use any cooked pasta you like for this dish: penne pasta, spaghetti noodles fettucine, anything you have on hand.
  • Kosher salt and black pepper – to taste
  • Basil – one teaspoon fresh basil but you can use dried if you have that too.
  • Parmesan cheese – I like using fresh grated parmesan cheese (Parmigiano Reggiano), you can also use the powdered kind if that’s what you have on hand.
  • Broccoli (optional)- about four cups. This is totally optional, and you can add other veggies too!
  • Chicken breasts (optional) – two chicken breasts, grilled and cut into strips You can also cook the chicken directly in the pot. See below for more instructions.
Pot with milk, butter, linguine, basil, salt and pepper for One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles.

Best Noodles to Use

For this garlic noodles recipe, we like to use linguini noodles. They are thick enough to absorb the sauce without getting too heavy. You could also use spaghetti noodles, fettuccini noodles, or even egg noodles. Bowtie pasta or rotini would be fun to try as well. Try to avoid anything thinner than spaghetti, like angel hair pasta. The noodles will cook way too fast and then get clumpy. No matter what noodle you use, keep checking it until it’s cooked through. You can’t really go by package directions because it is being simmered at a lower heat. 

Tongs serving noodles on a plate for One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles.

Add Chicken for a Full Meal

To make this a full meal, just add a little chicken. I love adding grilled chicken but you can add baked, shredded, or pan-fried. To keep it a true “one pot” meal, pan frying the chicken is the way to go. 

  1. First, season the chicken with Italian seasoning and cook it up in the same skillet you want to cook the noodles in (before cooking the noodles).
  2. Then, sauté the chicken until it is cooked most of the way through and remove from the pan, place on a plate, and cover. Wipe the pan out (be careful because the pan will be hot) and make the noodles as per the recipe below.
  3. Lastly, add the chicken after a few minutes into the noodles simmering and follow the rest of the recipe as directed.
Overhead shot of Creamy Garlic Noodles in a pot

Adding Vegetables

If you want to add vegetables, toss them in 10 minutes or so before serving. You can add veggies like broccoli, peas, asparagus, red peppers, sliced zucchini, etc. You can make these noodles as a full meal or as an easy side dish — totally up to you!

Plate of One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles with a fork twirled with noodles.

More Add-In Possibilities

This versatile dish can be switched up a million different ways, with just the tweak of a couple ingredients. Try adding some of these next time you need an easy side dish or main course:

Tongs stirring One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles.

Tips For Making Garlic Noodles

  • Keep it to a simmer – If you cook these on too high of a heat, the noodles will cook too fast and won’t absorb the liquid as well.
  • Add liquid – If you noodles look like they are getting too thick, just keep adding a splash or milk of broth to keep the consistency.
  • Add other flavors – Boost the flavor by adding Cajun seasoning, oregano, Italian seasoning, or lemon pepper.
  • Reheating leftovers – Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. When reheating leftovers, add a splash of milk a little at a time until you reach your desired creamy consistency.

What to Serve with Creamy Garlic Noodles

While this one pot supper certainly stands on its own, you can add a side of garlic bread and any number of salads. A simple green salad or a fruit salad pairs perfectly with this creamy, rich dish. Here are some more tasty side dish ideas:

One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles garnished with fresh parmesan and parsley.

Frequently Asked Questions about Creamy Garlic Noodles

How do you keep pasta creamy?

For this recipe the answer is simple: add a splash of milk. You’ll be amazed at how a little milk will loosen a thick sauce and make it super creamy once again. You could also add a little heavy cream.

What to add to a bland, creamy pasta?

If you find you need a little more kick or flavor to this dish, add some fresh parsley, some lemon zest or black pepper. If you want to add a little spiciness, you can add some Cajun seasoning like Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning.

Does boiling pasta in milk make it creamier?

Yes, using milk makes the noodles creamier. Plus because you don’t drain the pasta in this dish, the starch remains, giving the sauce an extra creamy texture.

READ NEXT:35+ Quick and Easy to Follow Dinner Ideas

More Easy Noodle Recipes

Who doesn’t love noodle recipes? Especially when they are easy! All of these noodle recipes can be made in about 30 minutes or less! Try some of these scrumptious noodle dishes:

How to Make One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles

Tongs serving noodles on a plate for One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles.

One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles

4.85 from 66 votes
These One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles are as easy as they are delicious! No creams or large amounts of butter, making this meal a winner all-around!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6

Video

Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a large, 5-6 quart skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat. If you don't have a large skillet, a stock-pot works well, too. Add garlic and cook for about a minute.
    Pot with butter and garlic for One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles.
  • Add chicken broth, milk, remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter, pasta noodles, salt and pepper, and basil. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
    Pot with milk, butter, linguine, basil, salt and pepper for One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles.
  • Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer stirring occasionally for 16-20 minutes or until noodles have cooked through. If you are wanting to add broccoli, add it after about 10 minutes into the simmering process.
    Pot cooking linguine noodles for One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles.
  • Stir in Parmesan when noodles are finished cooking and add a little milk if necessary if necessary to reach your desired consistency.
    Pot with cooked linguine noodles for One Pot Creamy Garlic Noodles.

Notes

  • Keep noodles to a simmer – If you cook these on too high of a heat, the noodles will cook too fast and won’t absorb the liquid as well.
  • Add liquid – If you noodles look like they are getting too thick, just keep adding a splash or milk of broth to keep the consistency.
  • Add other flavors – Boost the flavor by adding Cajun seasoning, oregano, Italian seasoning, or lemon pepper.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 664kcalCarbohydrates: 74gProtein: 44gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 1162mgPotassium: 1214mgFiber: 7gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 1660IUVitamin C: 151.6mgCalcium: 530mgIron: 2.9mg

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About the author

Erica Walker

Erica lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Jared, an attorney, and her three beautiful girls. Beyond the world of recipes, she loves adventuring with everything from kayaking, to cruising, to snowboarding and taking the family along for the thrill ride.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Why would you use Kraft jar par cheese instead of fresh grated? I made mine with fresh grated and it was delish. Saw your note regarding you using fresh grated but some people follow picture suggestions. Readers please try this recipe with fresh not canned par cheese. Nothing against Kraft products but….. Just saying……

  2. 5 stars
    This is an amazing recipe! I love it!💗😋 My friends are picky eaters and they ate it up right away.

  3. 5 stars
    So easy and worked perfectly the first time. Even my pickiest eater liked it. That was huge! Thank you!

  4. 5 stars
    My gosh, this food is so good. I just cooked it for my four other siblings and they all loved it. I am totally putting this recipe on my favorites list

  5. 4 stars
    Very good recipe, but the directions and your video are confusing. In the directions you say add the cheese after noodles are done, however in your video you added it with everything

  6. 5 stars
    We added about 5 cups total of asparagus and broccoli. Really tasty. Thanks for such an easy one-pot recipe.

  7. 5 stars
    This recipe is AMAZING!!! I put the chicken and broccoli in, and all I changed was adding a bit more basil, and some Italian seasoning and i seasoned the chicken with complete seasoning when I cooked it. Will definitely be making this again, and adding shrimp instead. Absolutely delicious meal. My entire family loved it! Thank you for sharing!!

  8. 5 stars
    Fantastic recipe! Easy to make and absolutely delicious. It’s rare to find an online recipe that I’m willing to hand write in my recipe book, but this one made the cut. My kids loved it too.

  9. 5 stars
    I gotta thank you for this, with recent unrest here in South Africa I really didn’t want to stand in queues by the shops that are still open, to *maybe* get some stuff, so all I had was spices, old stock, noodles, milk and two cloves of garlic at home. I don’t normally cook so I was doubly stumped on what to do for lunch.

    I don’t have any veggies or protien to go with it, but hey, at least I now have something decent-tasting and edible!

    Google led me here 🙂

  10. I didn’t have everything for this recipe, but I made it work with what I had, didn’t spend a CENT, and it tasted amazing! Just like a Michelinis microwavable dinner but SO much better! Love this and I’ll definitely be doing it over and over again. Stock cubes can be used too- just remember to prepare your stock before hand!

  11. 5 stars
    So easy and so flavorful! We opted to roast our broccoli, and put our chicken on top. It was delicious. Thanks for the recipe!

  12. 4 stars
    This was an easy and quick weeknight meal! Used spaghetti and ground chicken (because they were what I had on hand) along with broccoli. Based on certain reviews about excess liquid at the end, I reduced the chicken stock by about 1/2 c and I used a mixture of milk and heavy cream. Turned out very creamy and delicious! Next time I will bump up my seasonings but would definitely make again. Thank you for the recipe!

  13. 5 stars
    This was absolutely delicious! I was a little skeptical about all the liquid and no step to drain it but I stuck to the recipe and it was perfect! It wasn’t thick and heavy like other similar recipes. Happy husband. Happy toddler. Happy mom! Gonna try the One Pot Thai Peanut Pasta next! Thanks for sharing your recipes!

  14. 5 stars
    Just cooked this tonight. Love the flavours. Only thing I found was the sauce didn’t thicken much and my pasta cooked way too quick for it to be simmered for 20 minutes. Other than that, this was delicious and my got the tick of approval from my husband. Will definitely be making this again!

    1. It depends on what kind of diet you are following. It doesn’t have heavy cream like most creamy pastas have – so that helps!

  15. This sounds so easy and delicious! I will try it by grilling the chicken first time I make it but then in colder months maybe I will do it all in one pan (when you don’t feel like removing all the snow from the grill haha!) I am sure it is good either way tho 🙂

    1. It is so good no matter how you make it! Definitely love it with the grilled chicken this time of year though, so good!

    1. Actually, I don’t use a lid at all for this recipe. I let it simmer uncovered so it doesn’t get watery and the sauce gets nice and thick. Hope this helps!

  16. 5 stars
    Just made this recipe. My husband said, “I wish everything you cooked off Pinterest tasted this good.” Enough said 😊

    1. We don’t have calorie counts on our site yet but you can plug the recipe into a nutrition calculator online and you should be able to find it easily. Hope this helps!

  17. Hi. So, I really was hoping this would be yummy, but I something went wrong. I made it the same as the video, but the milk or the cheese curdled. 🙁 and the broccoli took forever to cook and the pasta got overcooked. Sad times over here.

    1. Oh no! I don’t know what could have gone wrong. The milk will separate if it gets too hot. It only needs to be at a low simmer. I’m not sure why the broccoli took so long. Were you able to access the recipe and follow the instructions there or could you just access the video?

  18. 5 stars
    I loved this recipe!! I changed up a few thing; I used plant based protein penne, rice milk, and Gouda cheese instead of Parmesan. I added broccoli and lastly I sprinkled paleo friendly bacon on top of the dish instead of adding chicken. Delicious!!!

  19. 5 stars
    This was delicious! Made it baby led weaning friendly (8M baby & 2 year old toddler) by using bow tie pasta noodles, salt reduced chicken stock, adding cheddar cheese not Parmesan (except to the adults) & not adding salt. We did peas and red pepper along with the broccoli. Added salt and pepper to my husband & mine once serving.
    It Made a huge batch and froze mini meals for the kids, along with lunch for my husband the next day.
    Yum! Just discovered your website so excited to try something new next week.

    1. We are so excited that you discovered us too! We hope you will keep coming back for more recipes 😀 we have lots of recipes that are toddler and baby-friendly 😉

  20. 5 stars
    Delisious! Boyfriend says “this is really good Deb, guess what I’m taking for lunch tomorrow.” This skinny alfredo recipe will be my go to! Thank you

  21. 4 stars
    Just made this with a few modifications:
    – Used rotini instead of linguine
    – I used ~ 1.75c of milk plus the listed amount of chicken broth and I still had to take out almost 2c of extra liquid once the rotini was done cooking! I’ll save it to use when I reheat the leftovers.
    – Used only 2 tbsp of butter (in the beginning, to saute the garlic)
    – Added roasted broccoli and grilled chicken

    Great base recipe, it was very delicious and definitely a keeper!

    1. We are currently working on getting the calorie counts on our recipes. Keep checking back for updates! Thanks!

  22. Just made this tonight and it was delicious! My normally picky kids loved it as well. My 4 year old kept saying “This is the best super I ever had!” ????

  23. I added all calories doing linguine, 16 oz chicken breast sauteed in olive oil, broccoli, and 3 cups 2% milk as well as all other ingredients listed as measured and the total came to be about 3,313 (Fitness Pal) so depending on how many servings this yields you could divide by that and get an estimate of calories per serving. I am calorie counting so I was curious as well. If you guestimate servings by the pasta it would make about 8 servings so 3,313/8 would be about 414 calories, but that is either not very much or too good to be true…lol oh well…I tried…I’ll enter it as best I can in my fitness pal and hope I’m not too far off.

    1. It is “skinny” because it doesn’t use butter and creams like most alfredo-type recipes do. I will see if I can’t find some nutrition info for this recipe and get it added. Thanks for the heads up!

    1. I’m not sure if I would use fresh pasta, the times would be all wrong because fresh pasta cook up so much faster than regular pasta. It would be best to cook it separately and make a sauce to put over it. It won’t absorb the sauce as well as just regular boxed pasta.

    1. I’ve tried this twice now and followed the recipe exactly. There’s way too much liquid! I think it’s the 2.5C of milk that’s the problem.

      1. You may need to simmer the pasta a little longer to reduce the liquid to the right consistency. The milk helps add creaminess to the sauce so I wouldn’t leave it out!

  24. I made tonight I think I went wrong somewhere I substituted the cans of chicken brothe with chicken built on mixed in water l it has a lot of liquid and its taking longer than the recipe calls for ????????

    I test tasted a noodle and it tastes soooo yummy so I’m bummed it’s not coming out right!!! Should I drain the extra juice!? ????

    1. It’s hard to know exactly what could have happened here. If the noodles are done and you have too much liquid, you can definitely drain some of it off (especially if it still tastes good). How much liquid are we talking about here?

  25. I’m drooling. If I’m cutting the recipe in half so as to cook for one, do you think something like a standard Dutch oven would work to use?

    1. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide nutritional information at this time. You can plug the recipe into a nutritional calculator like livestrong.com and you should be able to get the information that way.

  26. My daughter was at a friends house and had creamy noodles. So I searched creamy noodles and found your recipe. So glad I did because they were a hit and I love the fact that it is a skinny recipe. I will make again and again. Just had a little trouble thickening it, so I added a teaspoon of cornstarch mixed in water.
    Any suggestions?
    Thank you,

    1. we don’t provide nutritional information, sorry! You will have to input the recipe on a nutritional calculator like FitBit or Livestrong.

  27. omg this is sooo cheap, easy and delicious! – thank you!!!
    I’ve just moved out of home, and am on a pretty strict (self imposed) budget, so this was great, it yielded 6 (large) servings for me, a whole weeks dinner in one simple meal!

    1. Way to stretch it out! They heat up great, right? I always have to add a little splash of milk but I eat it for leftovers all the time 🙂

    1. I’m not sure what to suggest because we haven’t made it any other way. Using Lactaid might work but I honestly have no idea. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful!

    2. Hi there, I know this question is a couple months old but as the mom of a toddler with serious daily allergies I thought I might have an answer for you! I’ve made dishes similar to this and in place of the butter I use earth balance whipped dairy free butter spread and I use original UNSWEETENED coconut milk as my milk substitute. I haven’t made this particular dish but that combo seems to go well with any savory dish. You can’t really taste the coconut and most people can’t even tell that it’s dairy free.
      Hope that helps a little. ????

      1. Thanks! I have a milk allergy and was planning to use Ripple, which has a higher protein content than coconut milk. It’s really reassuring to hear that this works with coconut milk, because then I KNOW it will with Ripple and non-dairy subs for the Parmesan. Thank you!

  28. in the recipe you say to add the cheese when the noodles have cooked, but in the video it shows you adding the broth, milk and cheese all at the same time….which is correct?

    1. I have done it both ways and both ways turn out great. Typically I will add it at the end so it is a little thicker but if I am in a hurry and want to just throw it all in– I will just throw it all in at the first

    1. It will probably feed 3-4– but it re-heats great if you save any for leftovers. Just add a little milk when re-heating

      1. The bacon was awesome! And instead of grilling the chicken, I cut them into bite sized pieces, lightly floured and cooked them in them bacon grease! This meal passed the picky 9 year old boy test! I went ahead and used whole milk, next time will definitely use my 2%! It was delicious

  29. I used graded garlic n butter fried the chicken..set aside..cooked broccoli a lil with garlic powder butter n olive oil, oyster sauce and dill..added Romano cheese at the end amd used multigrain linguine..was amazing!! Tks for the recipe…

    1. They usually don’t last long enough that we would need to freeze. Because there is some dairy in it, it probably won’t freeze great but you can definitely try it!

  30. Made for dinner last night, cut the recipe in 1/2… as it makes quite lot. Used Italian sausage and broccoli. It was amazing. Creamy, but very light. Used whole wheat pasta and the directions were perfect.

    Can’t wait to share this with every busy mom/dad/kid I know. A great weeknight dinner!

    1. So glad you liked it!!! Italian sausage is a great idea.. same with whole wheat pasta! Thanks for the suggestions!

    1. I guess you COULD.. I can’t promise that it will taste very good though :S but I’m not a huge fan of canned tuna

  31. Made it all one pot. Since I didn’t have enough broccoli, I also added left-over green beans and frozen peas and carrots. It was kind of bland so I also added a half-can of cream of chicken soup. I didn’t have linguine pasta, so I used large egg noodles that were over-cooked but edible. Next time I would add the egg noodles about halfway through instead of at the beginning. Was actually pretty tasty after I added the c of c soup.

    1. Glad you liked it! If you decide to use a different kind of noodle you will definitely need to alter the cooking times. Just keep testing the noodles until they are just done. Thanks for the comment!

  32. Instead of using cloves of garlic why can’t I use the minced garlic in the jar. How much is equivalent to 4-5 cloves of garlic. I want to make this sounds really good.

    1. I don’t typically use the minced garlic in a jar so you will have to check on the label to see how it converts. You can definitely use the kind in the jar, it just might not taste as fresh

    1. If you do grilled chicken you will add it right before serving. If you cook the chicken in the skillet you will put it in before that (a few minutes into the simmering process)

    1. taken from paragraph above recipe.
      If you want to add chicken but don’t have a grill or don’t want to bother with grilling, you can season the chicken with Italian seasoning and cook it up in the same skillet you want to cook the noodles in (before cooking the noodles). Just saute the chicken until it is cooked most of the way through and remove from the pan, place on a plate, and cover. Wipe the pan out (be careful because the pan will be hot) and make the noodles as per the recipe below. Add the chicken after a few minutes into the noodles simmering and follow the rest of the recipe as directed.

      1. I didn’t wipe out the pan, and let all that flavor stay in the pot…DELICIOUSNESS!!! This was a hit tonight. I didn’t have Parmesan, so I used Romano, but it was still fantastic. I didn’t have basil either, so we left it out. Next time, I’ll make sure to grab some basil.

    1. Im trying this tonight although mine probably isn’t as “skinny” I added a lot more butter , seasoning & milk than the recipe called for ..I may recommend you steam your broccoli before hand