Buttered Garlic-Crumb Spaghetti

Name: Buttered Garlic-Crumb Spaghetti
Prep time: 20 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: *Crumbs**; 60 g breadcrumbs (fresh or dried); 1 tbsp garlic-infused oil; 10 g parsley, finely chopped; *Pasta**; 350 g spaghetti (white pasta); 40 g butter; 1 tbsp garlic-infused oil; 30 g parmesan, finely grated; 15 g spring onion (green tops), thinly sliced

By Robin Tasker · Serves 4 · 20 min

Pouch load

1.9/10

Likely gentler

Flavour

6.1

Punchy

BlandBam

Nutrition

Very nutritious

Light on (tap to add):

protein +

Eggs Salmon Chicken breast

Fibre & prebiotics +

Oat bran Rolled oats Banana (firm)Carrot

Potassium +

Banana (firm)Potato (peeled)Pumpkin Carrot

Three lenses: how gentle on the gut, how nourishing, how tasty — because gentle isn't the same as healthy. How the scores work →

Dinner Italian Vegetarian Low-FODMAP Egg-free Nut-free Fish-free Shellfish-free Sesame-free Under 30 min

White spaghetti tossed in garlic butter and parmesan, topped with toasted garlic breadcrumbs for crunch — a five-ingredient dinner that proves gentle isn't the same as boring.

This is what I make when I want dinner in fifteen minutes and I'm tired of soft and samey. It's barely a recipe: spaghetti tossed through garlic butter and parmesan, then a big scatter of toasted garlic breadcrumbs over the top.

The crumbs are the whole point — they give the dish crunch and a toasty, savoury hit, then break down quickly so they don't sit heavy. It's the gentle answer to wanting something with a bit of texture for once.

Ingredients

Serves

Crumbs*
60 g breadcrumbs (fresh or dried)
1 tbsp garlic-infused oil
10 g parsley, finely chopped
Pasta*
350 g spaghetti (white pasta)
40 g butter
1 tbsp garlic-infused oil
30 g parmesan, finely grated
15 g spring onion (green tops), thinly sliced

Method

First toast the crumbs: warm the garlic-infused oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the breadcrumbs and stir for 4–5 minutes until deep golden and crisp. Stir in the parsley and a little salt, then tip out of the pan and set aside.
Cook the spaghetti in salted water until just tender, then drain, saving a little of the cooking water.
In the same pan, gently melt the butter with the garlic-infused oil. Add the drained pasta and toss, with a splash of the cooking water and the parmesan, until glossy and coated. Season.
Pile into bowls, scatter generously with the toasted garlic crumbs and spring onion greens, and serve straight away while the crumbs are crunchy.

Gentler swaps

The crumbs: see toasted garlic breadcrumbs and gentle crunch — they add the texture you miss on soft food.

Garlic butter: made with garlic-infused oil, so no raw-garlic bite.

For the family

Cook once — your gentle version, plus how to pep it up for everyone else.

Make the one pan. For the others, toss their share with chilli flakes, a squeeze of lemon or a little crushed raw garlic, and an extra shower of parmesan — yours keeps the gentle garlic-butter base.

Scores are modelled estimates, not medical advice. Everyone's gut is different, and tolerance changes over time. Reintroduce foods one at a time, and follow your own medical team's advice.