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These Garlic Noodles are an umami bomb of flavor that you can make in about 15 minutes! They’re quick, easy and SO tasty – the noodles are chewy and aromatic, perfectly coated in a flavorful garlic butter with tons of fresh garlic!
Watch the Garlic Noodles Recipe Video!
Table of Contents
Ingredient Tips
Refer to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and measurements!
- Egg noodles – For Garlic Noodles, I like using fresh egg noodles. I’m including.a photo of the exact noodles I used below. I got them from the refrigerated section of my local Chinese grocery (99 Ranch). If you can’t find fresh egg noodles, I would use another long noodle – wheat noodles, ramen noodles, and even spaghetti would work!
- Unsalted butter – Use unsalted butter – there are other sources of salt in this recipe, so you do not need the added salt. You can also always add more salt later!
- Garlic – I used 20 cloves of garlic (yes, 20!) I found that 20 was the perfect amount to coat all of the Garlic Noodles with the garlicky flavor – but you can always reduce this if you prefer a more subtle flavor. If you love garlic, make Garlic Herb Compound Butter, Garlic Bok Choy, Din Tai Fung Garlic Green Beans and Garlic Fried Rice!
- Oyster sauce – I like Lee Kum Kee’s oyster sauce (the bottle with the lady on the label); I usually pick it up at my local Asian grocery store (99 Ranch) but I’ve noticed it being available at more stores recently. If you need a vegan alternative, I’ve heard Lee Kum Kee makes a great vegan version made with mushrooms!
- Fish Sauce – This adds a depth of flavor and umami that you can’t get from soy sauce or oyster sauce – fish sauce is oftentimes the “secret weapon” to great Asian cooking!
- Light Soy Sauce – (reduced sodium): this is your “light” or “all-purpose” soy sauce. I recommend using low sodium because you’ll be using oyster sauce, as well, which is already salty.
- MSG – As you know, I like to use MSG in moderation as a flavor enhancer; this is always optional!
- Parmesan Cheese – THIS is the “secret ingredient” for the best Garlic Noodles – it adds savory flavor and saltiness that when combined with the Asian ingredients is OUT OF THIS WORLD good! It’s more subtle than you think but really transforms the dish.
- Use a microplane to fine shred the parmesan – this is KEY for it to melt seamlessly into the Garlic Noodle sauce.
- Don’t use pre-shredded cheese – they’re coated in additives to keep the cheese shreds from melting and will turn grainy in the sauce.
The best Garlic Noodles I ever had was from a Hawaiian plate lunch restaurant called Da Kitchen in Maui, with Chicken Katsu, homemade Tonkatsu Sauce and a heaping scoop of Hawaiian Mac Salad
If you want a version with seafood, make Garlic Noodles with Crab instead!
Recipe Instructions
1. Prep Your Ingredients
Finely mince your garlic and set them aside in a small bowl. Next, place your oyster sauce, fish sauce, light soy sauce, optional msg, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk until combined.
Chop your scallions and set aside. Grate parmesan cheese into a separate small bowl and set aside.
This recipe will come together quickly so it’s important that you have all of your ingredients prepped and easily accessible in bowls close to your stove.
2. Melt Butter and Infuse Garlic
Once your ingredients are prepped, heat a pan or wok over medium to medium-low heat and melt butter until sizzling and you can hear it “singing”.
Into your melted butter, add your garlic. Ensure that the heat is still on medium low to prevent your garlic from burning. We want to infuse all of the garlic flavor into the butter and soften the garlic without any browning – you should not be cooking on high heat. This should take about 2 minutes.
4. Cook Your Noodles
In a medium pot, fill with water and bring to a boil. Cook your noodles until al dente or according to package directions.
TIP – Keep in mind that the Garlic Noodles will continue to cook when placed in the hot pan or wok with the garlic and butter, so I recommend undercooking them by a minute or so to account for this. By the time the noodles are done in the pan, they should be perfectly al dente.
5. Combine Noodles with Garlic, Butter, and Sauce
Once the noodles are cooked and drained well, add them directly to the hot pan with garlic and butter. Turn the heat to high, then add your premixed sauce and mix with the noodles to combine.
Once the sauce is incorporated into the noodles, top with freshly grated parmesan. Give a final mix and toss to incorporate together. Add scallions and mix again. Serve as is or alongside your protein or other main dish – enjoy your Garlic Noodles!
PRO TIPS
Expert Tips + Storage
What Kind of Noodles Should I Use? I used fresh egg noodles from the Chinese grocery. You can use any long noodle (fresh or dried). I’ve seen this made with egg noodles, ramen noodles, and even dried spaghetti.
Don’t Use Pre-Grated Parmesan Cheese – Parmesan cheese is the “secret ingredient” for the best Garlic Noodles – it adds savory flavor and saltiness that transforms the dish. It’s important you use high quality cheese that is NOT pre-grated. Pre-grated cheese has additives to keep the cheese from melting – this will prevent your parmesan cheese from melting into the sauce (it will taste grainy instead). Use a microplane to finely grate the Parmesan cheese for the best sauce.
Don’t Burn Your Garlic – You want to INFUSE the butter with all of the garlic flavor – do not brown or burn your garlic (otherwise your sauce will taste bitter). Cook your butter and garlic over medium low heat – do NOT use high heat for this step of the dish.
Prep All Your Ingredients and Have Them Accessible – This dish comes together very quickly and some part are more sensitive than others (i.e.: infusing the garlic and preventing it from burning) – therefore, it’s crucial you have all of your ingredients prepped and easily accessible before you begin cooking. I like to have them in individual bowls next to my stove.
Storage – You can store leftover Garlic Noodles in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days. I like to reheat the Garlic Noodles in a hot pan or wok with a couple tbsp of water to help loosen it up. The texture of the noodles will change as they sit in the refrigerator – but the flavors will taste even better!
More Noodle Recipes
Do you love noodles? I do, too! If you like this recipe and want something similarly quick and easy, try my 10 Minute Sesame Peanut Noodles (or the spicier version Spicy Peanut Noodles), or Spicy Garlic Ramen! My Chili Oil Noodles only takes 15 minutes; for something spicy, make Spicy Gochujang Noodles or Dan Dan Noodles! One of my personal favorites is Beef Chow Fun!
If you tried this Garlic Noodles or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Garlic Noodles (Video)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 oz Noodles, I used Pancit egg noodles
- 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 20 cloves Garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
- 2 tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
- 1/4 tsp MSG
- 1/2 tbsp Sugar
- 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine Oyster sauce, Fish sauce, light soy sauce, msg, and sugar. Mix to combine and sugar is dissolved and set aside.
- Cook noodles 1 minute under package directions and drain well and set aside.
- In a large pan over medium low heat, melt butter, then add minced garlic and sauté for 2 minutes until fragrant but not browned.
- Turn the heat up to high, then add cooked noodles and sauce. Mix well until the noodles are combined with the butter, garlic, and sauce and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes and the noodles are fragrant.
- Turn the heat to low, then add parmesan cheese and freshly chopped scallions. Mix well to combine and serve immediately!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’d never think to add fish sauce to garlic noodles but it gives the noodles so much umami flavor and pairs well with the oyster sauce and garlic. Love making this with some fried shrimp. Yum!
My family love these noodles.
I had some delicata squash that I roasted in the oven with Dashi (bonito flakes) and then I used rice noodles because it was all I had. It was so delicious ~ REALLY DELICIOUS. Just insanely good and I so wish I made it sooner. WOW, would this have been an amazing dish to put in the rotation while raising my kids!!!
Thanks so much Tracey! Please consider giving the recipe 5 stars – it really helps the blog!
Yum, I made these this morning, they are yummy. Thank you for the recipes and inspiration to cook again.
Thank YOU Melissa! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
What a fabulous recipe – pure comfort food in 10 minutes. I ate mine with honey garlic chicken and am now assured I am safe from vampires for the next week!
I did make a few tweaks to the recipe, after some found it too salty. Soy sauce and fish sauce are both great for that hit of umami but with both being salty and the oyster sauce being salty, I omitted the soy altogether and just used 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, plus I added a squeeze of a quarter of a very juicy lemon with a little extra sugar to get the liquid proportion right. Tasted the sauce before adding and it was the perfect hit of salty, sweet and savoury for me.
Final hint for anyone stuck like me with no scallions available – I used the green end of a leek!
Thank you so much CJ – keep the recipes coming
Thank you so much Ruth!
I make your garlic noodles often- Delicious!!
It was a success in my household. I substituted the fish sauce with squid sauce I find it less salty and I also used low sodium soy sauce and a garlic butter I previously made instead of 20 garlic gloves.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Yoshi!
I would love for you to do vegetarian/vegan recipes too!!! Or at least give substitutions… Love your recipes and have modified some for vegetarian!
This was so good thank you CJ!! I am a grad student and sometimes need to satisfy my cravings in a fast and easy way, this hit the spot. Will be adding into rotation. I added stir fry veggies and it was a great meal
Thanks so much for the kind words, Natalie! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Delicious!!
Loved!!!! The flavor was incredible, but super salty. The butter was flavorful but oily. After making the recipe I experimented w trying a low sodium alternative. Ended up doing it again by doing a broth sauté on the garlic and adding a tablespoon of Almond butter (gives it creaminess). Still too salty. Next time will do a water sauté w the garlic. Add in the almond butter tablespoon. And will halve the fish sauce (super high in sodium!). But ultimately incredible ingredients for a great dish!!!