These sweet, salty, and rich Garlic Noodles are an absolutely addictive dish that you’ll want to make again and again. Serve them as the bed for glazed meat, like my Sticky Soy Ginger Glazed Chicken, Honey Sriracha Tofu, or simple stir-fried vegetables. With a super short ingredient list of pantry staples, this delicious garlic noodles recipe will become a staple in your menu.
See this recipe used in my weekly meal prep.
Where Do I Find Oyster Sauce?
Oyster sauce can be found in the International aisle of most major grocery stores (look near hoisin sauce). If you can’t find it there, it’s worth it to seek out an Asian market, where oyster sauce is likely to be much less expensive than in chain grocery stores.
What Can I Use in Place of Oyster Sauce?
I personally feel that the salty rich flavor of the oyster sauce makes this dish what it is and I wouldn’t suggest substituting it. That being said, several readers have said they’ve used hoisin sauce, which is much sweeter, and have enjoyed the results. Substitute the oyster sauce in this garlic noodles recipe at your own risk.
What Else Can I Add to Garlic Noodles?
This is a great base recipe to which you can add all sorts of other ingredients! Garlic noodles are great as a side dish, but you can add protein and vegetables to make it a meal. Try adding some Teriyaki Chicken or Honey Sriracha Tofu on top, or check out my Garlic Noodles with Beef and Broccoli for some inspiration.
Looking for a spicy noodle recipe? Check out my Spicy Sriracha Noodles!
Quick & Easy Garlic Noodles
Servings 4Ingredients
- 8 oz angel hair pasta ($0.54)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.24)
- 1/2 bunch green onions ($0.35)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.50)
- 2 tsp soy sauce ($0.20)
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.05)
- 1 tsp sesame oil ($0.40)
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce ($0.26)
Instructions
- Add the oyster sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil to a bowl and stir until combined.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the package directions (boil for 7-10 minutes). Drain the cooked noodles in a colander, then set aside.
- While the pasta cooks, mince the garlic and slice the green onions. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Once the butter is melted and bubbly, add the garlic and onions (save a few for garnish) and sauté until they are soft and fragrant (1-2 minutes).
- Remove the skillet from the heat. Add the drained pasta and oyster sauce mixture to the skillet, and stir well to coat the pasta. If your pasta is stiff or sticky making it hard to stir, sprinkle a small amount of hot water over the pasta to loosen it up. Garnish the pasta with any reserved sliced green onions, then serve.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Garlic Noodles – Step by Step Photos
Mix the easy noodle sauce before you begin. In a small bowl stir together 2 Tbsp oyster sauce, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 tsp soy sauce, and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil. Stir until combined.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, mince four cloves of garlic and slice about four green onions (1/2 bunch).
Heat 4 Tbsp of butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the minced garlic and most of the sliced green onions (save a few for garnish). Sauté the garlic and green onions until soft and fragrant (1-2 minutes).
Remove the skillet from the heat, then add the cooked and drained pasta and the prepared sauce.
Toss the ingredients in the skillet until the pasta is evenly coated with sauce. Garnish the garlic noodles with the reserved green onions and serve.
This easy Garlic Noodles Recipe is totally addictive… BEWARE.
I loved this recipe! I added some shallots and it was so delish!
Oooooh shallots! Yum!!
I’ve made this twic but added shrimp in one case and Asian bar b que pork in the other….both turned out fantastic. I love this recipe…well doene
Oh those additions sound delicious!
I loooved this. I did make a few adjustments for personal taste. I ommited the sugar and the sesame oil. I was out of scallions, but it was still delicious. I’ve made it 2 nights in a row. The second time I added chicken, which I sliced thinly, like Chinese take out. Perfect! And sooo easy to make. Go for it.
These were a bit too sweet, and I LOVE sweet stuff. It was just odd with the other flavors. I’ll probably half the brown sugar next time, and add in some broccoli or something. They aren’t inedible by any means, I did still like them – I’ll just fix them next time. :)
I doubled everything. Didn’t have spaghetti style pasta and used mostaccioli.
It was tasty but pretty oily. Much harder to fork it when you can’t twirl, so that might’ve been the big issue that I had with this. If I wouldn’t have had a big spoon, I’d have remained hungry.
Next time I might cut back a bit on the butter and add some shrimp or chicken.
Going to make this tonight! If adding protein (like shrimp) would it be better to cook the protein separately or before sautéing the garlic? (I don’t want to mess up) lol
I would cook the shrimp just before doing the egg. But then remove the shrimp before adding the egg because you don’t want the shrimp to over cook. Then add the shrimp back in at the end.
I don’t see egg in this one? Would you do the shrimp with the garlic and onions maybe, the way you do in the shrimp dragon noodles recipe?
I’m sorry! I thought I was commenting on the dragon noodle recipe. Hahah. Yes, just sauté the shrimp when you do the garlic and onion, then remove the shrimp, proceed with the recipe, and add them back in at the end.
Fabulous and easy! I used thin spaghetti noodles and only 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Thanks very much.
Any tips on successfully getting oyster sauce out of the bottle? It’s always so thick when it comes out of the glass bottle in the fridge!
Isn’t it strange how they always seem to put the thickest sauce in the world in skinny bottles with small openings?? I use chopsticks to coax it out of the tiny mouth of the bottle. :P
Is there a good substitute for oyster sauce?
Some people have said they’ve used hoisin sauce, but I feel like the oyster sauce is one of the main flavors here and substituting it would change the entire dish. I don’t suggest substituting it.
Wow. This was my first time to cook, EVER. And this turned out great! I replaced the oyster sauce with 1/2 soy sauce + 1/2 hoisin sauce. It was still delish! I also sprinkled some grated parmesan cheese, and it was super delish. Thank you for your recipe :)!
That sprinkle of Parmesan sounds so wrong, but if it still tasted delish with that addition, it should be out of this world without it. 😋
Seems like the sodium content would be high
Is there any nutritional information for this recipe?
No, I’m sorry but I don’t have nutritional information for my recipes.
I love this and have made it several times, as a side/carb for beef and broccoli, to go with teriyaki salmon, and just in it’s own. It does NOT taste fishy.
Hi Beth,
I love making your weekly food bowls:) Thank you! Do you think if I made bowls with these garlic noodles, they would get hard? Have you tried them as leftovers yet?
I don’t think they would get hard, but I do find that the noodles absorb the sauce over a few days so they get a little more dry. They are no less tasty, IMHO, but they are not as saucy. :)
I’ve been following your recipe for years. My family loves it! Wondering if you’d feel inclined to making an InstantPot adaptation? 😬
I probably won’t be making an IP adaptation of this one, unfortunately. It’s so fast and easy with regular cookware I don’t know what the benefit would be to making it with an IP.