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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Video
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.
Easy garlic noodles that are a go-to my family with a protein and vegetables!
This was easy and great! Husband- and toddler-approved. I made 1.5 times the sauce because I wanted to serve it with shrimp, and that seemed perfect.
Holy crap. I’ve had this bookmarked for so long and finally made it and it was AWESOME. Made extra sauce because I like it saucy but otherwise it was stellar as written. Served it with garlic shrimp. Next time I’ll add mushrooms and there will definitely be a next time.
always come back to these, quick, easy, delicious!
I’m anxious to try this. As I have a wheat sensitivity. I am going to try this with both gluten free spaghetti and black bean noodles. If you or anyone else has attempted this, I would appreciate your input.
I’m also going to serve this with garlic shrimp. Yum-O!🌿
I make them with rice vermicelli and it’s great
Delicious! Thank you for this flavorful and simple recipe!❤️
I make these noodles about once a week. Also works great with whole grain wheat pasta. I’ve had them ala’carte, with shrimp, diced chicken, shaved beef or just stir fried veggies. 👍🏽👍🏽
Excited, thank you. And your right certain ingredients can’t be replaced, brown sugar is bringing it, oyster sauce isn’t that exotic anymore, fish sauce included. I’m going to add a little bit of the fish sauce. I don’t like going off recipe, I think it’s safe. Again, thank you for showing me the pictures, easy Peasy lemonbreasy.
I found this recipe to be so very delicious, I sautéed some shrimp in garlic and butter, then added it to my noodles, it wasSo Amazing.
I’ve made these several times, but like to add a tablespoon of fish sauce and use much more garlic, half as much sugar. The oyster sauce is crucial, and instead of soy sauce, I’ve been using that bottle of Golden Mountain sauce–basically just Thai soy sauce–languishing in my pantry. This recipe is yummy and addictive! Another wonderful bargain dish that doesn’t taste like the same old thing.
As for some of the substitutions I’ve seen mentioned–if you don’t have something, leave it out
This recipe is great! its got plenty of flavour, but it’s not overwhelming. I used a tbsp of worcestershire sauce and one tbsp of hoisin sauce in replacement of the oyster sauce as I didn’t have any on hand, and it still turned out amazing! I highly recommend this recipe.
You warned me. “Totally addictive… BEWARE.” And you were right! I made these for the STICKY GINGER SOY GLAZED CHICKEN MEAL PREP (https://www.budgetbytes.com/sticky-ginger-soy-glazed-chicken-meal-prep/). The noodles were done before the chicken, and I couldn’t help but taste test the noodles over and over… and over… and over again. I had to make more to finish out my meal preps!!
I have made this a couple of times now and we absolutely love it. It’s quick and easy with lots of flavor. Thanks
Can I replace brown sugar with honey? And can I replace sesame oil with olive oil?
Substituting the brown sugar with the honey will change the flavor some, but I definitely wouldn’t swap the sesame oil for olive oil. Sesame oil has a very strong nutty flavor that really shapes the overall flavor of the dish. You won’t get that with olive oil.
Can I replace brown sugar with Crystal white sugar?
I don’t suggest it because the flavor is different.