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.
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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.
This is really good. I can’t use the oyster sauce so I use teriyaki sauce instead. If I use a sweeter teriyaki I cut down on the brown sugar. But really… great recipe.
I’ve tried these with Spaghetti Pasta Noodles and Udon Noodles. I prefer the Spaghetti Pasta. I don’t normally leave comments but these garlic noodles were sooooo good.
I agree w the others. Half the amount of sugar (1TBS) and the dish is just the right amount of semi-sweet/garlic goodness. Also add some crushed reds on top.
I double the recipe for the sauce specifically and have a jar in the fridge at the ready anytime I want to whip them up.
I love this and make it regularly now. Thank you!
how long do you think the sauce would keep in the fridge?
Super tasty. Enjoyed by everybody.
Used spaghetti, doubled the recipe, cut the sugar in half, added some pepper flakes. The amount of butter can be cut by at least 1/4 for sure. I used a head of green garlic (which is milder) and a few regular cloves too.
Bookmarked!
*green garlic is young garlic, not yet mature. Kinda like a green onion to a full onion. Mine had gotten to starting to form the bulbs stage.
Hello! For vegetarians, substituting oyster sauce with Lee Kum Kee Stir-Fry sauce would be the closest match, not hoisin. The stir-fry sauce is a mushroom based sauce and is meant to mimic the savory umami of oyster sauce.
Was told about this by a work colleague. She told me her mum adds snow peas, broccoli (carrot?) and cream. Did this and was absolutely amazing! Adults and kids equally loved it. Definitely a staple
This recipe turned out perfect! Unlike other reviewers, I did not find it too sweet at all (and I am a savory, not sweet, person). I thought it had a great balance of flavor and paired well with the honey-soy chicken dish I made.
Holy smokes! Hubby LOVED this! I even used left over egg noodles instead of angel hair. I’m going to try the beef and broccoli version later this week , but will use snow peas instead of broccoli.
Made this recipe it was absolutely delicious. Based upon other reviews and the fact I’m not a big fan of sugar, I reduced it by half. Noodles were perfectly seasoned and so tasty. Definitely a winner, thanks Beth!
These were delicious! I listened to the comments about the sugar and added a little less than half. Woke up this morning to no leftovers. Oh well, guess I’ll have to make them again. Quick, easy and yummy.
Same comment ; just a tad too sweet, so I’ll adjust the recipe. But a great starter recipe ti add on to, and I love that I can use leftover pasta and vegetables to make this into an entirely “new” meal.
Made this tonight with broccoli and carrots. Simple and satisfying! Thanks for a great recipe. My whole family enjoyed it.
Mostly used this recipe for some sauce with my ramen but it’s pretty good! As some of the comments said it’s pretty sweet, so I halved the amount of sugar and found it really turned out well- though I’d really recommend some sriracha if you like a little heat to it. Definitely will be trying this one again!
I can not tell you how many times so have made this and it comes out amazing every time!! It’s in my weekly rotation
I think this is a good starting point for a recipe but it definitely needs adjustment. Like others who commented here, I also found it to be a bit too sweet. We want it to have that perfect balance of sweet, salty, and savory, but this tastes more like straight up syrupy. So maybe just 1tbsp of sugar. Also, I found it to be way too salty (and I’m a salt fiend!), however, this may have been because I salted my pasta water as I’m accustomed to. Perhaps if I cooked my noodles plain, the salt from the sauces would’ve been perfect. – I’m not sure. One last recommendation – top it off with some sesame seeds at the end!
Followed recipe to a t but it came out too sweet. So I will tweak it and it should be golden! Great foundation to build off of. Thanks!