I dare say, this simple Mediterranean olive oil pasta is textbook Mediterranean diet deliciousness! It skips all the fluff and heavy sauces in favor of extra virgin olive oil and a few ingredients.
This simple olive oil pasta recipe takes inspiration from the popular Naples dish called spaghetti aglio e olio, which translates to spaghetti with garlic and oil.
In a typical spaghetti aglio e olio recipe, pasta is coated in a simple garlic-olive oil sauce, then garnished with parsley and, sometimes, grated Parmesan.
But this Mediterranean olive oil pasta goes just a little bit further, by adding a few favorite ingredients like grape tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, feta and olives.
A couple of tips for this olive oil pasta
First, this dish makes a feature of extra virgin olive oil and relies heavily on its flavor. The oil is briefly heated through, but not cooked. That’s why, you’ll want to use the best quality extra virgin olive oil you can afford.
Remember, oils that are simply labeled “pure” have usually been heat-treated and refined by mechanical means and, consequently, lack character and flavor.
Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil
For this recipe, I always use our Greek Early Harvest extra virgin olive oil. It is organically grown and processed from native Koroneiki olives, which are hand-picked early in the season while still green, and processed within ours to make this prized ‘liquid gold’ they call ‘agoureleo.’
Our Early Harvest oil is an exquisite cold extracted and unfiltered oil with a perfectly balanced complexity— rich green, fruity and pungent with a peppery finish. Our oil features exceptionally high levels of polyphenols and low acidity of less than 0.35%.
Read more about our Early Harvest oil here! It makes a ton of difference in dishes like this Mediterranean olive oil pasta.
Secondly, when making the sauce, do not allow the garlic to brown, it will taint its flavor. If it does brown or burn, you’ll need to toss it and start over.
Of course, if you’re in the mood for something saucy, be sure to check out my homemade spaghetti sauce recipe!
Watch How to Make this Simple Olive Oil Pasta
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Simple Mediterranean Olive Oil Pasta
- Total Time: 19 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Simple, tasty olive oil pasta loaded with Mediterranean flavors.
Ingredients
- 1 lb thin spaghetti
- 1/2 cup Early Harvest Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or Private Reserve Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- Salt
- 1 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 12 oz grape tomatoes, halved
- 3 scallions (green onions), top trimmed, both whites and greens chopped
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 6 oz marinated artichoke hearts, drained
- 1/4 cup pitted olives, halved
- 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, more if you like
- 10–15 fresh basil leaves, torn
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Crushed red pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
- Follow package instructions to cook thin spaghetti pasta to al dente (mine took 6 minutes to cook in plenty of boiling water with salt and olive oil).
- When pasta is almost cooked, heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Lower the heat and add garlic and a pinch of salt. Cook for 10 seconds, stirring regularly. Stir in the parsley, tomatoes and chopped scallions. Cook over low heat until just warmed through, about 30 seconds or so.
- When the pasta is ready, remove from heat, drain cooking water and return to its cooking pot. Pour the warmed olive oil sauce in and toss to coat thoroughly. Add black pepper and toss again to coat.
- Add the remaining ingredients and toss one more time. Serve immediately in pasta bowls, and if you like, top each with more basil leaves and feta. Enjoy!
Notes
Recommended for this recipe Our Early Harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 9 mins
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Other Recipes to Try
Blackened Chicken and Spaghetti Dinner
i added mushrooms and swapped feta with goat cheese and it was delicious – my kid loved it and said we should definitely make this again!!!
I make this every week now. I change it up depending on what I have (or don’t have). No scallions, no problem. No artichokes, it’s okay. I also add a cup of chicken broth and use yellow pea pasta. It’s an amazing and fast meal with loads of flavor.
This recipe is definitely a great one that you can play around with!! So glad you love it!
I am trying to order the oil that you have suggested and the stopper thing for the top of the bottle. I am a little annoyed with the site as it keeps adding on other items that others have purchased with the oil. Not an easy process for check out
Hi, there! I just forwarded your message to our shop team. Someone there will reach out to you soon! If you don’t hear anything, please feel free to email them at sales@themediterraneandish.com. Thanks so much!
Made this tonight. My husband and I really, really like it. I will most definitely make it again.
I have to leave another comment. My husband and I both love this recipe. I made it for the first time about 18 months ago after coming back from Europe and deciding to go on a Mediterranean Diet. My cousin’s wife is Turkish and she introduced me to Med. Food. I have know made it about 10 times and every time my husband takes his first bite, he says “this is delicious”. This is huge praise from a East Coast man who grew up eating meat, mashed potatoes and frozen vegetables every night. He didn’t think he liked Casteltravano Olives, Bulgarian Feta (less salty) or artichoke hearts. Guess what? He loves them!
I love all your recipes and have never been disappointed in one. Thank you!
Yesss! Love this! Thanks so much for the sweet note!
I loved the simplicity of this dish! My husband doesn’t like olives or feta so I had to modify it, but it still was delicious. I added in more garlic and salt and swapped the feta for Parmesan cheese. I grilled the artichoke hearts separately and added that to my bowl. So yummy! Reminded me of some pasta I ate in a small restaurant in the middle of Florence.
My husband hated olives and feta. I found Bulgarian Feta which is less salty and tart and add it to many recipes. I also put in Casteltrevano Olives which he is fine with. You may want to try these as they add quite a bit of variety to this pasta. It is so simple and quick.
I made this last night and we loved it. What a great combination of flavors which I could tell when I saw the recipe. I forgot the lemon zest and it was still great!
I made this dish 2 nights ago and I love it! I cleaned my plate the 1st night and had a bigger portion the 2nd night. My son in law does most of the cooking (and they are having a baby) he is also Italian so I can’t wait to share this with him. I loved that the sauce wasn’t heavy, just perfect!