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
Love your recipes, thank you for sharing
Thank you so much, Nancy! I so appreciate it.
Hubs and I ate this tonite – loved it! Added chicken breast. Great flavour combo and easy to make. Going to check out your other recipes now. Thank you!
Bev, so glad you enjoyed it! The addition of chicken works perfectly with this simple pasta! I hope you enjoy other recipes.
My husband and I loved it!!! The red pepper flakes gave it some great heat and I also tossed in some sun dried tomatoes!!
Awesome, Stephanie!!! Love your idea of adding sun-dried tomato!!
Can you recommend a few brands of good Olive Oil?
Hi Julie
In the next short weeks (very very soon), we will launch a premium product line here on the site that will include 2 different Greek extra virgin olive oils of the highest quality we’ve found. Straight from Greece. Organic. Cold Pressed. And very low acidity. I can’t recommend it enough, and wish it was already available, but I’m waiting on a shipment. Stay tuned
Where is the recipe for this
Hi there, take a look now and let me know if you don’t see the recipe. It shows up on our end.
That is a spectacular looking pasta, and I wish it were my dinner tonight. Printing, so I can make it this weekend.
I love Mediterranean dishes, simple and flavorful and this is so colorful too.
Right on! Thanks, Janette!
I love all of the bright fresh flavors in this delicious pasta. Looks so light but filling. I appreciate all of the information on olive oil too!!
Thanks, Debbie! You know how much I love EVOO!
This sounds fantastic. However, I don’t see the number of servings for this recipe….With a pound of pasta plus all the ingredients, are we talking about 6 servings? I use the Cipriani brand, which is incredibly light and thin. One 8.5 oz box feeds 4/5, so imagine that will be fine for this recipe. Am trying tonight – a sure winner.
Hi Beth. Thanks so much! Yes, you should be able to serve 4 comfortably. Thanks for catching that. I’ll add the servings.
This looks amazing! So healthy and so full of flavor. Different colors and textures of the veggies certainly make that happen. Great recipe!
Suzi;
I love the way you make almost all of your recipes sound easy and enormously tasty….. thank you. Love your website.
Thank you so much, Inge! It’s always my goal to share easy and tasty recipes. I appreciate you following along…Happy weekend!
Wow! That is beautiful!
Thank you, Ellen! Hope you give it a try!
I made this two nights ago and love it. IT’s easy to add protein if you wish. It’s a simple, healthy, and fresh recipe. Thank you!
Wonderful, Judith! thanks so much for giving it a try. You’re right, you can easily add protein of your choice here!
BIG hit in this Italian American family… all of our flavors!
Well done…
Wonderful, David! So glad y’all enjoyed it.
Love this! Every single ingredient I adore. Pinned and sharing! Cheers!
Thank you, Malia! Glad you liked it!
This is one of my favorite recipes! My family has been making this for years and it’s so nice to be able to customize it if you want without getting complicated.
Awesome, Taylor! Absolutely, this is a simple recipe that you can customize to your taste. Enjoy!