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 enjoyed the simple ingredients but added Mr. Binghams seasoning on time.
Thanks for sharing, Andrea!
This is fantastic! I made it tonight with fresh tomatoes and basil from my garden. I omitted the olives because I’m not a fan. Instead, I added capers. Oh my gosh. It is sooooo delicious!
Glad to hear it!
This was so good even my 9 year old loved it. We added capers to the recipe as well. Will definitely make this again.
This is a good one for the kiddos! Glad you enjoyed!
Another winner! So glad a friend turned me on to your sight!
I made this for dinner last night, my husband loved it as did I. Wonderful dish that is easy to make. I will be making this dish often. Thank you Suzy!
Delicious!!!! I used quinoa instead of the pasta, otherwise followed your recipe. Love this dish, thanks for helping keep us on track with health filled recipes! I could eat this for any of the 3 meals, folded into an omelet for breakfast, served tucked into a pita or over some greens for lunch or as is for dinner! Hmmm so good!!!
Thanks so much, Mary! So glad you were able to adapt this to your liking!
Easy and delicious! I used arugula instead of parsley (not a fan), sweet and flavorful “sugar bomb” tomatoes, and added some Greek seasoning to the sauce. My family loved it. Good enough to serve to guests. I will definitely make this pasta again.
So glad, Sheri!
Is there any protein that would go good with this recipe? maybe shrimp? something else to mix in very lightly? Love your website, have made so many of your excellent dishes
Sure, Gwen! I’ve served it with this lemon chicken: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/easy-lemon-chicken/ and these shrimp skewers before: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/mediterranean-garlic-shrimp-skewers/ Enjoy!
I just made this and it was delicious! I’ve made a similar dish before and thought it was bland, so I thought I’d take your advice and get a good olive oil. I ordered the one suggested from your website. It really did make a huge difference. This dish was sooo flavorful. I’ll never be able to go back to the olive oil I get in my grocery store. I love eating delicious foods that are actually healthy. Im so glad I found your site. Thank you.
Awesome! Using the right extra virgin olive oil makes a ton of difference. Thank you for sharing!
This was outstanding!!!! Thank you!!
Thanks so much, Pam!!!
Are you using Kalamata olives?
Yes, typically marinated kalamata olives. But any olives you like should work.
This was delicious! Even my son, who claims to not like pasta, enjoyed it. It has changed his mind about trying other pasta dishes. I tossed some shrimp in and added a green side salad. Yum!
Awesome, Karen! I’m so glad you all liked it!
This is my favorite one yet and one I’ll make every month for the rest of my life. It just works. Period. So simple and so many tasty ingredients that are good for you and vegetarian to boot. It reheats in the microwaver almost even better than day of. One mistake in the recipe: it states to return pasta back to original pot. Your video clearly shows (as do your photos) that you put it in the cast iron skillet along with the rest of the remaining ingredients.
Thanks so much!
Made this night before last and it was a big hit. I am allergic to tomatoes though, so I substituted red bell peppers. Everyone thought they were supposed to be in the recipe! We even had fights over the leftovers today! Fixed chicken with Italian seasoning on the side.
Wonderful, Sally! Thanks for sharing y our variation!
Absolutely LOVE this simple olive oil pasta dish along with every recipe I’ve tried from the Mediterranean Dish! All of her recipes are so simple, easy to follow and SO DELICIOUS! My boyfriend is such a picky eater and 10 out of 10 recipes I’ve tried so far he’s loved! Thank you for bringing healthy, easy dishes to the table!
Awww, Liz! I am so glad to hear it! Thank you for sharing.
AMAZING!!! Definitely a favorite. We had chicken left over from the shwarmas and added it to the pasta, it was wonderful
Awesome, Annie! Yes, you can add chicken or whatever protein is available to you!