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’ve made this recipe twice a month seemingly forever now.. so great.
Thanks, Greg!
Looks incredible. I bought all the ingredients yesterday, and I’m making it TODAY. : -)
Yay!! Can’t wait to hear what you think!
Made this recipe this evening – It was Amazingly Delicious!!! I added 1 cup of steamed tender crisp asparagus cut into 1 inch pieces which worked beautifully. We look forward to cold leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thank you Suzy – Your recipes never disappoint!
Great idea with the asparagus! So glad you enjoyed it, Linda!
Hi Suzy;
I did make this pasta recipe and absolutely loved it. It was simple but with great deep flavors.
A definite go to again for me.
Thanks so much!
Kate
Thanks, Kate! Glad you enjoyed it!
This is INSANELY good, perhaps partly enhanced by the vine ripened tomatoes and lemon I brought back from my trip to Florida last week. The tomatoes were plummy, contrasting beautifully with the saltiness of the olives.
I probably used a bit less oil and used Parm rather than feta, because my product was a higher quality, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.
I’m avoiding meat this week, Holy Week, not so much for religious reasons but more traditional ones.
But with this dish, I’m certainly not suffering enough!
That was excellent! I served it with roasted salmon. It was a perfect week night dinner.
Thanks so much, Cindy!
This is very good but I would either increase the vegetables or cut back on the pasta. I would also swap green onions for purple onions and maybe add parmesan or exchange it for the feta.
Okay I just have to share… I have never wrote a review on a Pinterest recipe before but y’all…. if you haven’t Made this yet you better get in your car and go to the store. This recipe is my obsession. I have made it about 15times. I make it about once a week. My family lovessss it, even the picky eaters. You won’t be disappointed. Super easy for meal prepping too. It lasts me about three days when sharing.
Thank you so much, Heather! Glad to hear this has been such a hit for you!! 🙂
My husband asks for this recipe every week, thank you!
Awesome! Thanks, Penny!
I made this to the letter except used the juice from one whole lemon instead of zest, because I couldn’t find my zester.😅 It was delicious! Honestly the olives and artichoke (which I generally love) surprisingly didn’t make this dish, it was that incredible garlic oil! It wasn’t that I didn’t like them, but could totally see making this with just the garlic/oil and other vegetables. It would still be delicious!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Elizabeth!
Can I use dried basil instead of the fresh? I have everything else to make this.
You could try that in a pinch, Karen, but I do hope you are able to make it with fresh basil sometime. That REALLY kicks the flavor up a notch!
Loved it!
This is perfect. Thank you for sharing this!
Loved this! Delicious, quick & easy. This is going to be a regular for us.
So glad, Liz! Thank you
This recipe is amazing!! Absolutely love it! The only slight change I made is to add a few more vegetables. Thank you Suzy for another winner!!
Delicious…however it will feed way more than 4-6 people…my husband’s comment was, “4-6 families? Are you sure you read that right?!”. We both loved it though 🙂
Absolutely delicious, either hot or cold. My go to recipe for pasta nights.
That’s great to hear! Thanks, Amy!