Crazy Good Quick Garlic Noodles
Learn how to make THE BEST quick garlic noodles. Loaded with tons of green onions, finely minced garlic, and sauteed in a knob of butter. There are a few unusual ingredients here, but trust me, these are the best garlic noodles you’ll ever have! Ready in around 15 minutes!
Here it is! Here it is!
The recipe that I’ve had on my mind for as long as I’ve been breathing — quick garlic noodles!
A noodle dish with chewy noodles sauteed in a knob of butter with fresh minced garlic, and tons of fresh green onions. We’ve got oyster sauce and a generous splash of fish sauce too.
Okay, I know; the internet is full of garlic noodles. But believe me, this one is different. It has a couple of unusual ingredients. Not usual like I’m sending you on a wild goose chase for a hard-to-find ingredient you’ve never heard of. Unusual in the sense that you don’t typically see it paired often with oyster sauce and fish sauce. But you know what; I’ll never make garlic noodles without them now. Not that I needed any more reassurances, but when I walk into the kitchen to find hubby licking the tongs clean as he goes slightly wide-eyed from being caught in the act, I’m pretty sure I’ve made the garlickiest garlic noodles around town.
And after having some of the best garlic noodles on Maui, in San Francisco, and pretty much anywhere else I can find them on the menu, I’m proud to say this is one crazy good batch of garlic noodles. And what makes these even better? They take in the ballpark of 15 minutes to make and use mostly pantry and refrigerator staple ingredients. You can use ramen noodles, spaghetti, or chuka soba noodles like I’m using. Top with sauteed shrimp, crab, lobster, and crispy tofu with a squeeze of sriracha if you please.
Quick Garlic Noodles Video:
Ingredients for homemade garlic noodles recipe:
The ingredient list on my quick garlic noodles is short. Ten simple ingredients.
- Butter and Oil: You’ll want a combination of the two. The oil helps raise the temperature of the butter so that it doesn’t burn.
- Fresh Garlic: we’ll saute the garlic in the butter so that the flavor infuses throughout this noodle recipe.
- Scallions: We’ll saute these with the garlic to infuse the butter and you can certainly add more on top as a garnish if you’d like.
- Fish Sauce: adds a ton of umami flavor to the noodles as well as salt. If you follow a vegan diet, I suggest making vegan fish sauce using the various recipes on the internet. If all else fails, you can add a splash of soy sauce instead.
- Oyster sauce: adds a salty element to the noodles. For my vegan friends, you can use oyster mushroom sauce instead.
- Granulated sugar: adds sweetness and helps balances the salty elements of the dish. Feel free to use brown sugar if you’d like.
- Parmesan Cheese: Your eyes don’t deceive you! I did indeed right parmesan! So this ingredient works beautifully with the oyster sauce and the fish sauce to give this dish an umami flavor bomb! If you’re vegan you can use a vegan parm alternative, although I do expect that the flavor will be somewhat different.
- Prepared noodles: You’ll want to use 8 ounces of dried noodles for this recipe and prepare them according to package instructions in a saucepan. For the noodles, I used Chuka soba noodles that my local grocery store carries. You can use just about any kind you like! Egg noodles, Hong Kong-style noodles, or even spaghetti or angel hair pasta will do. This is a fusion recipe; there’s no wrong answer here!
- Fried Garlic: It can be a tricky ingredient to find in a regular grocery store, so you can certainly omit it from the recipe or make your own! But know that the fried garlic bits on top are what truly make this recipe irresistible. If you’ve got easy access to an Asian supermarket, you can find this easily! Just know that a lot of the brands fry their garlic in palm oil. If you also feel strongly about avoiding palm oil, I suggest checking the ingredient list before you buy. I was lucky enough to find a brand that didn’t, locally. But here’s a brand that fries them in soybean oil in case you’re interested.
How to make the best garlic noodles on the planet:
- Boil the noodles: Set a large pot of water to boil. When the pasta water reaches a boil, cook them according to the package directions. As the pasta cooks, you can start the infusion of the butter. Drain the pasta and set it aside until you’re ready to toss it.
- Infuse the butter. The key to making good garlic noodles is to make sure you do this step right. Which is allowing the minced garlic and scallions to really infuse all of their flavors into the oil and butter. Start with a cold large skillet, add the butter, oil, garlic, and scallions and slowly let the pan heat up. This will take you about 5-7 minutes, but trust me, this is the part you don’t want to rush. The total time is still in the ballpark of under 30 minutes, and I promise it’s worth the wait!
- Make garlic noodles. While the garlic is simmering, combine the fish sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar in a small bowl. Once the garlic is done, you’ll want to kick it up to medium-high heat and add the sauces. Give it 30 seconds to simmer and then add the cooked noodles and toss it all in the sauce. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce as you’d like. If you’re just starting off, I suggest doing a tablespoon of each of the fish sauce and the oyster sauce. You can always add more but you can’t take it away! Top with fried garlic right before serving. And don’t anticipate any leftovers!
What’s to love about this recipe:
- They take about 15 minutes, give or take.
- You’ve probably got almost all the ingredients in your pantry or refrigerator.
- You can serve this with just any kind of protein! Hubby made a spicy Thai Chicken last week, and we swapped the quinoa for garlic noodles. But really, we’ve had this with Miso Ginger Salmon too, and you just can’t go wrong here. I love Hawaiian Shrimp Scampi with this too!
- You can skip the protein and go the vegetable route. Sauteed broccolini or seared bok choy in sesame oil *chefs kiss*
- Perfect for when you’re a single lady (or dude) like I am on some weeknights, and all you want is a bowl of comfort food and you want it FAST.
Quick garlic noodles serve four but if you ask my husband, he’ll tell you there’s just enough for one. Honestly, plan on making more than you think you’ll need.
It’s so dang hard to stop yourself from eating the whole pan!
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Cantonese-Style Pan-Fried Noodles
- Sesame Ginger Tofu and Veggie Stir Fry
- Gochujang Noodles
- Sesame Peanut Noodles with Chicken
- Hibachi Fried Rice
Original recipe shared Feb 2018, updated with new images, and post Oct 2022.
Crazy Good Quick Garlic Noodles
Learn how to make THE BEST quick garlic noodles. There are a few unusual ingredients here, but trust me, these are the best garlic noodles you'll ever have!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter + 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 6-8 fresh garlic cloves, minced (we always use 8)
- 2 scallions, greens only (thinly sliced)
- 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 8 ounces noodles (see notes)
- fried garlic, for topping
Instructions
- Infuse the Butter: Heat a large pot with water and allow it to come to boil, cook the noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside. While the water is boiling, grab a large, non-stick skillet and place it on medium-low heat. Add the butter, oil olive, garlic, and scallions. Let the butter infuse with the garlic for 5-7 minutes, stirring often. The garlic should barely sizzle here, you don't want it to brown.
- Garlic Noodles: While the garlic is going, grab a small bowl and mix together the fish sauce, oyster sauce, and the sugar. When the garlic is cooked, kick the heat up to medium-high, stir in the prepared sauce; let cook for 30 seconds. Add the prepared noodles and toss with parmesan cheese (yes, parm!) Let the noodles cook for a minute so they soak up all that flavor. Top with fried garlic and serve immediately! That flavor is like NOTHING you'll ever have.
Notes
- Please note: after a few responses from readers, I've adjusted the amount of fish sauce + oyster sauce to read '1-2 tablespoons.' I use 2 of each and didn't find it had a fishy flavor but a few people mentioned that it was a bit pungent for their taste. I suggest starting with 1 tablespoon of each and adjusting as desired!
- You can use a lot of different kinds of noodles here. I used Chuka soba noodles, but egg noodles, Hong Kong noodles, spaghetti, or even angel hair pasta will work here.
- You can serve this with just about anything you like!
- This recipe can easily be doubled if you want leftovers, and really with all that garlic, who wouldn't?
Made these tonight and they were soooooo good. I was skeptical for sure, but I’m so glad I tried it. Amazing garlic flavor. Big fan!
These noodles are to die for! I made them recently and there were no leftovers. Quick and easy to make! I served them with marinated tofu. Soooooo goooood!
Well i didn’t really look at how many noodles i was working with, but when i finished boiling my noodles to prep for cooking, it looked like enough to feed two whole families… so i doubled your recipe and used 16 cloves of garlic haha! It turned out very delicious and not a disaster at all! Thank you so much!
First, I have never posted a comment to a blog ever. I am compelled to do so tonight. This is an amazing recipe. It is hard to describe the umami flavour with this dish. It is the perfect balance of sweet and sour and that garlic! I made a batch at lunch and then it was so good I made it again for dinner on the same day. It is fall now and I had loads of peppers and greens so I chucked them in the pan. I had some fresh sockey salmon and voila! I could cry…it was that good.
These noodles were sent straight from heaven!!! Thank you so much for introducing these into our lives!!!
Haha I love it! So happy you feel that way ❤️
Made spaghetti squash with this recipe and its so delicious! Added some spinach as well.
I have tried so many of Little Spice Jar recipes and so far have loved them all. However, I tried these garlic noodles and doubled the recipe (all ingredients) using 16 cloves of garlic (UK size so small bulb). No one could eat the noodles. The garlic was so overpowering to the point it was inedible (and I like garlic!!)…. had to throw them away…..What a waste 🙁
This is now our family’s favorite recipe!!! I’ve tried so many versions of garlic noodles, and this is the only one I’ve found that’s really hit the spot. The only modification I’ve made is always doubling the recipe, because we were always finding ourselves bummed out that we didn’t have any leftovers!
The dish is awesome…..love it … this is the restaurant rated dish… highly recommended….
If you’re not a fish person (for example, you cannot tolerate sushi because of the seaweed wrap) then I suggest cutting the fish sauce and oyster sauce in half, and replacing with something else. Soy sauce maybe? The fishiness was way too pungent for me but my husband LOVED this dish. I really want to try it again with a milder tweak.
Have made this at least once a week since I discovered this recipe a few months back. So weird and so deliciously addictive.
I have an allium intolerance and get really sick when I have garlic or onions BUT I make this and substitute garlic flavored olive oil and use garlic free Hoisin sauce. Seriously so yummy! And YES the parmesan is necessary!
This recipe is absolutely fantastic! I tried it for the first time and today and scrambled back to write a review. I’ll almost always make a recipe “as-is” the first time to know exactly what to expect. I’m glad I wasn’t swayed by the other reviews.
To start; I’d DOUBLE this recipe. I probably ate half of it before serving. The brand of Chuka Soba noodles I used (Welpac) was only 6 oz. The amount of garlic was just right and a true garlic lover could even do with more. But I would add more green onions as garnish next time.
Do yourself a favor; try this recipe!!! You’ll not lose anything and it takes no time at all plus you’ll earn a lifetime keeper of a recipe; good enough to pass down.
L
WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS…………..How fn good these noodles are!!!!!! (Sorry but that’s just how good they are) ?! I wanted to post a pic but I don’t see if that’s an option. My mom is Chinese Cantonese (in Asian cuisine Cantonese is known for their cooking styles that can almost seem like Science)but grew up with a Mexican stepmother so she was the only grandma I knew, my dad is African American but Creole decent, I grew up in Southern Cal and speak fluent Spanish, I married a Navy man from New York and we live in Florida but def traveled A LOT! Years ago I would have him take me to a seafood with Asian twist restaurant called Crustacian that originated in San Fran for their Dungeness crab GARLIC NOODLES! I love cooking so after trying and trying , I figured out it wasn’t the it was DEF the garlic noodles, so I then sought out looking for another resource but eventually just let it go as one of those love affairs that just maybe you wonder what could of happened had I hung in there?…… Like where would we be now?…….it’s been years, and then ALONG CAME YOU WITH THIS AMAZING GIFT OF AN EVEN BETTER LOVE AFFAIR!!!!! (And btw I believe in only falling in love once in real life but this story OMG!)
Our youngest is now 12 and my husband being retired military can be obnoxious at times with his perfectionism of not being a big fan of leftovers. Well not only did I double the batch, did the MAX amount of garlic, Fish sauce and oyster sauce (which has been my go to sauce in ALL things applicable), we had them AGAIN tonight with a fried egg on top (due to running low of tilapia that I just soaked in soy sauce for 10-15), refreshed with a quick cucumber/shallot/jalapeno salad and I FOUND HIM EATING OUT OF THE PAN scraping for the now crispy noodles from being twice pan fried and my son with egg yolk on his Polo ?
That, in my LONG Book is a HOMERUN and I OWE IT ALL TO YOU!!!!! I am not one to follow many recipes NOR write reviews but you have fans Marzia! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING and Please keep up the AWESOME Job you are doing! Just reading thru, I anticipate trying more out that I can already relate to! The diversity is phenomenal!
How is this recipe if I leave out the cheese? No one in this home eats any kind of cheese.
A year later lol but I just made this for the first time, and yeah next time I make this I’m omitting the cheese-not that we have lactose issues, it just got kinda gloopy. I’d like to let the oil and butter do it’s thing and let them add cheese after if they wanna. Great flavor though!
Was as good as it looks !!!
This recipe is ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous! I got home feeling like I had a cold coming on, after a really long day at work. I thought garlic, I need garlic. I’m tired, run down and need an easy meal that is GARLICKY! Noodles, I need noodles…and GARLIC. This recipe was fabulous, I used 8 HUGE cloves of garlic and garlic chives instead of scallions. I told you I wanted garlic! This recipe fit the bill perfectly, was easy to make when I’m feeling less than 100% and was totally tasty. I added spinach at the last minute and topped these tasty noodles with sliced red chilli, left over steamed miso salmon from the fridge and a poached egg. Dinner, done. Thanks for this recipe, hubby loved it too.
These were so good! I doubled the recipe, and 3 adults and 2 kids killed it. Definitely a new staple in our house. Thank you
Oh. My. Word. This recipe has changed my life! It’s rare to find a meal that the whole family loves and this one rocketed straight to the top of the ‘love-it-list! I must admit, the first time
I made this I was skeptical about adding the Parmesan cheese, but for some magical reason, it totally works! (Duh, or otherwise it wouldn’t be listed in the ingredients… lol) We have made this around 10 times now and I usually cook up some sliced chicken breasts separately and add them into the noodles just before serving just to help fill up the hungry tummies. Thanks for such a delicious recipe ?
These noodles are so yummy! I made it just as your recipe instructs and they did not disappoint. Can’t wait to make it with veggies and some shrimp!
Thee were an umami bomb. I’m vegan and substituted with the vegan counterparts. Easy and delicious.
So happy to hear you enjoyed the noodles, Chely! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and comment 🙂
I made this recipe with some changes to adapt to my family’s taste …I substituted the scallion for parsley & I skipped the fried garlic for garnish….I only used garlic to be infused in the butter…so only two cloves were fine with me ….for the parmesan…..if I got it …it’s ok or the smoked gouda is fine too ….thanks for your beautiful recipe
These noodles are amazing! enjoyed with shrimp and we have had it for dinner more times over the last month than I care to admit! Thank you for this recipe that has entered our weekly rotation! YUM!
Hi Dori! Glad it’s on your weekly rotation; it’s a favorite around here as well! 🙂
Hi Marzia! I’ve been teaching myself how to cook more and these look SO good. What would you say is the best way to reheat leftovers to maintain their quality?
Hi there! You can reheat the noodles in a couple of different ways. 1.) spray a nonstick skillet with cooking spray, add the prepared noodles and let them heat through on medium-low until warm. 2.) you can add it to a microwave-safe bowl, cover with a microwave lid, and heat until warm! Hope that helps 🙂
So flipping good. I was dubious about the parmesan, but think I’ll be adding it to more stir fries now! Delicious and quick I added carrots and broccoli
Hi Rachel! I’m so glad to hear you decided to try it with the park after all! It adds the best flavor. Appreciate you circling back to leave a review!
OMG, the best ever! I used 1 tbs of fish sauce and 1.5 of oyster sauce. Threw in some sautéed andouille sausage and its hands down the best I’ve ever made. Thank you, thank you!!!!
These noodles are AH-MAZING. I stuck to 1 tbsp each of the fish and oyster sauce as suggested for first timers abs found the balance perfect – no fishy taste whatsoever. Split the difference on the garlic and used 7 cloves worth (I used the minced jar stuff; shameful I know but I have a huge aversion to the pain in the butt that is fresh garlic – life is hard enough as it is). I used three packages of ramen noodles (discard the seasoning packet). I served with chicken over it but honestly, the noodles put the protein to shame. Better than takeout for sure! PS: don’t let the Parmesan fool you. You won’t be sorry!
These noodles were absolutely delicious! I made them with whole wheat angel hair pasta and they still tasted amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe Marzia!
So satisfyingly tasty!! And so easy! I did balk at first at the Parmesan at the end, but the first time I make a recipe, I follow it to the letter if I can. Pat me on the back for following the rules!! It’s some “crazy good” flavor!!
Definitely in my made-it-keep-it-going-file. Thank you
These were delicious. I added some stuff to make a more balanced dinner and somehow I think my sauce was more oily than your looked (not a bad thing). Maybe I didn’t have enough noodles, but it was delicious. I used cheap instant udon noodles. I did the garlic and scallions per your instructions, adding a few diced mushrooms in the last 2 minutes. Then I cranked up the the heat and added 4 shrimp cut into small pieces. When the shrimp were almost cooked through, I added the sauce ingredients and did everything else as you instructed. Served with some steamed broccoli on the side and it was perfect.
Holy cow, these noodles are BOMB! Totally amazing, just what I was craving. I was a little skeptical when I started adding oyster sauce and fish sauce… But damn. So perfect. I used the smaller amount of fish sauce (1 Tbs). And I added stir-fried broccoli, carrots, and cabbage (fried super hot really quick so they stay crisp). Highly recommend!