Truffle Butter Pasta

pasta with truffle butter in a bowl and a pot of salt.

4.75 from 4 votes

Delightful truffle butter pasta, rich, creamy, and ready by the time it takes the pasta to cook. Spaghetti or linguini coated in a creamy, buttery sauce – the perfect recipe for a romantic dinner.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Course: Main Course, Pasta and Rice

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: people

Calories: 711kcal

Author: Adina

Equipment

Large pot
Small saucepan

Ingredients

1 lb spaghetti Note 1
2 oz truffle butter 60 g
¾ cup heavy cream 180 ml
1 garlic clove grated
⅓ cup Parmesan freshly grated, 25 g, more for serving, Note 2
⅓-½ cup pasta cooking water 75-125 ml, as needed
a few gratings of nutmeg
fine sea salt or Kosher
ground black pepper
fresh parsley chopped

Instructions

Cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt generously (Note 4). Cook 1 lb/450 g of pasta al dente. Reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water before draining the pasta. Return the pasta to the pot and set aside while you make the sauce.
Sauce: Place the truffle butter, heavy cream, and grated garlic clove in a small saucepan. Heat very gently until the butter melts. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting and stir in freshly grated Parmesan, about ¼ cup of the pasta water, a few gratings of nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine (Note 5).
2 oz/ 50 g truffle butter, ¾ cup/ 180 ml cup heavy cream, 1 garlic clove, ⅓ cup/ 25 g Parmesan, ¼ cup/ 60 ml pasta cooking water
Combine: Pour the truffle butter sauce over the pasta. Toss to combine and add a bit more pasta water to loosen the sauce (I add about ¼ cup more but do it as needed).
Adjust the taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley. Serve immediately with more Parmesan if desired.

Notes

Substitute with linguine, fettuccine, bucatini, or other long types of pasta.
Cheese: I strongly recommend using freshly grated Parmesan from a wedge; the pre-grated one is just not good. However, in case, you still want to use pre-grated, you will need less than ⅓ cup. Freshly grated Parmesan has more volume.
Salting pasta water: Be generous with the salt when cooking pasta; it really makes a difference. One pound of pasta (450 g) cooked in about 17 cups (4 liters) of water needs 1 tablespoon of table salt or about 1 ⅓ tablespoons fine sea salt or Kosher salt.
The mixture should never get too hot, or the Parmesan will get grainy. Stir on the lowest setting of your stovetop or turn the heat off completely.

Nutrition