Pasta With Butter, Sage And Parmesan
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1pound cut pasta, like ziti
- 2tablespoons butter
- 30fresh sage leaves
- 1cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
642 calories; 18 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 91 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 29 grams protein; 447 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt it. Cook pasta until it is tender, but not quite done.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, place butter in a skillet or saucepan large enough to hold the cooked pasta; turn heat to medium, and add sage. Cook until butter turns nut-brown and sage shrivels, then turn heat to a minimum.
- Step 3
When the pasta is just about done, scoop out a cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta. Immediately add it to the butter-sage mixture, and raise heat to medium. Add ¾ cup of the water, and stir; the mixture will be loose and a little soupy. Cook for about 30 seconds, or until some of the water is absorbed and the pasta is perfectly done.
- Step 4
Stir in cheese; the sauce will become creamy. Thin it with a little more water if necessary. Season liberally with pepper and salt to taste, and serve immediately, passing more cheese at the table if you like.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Maria
I fried the sage separately and then added it to sautéed onion and garlic before putting the pasta in. Adding a little lemon zest and sprinkling toasted panko bread crumbs on top takes this to a whole other level.
Yvette
I have been making this for about 15 years ever since I first saw the recipe in the Times and it has always been a big hit. I use more than 30 sage leaves, 40-60 depending on size. While this is great as written, I sauté 3/4 lb of Italian sausage (hot or sweet and always the patties) wipe out the pan when browned and add the butter (increased for the additional sage leaves) and then the sage. Then add the sausage back in just before adding the reserved water. So easy, quick and fabulous!
irene
I would take the sage leaves out next time before i put past in and put them on top of pasta as they became mushy stuck with cheese
Leslie
Fry the sage leaves in butter, you won't be disappointed!
LARGO
Had huge sage from garden.
Used penne rigate, as shown.
Removed crisp sage from brown butter and set aside ( like Irene & Leslie).
Lowered heat & added shallot and garlic, until colored.
Used less water (only enough to finish pasta, and leave moist) & added pepper flakes. No cheese in sauce!
Chiffonade fried sage.
In serving dish, toss in cheese & sage, saving a little, for garnish.
David
A twist of lemon too as you take the sauce off the heat. Works wonders :)
Suzanne
Delicious with pumpkin tortolini
Peter
I have made this many times and found that hitting the butter with a clove of garlic using a micro-plane adds a little something extra.
Weslie
very good and so easy. used sage leaves from the garden and next time i will use a few more. i did add peas for color but next time i will not. this stands alone and greens not necessary. i suspect, the better the parmesan
the more pleased you will be. i used a pasta called taccozzette which is cut pieces of pasta.
Mitch Sackson
I always add some vegetable to one of these simple pasta so that you get extra vitamins. Usually they are peas, onion, collards, beet greens or the like. This than makes it a complete dish for a single diner cook.
Elizabeth Anderson Porzio
A common mistake is to add many things to pasta. We love the very taste of pasta even just with oil.
Andy
What a shockingly quick meal to prepare! Fresh Sage around here comes in plastic containers. 30 leaves was a rough guess, so if you're uncertain, one of those containers does the trick.
Eddie
My Italian friend would always order this dish because his Nonna (grandmother) made this for him growing up. Recently, I plucked my first batch of sage from my home hydroponic garden and decided to give it a go. First, this is a classic and very simple classic Italian dish, but not lacking in flavor. I added white wine before adding the pasta and a touch of olive oil to the butter to avoid the butter from burning. It tasted delicious and I think Nonna would approve despite the slight deviations.
Chip
I'm confused...isn't this what you're supposed to do?
Phyllis
In the fall, our local pasta maker makes pumpkin ravioli that literally cries for butter and sage sauce. I cringe when someone tells me they use prepared alfredo sauce on this gorgeous pasta.
lauren
Just made this on New Year’s Day morning while slightly hungover and I’m feeling great about my life decisions in 2024 so far. Delicious! Didn’t change the recipe at all, it’s perfectly simple as is.
gk notes
chop one clove of garlic and a small amount of onion Sauté that first in the butter for a minute dish with the heat much less than medium Remove stems from Sage and from Keel and tear into smaller pieces then add that and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes Now turn off until just before the noodles are ready to be added
JPN
Add white wine, shallot, garlic and butternut squash
Jen W
Added white beans when added the pasta to give some protein. Increased the sage because I have a huge sage plant growing. Great recipe for a quick and easy dinner!
Susan C
I added the cheese to the herb reduction (chives as well as sage), and the chees and herbs balled up. It was quite tasty, however, I think adding the cheese to the pasta, not the sauce, is what I'll try next time.
Allen H
This is one of the most perfect recipes I’ve ever seen. One alteration I made that’s an absolute game changer: Prosciuttio Filled Tortellini or Sacchetti
Andre
followed the recipe and a few commentary suggestions. the pasta was chickpea flower based. a mix of good butter and olive oil - i think this delayed the browning. a little lemon zest and garlic cooked briefly after removal of the crispy sage leaves. sage added back in after mixing of pasta and cheese and a dusting of nutritional yeast at the table to top out the umami.
sam
People adding all kinds of stuff to this, but I don’t see any need to mess with the recipe - this is great as is! (Ok, I used spaghetti because that’s all I had.) Keep it simple.
ES
Burned the heck out of my butter and sage in just a couple of minutes at medium heat. Maybe my range is too powerful, but I'd brown the butter at a min heat and take it off heat entirely when you're almost there.
Lou
Oups. In English: Great with good fresh pasta. I almost doubled the number of sage leaves and butter, roasted them in the butter at the very last minute, and sprinkled them on the pasta when serving. Added chopped prosciutto style ham on top. Mmm.
gk notes
Finally diced small amount of onions and one clove of garlic Sauté in butter for around a minute Add no stem Sage and no stem kale diced 2-3 mins Turn off until just before adding noodles
Chase W.
Mostly followed recipe, but strayed with the addition of Italian sausage and cremini mushrooms to make the meal even hardier. We will definitely make it again!
IMJ
I added the Parmesan and it all clumped up into a melted cheese blob rather than becoming part of the sauce. Does anyone have recommendations for avoiding this? Otherwise, recipe is delish. Careful re how much pasta water you add, mine was super salty so it became a bit of a salt bomb
Powell
Turn down heat to a simmer, add some white wine.
Delicious. Made A Creamier Verison
Love this. Ushed ghee instead.. after crisping Sage, added half a large bulb of fennel, sliced thinly, 1 large portobello mushroom, sliced thinly.. shrimp, Coconut cream and chicken bouillon. Used pacherri and finished cooking pasta in sauce for ample time.. basically until starch thickened the sauce. Incredibly delicious
Julia
This needs double everything—at least. Following the recipe, this tasted inarguably bland, everyone I cooked it for said so. It needs easily twice as much sage, definitely add some shallots and garlic, more butter, salt, pepper. I added walnuts, and sprinkled some lemon juice and more pepper on at the end.
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