Spaghetti aglio e olio (Italian: [spaˈɡetti ˈaʎʎo e ˈɔːljo]; lit.

Its popularity can be attributed to it being simple to prepare and the fact that it makes use of inexpensive, readily available ingredients that have long shelf lives in a pantry.

[2] The dish is made by first lightly sautéing thinly sliced garlic in extra virgin olive oil, sometimes with the addition of red pepper flakes (dried chili—in which case its name is spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino).

Although cheese is not included in most traditional recipes, grated Parmesan or pecorino can be added, similarly to pasta allo scarpariello.

Some recipes recommend adding some of the water from cooking pasta to the olive oil to create a sauce, but other recipes recommend simply stirring the oil into the drained pasta.