10 minute brown butter sauce for pasta - The Burnt Butter Table (2024)

A nutty brown butter sauce with crispy sage is an elite pasta sauce, or sauce for anything for that matter! It comes together in less than 10 minutes so not only is it super quick, it's SO easy too. Browning butter creates a delicious nutty flavor and the crispy sage takes it to another level. This 10 minute brown butter pasta is my go-to and it works perfectly on any pasta shape or ravioli with a mountain of parmesan cheese!

What is brown butter?

It's simple! Brown butter is the result of melting butter over a medium-high heat until the milk solids in the butter separate and brown. It also evaporates some of the water so you'll often end up with less than you started with.

It's a really simple process and creates a rich, nutty aroma and taste that is PERFECT for pasta!

Most commonly you might have browned butter when baking (The Cloudy KitchenBrown Butter Choc Chip Cookiesare a staple in my house). There are very clear stages when browning butter which you will get to know really well.

Ingredients:

Butter - you can use salted or unsalted butter but I do personally prefer unsalted and here is why. Butter companies add all different amounts of salt to their butter and honestly, I find some of them too salty. If you have a salted butter you love the flavour of then by all means use that. I like to use unsalted purely so I can control the seasoning myself.

Sage - You can use other herbs but sage really is the classic and for good reason. You can leave it out altogether if you like!

Pasta - Use any shape you like, a short or long pasta (brown butter spaghetti is pretty great!) Cook to package directions, undercooking by a minute if you like it really al dente.

Recipe variations

I love to make a dish as delicious as humanly possible so often add in some extras to a sage pasta, the possibilities are endless!

• Walnuts - I absolutely love adding walnuts to a sage butter, the toasty flavour just sets it all off perfectly. I add in the nuts at the same time as the sage so they toast in the butter. It adds such a textural boost to a pasta dish. Use any nuts you like, hazelnuts or pinenuts, anything you love!
• Lemon Zest - If you are familiar with any of my recipes you'll know I'm a bit of a lemon fiend. I just love it OK?! To me a squeeze of lemon juice or a sprinkling of zest on top of a finished dish just adds the perfect finishing touch. Add the zest at the end on top, right before serving.
• Black pepper - same as above with the lemon, I LOVE pepper. Cacio e pepe is my death row dish so that kind of explains it. Freshly cracked black pepper enhances everything in my opinion. Red pepper flakes are also great to add a touch of heat.
• Parmesan Cheese - Freshly grated parmesan is a non negotiable for me! The only exception is if the pasta sauce already has a lot of cheese in it. For example my easy cheese sauce with thyme and bacon. But still you'd really have to fight me hard not to go in with more on top!

How to make brown butter for pasta

Full ingredient measurements and method are in recipe card below.

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over a medium-high heat.

2. When the butter starts to get a good sizzle going, throw in the fresh sage leaves.

3. Continue cooking, swirling the pan.

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4. The butter will crackle quite loudly, keep swirling the pan so it cooks and browns evenly.

5. It will quieten down and the big bubbles will turn into a foam and will start to smell nutty. Turn the heat down to a medium heat if you are worried it will burn.

6. Continue to swirl so you can see under the foam and take it off the heat when the milk solids have turned into brown bits NOT black. The whole process will take 4 - 5 minutes.

Expert tips for the perfect sage butter

• Use a fry pan that is light in colour. I like to use a stainless steel pan so that I can see what is going on at the bottom of the pan. If you use a black pan it will be almost impossible to see what colour the milk solids are turning and you'll likely burn them.
• Swirling the pan rather than using a spatula or other implement will help keep the butter cooking evenly and the keep the foam intact.
• When serving try and spoon the butter carefully so that some foam stays intact on top then skim it off with a spoon to top the pasta. I love the look of the foamy bubbles!
• DON'T add your pasta straight into the butter. In 99% of my recipes I tell you to finish off the cooking of your pasta in the sauce. You don't want to do that here as any stray pasta water that comes with it could make your perfectly crispy sage leaves soggy! Divide the cooked pasta between the bowls then top with the sage butter.

Brown Butter Sauce with Parmesan

I am updating this post to include a DELICIOUS variation! I knew that adding some pasta water into brown butter would make a really luscious sauce. I then used my trusty method of melting parmesan on top of the pasta before tossing. This will be your new favorite sauce, I promise.

It's a creamier, cheesier version!

How to make the parmesan version

Ingredient amounts are in the notes section of the recipe card. You start by making the brown sage butter exactly as per the regular recipe (photos above). Remove the sage leaves and I like to pour the browned butter into a bowl so it doesn't overcook in the hot pan.

Cook your pasta (200 grams) according to package directions, I recommend a spaghetti or linguine.

ONE: When your pasta is a few minutes away from being finished pour the browned butter back into the pan and heat gently.

TWO: When just starting to sizzle, take ⅓ cup of the pasta cooking water and add. Whisk really quickly and vigorously to emulsify the two liquids together. Add the pepper.

THREE: Let it bubble very gently on a medium or medium - low heat for a minute or two to thicken slightly.

FOUR: Add in the cooked pasta and another ⅓ cup of pasta water. Toss well and let it bubble away for 30 seconds or so.

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FIVE: Turn the heat down to as low as possible (or off completely) and sprinkle the grated parmesan in a nice even layer over the top. Let it melt on top until it looks like this. 1 - 2 minutes. Put a lid on if you need to help it along.

SIX: Now you are going to take some tongs and spin the pasta around and around really quickly until the noodles are coated in a glossy even sauce. Season to taste.

SEVEN: You should end up with a glossy well emulsified sauce. The key is to have the pan on the lowest heat possible or off the heat entirely while the cheese is melting on the top. Serve with the crispy sage leaves on top. Season to taste.

Tips for the emulsified brown butter parmesan sauce

• I find the best way to grate the parmesan is with a bullet smoothie maker. It grinds the parmesan into a crumb which I find melts the best. If you don't have one use a microplane or star size of your box grater.
• Season your pasta water REALLY well. This is a simple sauce so getting some salt into the pasta is key.
• I find browning the butter first, setting aside then cooking the pasta is the easiest way so you don't have to worry about timing it perfectly.

Other buttery pasta dishes to try

I won't shy away from the fact a LOT of my sauces are butter based. It's just too good, I can't (and won't!) stop. Definitely check out my 10 minute lemon butter pasta, it's another quick and easy one.

One of my personal faves is my easy white wine and butter pasta sauce or my 3 ingredient nduja butter pasta.

Best pasta shapes for a butter sauce

I don't think there need to be rules do you? Use whatever you like best! As I said I have gone for a pappardelle for these but any shape fresh or dried will work perfectly. If you want to have a go at hand rolled shapes, which are my favorite, then check out my hand rolled gnocci sardi or homemade orecchiette.

Try it with a ravioli shape!

This 10 minute sage butter is magic on a filled pasta shape, if you haven't tried making filled pastas before start with my triangoli with a simple ricotta filling. It's a really easy beginner shape and the filling is quick and easy. If you really want to push the flavor boat out then you can use a meat filling.

My white pork ragu (the most delicious pasta recipe!) makes THE BEST ravioli filling ever, just wait for it to solidify in the fridge to make it easy to work with. With a sage butter? Absolute perfection.

Made this recipe and loved it?

I would love love LOVE if you could leave me a review down below and let me know what you thought! I love to hear any changes or adaptions you have made too. Also if you put a photo oninstagram, please tag me so I can see, it makes my day!

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