This Easy French Technique Makes My Buttered Noodles Taste So Much Better

Buttered noodles are the perfect food. But even perfection can be modified. While pasta coated in butter is a quick, one-pot meal with no inherent flaws, there is a quick cheffy trick that can upgrade your buttered noodles to a legit restaurant-quality dish. No extra ingredients are needed, and the entire process takes less than five minutes. 

The hack: make a beurre monté. The French term that translates to “mounted butter” is basically a physics and chemistry lesson in how to keep butter emulsified, rather than letting the cream emulsification split while heating, as melted butter typically does. Keeping the butter creamy means it sticks well to the noodles, and provides a beautiful gloss to each bite that’s aesthetically satisfying and delicious.  Remember, the better the butter, the better the dish will be. 

All you need to make beurre monté is cold, unsalted butter cut into small cubes, and regular water. Sometimes I just heat up an ice cube, which is probably inefficient, energy-wise, but feels quick and easy with the layout of my kitchen. You do you.

Here are the steps you need to follow for the best buttered noodles:

1. Begin cooking your pasta as usual in salted water, subtracting a minute from the suggested box cook time to ensure the pasta is al dente. Drain and reserve some pasta water.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a skillet over medium heat and add a few teaspoons of water, bringing it to a simmer. 
3. Once the water is simmering in the pan, lower the heat and stir in the butter, constantly stirring until the butter and water have emulsified to create a creamy yellow sauce. If the sauce doesn’t seem thick enough, stir in a bit more butter.
4. Over low heat, coat noodles in sauce, season as desired, and enjoy! 

Too much beurre monté? Pour any leftovers into a food storage container, and seal and keep it in the refrigerator for up to a week. Just reheat it in a skillet when you’re ready to use it. It works on pasta, vegetables, and whatever could use a nice coat of butter. 

Additional One-Ingredient Additions to Buttered Noodles

While making a beurre monté is my favorite buttered noodle upgrade, there are other easy tweaks to make to buttered noodles that will ensure they are just as delicious. Here are a few of my go-tos:

• Chopped herbs: Stir fresh chopped herbs, like parsley, chervil, or dill into buttered noodles for a bit of brightness. Scatter more on top.  
• Parmesan cheese: Shredded Parmesan cheese adds umami to buttered noodles and some extra creaminess. Stir in shredded cheese, or use it as a topping.
• Miso: Adding a dollop of miso to unsalted, melted butter also amps up the savory flavor of the noodles, and can provide prebiotic benefits for gut health.
• Gochujang: Korean chili paste has become ubiquitous in so many recipes for a good reason—it’s delicious and versatile. Stir a spoonful into your melted butter to add some heat and a nice red hue to buttered noodles.
• Cracked pepper: For a cacio e pepe-esque buttered noodle dish, add cracked black pepper (or your favorite peppercorns) to a hot skillet to toast them and bring out the flavor, then add butter to infuse with peppery flavor. 
• Lemon: A squeeze of lemon on top of buttered noodles is bright and fun. You can also zest the rind for additional lemon flavor.