Brown Butter Pasta with Egg
This easy recipe for brown butter pasta with egg mixes the rich, nutty taste of browned butter with creamy egg to make an out of this world sauce for your pasta supper. Crunchy walnuts and a dusting of parmesan cheese round out the flavors, and it can be all yours in less than 30 minutes. Winner, winner, pasta dinner!
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why we love this recipe
- 🤔 What is brown butter?
- 🧈 Ingredients you need
- 📝 Ingredient notes and substitutions
- 👩🏻🍳 How to make this recipe
- 🤔 Recipe FAQs
- 🥣 Equipment we used for this recipe
- 🍽️ What to serve with this recipe
- 😍 Other easy pasta recipes we love!
- 🤔 We want to know what you think!
- Brown Butter Pasta with Egg
❤️ Why we love this recipe
Oh, this recipe. It’s probably my favorite supper that doesn’t include bacon, and you know what?
I’m not even tempted to add any bacon to this recipe, because it is so perfectly perfect the way it is. Partly because it includes pasta, partly because it includes a creamy dreamy egg, but the magical part?
The brown butter. If you are not already a brown butter lover, I am here to convert you.
🤔 What is brown butter?
Brown butter is magic – let’s just get that straight first. You take a regular old stick of butter (I love Kerrygold and Kate’s Homemade Butter the best) and you put it in a regular old pot (pro tip: if you have one with a light surface it’s easier to see the magic happen).
Now turn the heat on to medium and let that butter melt. When it starts to turn foamy, start stirring it until it turns, yep, golden brown. Little brown specks are going to start to appear (those are the milk solids cooking up and dropping to the bottom) and the butter is going to give off a heavenly, nutty aroma that will make you want to cry happy tears.
Now, brown butter is great all by itself for tossing with pasta or drizzling over grilled fish, but as you know I cannot leave well enough alone, and so I upped my brown butter pasta game with some walnuts and some eggs.
🧈 Ingredients you need
📝 Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Pasta: We like a nice wide pasta for this recipe (pappardelle and fettuccine are two of our faves) but whatever you have on hand will work.
- Butter: This is the time to break out the best butter. We love Kerrygold but use your own fave.
- Walnuts: Feel free to swap in other nuts if you like. One day I am going to go all out and use macadamia nuts!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
👩🏻🍳 How to make this recipe
STEP 1: I like using a nice wide pasta for this recipe, and you start by cooking it up in salted water until it is done.
STEP 2: While the pasta is cooking, start the brown butter process. Melt the butter, but before it turns foamy, toss in some walnuts.
STEP 3: Once the butter is just turning golden brown, scoop out the walnuts and turn the heat off until your pasta is done and drained (save some pasta water before you drain). I like to move the skillet to a cool burner to make sure there is no more butter-cooking happening.
STEP 4: Once the pasta is done and drained, turn the heat back on under the butter and crack in a few eggs. As they cook, use a spoon to ladle the brown butter over the eggs, and as soon as the eggs are just done, take them out and let them rest on a plate.
STEP 5: Here comes the assembly! Pour the pasta and the walnuts into that glorious pan of brown butter and toss it with tongs until everything is coated well.
Drizzle in a little pasta water to make a light sauce, taste and add a little salt and pepper, and now it is time to dish it up. Divide the pasta among warmed plates and top each one with an egg and a scatter of Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
Now break into that egg…
I KNOW.
Now go make some right now, because I need you to know the wonder that is brown butter pasta with egg as soon as humanly possible.
🤔 Recipe FAQs
100% yes! Any variety of pasta is going to work just fine with this recipe. You do you, pasta-wise.
You can! Pecans are a great choice, and if you want to go all out, use macadamia nuts. And if needed you can leave the nuts out altogether.
Nope, this is one that needs to be made right before serving it…but happily it only takes about 30 minutes.
Pop your question in the Comments section under the recipe card and I will answer pronto!
🥣 Equipment we used for this recipe
These are some of my favorite kitchen tools! These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little something if you buy through my links at no extra cost to you. (Which helps pay for all that bacon I keep buying! 😄) And I only share things I use and love. I’m so grateful for your support!
- Measuring Cup: We love these angled cups that show the measurements on both the inside and outside of the cup.
- Cutting Board: These sturdy, dishwasher-safe cutting boards come in all different sizes.
- Large Skillet: We have a few of these in our cupboard but this is one of our faves.
- Spider: We love this large mesh spoon for scooping up ingredients out of skillets and pots…and for making buttermilk fried chicken tenders!
- Tongs: We have this essential kitchen tool in all sizes from short to extra long.
🍽️ What to serve with this recipe
We like an easy veggie recipe on the side of this delectable pasta…we are thinking carrots with thyme, roasted green beans or some whipped cauliflower.
And for dessert, let’s make banana cake!
😍 Other easy pasta recipes we love!
🤔 We want to know what you think!
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below the recipe card.
Brown Butter Pasta with Egg
This easy recipe for brown butter pasta with egg mixes the rich, nutty taste of browned butter with creamy egg to make an out of this world sauce for your pasta supper.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 8 ounces thick ribbon pasta, such as fettuccine or pappardelle
- 1 cup butter
- 3⁄4 cup chopped walnuts
- 4 eggs
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Freshly grated Parmesan for garnish
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions. Save a cup of pasta water before you drain it.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt butter in a deep large skillet over medium heat. When the butter starts to foam, add the walnuts and cook, stirring often, until the butter starts to turn golden brown. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
- Crack eggs into butter and cook, spooning butter over yolks, until whites are set but yolks are still runny, about 3 minutes. Transfer eggs to a plate and cover with a piece of foil to keep warm.
- Add pasta and half the walnuts to the skillet and toss until warmed through. Stir in some of the reserved pasta water to make a sauce, and season with salt and pepper.
- To serve, divide pasta between four plates and top each serving with a fried egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan, chopped parsley and the rest of the walnuts.
Notes
- Pasta: We like a nice wide pasta for this recipe (pappardelle and fettuccine are two of our faves) but whatever you have on hand will work.
- Butter: This is the time to break out the best butter. We love Kerrygold but use your own fave.
- Walnuts: Feel free to swap in other nuts if you like. One day I am going to go all out and use macadamia nuts!
This was delicious!!! I don’t think my brown butter sauce was “saucy” it was more melted butter, maybe I needed to cook it longer? And my fried eggs were more soft yokes vs runny after I covered them to keep warm. I must have cooked them too long in the butter and didn’t account for the continued cooking under the cover. Regardless I enjoyed something new, and definitely comforting. My favorite pasta is campanelle “bellflowers” and that’s what I had on hand, not twirly but it worked great to hold all the yummy goodness! Thank you!
Hi Laura and we are sisters in pasta – campanelle is my absolute favorite! This sauce is very buttery…what you are going for is when the butter turns golden brown, which gives it a nutty flavor along with the buttery taste. And you are right about the eggs, but that’s what I love about cooking…trying a fun new recipe a few times and putting your own touches on it. One way or the other, I’m so glad it was delicious and thank you for sharing! :)
This would be perfect for my homemade pasta! Rich eggy strands of golden goodness, glistening with browned butter and oozy yolk. What’s not to love?
Ooooh, homemade pasta – now THAT would make this recipe extra amazing! :)
You had me until “Crack eggs into butter…”, but I think this would be just as delicious minus the fried eggs. And that’s how I’m going to try it. It’s supposed to be a scorcher today, and this dish plus some salad will be perfect for dinner.
Ha! I get that not everyone is an egg person – one of my best friends keeps reminding me that not everyone loves eggs as much as I do! :) But even without eggs you are right that it will be scrumptious. Stay cool, Mary!