North American

Serving

North American Kid-friendly Quick & easy

Buttered Noodles

Name: Buttered Noodles
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: North American
Ingredients: 300g (10 oz) egg noodles; 50g (3.5 tbsp) butter; 40g (1/2 cup) grated Parmesan cheese; 1 tbsp chopped parsley (optional); Salt and pepper

Tender egg noodles tossed in butter and Parmesan — the ultimate quick kid-friendly comfort food.

15 minutes

Serves 3

Lunch/Side

7 min prep

11 min cook

Contains common allergens

Egg Dairy Wheat

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Good to know

One-pot
Ready in under 30 minutes

Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: one-pot dinners 30-minute meals

Instructions

6 steps

1
Boil: Cook the egg noodles in salted water until tender; reserve a splash of pasta water before draining.
2
Butter: Return the hot noodles to the pot and toss with the butter until melted and glossy.
3
Cheese: Add the Parmesan cheese and a little pasta water, tossing to make a light coating.
4
Season: Season with salt and pepper.
5
Herb: Stir through parsley if using.
6
Serve: Serve immediately as a side or simple meal.

Buttered Noodles — plated and served — Serving moment. How Buttered Noodles looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

74/100

Good fit for most families

Allergen-friendly 70

Kid-friendly 85

Weeknight-easy 96

Budget-friendly 64

Great leftovers 56

Pantry-friendly 51

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

560

Calories

19 g

Protein

72 g

Carbs

22 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Buttered noodles occupy an interesting middle space between the Italian pasta al burro tradition and the Central European egg noodle dishes that Eastern European immigrants brought to North America. In the American household, they evolved as a children's staple and quick weeknight side, stripped of complexity and valued precisely for their plainness.

Listahan note

This version treats the pasta water as an ingredient, using it with butter and Parmesan to build a light emulsified coating rather than just melting butter over dry noodles.

Technique cues

The pasta water is starchy and slightly salty; a splash added to the hot noodles and butter creates a loose emulsion that coats every strand rather than pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
Toss the noodles with the butter off the heat after draining; residual heat from the pasta melts the butter evenly without breaking it into greasy puddles.
Parmesan added while the noodles are still very hot will clump; toss it in with a tablespoon of pasta water and work quickly to keep it smooth.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Grate the Parmesan and set out the butter while the water comes to a boil; once the noodles are done, the dish comes together in under 2 minutes.
Make-ahead: This dish does not make ahead well; it takes about 10 minutes total and is best eaten immediately while the butter is still emulsified.
Leftover move: Reheat leftover noodles in a small pan with a splash of water and a small knob of butter over low heat, tossing gently to re-emulsify.
Cleanup rhythm: One pot for the noodles; rinse it while still warm rather than letting the starchy water cool and dry onto the surface.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

300g egg noodles

Main body

Purpose: Egg noodles have a slightly richer, more tender character than plain pasta and hold butter well due to their porous surface.

Handling: Cook in well-salted boiling water and reserve a cup of cooking water before draining; the starch in the water is what makes the sauce cling.

Adaptation: Wide pasta ribbons like pappardelle or tagliatelle work well; spaghetti is a common substitute but the dish feels less classic.

50g butter

Sauce base

Purpose: Butter is both the flavor and the emulsifier that binds with the pasta water to coat the noodles.

Handling: Use cold butter cut into small pieces and toss it into the hot, just-drained noodles so it melts gradually and evenly.

Adaptation: Brown butter (beurre noisette) deepens the flavor significantly and works beautifully if you want a more complex result with no extra ingredients.

40g grated Parmesan

Salty depth

Purpose: Parmesan adds savory depth and a faint nuttiness that makes the dish feel finished rather than plain.

Handling: Grate finely on a microplane so it dissolves into the sauce rather than sitting as visible shreds.

Adaptation: Pecorino Romano is sharper and saltier; Grana Padano is milder; nutritional yeast gives a vegan Parmesan-adjacent flavor.

Salt

Seasoning at every stage

Purpose: The pasta water is the only opportunity to season the noodles themselves from the inside; undersalted water produces a flat-tasting dish no matter how much butter is added.

Handling: Add enough salt to the boiling water that it tastes like mild broth, about 1 tablespoon per 4 liters; it is almost impossible to over-salt pasta water.

Adaptation: No real substitute for properly salted water; finishing with flaky salt at the table adds crunch but cannot compensate for undersalted noodles.

Technique notes

Salt the pasta water generously until it tastes like mild broth; this is the only opportunity to season the noodles themselves, and undersalted noodles produce a flat-tasting dish no matter how much butter you use.
Reserve the pasta water before you drain; it is easy to forget and the dish is noticeably less saucy without it.
Eat immediately; buttered noodles clump as they cool and do not hold well on a warming plate.

Ingredient swaps

Dairy-free direction: Use a high-quality vegan butter and skip the Parmesan or replace it with nutritional yeast; the emulsification technique still works.
Gluten-free direction: Use gluten-free egg noodles or a brown rice pasta; the pasta water from gluten-free pasta is starchier, so use it sparingly.

Serve alongside

Simple roast chicken thighs
Steamed broccoli with lemon zest
Green peas tossed in butter
A glass of light Chardonnay for adults
Cold whole milk for children
Sparkling water with a squeeze of lemon

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to 2 days; the noodles will clump and absorb the butter as they cool.
Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of water and a small knob of butter over low heat, stirring constantly to re-coat.
Freezing is not recommended; the texture of egg noodles degrades significantly after freezing and thawing.

Equipment

Large pot for boiling noodles with plenty of room
Colander for draining, positioned next to the pot so you can reserve the pasta water easily
Tongs or two forks for tossing the noodles with the butter without breaking them

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