Pasta with Garlic Butter Caper Sauce is a light and flavorful 20 minute gluten-free dinner recipe. You are going to lick your plate clean!

I’m dancing for a number of reasons today!
First of all, it’s Friday. Can I get a heeeeeck yeah? Hello, patio happy hour! Second of all, my little brother is coming in from out of town to spend Easter weekend with the fam. Heart that dude.
The Spiralizer I ordered from Amazon came in the mail this week sending me into a veggie frenzy during which I spiralized four zucchini and a sweet potato in less than 24 hours. Too bad it came after I made this pasta dish because bulging heart eyes emoji. I can’t wait to share a review + zoodle recipe next week!
My kitchen may permanently smell like a trattoria on account of all the Pasta with Garlic Butter Caper Sauce I’ve made this week (this is a very good thing!)
You know when you walk by the Italian restaurant at the mall food court – Sbarro, Fazolis, whatever the knock off one that replaced Sbarro in our mall is called – and you’re assaulted by the scent of garlic butter? Your mouth starts watering and it takes every ounce of willpower within your soul to not go over and order something terrible? This is my house right now, and I gotta say, I don’t hate it!

That is to say, I’ve made four versions of Spaghetti with Garlic Butter Caper Sauce this week and the scent of garlic butter is getting in the walls.
First I created it as a pan sauce for the sauteed salmon Ben and I had for dinner on Monday night. Then Ben mixed it with the rice pilaf I made for him to go with it and declared it the best side dish ever. I drizzled it over roasted spaghetti squash then declared it the best side dish ever before finally tossing the sauce with cooked gluten-free spaghetti and, ding, ding, ding – we have a winner, folks!
This light and springy dish is ready in 20 minutes and we clearly can’t get enough of it. My Mom made my brothers and me egg noodles with butter and parmesan a lot when we were growing up and this dish reminds me of that because of it’s delicious simplicity. The capers take each forkful from ordinary to craveable though. They add little pops of salt and tang to each bite andI promise you’ll be fighting your dining companion for every last one!

Start by cooking 6oz gluten-free spaghetti noodles in a big pot of salted boiling water until just under al dente. The spaghetti will continue to cook a bit in the sauce, so make sure it’s just shy of al dente. Speaking of my spiralizer – I can’t wait to try this recipe out with a big bowl of zoodles!

Meanwhile, melt 1 Tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat then add 4 cloves minced garlic and saute until golden brown, about 1 minute. Try not to face plant in the skillet at this point – it smells Heavenly! Next add 1/4 cup white wine then simmer until reduced by half (if you don’t want to use wine, just leave it out and increase the chicken broth amount by 1/4 cup.)

Use whatever white wine you like to drink but make sure it’s not a sweet reisling or moscato. Lately I’ve been loving this Chateau Ste Michelle Sauvignon Blanc, so that’s what I used!

Next pour in 1 cup chicken broth, the juice of 1/2 lemon, and 2 Tablespoons capers. Turn the heat to high then boil the sauce until it’s reduced by half. Add another 1 Tablespoon butter then let it melt to finish the sauce. Taste then add a sprinkling of salt, if you please.

These are the capers I used, by the way. They’re usually by the pickles and olives at the grocery store. I always keep a jar on hand for adding to tuna salad, pasta dishes, etc. They add so much flavor to recipes for like, 8 calories and zero fat. Like!

The pasta should be ready when the sauce is, so drain then add to the skillet and toss to coat. Top with fresh herbs and a crack of black pepper, and dinner is served! Enjoy this delightfully light recipe!

Pasta with Garlic Butter Caper Sauce
Description
Pasta with Garlic Butter Caper Sauce is a light and flavorful 20 minute gluten-free supper. You are going to lick your plate clean!
Ingredients
- 6oz gluten-free spaghetti
- 2 Tablespoons butter, divided
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup white wine (I used Sauvingnon Blanc)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 Tablespoons capers
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Directions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil then add spaghetti and cook until just al dente - it will continue cooking a bit in the garlic butter caper sauce. Drain then set aside.
- Meanwhile, melt 1 Tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat then add garlic and saute until golden brown. Add wine then simmer until reduced by half. Add chicken broth, lemon juice, and capers then turn heat up to high and simmer until sauce is reduced by half. Add remaining Tablespoon butter then taste and add salt if necessary.
- Remove skillet from heat then add cooked pasta and stir to combine. Let sit for 3-4 minutes to let sauce adhere to pasta - it will thicken up as the pasta cools. Serve with fresh chopped herbs and a crack of black pepper for garnish, if desired.
Notes
- This sauce is also AWESOME with roasted spaghetti squash!
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

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Quick and delicious! Looks good :)
I haven’t wanted to add to my kitchen gadget collection so I’ve been using a julienne peeler. I can’t wait for spiralized recipes and your review!
Looks amazing! I’m on a big all-of-the-garlic kick right now (sorry to my hubby!) so I can’t wait to try this :)
I love how simple yet elegant this is! Can’t wait to hear what you think of your spiralizer!
Now you’re talking!!! Have a nice weekend!
Totally making this for dinner this weekend! I have all the ingredients on hand – win! Also love the spaghetti squash recommendation. Can’t wait to hear your spiralizer review!
My favourite thing to make in the kitchen!
Earlier this week I made butter garlic pasta with asparagus. It was delicious, but I ate all the asparagus out of it and have a bit orzo pasta left over. The thought of finishing off plain buttered orzo, albeit with garlic, was not sounding so exciting, but with capers?! Now that’s a treat. Thanks for the great idea!
Love your skillet! Where is it from?
I LOVE your recipes! I added chicken and parmasan to this and it was divine! I like the idea of asparagus too, I will be trying that later this week!
Sometimes there is nothing better than garlic butter on pasta! It’s so simple but indulgent. And capers make everything better! I’ll have to look for gluten free penne (or some other short pasta). I have a thing about long pasta – too much work to twirl on the fork! LOL
Wow. Iowa Girl Eats.. This Nebraska girl says you have something going on! I made this tonight looking for a Chicken Scallopini recipe. I pounded out chicken breast, salted and peppered and browned in olive oil. Took out the chicken and then made your sauce. I added shallots with the garlic. This to me was essential. I made more sauce than what was called for and could have used even more it was that damn good!! Put chicken in for a coat of the sauce then took it back out to stir in my pasta. Then tucked the chicken back in the mix and lord will be making this again. And they say we Midwesterners don’t have good taste… Please. I now know there is someone in Iowa too that knows what’s up!!
Yesss, so glad to hear! Love your chicken idea, too!
I’ve made this twice now in a week. The first time it was pretty good. The second time it was amazing. I used fresher garlic, and my four cloves were BIG cloves. ;) I also decided to use clam juice in place of white wine as I don’t really keep white wine around but I had clam juice I had to use up. Not a usual substitution by any means but it was AMAZING. I also squeezed the other lemon half over top the plated pasta.Yum yum yum. I really appreciate how simple and quick this recipe is. Thank you!
Just made your recipe with chicken mixed in the pasta! Omg this is delicious! I’m saving it to make it for a family get together. Thank you for sharing it!
I made this recipe with chicken and bowtie pasta. OMG!! It is great! First time I’ve ate capers, and won’t be the last. Thank you for sharing.
Yay!! I know – they are so addicting!
I never comment on blog posts but I made
This tonight and I just had to say thankyou! It is so delicious! I added basil and parsley as well as some pickled octopus as I had it in the fridge and it was so yummy – will be making again
Love this recipe, I added grilled shrimp and it was delicious..!,
I added grated Parmesan! So good! Great recipe, so easy my 6 and 7 year old made this!
I made this recipe tonight. It smells delicious! I tweaked it by adding mushrooms and sauteed scallops! Yum@
I tried the recipe tonight with some vaiation. Turned out very tasty!!!! Made some adjustments as I’m vegan. In stead of butter I used earth balance; and, I replaced the chicken broth with low sodium vegetable broth. Since I wanted extra sauce to use tomorrow, I increased the “butter” (in my case using the earth balance sticks) to 5 table spoons; additionally I used about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to saute the garlic and the addition of 1/4 cup mix of diced vidalia and shallots, as that’s what I had available and thought, “why not?”. Other increases/ trade outs/ additions I made: I increased the amount of lemon juice to 5 table spoons and added 2 teaspoons lemon zest; 3 tablespoons of capers (my boyfriend and I love their vinegary, tart, salty flavor); 2 table spoons of dried parsley (love parsley! didn’t have any fresh available), some black pepper, a pinch of pepper flakes, a pinch of salt, and eventually added some garlic and onion powder along with some more broth and white wine to balance out the flavors – I went a little over the top with the lemon. Those adjustments worked out well to counter balance the lemon overload. For the white wine I use a dry, crisp Italian one called Ribolla Giala. With the adjustments I made it took longer to reduce the liquid.
While I really enjoyed how the dish turned out – it was a weee bit rich for a hot summer night. Next time I’ll stick to your recipe so I can better appreciate the over all flavor and lightness of the dish without cluttering the sauce with a bunch of additions. Thanks so much for the inspiration and a good meal!
Holy garlic this was tasty! I tossed lobster ravioli from Trader Joe’s in the sauce, plated over sauteed spinach, and sprinkled with fresh parsley. I accidentally threw the capers in with the garlic while browning, but I think it was a delicious mistake – it really released the delicious, brine-y essence. Thanks for a great recipe! This tasted like a fancy, night-out dinner for less than $10!
quick & delicious! Thank you
This recipe is great! Easy to make and very tasty. The whole family enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing it.
I love cooking and eating my meals with white wine.
I added maybe 1/4 cup of heavy cream instead of the wine and added mushrooms, was delicious.
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