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The name might be long and boring but the recipe isn’t! It’s a quick and easy Old Spaghetti Factory Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter Spaghetti Copycat!
Years and years ago, when our first daughter was only a baby we went out to dinner with a family member who told us that we just had to try the Old Spaghetti Factory specifically for their mizithra cheese and browned butter spaghetti. I read the menu and saw that there was literally no other ingredients and it was whole wheat pasta which can sometimes be bland, so I was not feeling excited at all.
Let’s remember, I was a picky child and only just starting to try things as an adult so butter and some weird cheese on a hearty pasta didn’t sound good to me.
Like always when Cade and I are hesitant about things, except sushi which is another story for another day (Cade loves, I detest it) we were proved wrong. That browned butter is so flavorful and the whole wheat pasta actually added more flavor, but the real winner was the dry, crumbly Mizithra cheese. It’s a very, very mild flavor so even your pickiest of eaters will try it.
Our kids love it and best of all, it’s done in 15 minutes, so it’s a quick and easy dinner idea!
Browning butter is really easy, just make sure you use a skillet over medium heat, cook until foaming and golden in color and then quickly pour the butter into a bowl so it doesn’t continue to cook and burn. Trust me, it only takes a minute to burn.
That’s it. We cook our pasta at the same time as the butter because even if the butter finishes before the pasta it will get reheated in the skillet so it wont matter. Toss the pasta, butter and crumbled cheese in the hot skillet and serve immediately with a pinch of parsley on top for color. Or skip it because the kids will probably pick it off anyway. 😉
Old Spaghetti Factory Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter Spaghetti Copycat
Old Spaghetti Factory Mizithra Cheese and Browned Butter Spaghetti Copycat
Ingredients
- Salt for water
- 8 Ounces Whole Wheat Thin Spaghetti
- 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
- 1/3 Cup Mizithra Cheese *see note, crumbled
- Parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water with a few pinches of salt (the water should taste like salt water) to a boil over medium high heat.Salt for water
- Add the pasta and cook until al dente.8 Ounces Whole Wheat Thin Spaghetti
- In a skillet over medium heat, add the butter and cook until golden and foamy, about 10 minutes.1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
- Immediately pour it into a clean bowl.
- Once the pasta is done, drain and place in the hot skillet along with the butter and cheese, tossing to coat.1/3 Cup Mizithra Cheese *see note
- Serve immediately with parsley for garnish.Parsley
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
20 Minute Cherry Tomato and Basil Angel Hair Pasta
It only takes 20 minutes to make a super fresh and easy dinner !
Love the Wheat Pasta with Mizritha cheese.
It is such a great combo!
My wife and I just ate at OSF here in Phoenix, after a matinee of Avenue Q – a wonderful night out, to say the least. We each had this dish, because we love it. My wife has made it before as well at home, and it’s just as wonderful.
You need to be sure to skim of the solids that form on the butter as you are browning it, and as noted, you have to be really careful – because it can go from browned to burnt in an instant. And it has to be butter – can’t use margarine for this dish!
Something to add though – this dish is something that should only be had for dinner occasionally; it is extremely high in caloric content, fats, etc – but the worst is the sodium content (the butter and cheese are the main culprits here – though salting the water for the pasta doesn’t help either).
Enjoy it on occasion – but if you have high blood pressure or other health issues of that nature, make your portion size smaller, or skip it altogether (depending on what your doctor recommends).
Thank you for leaving a comment Andrew! We are so happy you enjoyed it! You are absolutely right…it should be enjoyed on occasion! It’s definitely not one of our super healthy dishes, but dang it is good!!
I cannot tell you how excited I am!! It’s been (literally) a decade (probably more) since I’ve been to Ye Olde Spaghetti Factory where the spaghetti with Mizithra cheese was my all time favorite!! Well, this afternoon at our new Lowe’s Foods store, I found… Mizithra cheese!! I almost screamed! And then I found your recipe!! Double excitement!! So guess what’s for dinner tonigh?!? Yep! I’ll let you know how it turns out!!
Yeah!!!! How did it go? We love this dish!!
Made this last night. So easy–so good! I bought the Mizithra from Parthenon Foods.com after I found this recipe doing a Google search wondering what the heck Mizithra cheese was. Thank you so much for your fun recipes!
Oh yay!!! Isn’t it do dang good?! It is one of our favorites!
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve made it twice so far substituting the Mizithra for a mix of Feta and Parmesan. It’s amazing! Great for when you’re states away from your beloved OSF and have a craving! Also tasty when adding sauteed mushrooms and garlic!
What a great idea to do that combination!
I love this dish. It’s the only thing I ever ordered. I was happy to see someone posted a website where to buy mazithra cheese. I have had a hard time finding it also.
That is helpful!
You can buy mizithra cheese as Sprouts!
Ahhhh good to know!
I made this the other night at it was great. I was having trouble finding Mizithra in stores but I found some at https://www.gourmet-food.com/greek-cheese/mizithra-cheese-1000490.aspx. I added some Grana Padano in addition to the Mizithra and it was very delicious. Definitely a recipe I will make again.
Sweet Basil—
Thank you so much for putting this recipe together and posting it. I hadn’t been able to find mizithra cheese anywhere near me. So I purchased the cheese mixture from OSB last time I was there. I made your recipe last night. I agree that it does taste just OSB’s! Thanks again.
So happy to hear that!!
hey girl- this looks so delish!
I’ve been eating at The Old Spaghetti Factory since it opened around 1969. I always order Brown Butter Mizithra Spaghetti, yet in the many (and I mean) years and many different OSF’s I’ve eaten at, I’ve never had whole wheat spaghetti and the cheese IS NOT just only Mizithra, if I remember correctly, it is a blend of three different cheeses. I just ate at OSF this week, in fact, and was served normal old white spaghetti. Your copycat recipe might well be good, but I don’t think it looks like what I’m used to eating at OSF.
Hi Soozie, Thanks for your comment. The last time I had it it was for sure whole wheat spaghetti but I have had it with regular. You can use whichever. I definitely never seen another cheese on it, but if that’s what you like then definitely as some parmesan as it’s another dry cheese that would work well. Best of luck in your version. xoxo
It is a mix of two cheeses. Sprouts sells the mix. Mizithra and Romano if I remember correctly.