A super tasty tomato-based traditional Italian pasta sauce brimming with the bold and flavours of anchovies, olives and capers. If you're hungry and in hurry puttanesca pasta sauce is the perfect meal for you. If you need to rustle up something when you're slightly drunk puttanesca is also a solid choice because it is seriously simple to make and super speedy.
Within 25 minutes, this one will be on your table. Make sure you top it with fresh parmesan, parsley and drizzle with a little truffle oil if you're feeling decadent.
I started making Puttanesca around 8 years ago when I first started dating my husband. He showed me how to make it and since then I've made it A LOT. I've tweaked it over the years and added balsamic, fresh basil and truffle oil . Black olives have been swapped for green and a variety of pastas have been trialled.
Puttanesca pasta sauce lends itself to spontaneity because you can make it without planning to. It's likely you'll have most of the ingredients in the pantry and if you're missing a couple it will still work out well. I am sharing my puttanesca perspective here and I really hope you enjoy it as much as I do, but I also encourage you to experiment and make this dish your own.
How to make puttanesca pasta:
Time needed: 25 minutes.
- Onions and garlic
Gently fry onions until soft in olive oil on a medium/low heat, add crushed garlic and anchovies and cook on a low heat for a further minute
- Pasta
Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of generously salted water
- Chopped tomatoes and seasoning
While the pasta boils, add chopped tomatoes with fresh basil, dried oregano, smoked paprika, balsamic vinegar, salt and black pepper and simmer on a low/medium heat until the tomato sauce is reduced - for around 10 minutes.
- Olives and capers
Add capers and your favourite olives.
Which olives should you eat with puttanesca?
Traditionally black olives, but I say the best olives are the ones you like the most. I'm not a huge fan of black olives so I either add green olives or kalamata, depending on what's in my fridge.
Which pasta is best to eat with puttanesca?
Again this one is up to you. Traditionally it's spaghetti or linguine, but I've also made it with fusilli, penne and rigatoni - they're all solid choices in my opinion.
Parsley or basil?
Both! I add some basil to the sauce and parsley to garnish, but it doesn't have to be this way. The puttanesca will work perfectly well with just one of these or a combination of both,
Wine recommendation?
Dry white wines such Sauvignon Blanc or Viognier and light Italian reds like Chianti pair up well with puttanesca.
Can you reheat puttanesca?
Yes you can, it will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. I recommend saving the sauce alone and making a fresh batch of pasta when you come to eat it, but if you have leftover pasta it's also safe to reheat the pasta with the sauce on the hob or in the microwave.
Can you freeze puttanesca pasta?
The sauce for freeze well for up to three months. You could freeze it with the pasta too, but it will taste much better if you rustle up a fresh batch of pasta when you eat the defrosted sauce.
More easy pasta recipes:
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Puttanesca Pasta
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 25
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
A traditional Italian pasta sauce brimming with bold, smokey and salty flavours. Puttanesca is straightforward, speedy and superbly satisfying. An ideal weeknight meal for those who are hungry and in a hurry.
Serves 4. Use the scaling buttons below to double or triple the quantity.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 medium onions - finely chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic - crushed
- 100g (or 3.5 oz) anchovies - chopped into 1cm pieces
- 600g (or 21oz) chopped tomatoes
- 1 large handful of torn basil leaves
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar (optional)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 400g (or 14oz) rigatoni pasta
- 140g (or ¾ cup) of your favourite olives (note 1)
- 4 tbsp capers
To finish: (All optional)
- Freshly grated parmesan
- Finely chopped parsley
- Truffle Oil
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
1. Pour the olive oil into a frying pan and cook the onion on a medium to low heat until soft
2. Add the crushed garlic and chopped anchovies cook for a further minute
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, basil leaves, oregano, smoked paprika, balsamic vinegar (if using), sugar and black pepper and simmer on a low to medium heat for 10 minutes until the sauce has reduced.
4. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to packet instructions in a large pan of generously salted water
5. Once the sauce has reduced stir in olives and capers
6. Add the pasta to the puttanesca sauce when it's ready and top with freshly grated parmesan, chopped parsley, ground black pepper and a drizzle of truffle oil
Notes
- Black, green or kalamata olives all work well. I like to add them whole, but feel free to chop if you prefer.
- Category: Mains
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 580
- Sugar: 12g
- Sodium: 387mg
- Fat: 17g
- Saturated Fat: 1g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 90g
- Fiber: 9g
- Protein: 22g
- Cholesterol: 0g
Keywords: Puttanesca pasta
I have made this a number of times, such a tasty recipe and so simple to make. Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks for commenting, Frances. Really happy to hear you enjoyed the puttanesca!
I am a huge fan of Puttanesca, and this recipe resulted in the best example I've made. Made with linguine which suited it well. Generous use of anchovies and capers gave the sauce a tasty edge. Will be looking forward to making more K&S recipes in future. I have my eye on the N'duja lasagne. Keep 'em coming!
★★★★
Thanks James, I'm so pleased to hear you enjoyed it! Linguine is a great pasta choice. You should give a Nduja Lasagne a go, I'm sure you'll like it if you enjoyed the Puttanesca, lots of bold flavours in that too!