• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Explore Cook Eat

  • Recipes Home
  • 1,000 Foods to Eat Project
  • MUST Try Korean Dishes!
  • About Me
  • Recipes
    • USA
    • Asia
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Europe
  • Travel
    • USA
      • New Mexico
      • Texas
      • Utah
      • North Carolina
    • Japan
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube

Home » Recipes

Easy And Perfect Spicy Pasta Puttanesca

Jul 13, 2020Last Modified: January 30, 2021

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

This page may contain affiliate links. So I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about Spicy Pasta Puttanesca!

Spicy Pasta Puttanesca

I loooove pasta. Hopefully you love pasta too. 🙂 I'm not averse to using ready made pasta sauces. In fact, I use them quite often. However, when you have an easy recipe at your disposal to help you create a dish worthy of a fine Italian restaurant, then there's no reason not to make your own sauce! I'm stepping out boldly to say, that this is one of those recipes. 🙂

What is Puttanesca Sauce?

Pasta Puttanesca is an Italian dish from Naples. The sauce on its own is called puttanesca sauce. It typically consists of tomatoes, capers, olives, and garlic. However in the Lazio region, which is just north of Naples, anchovies are usually added. Since I really like anchovies, I decided to make the version that is popular in Lazio. 🙂 I also added some chilis to spice things up!!

spaghetti, chilis, garlic, anchovies, cento san marzano tomatoes, olive oil, capers, olives, and parsley

San Marzano Tomatoes

San Marzano Tomatoes

The ONLY tomatoes to use in this dish are San Marzano tomatoes. I cannot source fresh San Marzano tomatoes where I live, so I used canned San Marzano tomatoes by Cento. San Marzano's are considered one of the world's BEST tomatoes! So only San Marzano's will do. 🙂

These tomatoes are actually grown in the region of Mount Vesuvius. Here, the soil is extremely fertile which helps to produce this most delicious of tomatoes. So we start with the best tomatoes for our Spicy Pasta Puttanesca and you know we can't go wrong!

San Marzano Tomatoes
Cento San Marzano Tomatoes

The Method to Make Spicy Pasta Puttanesca

The method to make Spicy Pasta Puttanesca cannot be more simple! After frying minced garlic and chilis in some olive oil, you will add anchovies and stir until they melt into the olive oil. After that, add the San Marzano tomatoes. You will notice that the tomatoes are whole, so take a little time to break them up with your wooden spoon or cooking utensils. Then add roughly chopped olives and capers. Stir to incorporate and then simmer until the sauce is condensed.

Puttanesca sauce

Stir cooked pasta (I used spaghetti once and penne another time) into your puttanesca sauce and guess what? You'll be in PASTA HEAVEN!!!

Spicy Pasta Puttanesca
Spaghetti Puttanesca
Pasta Puttanesca on a plate with cantaloupe in the background
Penne Puttanesca

Honestly, this is one of the simplest and most delicious pasta dishes I have ever made. The use of San Marzano tomatoes really elevates this dish into something very special.

I truly felt that I could have been dining in an Italian Ristorante while dining on this dish. My hope is that you will feel that way too. 🙂

Please give this a try and let me know what you think!

Other Recipes You May Enjoy!

Linguine With Delicious Parsley Pesto

Penne with parsley pesto

Linguine With Pancetta and Peas

Linguine with pancetta and peas

San Marzano Tomatoes - 1,000 Foods to Eat Project

San Marzano tomatoes are one of the foods in my 1,000 Foods to Eat Project! Get the scoop on delicious San Marzano tomatoes here!

For a list of the foods tried so far, please visit the 1,000 Foods to Eat Project Page.

If you'd like to come along on this food journey with me, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here. 🙂

Cheers!

Grace

Spicy Pasta Puttanesca

Spicy Pasta Puttanesca

Grace
Pasta Puttanesca is a classic Italian dish! The puttanesca sauce includes the finest San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, anchovies, capers, and olives. Here I include some chilis for extra spice. Incredibly delicious enjoy this taste of Italy today!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 25 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 16 oz spaghetti can also sub penne if you like
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 3 Thai chilis minced
  • 28 oz San Marzano Tomatoes
  • 5 anchovies
  • 4 tablespoon capers
  • ¾ cup black olives roughly chopped
  • Italian parsley for garnish
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Mince the garlic and chilis. Heat up the olive oil in a large saucepan on medium. Once hot, add the minced garlic and chilis and stir for a minute. Add the anchovies and stir until they have melted.
    garlic, chilis, anchovies in olive oil
  • Add the tomatoes (break up with your wooden spoon), capers, and olives. Bring to the boil. Then allow to simmer until the sauce has thickened around 20 minutes.
    tomatoes, olives, and capers in a skillet
  • Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the pasta directions.
  • Once the pasta is cooked and drained, add the thickened puttanesca sauce to the pasta and stir to incorporate. Add salt and pepper to taste, then garnish with Italian parsley (of course!). 🙂
    Spicy Pasta Puttanesca

Notes

Enjoy this most delicious of pasta dishes!  If you prefer a non spicy version feel free to leave out the chilis.  You can use a different pasta such as penne, or linguine if you like.  Mangia! 
Keyword Pasta, puttanesca
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
« Easy and Delicious Korean Baked Chicken
San Marzano Tomatoes - 1,000 Foods To Eat Project »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Sign up so that you never miss the greatest recipes!

About Me

Hi I’m Grace! I'm married and a mom to my fur baby, Toby, and food and travel are two of my greatest passions! Since our bank account does not allow us to travel or eat out as much as we'd like, I decided I would cook delicious meals that could give us a taste of all the places we'd like to go. My goal is to get you in the kitchen, and inspire you to cook and taste delightful meals that will transport you too. Let’s throw some actual travel in from time to time, all with an emphasis on keeping your wallet full and happy as well. Let’s get cooking and let’s start exploring!! I'm excited to be on this journey with you!!

By the way most of these recipes are Toby taste tested and Toby approved!!

Chief Taste Tester Toby

Toby Chief Taste Tester

Recent Posts

  • 51 MUST Try Foods When In Japan!
  • Easy and Spicy Thai Chili Oil Recipe
  • Italian Peas and Ham Frozen Peas Recipe
  • Easy Middle Eastern Chicken With Lemon and Olives Recipe
  • Easy Cajun Crawfish Sauce Recipe

Recent Comments

  • Grace on The BEST and Easiest Korean Bok Choy Kimchi!
  • MsLinda on The BEST and Easiest Korean Bok Choy Kimchi!
  • Grace on Easy and Delicious Connecticut Steamed Cheeseburgers!
  • Shawn on Easy and Delicious Connecticut Steamed Cheeseburgers!
  • Grace on Incredibly Delicious Brussels Sprouts

Archives

Categories

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Footer

Amazon Associates Disclosure

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2023 Explore Cook Eat on the Foodie Pro Theme