Pasta Puttanesca

This pasta puttanesca is spaghetti tossed in a homemade tomato sauce that is flavored with olives, capers and herbs. A quick and easy dinner option that tastes like it came straight from your local Italian restaurant!

Course Main

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 355kcal

Author Sara Welch

Ingredients

12 ounces spaghetti pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or more to taste
28 ounce can San Marzano whole tomatoes drained
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup kalamata olives pitted and halved
3 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Instructions

Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to package directions.
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the anchovy paste, garlic and red pepper flakes to the pan.
Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
Coarsely chop the tomatoes then add them to the pan. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper to taste.
Stir to combine the tomatoes and olive oil mixture. Bring to a simmer.
Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have broken down and formed a sauce.
Stir in the olives and capers.
Drain the pasta and toss with the tomato sauce. Sprinkle with parsley, then serve.

Video

Notes

Look for cans of San Marzano tomatoes for this recipe. This variety of tomato is full of flavor and doesn’t contain many seeds, which makes it perfect for sauce making.
You can use any type of black olive that you like. I typically use Kalamata olives, but a nice Gaeta or Nicoise would also work well. Just be sure to remove the pits before you add the olives to the sauce.
Salt packed capers have the best flavor and texture, just give them a quick rinse before putting them in the sauce.

Nutrition