Puttanesca sauce has the right balance of sweet from the tomato, savory and tangy from the olives, and spicy from the red pepper flakes. Check out our best pasta recipe collection!
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This pasta puttanesca is one of those meals that makes you wonder how a few simple ingredients like tomatoes, olives, and capers can make such a tasty sauce. And all without meat, fish, or dairy, and ready in about the time it takes to boil the pasta. There are no anchovies in the original recipe! Originally from Naples, pasta puttanesca or aulive e chiapparielle in Napolitan (olives and capers in English) is now popular throughout Italy and worldwide thanks to its simplicity, beautiful colors, and, most importantly, its wonderfully rich and yet balanced taste. The sauce has it all: the natural sweetness from whole peeled tomatoes, ideally San Marzano, canned at peak ripeness. The savory and tangy notes from the capers and black Gaeta olives. The fiery heat from fresh chili or red pepper flakes. The velvety and fruity mouthfeel of good quality extra virgin olive oil and the freshness of the parsley. Can you tell we love this dish? It’s definitely a family-favorite recipe. Here we’ll show you how to make this restaurant-worthy meal with little effort at home and a few pantry staples.
Spaghetti
We like to use bronze-cut spaghetti. Their rugged and dusty surface makes the puttanesca sauce stick better. You can find them in most supermarkets in the pasta section; they are often imported from Italy. You can also use regular spaghetti, linguine, or bavette. For gluten-free, use gluten-free pasta.
Tomatoes
Whole canned peeled San Marzano Tomatoes are used in the original Neapolitan recipe. If you can’t find those, get some generic whole canned peeled tomatoes, preferably imported from Italy.
Olives
The original recipe calls for Gaeta olives. Gaeta is a small town between Rome and Naples, with a mild climate that makes excellent black (actually dark purple) olives that are world famous. You probably won’t be able to find Gaeta olives unless you go to a fancy Italian deli. Suitable substitutes are kalamata olives or regular black olives. Our advice is to get olives that are preserved in oil. Drain the oil before using them.
Capers
You can use non-pareille capers. They come preserved in brine or salt. In either case, rinse them under cold running water before adding them to the sauce.
Garlic
It’s best to use fresh garlic for this recipe. For a mild garlic flavor, you should crush the garlic and let it simmer in the sauce, then discard it before tossing it in the pasta. For a more robust garlic flavor, mince or grate the garlic. We like it better with grated garlic.
Parsley
Pasta puttanesca is made and served with a generous sprinkle of finely chopped flat-leaf Italian parsley, which you can find in most supermarkets. If you don’t have fresh parsley, you can add dried oregano or fresh basil leaves.
Red pepper flakes
Add more or less red pepper flakes based on your spice tolerance. You can substitute finely chopped fresh chili or cayenne pepper for red pepper flakes.
Olive oil
As for most of our recipes, we recommend using good quality extra virgin olive oil. It tastes better with a mildly fruity and nutty flavor; it’s heart-healthy and packed with antioxidants.
Salt and pepper
The sauce probably won’t need any salt because the olives and capers are already salted. If you like, you can add a twist of black pepper. Note: there are no anchovy fillets in the original Neapolitan spaghetti alla puttanesca. The recipe from Lazio, an Italian region, however, does include anchovies. If you want to add anchovies, do so at the beginning, with the olives and capers. You’ll only need 3 to 4 anchovy fillets as they are super salty. Fry gently for 1 to 2 minutes, making sure the garlic doesn’t burn. Add in the whole canned peeled tomatoes, stir, crush the tomatoes with a fork, and simmer the puttanesca sauce on medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt and black pepper if necessary. Most probably your pasta puttanesca sauce won’t need much salt because the olives and capers are salty enough. While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, and toss in the pasta. Cook the pasta very al dente; that is 3 minutes less than instructed on the package. Reserve 2 cups of pasta cooking water, drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Add 1 cup of reserve pasta water and a handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley, and finish cooking the pasta on medium-high heat, tossing it for about 2 minutes or until your pasta puttanesca is creamy and al dente. Add more reserved pasta water if necessary. Tip: undercooking the pasta and then cooking it in the sauce makes the sauce creamier because the pasta releases its starch in the sauce as it finishes cooking. Also, the reserve pasta water contains starch, so we add it to the sauce. Serve the pasta with a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
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Tips
How to cook pasta?
To cook pasta, the rule is 1 liter of water for 100 grams of pasta and 7 grams of salt per 100 grams of pasta. Our approximation to USA measurements is 8 cups of water (2 quarts) per 8 ounces of pasta and 1 tablespoon of salt. For example, you’ll need about 1 gallon (16 cups or 4 liters) of water and 2 tablespoons (30 grams) of salt to cook 1 pound (450 grams) of pasta.
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