Hearty tomato sauce with a thick texture and a spicy taste is called puttanesca. A healthful, fresh-tasting dinner will be ready in no time if you serve it over hot spaghetti.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 16 mins |
| Total Time: | 21 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 anchovy fillets, chopped, or more to taste
- 2 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained.
- 1 (8 ounce) package spaghetti
- ½ cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
- ¼ cup capers, chopped
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat.
- As the water heats, pour the olive oil into a cold skillet and stir in the garlic. Turn heat to medium-low and cook and stir until the garlic is fragrant and begins to turn a golden color, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the red pepper flakes, oregano, and anchovies. Cook until anchovies begin to break down, about 2 minutes.
- Pour tomatoes into skillet, turn heat to medium-high, and bring sauce to a simmer. Use the back of a spoon to break down tomatoes as they cook. Simmer until sauce is reduced and combined, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta in the boiling water. Drain when still very firm to the bite, about 9 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water.
- Stir the olives and capers into the sauce; add pasta and toss to combine.
- Toss pasta in sauce until pasta is cooked through and well coated with sauce, about 1 minute. If sauce becomes too thick, stir in some of the reserved pasta water to thin.
- You can leave out the anchovies if you like, but for best flavor, leave them in! They melt right into the sauce and add authentic Italian flavor.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 463 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 53 g |
| Cholesterol | 3 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Protein | 11 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 945 mg |
| Sugars | 7 g |
| Fat | 24 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This is a crowd-pleaser in my house. Always get requests for it. I double the anchovies.
amazing!
Excellent flavor. Very easy. I added drained canned diced tomatoes as I didn’t have fresh.
A touch more anchovies next time. But still very tasty and simple to make
Even though I like anchovies, I did not enjoy this recipe and will not prepare it again.
Absolutely delicious. I wouldn’t change a thing!
This is spicy, fast, and easy. No changes made, but when I think puttanesca, I think tuna, or cod will help with the spicy, salty broth. I also recommend having some crusty French bread to soak up the sauce. I’m not a fan of the kalamata olives as they are too similar in taste to the capers. I’m also not a fan of chopping the capers – they’re small enough as is. Good recipe.
Thank you for sharing, this is the best sauce I’ve ever made!
Bleck! It had a strong taste of vinegar from the capers! I skipped the anchovies because I’ve never been a fan, don’t buy them, and am vegetarian. Also, I added some fresh cut basil and parsley. That vinegar taste was too much without others flavors to balance it off. It also would’ve benefited from some salt, pepper, and a dash of sugar.
I made the recipe exactly as written. It was quick and easy, but did not have anywhere near the flavor of other Puttanesca recipes I have made in the past. I used San Marzano tomatoes, but the flavor just wasn’t there.
This recipe was delicious and easy to make. The only change I made was to add the whole can of anchovies because I didn’t want them left over.
I will definitely make it again. Easy and delicious!!!
Made it almost exactly as recommended except with the addition of about 10 sliced sauteed fresh muchrooms to the garlic. The sauce needed to be a bit thicker so I added some tomato paste (in a tube). I used dried italian seasoning instead of just dried oregano and I topped the dish when served with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Pairs beautifully with a Chianti. This was an easy recipe and absolutely outstanding!
Just added a bit more garlic. Yummy!
So easy, healthy and flavorful. I saute some zoodles and serve it on that rather than pasta and it makes a meal you can feel good about.
This was a waste of time & ingredients, flat & tasteless. I don’t know what this is, but it’s NOT Puttanesca. Make it in the ‘traditional’ manner, and you’ll love it. (BTW, use REAL San Marzano tomatoes, Parmegiano Regiano cheese, & fresh Basil. It’ll make ALL the difference).
Only changes were adding jar of Muir Glen basil pasta sauce instead of canned tomatoes, adding couple small coarsely chopped zucchini, extra anchovy fillets, capers, kalamata olives, pepper flakes and garlic. Very yummy!!
Really delicious. You really cannot taste the anchovies. Delicious as a leftover with a little fresh marinara added.
I’ve made this a couple times, and I absolutely love it. I don’t use the anchovy’s and add sliced baby Bella mushrooms.
This was so good! Honestly I’ve never even heard of this dish let alone had it. I was worried about the red pepper flakes and too much. It wasn’t too much. It was just the right amount of heat. I was also worried about fishy from the anchovies but it wasn’t fishy and it was extremely bold in flavor. I didn’t go 100% by the recipe. I added some chopped white onions to the garlic and oil. Next time I’ll use a little white wine and do what another commenter did and cook mussels in it. I did use fettuccine. I didn’t have linguine but fettuccine was perfect. The whole dish was perfect.
Make it again and again. I am definitely doubling the recipe when I make it from now on. I’m curious to know about any nutritional information. A lady named Linda, commented that she used whole grain pasta and her husband loved it.