A classic one-pan pasta sauce that's so easy. Puttanesca is a brilliantly savoury dish with only a few pantry staple ingredients. It means that dinner is on the table in about 15 minutes and everyone will devour this pasta!
Puttanesca maybe a new dish to you, but it will quickly become a favourite. It's a salty-acidic type of sauce full of fresh and bright ingredients which are perfect for a mid-winter pick me up. It's got some ingredients that you may not be used to cooking with. Items like anchovies and black olives. This Mediterranean pasta dish usually has capers, but Aldi doesn't sell them. So guess what?! We skipped them out. This pasta has so much flavour that you won't miss the capers at all.
15 Minute Puttanesca Pasta
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Ingredients needed
- tinned cherry tomatoes- I use the cherry tomatoes because they tend to be a bit sweeter and more vibrant than the chopped tinned tomatoes.
- kalamata olives- A puttanesca classic for that salty-briny flavour
- anchovies- They don't make the pasta taste fishy. The anchovies give a salty savoury flavour and they practically melt into the sauce.
- garlic- Have you ever made pasta without garlic? No. Of course not!
- chilli flakes- You can use real chilli peppers here, but this recipe is a true pantry meal and I thought flakes would be better.
- yellow onion- Any onion you have will work here.
- basil and parsley- Chopped herbs bring this puttanesca to life, and they're the only fresh ingredient that you need!
Step by step directions
Step 1 & 2
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions and drain. Drizzle with some olive oil and set aside while you make the puttanesca sauce.
- Heat some olive oil in a nonstick skillet and add in the garlic and diced onion. Heat until the onions are very soft and the garlic is very fragrant. This should take about 5-8 minutes on medium heat.
- Once the onions are soft, add in the anchovies and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until the anchovies melt into the onions.
Step 3 & 4
- Add in the cherry tomatoes and bring the sauce up to a gentle simmer. Let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes have burst and the sauce has thickened.
- Stir in the chopped olives and the parsley. Add in the chilli flakes according to your taste and how spicy you like your pasta. I find usually about a teaspoon is enough. Toss with the cooked spaghetti noodles and serve.
Variations
This puttanesca would be amazing with some cooked prawns or grilled chicken added into it. You can also top it with some cheese like parmesan, but I personally don't think that it needs it. There's so much flavour, spice and saltiness going on that I skip the parm with this one.
As far as the capers go and skipping them if you shop at another grocery store, then, by all means, pick up a jar of capers to add, but if you only shop at Aldi, then feel free to skip them and just make this pasta as the recipe instructs below.
FAQs
Q. Do the anchovies make the sauce taste "fishy"?
A. Not at all. The anchovies melt into the sauce because they're so small and soft. They add a deep savoury flavour to the pasta. You won't be able to taste that there's fish in the pasta, but you would notice something was missing if they weren't in there.
Q. What should I do with leftover anchovies?
A. Okay. So, you've never used anchovies before and you bought some to make this dish. Now what? Here are a few things you can do with the leftover anchovies.
- Make a double batch of sauce.
- Add them to any other pasta sauce that you make for a real flavour hit.
- Pop the remaining anchovies into a ziplock bag and top with a little extra olive oil so that the anchovies are completely covered and store them in the fridge or freezer. They can last for months when they're in olive oil.
Storage
This puttanesca pasta keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge packed in an airtight container. Alternatively, you can just make the sauce and store it in the freezer for up to 6 months. I'm a huge fan of having a ziplock bag of this pasta in the freezer for whenever I need the fastest weeknight dinner.
More pasta recipes
15 Minute Puttanesca Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 g (1 ⅕ cups) spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons) olive oil
- 1 (1) white onion, diced
- 4 (4) garlic cloves, minced
- 6 (6) anchovies
- 800 ml (2) tin cherry tomatoes in juice
- 12 (12) kalamata olives, with the pits, cut out
- ½ (½) bunch fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ (½) bunch fresh basil leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions. Drain off and set aside.
- Heat some olive oil in a nonstick skillet and add in the garlic and diced onion. Heat until the onions are very soft and the garlic is very fragrant. This should take about 5-8 minutes on medium heat.
- Once the onions are soft, add in the anchovies and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until the anchovies melt into the onions.
- Add in the cherry tomatoes and bring the sauce up to a gentle simmer. Let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes until the tomatoes have burst and the sauce has thickened.
- Stir in the chopped olives and the parsley. Add in the chilli flakes according to your taste and how spicy you like your pasta. I find usually about a teaspoon is enough. Toss with the cooked spaghetti noodles and serve.
Nutrition
THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND COOKING ALONG WITH ME! IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE A QUESTION, I’D LOVE IT IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT AND A RATING. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT WE’RE EATING, PINNING AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOO!
Chantelle
Absolutely gorgeous - deffo a keeper. Added in left over spinach from another recipe so that I could use it up.
Deborah Rainford
It's one of my go-to quick recipes. So happy you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment and a rating. It's much appreciated! 🙂