Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca

This recipe for Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca is a quick and easy pasta dish for all the family that uses items you can keep in your pantry so it’s easily whipped up in a pinch.

For the perfect pairing, serve with my Homemade Garlic Bread to really fill up your guests!

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Spaghetti with puttanesca sauce is an Italian classic.  It’s not only delicious, but it can be thrown together in just 15 minutes!  What more could you want?

What does Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca mean?

Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca is loosely translated to ‘Whore’s Pasta’.  Not something you hear everyday right?

The legend is that ladies of the night in Italy would cook this up to lure clientele with its aromas.  The idea that they would use food to get the interest of the local men is pretty amusing to me, nothing like food to get a man’s attention right?

Adaptions To Traditional Recipes

Traditionally Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca is cooked with tomato sauce with olives, anchovies, and capers.  

I used anchovy paste instead of chopped anchovies to keep things simple and it really worked great.

Step By Step Instructions

Start with bringing a large pot of water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until just undercooked (it will finish cooking in the pan).

While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the garlic for about a minute until lightly browned (being careful not to let it get too dark).

Add the anchovy paste and dissolve into the oil (about 30 seconds).  

Add the tomatoes, herbs. stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Reserve some of the pasta water before draining. 

Drain the spaghetti and add it to the sauce.

Stir in the olives, capers, and hot pepper flakes and cook until the spaghetti is cooked (adding pasta water to loosen if needed).

This delicious Spaghetti has a tomato-based sauce with a sweet heat tang and robust saltiness that is an amazing combination.

Once you try this recipe, I bet it will make it on to your list of recipes you make again and again.

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Let’s Make Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca

This spaghetti dish is a bold, savory classic! Briny olives, zesty capers, and fragrant herbs blend with garlicky tomato sauce for an irresistible umami-packed bite.

4.78 from 9 votes

Prep10 minutes minutes

Cook20 minutes minutes

Total30 minutes minutes

Serves: 4

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 pound spaghetti
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic
• ▢ 1-2 teaspoons anchovy paste to taste
• ▢ 1 14oz can chopped tomatoes
• ▢ Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ fresh parsley a good handful
• ▢ 8 basil leaves chopped
• ▢ 1 tablespoon capers
  drained
• ▢ 1 cup olives (I used black and Kalamata olives)
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook your pasta until just undercooked.
• While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and saute the garlic for about a minute until lightly browned (being careful not to let it get too dark).
• Add the anchovy paste and dissolve into the oil (about 30 seconds)
• Add the tomatoes red pepper flakes, and herbs. stir to combine.
• Reserve a half cup of pasta water before draining. Drain the pasta, add it to the sauce along with the olives and capers.
• Cook until the pasta is cooked, adding pasta water as needed to loosen.
• Taste and season as needed before serving.

Tips + Notes

1. Salt the Pasta Water: When boiling your spaghetti, add a generous amount of salt to the water. This enhances the pasta’s flavor from the inside out, making a noticeable difference in the final dish.
2. Prep Your Ingredients Ahead: Chop your garlic, herbs, and olives before you start cooking. This way, everything is ready to go, and you won’t feel rushed when it’s time to combine the ingredients.
3. Adjust the Heat: If you find that your garlic is browning too quickly, reduce the heat to low. You want it to be golden, not burnt, for the best flavor.
4. Don’t Skip the Pasta Water: This starchy water is like liquid gold for your sauce! It helps bind the sauce to the pasta and improves the overall texture.
5. Serve Immediately: Pasta is best enjoyed fresh! Make sure to serve your spaghetti right after cooking for that perfect al dente bite.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 540 (27%)| Carbohydrates: 87g (29%)| Protein: 16g (32%)| Fat: 14g (22%)| Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)| Cholesterol: 1mg| Sodium: 643mg (28%)| Potassium: 276mg (8%)| Fiber: 5g (21%)| Sugar: 3g (3%)| Vitamin A: 175IU (4%)| Vitamin C: 1mg (1%)| Calcium: 57mg (6%)| Iron: 2mg (11%)

Nutritional Data Disclaimer

Erren’s Kitchen is written and produced for informational intentions only. We are not certified nutritionists, and the nutritional information found on this site has not been assessed or authorized by a nutritionist or the FDA. The nutritional information found in our recipes is offered as an estimate and should not be considered a guarantee or fact. The estimated data is provided as a courtesy and calculated through a third-party online nutritional calculator, spoonacular API. Although we do our best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered rough estimates. Many factors, such as brands or products purchased and the nutritional fluctuations that naturally occur in fresh produce, can alter the effectiveness of the nutritional information in any recipe. Furthermore, various online calculators provide different results depending on their particular algorithms and nutrition fact sources. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Author:Erren Hart

Course:Dinner

Cuisine:Italian

Keyword:Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca, Spaghetti recipes, Spaghetti with puttanesca sauce

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Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted on Mar 12, 2016, but was updated with new photos and step by step photos in January of 2020.