Combine anchovies, olives, and capers to make the briny Italian favorite: Puttanesca sauce. It’s great served over fresh linguine pasta and comes together in just about 20 minutes.
For more ideas of what to make, check out all of our recipes.
Puttanesca Sauce has a sordid backstory. It’s named after the women of the night — and the reasoning behind that is argued. Some say it’s because of the aroma, some say because it’s quick, and some say it’s named such because of throwing pantry staples together.
You can read all about the origin of pasta puttanesca, if you want.
But, if you just want to make the pasta sauce recipe that’s famous for its bold flavors, thanks to briny olives and whole anchovies, stay here.
Puttanesca Sauce is great served over pasta. If you want some ideas for the people in your family who won’t eat anchovies, make them something off our list of 20+ Budget-Friendly Pasta Recipes.
Puttanesca Sauce Recipe
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Puttanesca Sauce Ingredients:
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 oz tin of flat anchovy fillets in oil
- 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 14.5 oz. can of whole peeled plum tomatoes
- 1/2 cup of kalamata olives, plus extra for garnish
- 1/8 cup of capers, plus extra for garnish
How To Make Puttanesca Sauce:
Slice the garlic cloves.
Add the sliced garlic to a large skillet with the olive oil, anchovies, and red pepper flakes.
Two quick notes: You can put the entire can of anchovies in the pan. That’s why you purchase the ones in oil. They don’t need to be drained. Add the oil straight into the pan as well.
Also, If you want the sauce spicy, you can add a little more of the red pepper flakes. If you want it more mild, you can skip the hot pepper.
Cook over medium heat until the garlic is golden brown and the anchovies start to dissolve, about five minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it’s browned, about three minutes.
Put the tomatoes in a blender and blend until they’re moderately smooth.
Add the tomatoes to the pan.
Add in the olives and capers. Simmer about 10 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.
To serve, boil some pasta in a large pot of water. Drain that when it’s done. Add a serving of pasta to a pan with a serving of cooked sauce. Pan fry it together for two to three minutes with a little bit of the pasta water, if you saved some. Garnish with extra olives and capers before serving. If you have a lemon on hand, a little bit of lemon zest on top will add an extra depth of flavor.
This puttanesca recipe makes about three servings, which is about a half a pound of pasta. Of course, you can double it if you need more.
Puttanesca Sauce: Frequently Asked Questions
Since there are anchovies in this recipe, it’s not vegetarian as is. However, I’ve heard black bean paste is a good vegan and vegetarian substitute for the anchovies.
That’s a good substitute, also, if you just don’t like anchovies. Omitting the anchovies will cause the sauce to lose a lot of the flavor, so it won’t really be great. Adding the black bean paste will get some of that flavor back.
Wait until the sauce cools down to room temperature. Then, put it in an airtight container in the fridge. It’ll be best within the next three days.
If you aren’t going to use it that quickly, you can freeze Puttanesca Sauce for up to six months.
If you can, store any leftover cooked pasta separately from the leftover sauce. It’ll keep better that way.
Linguine is our choice when we’re serving Puttanesca Sauce. The thick pasta works well to hold the red sauce and the rest of the large ingredients. Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is really popular in Italy, so you could use regular spaghetti too.
Angel hair is my favorite pasta, but it is a little bit too thin to hold up to the rest of the ingredients. However, if that’s the only long noodle pasta you have, it’ll work.
Between the olives, capers, and anchovies, the sauce is pretty salty. I don’t suggest adding any additional salt.
Traditionally, black olives are used for Puttanesca Sauce. However, we find that kalamata olives give the best flavor for this sauce. Plus, they’re less salty than black olives, which is good because this sauce already has a lot of salt.
If you can’t find canned anchovies, you can purchase a 2 oz. tube of anchovy paste and use that instead.
There are a few sauce brands that sell jarred Puttanesca sauce online. I’ve personally never seen it available in a regular grocery store. You might be able to find them in Italian specialty grocery stores, though.
A really good side salad is a great balance for the dish. You could also serve garlic bread with it since garlic bread always pairs well with Italian recipes.
More Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipes:
If you’re looking for other pasta sauces, we have a few you might enjoy.
If you’re looking for another tomato-based sauce, we also have Pasta Alla Norma, a Sicilian tomato sauce made from eggplant and fresh tomatoes.
And, if you’re looking for non-tomato sauces, which are always a nice change from tomato sauce, my favorite is kale pesto, which is made from kale and walnuts (which are a good substitute for fresh basil and pine nuts). We also have a homemade Alfredo sauce, which is a cream sauce of, basically, heavy cream and cheese.
Puttanesca Sauce
Combine anchovies, olives, and capers to make the briny Italian favorite: Puttanesca sauce. It’s great served over fresh linguine pasta and comes together in just about 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 oz tin of flat anchovy fillets in oil
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 14.5 oz. can of whole peeled plum tomatoes
- 1/2 cup of kalamata olives, plus extra for garnish
- 1/8 cup of capers, plus extra for garnish
- 1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Slice the garlic cloves.
- Add the sliced garlic to a large skillet with the olive oil, anchovies, and red pepper flakes.
- Cook over medium heat until the garlic is golden brown and the anchovies start to dissolve, about five minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook until it’s browned, about three minutes.
- Put the tomatoes in a blender and blend until they’re moderately smooth.
- Add the tomatoes to the pan.
- Add in the olives and capers. Simmer about 10 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.
Notes
To serve, boil some pasta in a large pot of water. Drain that when it’s done. Add a serving of pasta to a pan with a serving of cooked sauce.
Nutrition Information
Yield
3Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 185Total Fat 16gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 13gCholesterol 16mgSodium 971mgCarbohydrates 5gFiber 2gSugar 1gProtein 6g
Have you made this Puttanesca Sauce? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.