This Puttanesca sauce is packed with flavor, made with only a few essential ingredients and tastes much better than any you can find in a jar, Also it’ll take only 20 minutes from pot to plate.
Pasta, sauce and maybe a protein added in, and you have a quick and usually tasty meal ready in a matter of minutes. It’s the perfect end to a day after running errands, driving to and from activities or just being all around busy with things in general. And while there are many great choices for sauce in a jar out there and no shame using them, it’s really easy to make your own pasta sauce.
My take on homemade Puttanesca sauce is really good, to be honest. It has that salty brine taste from the olives, capers and anchovies but it’s not too much. A heavy dose of fresh garlic and whole tomatoes balances the sauce out perfectly. Try and grab San Marzano tomatoes if you can find them. They are tomatoes that are grown only in a designated area of Naples, in volcanic soil from Mount Vesuvius and this is what gives them much more flavor than a regular tomato.
FAQ’s about making Puttanesca sauce
It does have a little bit of a kick to it due to the red pepper flakes. I used half a teaspoon but you could use less, or even more if you don’t mind the heat.
A food processor would also work.
You really can’t taste them once they dissolve into the sauce but the flavor they leave is key to this recipe.
Capers are actually tiny buds from a middle eastern bush, picked before they flower. They are then pickled in brine.
looking for more pasta dishes?
Homemade Puttanesca Sauce
Ingredients
- 28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 tbsp capers
- ½ cup green pitted olives
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
- 2 anchovy filets
- salt and black pepper to taste
- ½ pound spaghetti
- grated Parmesan
- fresh basil
Instructions
- In a pot, add the first six ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer on low fo 15-20 minutes.
- Transfer the sauce to a blender and pulse a few short times.
- Taste the sauce and add salt and black pepper if desired.
- Cook the spaghetti as per the directions on the pack.
- Drain and add the sauce to the cooked pasta.
- Stir and serve with Parmesan and fresh basil on top.
This is very similar to a Nigella recipe I’ve always used for Puttanesca, except that she uses Kalamata olives. It might be my favorite pasta recipe if someone put a gun to my head.
I tried cooking several puttanesca sauce versions but I must say yours is the best! Thanks you very much for sharing!
great sauce, love making sauces and basic ingredients from scratch, so really appreciate this, especially with capers, love that flavor, and good to know that anchovies are a bit diluted in this sauce, thank you