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Fish, Italy

Spaghetti alla puttanesca

Spaghetti alla puttanesca is an Italian pasta dish with a bold tomato sauce built on anchovies, black olives, capers, and chili. This recipe serves 4, takes 25 minutes, is rated very easy, and costs about €2.20 per person. The key is melting the anchovies in hot oil first, so they vanish into the sauce without ever tasting fishy.

A quick, bold sauce for tonight, spaghetti alla puttanesca with anchovies, black olives, capers, and chili.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca
Total time
25 min
Difficulty
Very easy
Cost per person
€2.20
Calories per person
520 kcalcalculated by Kiloach, your weight coach
Season
Summer, Fall

Puttanesca doesn't hold back. The sauce gets its salt from anchovies and capers, its kick from chili, and its depth from black olives. Nothing lingers politely on the tongue, everything moves fast, and the result has real character from the first bite. It's a sauce built from pantry staples, no grocery run required.

This is the weeknight dinner for when you get home late and don't want to stand over the stove for an hour. Kids used to milder flavors might pass on this one, but for adults who like bold, salty food, it wakes up the palate just as well on a summer evening as on a cool fall night.

The ingredients

4 people

Pantry

  • Spaghettioften in the pantry 360 g
  • Crushed tomatoesoften in the pantry 400 g
  • Anchovy filletsoften in the pantry 6
  • Pitted black olivesoften in the pantry 100 g
  • Capersoften in the pantry 2 tbsp
  • Dried chili flakesoften in the pantry 1 tsp
  • Olive oiloften in the pantry 3 tbsp
  • Pepperoften in the pantry 1 pinch

Fruits and vegetables

  • Garlic 3 cloves
  • Parsley 6 sprigs

Allergens Gluten, Fish

The step by step recipe

  1. Heat the oil with the garlic and chili flakes, add the anchovies and mash them until they melt into the oil. 3 min

    Pull the pan off the heat for a second if the garlic starts to brown, it turns bitter and ruins the sauce.

  2. Pour in the tomatoes, add the olives and capers, and let it simmer. 12 min

    Rinse the salted capers under water before adding them, the sauce stays punchy without turning too salty.

  3. Cook the spaghetti in unsalted or lightly salted boiling water. 10 min

    Go easy on the salt in the pasta water, the anchovies, olives, and capers already bring plenty of salt to the sauce.

  4. Toss the pasta with the sauce in the pan, adding a splash of pasta water. 1 min

    Toss the spaghetti in the sauce for 1 minute, they soak up the tomato and the sauce clings better.

  5. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve right away.

    Finish with a drizzle of raw olive oil, it rounds out the tomato's acidity.

Our tips to get it right

  • Pick good quality black olives packed in brine rather than oil, they keep more bite and a cleaner flavor in the sauce.
  • Don't toss the pasta water before mixing in the sauce, its starch ties everything together and keeps the sauce from turning too watery or too dry.
  • Let the sauce simmer gently with the lid partly on, it thickens without the tomatoes drying out at the edges of the pan.

The variations

  • Swap the spaghetti for penne or linguine, the sauce clings just as well to short or flat pasta shapes.
  • For a fish free version, skip the anchovies and stir in a spoonful of black olive paste to keep the depth, the capers alone bring enough punch.
  • To go even faster, use a jar of black olive tapenade instead of separate olives and capers, the sauce comes together in 10 minutes.

What to serve it with

  • A crisp green salad with vinaigrette
  • Crusty bread for soaking up sauce
  • Sparkling water with lemon

Storage

The sauce keeps 2 to 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container, kept separate from the pasta if you can. It freezes well for 2 months without the pasta. Reheat it gently in a pan with a splash of water before tossing in freshly cooked pasta.

Questions about this dish

Can you make the sauce ahead of time?

Yes, the sauce actually tastes better the next day once the flavors settle. Make it a day ahead, store it in the fridge, and reheat gently before tossing in freshly cooked pasta.

Can you skip the anchovies if you don't like fish?

The anchovies melt completely into the sauce and lose any fishy taste, leaving just a salty depth. If you'd rather skip them entirely, a spoonful of black olive paste makes up for some of that character.

Do you need to rinse the capers before using them?

Yes, rinse salted capers under cold water before adding them to the sauce. This keeps the sauce from turning too salty, since the anchovies and olives already bring plenty of salt.

Can you freeze this dish once the pasta is cooked?

It's better to freeze the sauce on its own, without the pasta, since noodles turn mushy after freezing and thawing. Cook fresh pasta when you're ready to serve and toss it with the thawed, reheated sauce.

How long does it take to make a spaghetti alla puttanesca?

Count 25 min in total, prep and cooking included. The recipe is rated “very easy”.

How many calories are in a spaghetti alla puttanesca?

About 520 kcal per serving, for a recipe meant for 4 people. Calories are calculated by Kiloach, your weight coach, the app that partners with Mon Chou.

How much does a spaghetti alla puttanesca cost?

About €2.20 per serving, or €8.80 for 4 people, based on average supermarket prices.

What allergens does this recipe contain?

This recipe contains gluten, fish. Always check the labels of the products you buy.

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