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Italian · Mediterranean

Pasta alla puttanesca

Non-vegetarian

Spaghetti alla puttanesca

Spaghetti tossed in a punchy tomato sauce with garlic, anchovies, black olives, capers and chilli, made almost entirely from the store cupboard.

Pasta alla puttanesca is an Italian pasta dish from Italy, ready in about 30 minutes and made with dried pasta, anchovies and black olives. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Spaghetti alla puttanesca with tomato sauce, black olives and capers
Photo: Popo le Chien / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
515

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Warm the oil with the garlic (opens in a new tab), anchovies (opens in a new tab) and chilli over low heat, stirring until the anchovies melt.

  2. Step 2

    Add the tomatoes, olives (opens in a new tab), capers (opens in a new tab) and oregano (opens in a new tab) and simmer until slightly thickened.

    • 12 min
    • medium heat
    A sauce simmering in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Nanda Mends on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Cook the pasta (opens in a new tab) in salted boiling water until al dente, drain and toss in the sauce with a splash of pasta water. Finish with parsley (opens in a new tab).

    Pasta boiling in a pot of water
    How it looks · Photo: Gianpiero Ferraro on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Campania (Naples / Ischia), Italy · Commonly attributedNaples is the usual attribution; Ischia also claims it.More food from Italy
Dish
Dinner · Lunch · Pasta · Main courses
Cooking method
Boiled, Simmered
Taste
salty, tangy, spicy (chilli heat), garlicky
Diet
Pescatarian · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients
All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Mediterranean-style
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday · Budget-friendly · Minimal cleanup
Cook more with
Dried pasta · Anchovies · Black olives · Capers · Garlic · Red chilli flakes
Techniques
Boiling · Simmering

Allergens

  • May contain: Eggsfrom dried pasta
  • Contains: Fishfrom anchovies
  • Contains: Wheatfrom dried pasta
  • Contains: Glutenfrom dried pasta

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

515 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 244 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 12%
  • Carbohydrate 63%
  • Fat 25%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy515 kcal211 kcal
Protein15.5 g6.4 g
Carbohydrate80.8 g33.1 g
Net carbohydrate75.1 g30.7 g
Sugars5.3 g2.2 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre5.7 g2.4 g
Fat14.5 g5.9 g
Saturated fat2.3 g0.9 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol3 mg1 mg
Sodium905 mg370 mg
Salt equivalent2.3 g0.9 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
466 mg
Calcium
91 mg
Iron
5.6 mg
Magnesium
70 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
37 µg
Vitamin C
17 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
404 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: dried oregano.
  • Red chilli flakes: Ground cayenne (FDC 170932) used as a stand-in for dried chilli flakes such as pul biber or Aleppo pepper.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Go easy on salt: anchovies, olives and capers bring plenty.

Common mistakes

  • Frying the garlic over high heat; let the anchovies melt gently so nothing burns.

Food safety

  • Refrigerate opened anchovies covered in oil and use within a week or two.

Storage

  • Leftover sauce keeps 4 days refrigerated.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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