This Vegan Puttanesca is made with onion, garlic, white wine, tomatoes, capers, olives, and topped on al dente spaghetti.
The word Puttanesca derived from the lack of jobs in Italy during World War 2, and women resorting to working the night shift. They did not have money or ingredients at home and threw together whatever they could find.
Savory and sweet, spicy and bold, pasta puttanesca packs a punch that will make your taste buds salivate with each slurpy bite.
The word puttanesca translates roughly to "lady of the night." We make this pasta with capers, olives and garlic although it traditionally contains anchovies. The best part? It takes 20 minutes to make.
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Ingredients
You'll only need a few simple ingredients to make this. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- White wine
- Whole plum tomatoes
- Red pepper flakes
- Capers
- Black olives
- Spaghetti
- Basil
- Parmesan (if not vegan)
See recipe card for Vegan Puttanesca quantities.
Instructions
In a large pan, add olive oil and onion and cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic until it starts to brown, around 1 minute. Pour in the white wine and stir. Bring to a simmer until wine evaporates by half, about 4 minutes.
Add the crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.
Add the olives, capers, red pepper flakes and cook for another 6 minutes.
Stir in the basil and simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes.
Top the pasta with the sauce and parmesan cheese(if not vegan).
Substitutions
- Capers: Capers are usually found in the canned goods at the grocery store, beside the pickles and jalapeños. They are lemony, briney, and salty and pair so well on this dish.
- Olive oil: I used good quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Tomatoes: I used diced tomatoes from the can instead of fresh tomatoes. The San Marzano whole tomatoes are always the way to go.
- Garlic: For best results, use fresh garlic.
- Olives: You can buy pre sliced Kalamata olives but you can use any black olive and slice them yourself.
Variations
Cooking is a chance to be creative! Have fun with it and feel free to make your own variation.
- Spicy - add more chili pepper flakes while cooking to imbue heat into the dish.
- Deluxe - Make a Pizza Puttanesca with the sauce.
- Kid friendly - Use fun sized pasta.
Equipment
Equipment can have a big impact on how a recipe turns out. Stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans, and also retain heat for longer, which could make the recipe more watery, or burnt on the outsides.
I love using my Caraway pots, pans and baking sheets for best quality. Get yourself a discount by clicking here!
Storage
This will be good in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
This Vegan Puttanesca can be frozen for up to three months.
Top tip
Make sure to simmer the white wine until evaporated by half, even if it means longer time.
Vegan Puttanesca
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This Vegan Puttanesca is made with onion, garlic, white wine, tomatoes, capers, olives, and topped on al dente spaghetti.
Ingredients
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ yellow onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons of minced garlic
- ⅓ cup of white wine
- 1 28 oz can whole plum tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand
- 1 tablespoon of crushed red peppers
- ⅓ cup of drained capers
- ½ of drained black olives, sliced in halves
- 1 lb of cooked spaghetti
- ¼ cup of chopped fresh basil
- Parmesan, to serve (omit if vegan)
Instructions
- In a large pan, add olive oil and onion and cook until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic until it starts to brown, around 1 minute. Pour in the white wine and stir. Bring to a simmer until wine evaporates by half, about 4 minutes.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, for about 10 minutes.
- Add the olives, capers, red pepper flakes and cook for another 6 minutes. Stir in the basil and simmer, covered, for another 5 minutes.
- Top the pasta with the sauce and parmesan cheese (omit if vegan).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 580
- Sodium: 580mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 2.3g
- Carbohydrates: 93g
- Fiber: 9.6g
- Protein: 19g
- Cholesterol: 2.6mg
Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
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