Name: Puttanesca Sauce Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: ½ cup olive oil; ½ yellow onion, diced; 2 tablespoons minced garlic; ⅓ cup dry white wine; 1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand; 4 anchovy fillets, chopped; 1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes; ⅓ cup capers, drained; ½ cup black olives, drained and halved; 1 pound spaghetti, cooked al dente; ¼ cup chopped fresh basil; Salt and black pepper, to taste; Parmesan, for serving

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This puttanesca sauce recipe is one of my favorite pasta sauces when I want something bold and flavorful without spending hours in the kitchen. It’s made with tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a splash of white wine, then tossed with spaghetti.

Puttanesca sauce recipe with olives, capers and tomatoes

Puttanesca is salty, briny, a little spicy, and packed with flavor. The anchovies melt right into the sauce, so don’t worry if you’re not usually someone who eats anchovies on their own. They add that savory flavor that makes puttanesca so good without making the pasta taste overly fishy.

Best of all, the whole thing comes together quickly, making this a great pasta recipe for a weeknight dinner.

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Why You’ll Love This Puttanesca Pasta Recipe
What Is Puttanesca Sauce?
Ingredients for Puttanesca Sauce
How to Make This Puttanesca Sauce Recipe
What Do Anchovies Do in Puttanesca Sauce?
Substitutions
Puttanesca Variations
What to Serve with Pasta Puttanesca
How to Store Puttanesca Sauce and Pasta
Frequently Asked Questions
Puttanesca Sauce Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Puttanesca Pasta Recipe

Full of flavor: Between the olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, tomatoes, and red pepper flakes, there is nothing boring about this sauce.

Quick: You can have this pasta on the table in about 30 minutes, making it perfect for a weeknight.

Made with pantry staples: Canned tomatoes, olives, capers, pasta, and anchovies are all ingredients you can keep around for an easy last-minute dinner.

Easy to adjust: Add more red pepper flakes if you like it spicy, use your favorite pasta shape, or adjust the amount of olives and capers depending on how briny you like your sauce.

What Is Puttanesca Sauce?

Puttanesca is a bold Italian tomato sauce traditionally made with ingredients like tomatoes, garlic, olives, capers, anchovies, and red pepper flakes.

The combination gives the sauce its signature salty and savory flavor. My version also uses white wine, which adds acidity and helps bring all of those strong flavors together.

Puttanesca is commonly served with spaghetti, but the sauce works with plenty of other pasta shapes too.

Ingredients for Puttanesca Sauce

You’ll only need a handful of ingredients to make this pasta puttanesca. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below.

Olive oil: This creates the base of the sauce and helps soften the onion and garlic.

Yellow onion: Dice the onion fairly small so it melts into the tomato sauce as it cooks.

Garlic: I use plenty of garlic here because it works so well with the tomatoes, olives, and capers.

White wine: The wine deglazes the pan and adds another layer of acidity and flavor. Use a dry white wine that you would actually enjoy drinking.

Whole plum tomatoes: I like crushing whole canned tomatoes by hand for a sauce that still has some texture.

Anchovies: Anchovies add a deep, savory flavor to puttanesca sauce. Once they cook into the sauce, their flavor becomes much more subtle.

Red pepper flakes: These give the sauce a little heat. Add more or less depending on your preference.

Capers: Capers give puttanesca its distinctive salty, briny flavor.

Black olives: Slice them in half so you get pieces of olive throughout the pasta.

Spaghetti: Spaghetti is classic here, but linguine, bucatini, or another long pasta will work.

Fresh basil: I like adding basil toward the end for freshness.

Parmesan: Finish the pasta with freshly grated Parmesan if you like.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to Make This Puttanesca Sauce Recipe

Cook the onion and garlic. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, just until fragrant.

Deglaze with white wine. Pour in the white wine and stir, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan. Simmer for about 4 minutes, or until the wine has reduced by roughly half.

Spaghetti tossed with homemade puttanesca sauce

Add the tomatoes. Crush the whole plum tomatoes by hand and add them to the skillet. Season with salt and pepper and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.

Build the puttanesca sauce. Add the olives, capers, anchovies, and red pepper flakes. Continue cooking for about 6 minutes, allowing the anchovies to break down into the sauce.

Puttanesca sauce with tomatoes, anchovies, olives and capers

Finish with basil. Stir in the fresh basil, cover, and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Spaghetti alla puttanesca with fresh basil.

Toss with pasta. Add the cooked spaghetti to the puttanesca sauce and toss until everything is well coated. Finish with Parmesan and serve immediately.

What Do Anchovies Do in Puttanesca Sauce?

If you don’t normally cook with anchovies, don’t let them scare you away from this recipe.

Anchovies are used more like a seasoning than a main ingredient in puttanesca. As they cook, they begin to dissolve into the sauce and add saltiness and umami.

You shouldn’t end up with big pieces of anchovy throughout your spaghetti. Instead, they help create the deep savory flavor that balances the tomatoes, olives, and capers.

Substitutions

Pasta: Spaghetti is traditional, but linguine, bucatini, fettuccine, or even a short pasta can work.

Olives: I use black olives, but Kalamata or another briny olive can be used if that’s what you have.

Whole tomatoes: You can substitute canned crushed tomatoes if you prefer a smoother sauce.

Fresh basil: Fresh parsley also works well with the salty, briny flavors in puttanesca.

White wine: If you don’t cook with wine, you can leave it out and use a small amount of pasta water or broth instead. The flavor will be slightly different.

Puttanesca Variations

Cooking is a chance to be creative, and puttanesca is easy to customize.

Spicy: Add extra crushed red pepper flakes for a spicier puttanesca sauce.

Extra briny: Add a few more capers or olives.

With seafood: Shrimp works especially well with the tomato, caper, and olive sauce.

With tuna: Add good-quality canned tuna for an easy tuna puttanesca.

More herbs: Finish with chopped parsley along with the basil for extra freshness.

Homemade puttanesca pasta topped with Parmesan.

What to Serve with Pasta Puttanesca

Because pasta puttanesca has so much flavor on its own, I like keeping the sides pretty simple.

Serve it with garlic bread or crusty bread for soaking up the extra sauce. A simple arugula salad, Caesar salad, or roasted vegetables would also work well.

And since you’re already opening a bottle of dry white wine for the sauce, you know what to do with the rest!

More Pasta Recipes to Try

If you love this pasta puttanesca, try my clam spaghetti with white wine for another simple pasta with plenty of garlic and flavor. For something more classic, my spaghetti and meatballs is always a favorite, or try pasta with broccoli, garlic and oil for an easy weeknight dinner. You can also serve this puttanesca with roasted garlic bread to soak up the extra sauce. For even more ideas, check out my traditional Italian recipes.

How to Store Puttanesca Sauce and Pasta

Store leftover pasta puttanesca in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days.

You can reheat it in a skillet over medium-low heat with a splash of water to loosen the sauce. You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave.

You can also make this puttanesca sauce recipe ahead of time and store the sauce separately from the pasta. When you’re ready to eat, warm the sauce in a skillet and toss it with freshly cooked pasta.

Tomato puttanesca sauce with black olives and capers

Frequently Asked Questions

What does puttanesca sauce taste like?

Puttanesca sauce is savory, salty, briny, tomatoey, and slightly spicy. Olives and capers provide most of the brininess, while anchovies add a deeper savory flavor.

Does puttanesca taste fishy?

It shouldn’t taste strongly fishy. The anchovies break down as they cook and become part of the sauce, adding umami and saltiness rather than an overwhelming anchovy flavor.

What pasta goes best with puttanesca?

Spaghetti is one of the most traditional choices and what I use for this recipe. Linguine and bucatini are also great options because the long noodles hold onto the tomato sauce well.

Does puttanesca sauce have anchovies?

Many traditional versions of puttanesca include anchovies, although recipes vary. This version uses four anchovy fillets for extra savory flavor.

Can I make puttanesca sauce ahead of time?

Yes. You can make the sauce ahead of time and refrigerate it in an airtight container. When you’re ready to eat, warm the sauce in a skillet and toss it with freshly cooked pasta and a little reserved pasta water.