Pasta Puttanesca (Authentic Italian Recipe)
Updated Jun 09, 2025, Published Jan 17, 2022
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This easy and authentic Italian pasta puttanesca recipe takes only 20 minutes to prepare. It is rich in flavor with little effort. Made with a few pantry staples, you can eat a dish that tastes like it was made in an Italian restaurant!
Enjoy this eggplant pasta sauce, lemon butter pasta, or this fried zucchini pasta for dinner next time!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This pasta puttanesca recipe takes only minutes to prepare, and that’s one of the secrets of its success. It is a no fuss meal with pantry staples that tastes amazing–and it might be one of your new family favorites!
Made With Amoré,
Ingredients For Puttanesca Sauce
This pasta alla puttanesca recipe takes basic staples you already have in your pantry! Grab these key ingredients, and you’ll be ready to start cooking!
- Pasta: Spaghetti works well for this sauce, but feel free to use your favorite pasta variety instead.
- Crushed Tomatoes: Crush whole canned tomatoes, or use ready-crushed canned tomatoes; just remember to choose a high-quality brand for best results. I love using san marzano tomatoes!
- Anchovy Fillets: This is a traditional addition to pasta alla puttanesca. You can also use anchovy paste, or leave it out if it’s not your taste.
- Pitted Black Olives: Olives make almost anything better, and this dish is no exception. Use good quality canned black olives that are drained, or try using kalamata olives for a delicious twist!
- Capers: These small flower buds are native to many Mediterranean countries, and when they are pickled, add a wonderful briny flavor to pasta dishes.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Olives: Swap for Kalamata or Castelvetrano. You’ll love my Italian Chopped Salad.
- Anchovies: Omit or use a splash of Worcestershire sauce for umami.
- Capers: Sub with chopped green olives or lemon juice.
- Pasta: Try linguine, bucatini, or rigatoni.
- Extra Protein: Add good-quality canned tuna or baked salmon steaks.
- Wine: Add a splash of white wine at the end of cooking to enhance the flavor of the sauce.
- Roasted Tomatoes: Try roasting your own cherry tomatoes to use in the sauce instead of using canned ones. Try my cherry tomato pasta sauce.
How to Make Pasta Puttanesca
Follow these step-by-step photos for the best results. Find the full steps and ingredients in the recipe card below.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and shallot, lightly fry for 8-10 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and chili flakes (if using), and cook for another minute.
Stir in the tomatoes, anchovies, olives and capers into the onion, gently simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the spaghetti following the package instructions until al dente, then drain and reserve 1/3 cup of pasta water. Add the pasta water to the sauce and stir to combine.
Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon to keep the pasta from sticking. (Read How to Cook Pasta Perfectly to boil the spaghetti like an Italian!)
- Finish things off by tossing the pasta with the sauce. Add parsley for garnish and serve hot. Mangia! (Eat!)
Recipe FAQs
The name puttanesca isn’t exactly elegant—it comes from puttana, meaning “prostitute” in Italian. One theory traces the dish to the brothels of Naples’ Spanish Quarters, where it was a quick, bold meal made with pantry staples. It was originally called alla marinara, with the name puttanesca appearing after WWII.
Puttanesca is an Italian tomato sauce that also contains aromatics like onion, shallot, and garlic along with wonderful flavor from anchovies, capers, black olives, and a touch of red pepper flakes for heat.
The best substitute for anchovies varies by dish. Substitutes include fish sauce, shrimp paste, sardines, soy sauce, or miso. The only one I would recommend for this recipe is a bit of Worcestershire sauce (the amount to your liking). If I’m being honest, I will tell you that the taste of anchovies is not strong in this recipe. It creates more of an umami flavor that complements the sauce and pairs well with the taste of capers and olives. I would definitely try this recipe with the anchovy to try something new! I bet you will acquire a new appreciation for the taste.
Most pastas last in the fridge for 3–5 days. Before storing the cooked pasta or leftovers, let the pasta cool slightly. Make sure to use a proper airtight containers for storage. Alternatively, freeze this pasta for up to a month.
Serving Suggestions
This delicious pasta recipe is filling all on its own. Serve it with this easy Italian bread and orange fennel salad for a complete meal. If you want to go all out, serve these Best Italian Zucchini Fritters as an appetizer! For dessert, try One Bowl Italian Apple Cake, Classic Italian Tiramisu, or Authentic Sicilian Cannoli.
My Pro Tips
Expert Tips
- Here’s the one rule every Italian knows: there’s no Parmigiano cheese or basil in pasta alla puttanesca. Italians don’t use cheese in seafood pasta dishes, and since there are anchovies in the dish, this is a big no-no!
- Be careful not to burn the garlic; burnt garlic is bitter and can ruin the whole dish!
- Long pasta shapes like spaghetti, bucatini, capellini, and spaghettini are best paired with this rich, tomato-based sauce. Or, if you only have short pasta shapes on hand, feel free to change it to your preference.
- Cook the pasta perfectly al dente; boiling the pasta for too long will make it mushy.
- Toss the pasta with the sauce instead of just spooning it on top of the noodles. This will allow the pasta to soak up the sauce and give it a stronger flavor.
Other Authentic Italian Pasta Recipes
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Pasta Puttanesca Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 5 finely chopped anchovy fillets, or 1 tablespoon anchovy paste (omit if desired)
- ½ cup pitted black olives
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained
- salt, to taste
- 1 pound dried spaghetti or long pasta of choice
- ½ small bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the onion and shallot, then lightly fry them for 8-10 minutes, or until soft. Add the garlic and chili flakes and cook for another minute.
- Stir in the tomatoes, anchovies, olives and capers, then bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil. Salt generously with salt. Cook the spaghetti following the package instructions until al dente, then drain and reserve ⅓ cup of pasta water. Add the pasta water to the sauce and stir to combine.
- Toss the pasta with the sauce. Garnish with the fresh parsley and serve hot. Mangia! (Eat!)
Notes
- Here’s the one rule every Italian knows: there’s no Parmigiano cheese or basil in pasta alla puttanesca. Italians don’t use cheese in seafood pasta dishes, and since there are anchovies in the dish, this is a big no-no!
- Be careful not to burn the garlic; burnt garlic is bitter and can ruin the whole dish!
- Long pasta shapes like spaghetti, bucatini, capellini, and spaghettini are best paired with this rich, tomato-based sauce. Or, if you only have short pasta shapes on hand, feel free to change it to your preference.
- Cook the pasta perfectly al dente; boiling the pasta for too long will make it mushy.
- Toss the pasta with the sauce instead of just spooning it on top of the noodles. This will allow the pasta to soak up the sauce and give it a stronger flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Made this tonight for my husband. It was so good ! The flavor was so amazing.
Just love your recipes.
Thank you so much. I am thrilled you both loved it!
First let me say I am Italian. But, sorry to say i dislike anchovies and eggplant Believe me I have tried. can I make this recipe without the dreaded anchovy??
Yes! You can totally make it without and it will still taste great!
This was so quick to make! My kids and husband loved it!
It is a recipe my kids love as well!
A great approximation, but you can NOT call the anchovies “optional”. They’re an essential part of a puttanesca sauce!!!
So, you are giving 4 stars because I gave an “option”? Please read the recipe post and also try the recipe before leaving a star rating. I work very hard to create authentic Italian recipes and Google judges them based on star reviews. Thanks.
This is truly an amazing recipe! It’s so delicious, super easy to make, full of goodness and is really light. It’s so delicious I can’t wait to make it again. Thank you for the recipe Elena🌟😋🌟
So happy you loved it!
An all time family favorite!
Absolutely delicious!!! I just know I will be making this again and again. I love how much flavor there is even though it’s so easy to make!
Happy you loved it! It is quick and satisfying.
Classic Italian recipe you must try!