Spaghetti alla Puttanesca
A weeknight-friendly seafood built around spaghetti, anchovy fillets and crushed tomatoes β roughly 70 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 7 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.
You'll mainly reach for pan and large pot. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's pescatarian β fish but no meat.
What you'll need
Shopping list (6)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil and cook the spaghetti until just shy of al dente, reserving a cup of the pasta water before draining.
- While the pasta cooks, warm the olive oil and butter in a wide pan over medium-low heat, add the sliced garlic, crumbled chile and anchovy fillets and stir for 2 to 3 minutes until the anchovies melt into the oil and the garlic is fragrant but not browned.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, olives and capers, then simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes until it thickens and the flavours come together.
- Season the sauce with black pepper and only a little salt if needed, as the anchovies, olives and capers are already salty.
- Add the drained spaghetti to the pan along with a splash of the reserved pasta water and toss over medium heat for a minute or two so the sauce clings to every strand.
- Loosen with a little more pasta water if the sauce looks dry, then stir through the chopped parsley.
- Serve immediately in warm bowls with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil over the top.
You'll use: Pan Β· Large pot Β· Saucepan
Ingredient substitutions
- Butter
- olive oil (ΒΎ the amount) Β· coconut oil Β· margarine
Tips & common questions
How long does Spaghetti alla Puttanesca take to make?
About 70 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 7 steps and 12 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of butter?
Try olive oil (ΒΎ the amount). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
How should I store leftovers?
Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.
Related recipes
Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Spaghetti alla Puttanesca - detail.JPG by Kaifredriksen, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.