Puttanesca sauce has a robust flavor.

It’s a bold and savory Italian sauce made with tomatoes, anchovies, capers, garlic, and olives, perfect for enhancing pasta dishes.

bowl of Puttanesca

Puttanesca Is a Must-Try Because…

  • The capers, olives, and anchovies make this sauce irresistibly delicious.
  • This sauce packs a punch of umami flavor.
  • Pasta Puttanesca smells and tastes like it’s been simmering for hours but takes less than 30 minutes on the stove.
whole tomatoes , crushed tomatoes , oil , capers , anchovy , garlic , olives , parmesan , red pepper glakes , salt and pepper with labels to make Puttanesca

Ingredients for Puttanesca Sauce

Tomatoes: Choose quality tomatoes like San Marzanos for the best flavor. Squeeze the whole tomatoes in Step 2 to get a rustic texture of smaller and larger pieces.

Capers: Rinse capers before using them to remove unnecessary salt.

Anchovies: Anchovies add the signature briny flavor to a classic puttanesca recipe. Anchovies are preferred, but you can replace them with a bit of miso paste, fish sauce, or even seaweed flakes if needed.

Olives: I prefer black olives but kalamata olives or Castelvetrano are salty, sweet, and meaty.

Pasta: Puttanesca pairs well with almost any kind of pasta. I love spaghetti, bucatini, or penne—thicker kinds of pasta that pasta sauce can cling to.

Variations

  • I like to toss in a few red pepper flakes for a subtle spicy kick to the sauce.
  • In addition to garlic and red pepper flakes, a little dried oregano, fresh parsley, or fresh basil will add a bright and herb-y flavor to the pasta puttanesca recipe.

How to Make Puttanesca Sauce

  1. Cook garlic and red pepper flakes in oil. Add capers and anchovies and cook.
  2. Squeeze whole tomatoes into the pan (discard the juices).
  3. Add crushed tomatoes and olives and simmer (recipe below).
  4. Season with salt and pepper and serve as desired.
Puttanesca with a spoon and fork

Storing Puttanesca

Keep leftover puttanesca sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze portions in zippered bags for up to one month.

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Did you enjoy this Puttanesca Recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below.

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bowl of Puttanesca
5 from 3 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
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Puttanesca

Puttanesca is a savory Italian sauce made with tomatoes, anchovies, capers, garlic, and olives, perfect for pairing with pasta.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4

Equipment

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Ingredients  

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 3 tablespoons capers drained
  • 2 anchovy filets diced, more to taste
  • 14 ounces canned whole tomatoes 1 can
  • 14 ounces crushed tomatoes 1 can
  • ¼ cup black olives coarsely chopped, additional for serving if desired
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish

Instructions 

  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is tender. Add the capers and anchovy and cook for 2 minutes more.
  • Remove the whole tomatoes from the can one by one and squeeze the tomatoes into the pan to break them up, discard the juices (or reserve to add to soup). Add the crushed tomatoes and olives and simmer uncovered for about 6 to 8 minutes or until thickened.
  • Taste and season with salt and black pepper.
  • Toss with cooked pasta and garnish with parmesan cheese if desired.

Notes

This sauce will dress 1 lb of spaghetti or pasta.
Leftover sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.  Nutritional information is for sauce only.
5 from 3 votes

Nutrition Information

Calories: 131 | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 577mg | Potassium: 505mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 446IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 79mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Sauce
Cuisine American, Italian
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About the author

Holly Nilsson is the creator of Spend With Pennies, where she creates easy, comforting recipes made for real life. With a passion for nostalgic flavors and simplified techniques, Holly helps busy home cooks create delicious meals that always work. She is also the author of “Everyday Comfort,” which promises to inspire even more hearty, home-cooked meals.
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Comments

  1. Will leave comments when I’ve made the dish. You list 14 ounces of crushed tomatoes in the ingredients, but I don’t see in the instructions where you mention adding them. I’m going to assume it is after you add the whole tomatoes. Can you update the instructions? Or let me know?

    1. Hi Jennifer, I have updated the recipe instructions, the crushed tomatoes are added with the olives. Thanks for catching that!

  2. Hi Holly!!! I received my copy of your cookbook last week. I can’t wait to try some of the recipes in there.
    I have a question about step 2 in this recipe. It states to crush each tomato by hand into the pan and discard juices. I’m assuming “the pan” is the one the garlic, red pepper flakes, capers and anchovy are cooked in. The next sentence states, ” Add the crushed tomatoes and olives.” Aren’t the crushed tomatoes already in the pan? Or, do I crush them into another container, pour out the juice, and then add them with the olives? I’ve never made Puttanesca before.

    1. So excited that you received your copy of my book, I can’t wait to see what you make first! I apologize for the confusion, the tomatoes are added directly to the pan (less dishes to wash is better ;) ). I’ve updated to clarify!

  3. Like all off your recipes this is a delicious puttanesca. Other than linguine with white clam sauce a puttanesca is my favorite Italian dish. I’m not much of a Parmesan fan so I sub it with a Pecorino Romano…. I’m looking forward to your upcoming book release…
    Thanks for the quality recipes.5 stars