Pantry-Friendly Spaghetti alla Puttanesca Recipe

Pantry Spaghetti alla Puttanesca: a simple, flavorful pasta you can make mostly from pantry staples. Spaghetti is tossed in a quick pan sauce of onions, garlic, canned tomatoes, olives and capers for a tangy, briny finish. It’s a great last-minute vegetarian meal, and you can easily add shrimp or chicken for extra protein.

Can I really make this dish with pantry ingredients?

Yes. Most of this recipe relies on pantry items, so it’s perfect to pull together when you don’t have fresh ingredients on hand. Onions and garlic are the only fresh items I always keep on hand; everything else—canned tomatoes, olives, capers, pasta and seasonings—stores well. Fresh basil is optional but adds brightness if you have it. Here’s what you’ll need:

• spaghetti
• onion
• garlic
• diced tomatoes (canned)
• kosher salt
• red pepper flakes
• olives
• capers
• fresh basil (optional)

What? No anchovies? What kind of Italian are you?

Anchovies are a traditional and delicious component in classic puttanesca and add a deep savory umami. I’ve left them out here to keep the recipe approachable for people who prefer to skip anchovies. If you enjoy them, feel free to add a couple of anchovy fillets when you sauté the garlic—they’ll dissolve into the sauce and boost the flavor. Even without anchovies, this version delivers plenty of brightness and brine from the olives and capers.

Help! I don’t understand how to measure pasta!

This is a common question. You can measure pasta either uncooked by weight or by cooked volume. For this recipe:

• Uncooked: Use 8 oz (half a pound) of dry spaghetti for four servings—this is the weight shown on most boxes.
• Cooked: A typical serving is about one cup of cooked pasta (a heaping cup when combined with sauce). For this recipe one serving equals about 1/4 of the finished dish.

If you have a kitchen scale, place a bowl on it, press tare, and add pasta until the scale reads 8 oz. If you don’t weigh it, use roughly half a standard box of spaghetti.

• When serving, plan on one heaping cup of cooked pasta with sauce per person.

How to make the Puttanesca sauce

Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil and begin cooking the pasta according to the package directions while you make the sauce. The whole dish comes together in about 15–20 minutes.

Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Open the canned tomatoes, slice the olives, and get the capers ready. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high and add a drizzle of olive oil. Add the chopped onion with the kosher salt and red pepper flakes and cook for about five minutes until the onion begins to soften. Add the minced garlic and cook briefly until fragrant—just a few seconds to avoid burning.

Add the canned diced tomatoes, stir to combine, and let the sauce simmer for about ten minutes so the flavors meld. After it has simmered, stir in the sliced olives, the capers and a little of the caper brine for added tang—about half of a 3 oz jar is a good guide for this recipe. If you have fresh basil, add chopped basil at this stage for brightness and color.

Putting Pantry Spaghetti alla Puttanesca together

When the pasta is al dente, remove it from the water with tongs or a slotted spoon and add it directly to the pan with the sauce. Toss everything together so the sauce evenly coats the pasta. Reserve some starchy pasta water in case you want to thin the sauce—adding a splash helps the sauce cling to the noodles.

Finish with grated cheese if you like and adjust seasoning to taste. This dish is delicious on its own or served with sautéed shrimp or cooked chicken for added protein.