This easy Arrabbiata sauce is a quick pasta recipe made with garlic, chilli, olive oil and tomatoes, tossed with penne and finished with fresh basil and pecorino cheese. A classic Italian pasta that’s ready in under 15 minutes, perfect for a simple, cost effective weeknight dinner.
Category
Dinner
Servings
4
Prep time
2 minutes
Cook time
10 minutes
This easy Arrabbiata sauce is a quick pasta recipe made with garlic, chilli, olive oil and tomatoes, tossed with penne and finished with fresh basil and pecorino cheese. A classic Italian pasta that’s ready in under 15 minutes, perfect for a simple, cost effective weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
- 500g penne
- ¼ cup (60ml) olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ tsp dried chilli flakes
- 800g can whole tomatoes
- sea salt, to taste
- ½ bunch flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp basil, torn
- pecorino cheese, to serve
Directions
Place a large pot of salted water on to boil to cook the pasta. Give it a stir every couple of minutes. Cook pasta according to packet directions, until al dente. Start tasting it two minutes before your packet instructions says it's ready.
- Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large deep frying pan over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and a pinch of salt and cook for 3-4 minutes, until fragrant and just starting to colour. Move your pan around to help infuse the garlic in the oil.
- Once it’s starting to get colour, turn the heat down to low and you can break up the garlic in the pan or leave it chunky.
- Add the chilli flakes, cook for a further 1 minute.
- Crush the tomatoes with your hand in a medium bowl. Turn the heat back up to medium, then add the tomatoes to the pan. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Add a pinch of salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes until starting to thicken. If it starts to boil, turn the heat down. Stir every now and then.
- Check your pasta sauce for season and add a pinch of salt if needed.
- Drain the pasta, reserving ½ cup of the cooking water. Add pasta to the sauce and toss to combine, adding a little of the pasta water.
- Stir in the basil and most of the parsley.
- Serve pasta in a bowl, add extra parsley on top with some grated pecorino and a drizzle of olive oil.
Recipe notes
Different variations: There are a few variations of this dish but the most common is just with garlic, chilli, olive oil and tomatoes. This version adds fresh basil and pecorino to bring a little extra freshness and flavour. I also use a lot more garlic in my recipe, so you can tone it down.
Water: For this recipe, I added about 2L of water to a pot to cook the pasta.
Cooking al dente:Al dente means 'to the tooth' which refers to the pasta being tender but with a little resistance when you chew it. If your pasta is mushy or falls apart, you've overcooked it. How I make sure it doesn't over cook is that I start testing it 2 minutes before the packet instructions says to cook it.
Stir your pasta:Give your pasta a stir every now and then. This helps it to cook evenly and stops your pasta from sticking to each other.
Infusing your oil with garlic:When cooking your garlic in the oil, it’s ok to see a little bit of browning but you don’t want it to go brown all over as it will turn bitter. Move the pan around from time to time to help the garlic infuse in the oil.
Garlic: If you don’t like too much garlic, once it’s infused into the oil, you can take the garlic out. But I like garlic, so i break it up a little more once infused and leave it in there.
FAQs
Is it spicy?
It’s not too spicy as the chilli is infused with the oil and is mellowed when added to the tomato sauce.
Can I use fresh tomatoes instead of canned?
You can but I think a good quality canned tomato is the better option and will cut down your prep and cooking time.
What pasta is best for Arrabbiata sauce?
Penne is the classic pasta shape for Arrabbiata as the sauce clings inside the tubes. But spaghetti or rigatoni work well too.
How do I store leftovers?
Store leftover Arrabbiata Sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat gently and toss with fresh pasta.
