Penne Arrabiata Pasta Recipe
Add Preferred SourceSometimes you just need comfort food, something that will fill you up, taste delicious, and won’t take forever to make. That’s where tucking into a bowl of satisfying spicy penne arrabiata comes in.
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Full of rich tomato flavor, with garlic, fresh basil, and the all-important red pepper flakes, this is a ‘go-to‘ quick meal in our household.
Why you’ll love arrabiata pasta
- It’s a perfect quick midweek dinner.
- It’s a flexible dish and you can easily add your favorite veggies to it.
- Kids love this dish making it an easy family dinner.
- It’s 100% vegetarian and can easily be made vegan.
What ingredients do I need?
You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.
How to make penne arrabiata with step-by-step instructions
Making our penne arrabiata is so easy if you follow our instructions.
A full printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.
Over medium heat, add your extra virgin olive oil to a large pot then add red pepper flakes (use finely chopped chili pepper if preferred) and minced fresh garlic and cook for 1 minute, constantly stirring to prevent them from burning.
Then add San Marzano tomatoes and stir to combine.
Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season with kosher salt and pepper to taste.
While the arrabiata sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add your penne pasta.
Cook the penne pasta according to the packet instructions, ensuring that the penne is al dente.
Drain the pasta, reserve some pasta water, and add it to the cooked arrabiata sauce.
Stir so that the penne is evenly coated with the spicy tomato sauce, if needed, add a little of the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce.
Serve immediately and garnish with vegetarian parmesan cheese and fresh basil or finely chopped fresh parsley.
Equipment
- Large pot
- Pan
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 14 ounces canned tomatoes
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 8 ounces Penne pasta
- Vegetarian parmesan cheese finely grated – optional
- Fresh basil leaves optional
Instructions
- Over medium heat, add your olive oil to a large pot then add red pepper flakes and minced fresh garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent them from burning. Then add San Marzano tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and black pepper to taste2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, 2 cloves of garlic, 14 ounces canned tomatoes, Salt and black pepper
- While the arrabiata sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add your penne pasta. Cook the penne pasta according to the packet instructions, ensuring that the penne is al dente. Drain the cooked penne, retaining a little of the pasta water, and add it to the cooked arrabiata sauce. Stir so that the penne is evenly coated with the spicy tomato sauce use a little of the reserved pasta water if you prefer a thinner sauce8 ounces Penne pasta
- Serve immediately and garnish with vegetarian parmesan cheese and fresh basilVegetarian parmesan cheese, Fresh basil leaves
Notes
- Out of fresh basil?
Use chopped parsley instead, the flavors will be different but it’s a good substitute - Don’t have any red pepper flakes?
If you’ve got some dried chili peppers then just chop these, it’s the same thing - Need to thicken your tomato sauce?
Add some tomato paste to it, this will help thicken the spicy sauce - Check your cheese
If you are going to garnish your penne arrabiata with parmesan cheese, make sure you check the ingredients, as not all parmesan cheese is vegetarian - Make it vegan
Use vegan cheese, that’s all you need to do to turn this classic dish vegan
Nutrition
Can I use store bought arrabiata sauce?
The arrabiata sauce is a crucial ingredient to this delicious penne pasta dish, so we don’t recommend buying it.
The flavor from homemade arrabiata sauce is so much better than those you buy in jars.
You can always make a big batch of this tasty tomato sauce and freeze it so you have it to hand anytime you need it.
Arrabiata means angry, it’s the red pepper flakes that makes the sauce angry. How angry you want your penne arrabiata is totally up to you, you can have an absolutely livid dish if you are a real spicy fan!
Should I use whole or diced tomatoes?
If you’re using San Marzano tomatoes, which are sweet, peeled tomatoes that are grown in Italy, then you’ll find that they are mainly found as canned plum tomatoes or whole tomatoes.
If you can’t get hold of San Marzano tomatoes then buy the best brand you can afford and it’s your choice, you can use either whole or diced tomatoes (chopped tomatoes or crushed tomatoes).
What can you add to penne arrabiata?
Penne arrabiata is a perfect spicy tomato sauce base and you can add virtually anything that you like to it.
Popular additions include vegetarian sausage, courgettes or zucchini, aubergines or eggplant,
How do I store it?
You can store our penne arrabiata in an airtight container in the fridge, for up to 3 days
Recipe notes and tips
- Out of fresh basil?
Use chopped parsley instead, the flavors will be different but it’s a good substitute. - Don’t have any red pepper flakes?
If you’ve got some dried chili peppers then just chop these, it’s the same thing! - Need to thicken your tomato sauce?
Add some tomato paste to it, this will help thicken the spicy sauce. - Check your cheese
If you are going to garnish your penne arrabiata with parmesan cheese, make sure you check the ingredients, as not all parmesan cheese is vegetarian. - Make it vegan
Use vegan cheese, that’s all you need to do to turn this classic dish vegan.
More Italian recipes for you to try
If you love Italian food, then you may like these easy Italian recipes.
- Penne alla vodka – this recipe is out of this world
- Cacio e pepe – a creamy Italian classic
- Pesto pasta – a delicious taste of Italy with this easy recipe
- Margherita pizza – a foolproof delicious recipe
- Caprese pizza – this tastes as good as it looks!
- White pizza – give this delcious
pizza a try!
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My kind of pasta!!! This went down a treat, and was well received by the kids which is always a bonus