One-Pot Spaghetti Puttanesca is full of big, bold flavors from the anchovies, Kalamata olives, and capers – the trifecta for a winning puttanesca.
One-Pot Spaghetti Puttanesca
This One-Pot Spaghetti Puttanesca is so delicious and what’s better than a meal made all in one pot for easy cleanup?! Garlic, red pepper, and oregano are also added to the sauce with the grape tomatoes and spaghetti for an easy and quick dinner. For more one-pot pasta recipes, try my One-Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce and Instant Pot Baked Ziti.
I’m very excited to share this dish with you because it’s bursting with flavor, but I know some of you may be thinking – anchovies, really?! Yes, you should definitely keep the anchovies in. They do not make the sauce taste fishy – just salty and more complex.
How to Reduce Sodium in Puttanesca
- Anchovies: To keep the sodium from going way over the top, I used a little less anchovy than most spaghetti puttanesca recipes call for but still got all of the umami I needed.
- Olives: If you want to decrease the sodium a little more, switch out the Kalamata olives for Castelvetrano olives.
- Capers: Be certain to choose ones packed in brine rather than in salt. If you do get the salt-packed capers, rinse them first before using.
What to Serve with Pasta Puttanesca
Pasta puttanesca is excellent with a salad like this Chopped Feta Salad or Baby Greens with Goat Cheese, Beets, and Candied Pecans and your favorite bread. You could also serve the spaghetti with Roasted Broccoli with Smashed Garlic or Asparagus with Dijon Vinaigrette.
How to Make Puttanesca
More Spaghetti Recipes You’ll Love:
- Spaghetti with Sauteed Chicken and Grape Tomatoes
- Spaghetti with Butternut Leek Parmesan Sauce
- Instant Pot Spaghetti and Turkey Meatballs
- Spaghetti Carbonara
- Spaghetti with Garlic Scape Pesto with Tomatoes
One-Pot Spaghetti Puttanesca
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons unsalted tomato paste
- 3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh chopped oregano
- 1 1/2 tablespoon capers, divided
- 2 cup unsalted chicken broth
- 8 ounces spaghetti
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
- 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/4 cup sliced Kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet (with high sides) over medium heat.
- Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and continue to cook for 1 more minute.
- Add anchovies, oregano, and 2 teaspoons capers and cook, stirring for 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth and 1 cup water; stir scraping any caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add spaghetti, tomatoes and red pepper, increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil; cook, stirring occasionally for 6 minutes.
- Add olives and remaining 2 teaspoons capers, cover pan and reduce heat to medium.
- Cook until pasta is al dente and tomatoes have softened, about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in parsley.
- Serve with more crushed red pepper if desired.
So easy and so yumm!
Winner, Winner, Putanesca Dinner! My picky husband liked it so much he decided he’s having the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. It is really good. The finish on it almost tastes like it has butter or maybe even a little cream. Definitely going into the rotation. Even my picky kid tried it. Thank you, Gina!
Awesome!
Does this recipe freeze well? I’m really excited to try this!
I used whole wheat pasta – and based on my WW Personal Points – it was 7 pts (I topped it with 1/4 cup parmesan cheese!). Completely satisfying. My partner loved it too. Thank you so much, Gina! You’re changing lives and keepings it tasty.
My favorite recipe. So easy, and always a hit.
Love this recipe! It is now a staple in our household. Easy and delicious, can’t get much better than that.
I followed the recipe carefully, with the exception of doubling everything and leaving off the anchovies. Everybody at my house loved it and went back for seconds. I will make this again.
Glad everyone enjoyed it!
Gina…or anyone have you made this using chickpea pasta, like Bana? Opinion?
This was so good and so easy! I left out the anchovies. And instead of oregano, I used fresh basil. Also added a squeeze of lemon juice at the end. Will definitely cook this over and over again!
I made this dish last night. It is excellent and very easy.
With the exception of adding a few more cherry tomatoes… Just because I had a few left over from something else in addition to the pint purchased for this dish…I followed the recipe exactly. Don’t be afraid of the anchovies! I am not a big “fish person“ so I was a smidgen nervous about it tasting “fishy. It absolutely DOES NOT!
Leftovers warmed up nicely for lunch today.
Oh, I also used whole wheat spaghetti. Gina does not specifically call for it in the recipe. But it worked out really well.
Highly recommend it!
Looks delicious! If cooked with whole wheat spaghetti, would it decrease the number of purple WW points?
Delicious and so easy to make! The anchovies gave it great flavor. Love that it is all made in one pot. Will definitely make it again.
This was so great! My husband said “you’d have to go to a high end Italian restaurant to eat this well!” I will be making this again, thank you!
This was absolutely delicious and I wish I doubled the recipe. I did add a bit more fresh oregano and red pepper flakes. My husband said this is the best pasta he has ever had. Can’t wait to make it again! Thank you Gina!
Yum! Made this dish per recipe; had dried oregano; made Better than Bouillon chicken broth. So good!
Made this for dinner tonight. It has all the ingredients love. I felt like it needed something more. Maybe next time I’ll add some garlic before serving. I also didn’t care for the starchy taste from the pasta being cooked in the sauce. But it looked great. I will likely make again with some modifications.
Absolutely delicious! My husband dislikes olives, but even for him, this was love at first bite. We were going to save half of it for lunch the next day, but we couldn’t resist having two servings each. I used dried oregano and skipped the parsley. I also used a bit less oil (just sprayed the pan).
Made this for the very first time tonight. I used Perciatelli instead of spaghetti because that’s what I have. Also my capers is in vinegar but I rinsed it before using. I was worried that it’ll be watery after adding those 3 cups of water but it was perfectly sauced. I didn’t have to add more salt because everything else i used was salted. But this recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you.
I made this last night and it was really disappointing, it was extremely watery and really lacked any flavor. Totally unlike your regular AMAZING recipes.
Added ground chicken and seasoned with the spices from the turkey sausage recipe and left in pan while following the rest of the directions to the recipe and it was delicious and satisfying. I did use anchovy paste instead of anchovy filets.
I made this last night and will definitely make it again soon. I made 1 serving instead of 4 and reduced the ingredients accordingly but I found I needed a little more liquid to fully cook the pasta. The flavors paired very nicely with each other and were more subtle than I thought it would be, which is a good thing since I wasn’t too sure about the anchovies and capers at first – lol. I am watching my sodium but instead of limiting ingredients I paired it with a side salad and homemade dressing with minimum sodium. It made for a nice healthy meal.
Absolutely wonderful Gina I used the anchovy paste and it worked great. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Can this recipe be doubled? Just wondering if the amount of liquid would change.
I haven’t tried, but I would be concerned that it might not all fit.
You could probably just use a bigger pot and double everything but the 1 cup water.
Absolutely delicious and a beautifully plated dinner. Thank you!!!
P.S. we used TJ’s Organic Yellow Lentil & Brown Rice Spaghetti Pasta and it worked perfectly in our opinion.
My husband and I loved this dish. It was delicious and light enough for dinner.
Thank you!
I have a new favorite skinnytaste pasta recipe. This is so delicious and decadent, it’s hard to believe it’s healthy and it was easy too. I sprinkled a little Parmesan on top and ate like a queen!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I trried this with brown rice spaghetti and it didn’t work. Nice flavor next time I’ll make the pasta on the side or use regular pasta. Wonderful flavor though will try again.
You need the starches to create the one pot sauce effect.
So, so good. Delicious, savory, filling. This really comes together quickly. I was not sure what to expect with the sliced hole tomatoes and anchovies. I will make this again. I followed the receipt exactly except I had to use fettuccini because I didn’t have 8 oz of spaghetti. I topped with pecorino Romano in addition to parsley.
This would be wonderful with some shrimp. Hubs, who thinks all dinners should have some meat, admitted this was really good.
Served with fresh green salad
We will make again.
Excellent, quick and point friendly if your on WW
I never tried spaghetti puttanesca before, and I tried the recipe tonight. It was delicious!
EXCEPTIONALLY TASTY. The only thing I did differently was to use whole wheat linguini. Everything else was spot-on. This was light, & perfect for the way we like to eat. The flavor of this dish was not compromised (in any way) by making the recipe ‘lighter’ & healthier. Thanks 🍽
What sub would you use for anchovies (to completely move away from it). Maybe hot Italian turkey sausage?
Erin,
The best substitute for anchovies/anchovy paste probably would be Worcestershire sauce. However, the anchovies will give you the most authentic flavor for this dish. Anchovies will not make it “fishy”, if that’s what you are concerned about.
Erin, I made this with the anchovies (I was skeptical) . Don’t omit them, This is so good,
I was always scared of using anchovies too, but don’t be! They don’t add a fishy taste at all-they kind of melt away and just leave a saltiness. If you don’t want to use fillets, you can use anchovy paste.
Anchovies make the dish. I really don’t think it’s replaceable. Although way way back when i didn’t know what anchovies were(except that they’re fish) i used tuna. I didn’t get that very imani taste but it was edible.
Would anchovie paste be ok? I can get away with that, in case my kids see my making something with anchovies, and because I use so little at a time, it works out better to keep a tube of the paste in the fridge.
Any experience with making this in the IP?
Yes totally! And I have not but it would not take very long.
Thanks! Going to give it a whirl using 5 min manual and report back!
Can I sub canned tomatoes? Not a good time to find luscious fresh ones.
how to pronounce this
poo-tan-esk -a
Can I use anchovy paste place of the filets? I have some from another recipe.
Sure
Step 5 says add tomatoes but then in step 6 it says add the tomatoes. I’m assuming it’s step 6 where tomatoes go in?
I noticed that too, but the recipe has since been updated to remove tomatoes from Step 6.
I can’t wait to try this and I love anchovies! Question though, do you add tomatoes before or after boiling. Adding tomatoes is listed twice. Thanks Gina! And I just got my “One and Done” cookbook this week. So love your recipes!
Ah yes, you can do it both ways. First give you more cooked tomatoes.
Could you sub the anchovy filets for paste? If so, what would be the measurement?
1 anchovy fillet = 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste
This sounds delicious. Can I use anchovy paste instead of the fillets? (I have from you drunken shrimp recipe – which is divine). Thanks!
Yes! 1 anchovy fillet = 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste