Puttanesca is a bold Neapolitan sauce built on tomatoes, olives, capers, garlic, and anchovies. It’s briny, punchy, and comes together in 20 minutes. The traditional version goes over pasta, but spaghetti squash makes an excellent slow carb substitute.
You can also use this sauce to braise pork chops in. Both versions deliver big flavor with minimal effort.
Quick Summary: Puttanesca is a bold tomato sauce with olives, capers, anchovies, and garlic. Serve over spaghetti squash for low carb, or use it to braise pork chops. The sauce keeps refrigerated for a week. Prep: 10 min | Cook: 30 min | Serves: 5
Jump to: RECIPE | History | Ingredients | Pasta Puttanesca Pugliese Spaghetti Squash vs Pasta | FAQ
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What is the Background of Italian Puttanesca?
Puttanesca is usually associated with Naples as its place of origin. The term itself translates roughly to “lady of the night.” (aka prostitute), and some say therefore that the dish originated in the brothels of the Spanish Quarters.
Others claim it was invented in the 1950s at a famous Ischia restaurant (Rancio Fellone) late at night to satisfy a group of customers who complained that they were hungry.
They told the co-owner (Sandro Petti) to just make something simple with whatever he had left over that night.
The co-owner had some tomatoes, olives and capers which ended up forming the base of a sauce that became quite popular in the restaurant.
From this story, puttanesca came to be referenced all over Italy as a pasta sauce that was easy to cook, without frills or complicated preparation.
What Ingredients Do You Need?
Puttanesca is considered a humble dish, made with common Italian pantry ingredients.
The sauce is typically made by combining anchovies, capers, olives, and optional ingredients like garlic, red pepper flakes, chile peppers, and tomatoes into a robustly flavored gravy or sauce.
Within the different regions of Italy, a Sicilian version of this sauce has green peppers and one from Palermo has anchovies, raisins and olives. The most famous Neopolitan version has anchovies and oregano.
The base however is most often the same, with bold, salty ingredients of olives, capers, tomatoes and garlic.
How to Make Puttanesca Sauce
The full instructions are in the recipe card below. In short: mince basil, garlic, and pepper flakes with salt. Caramelize onions, add the garlic mixture, then tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies, and vinegar. Simmer 15-20 minutes until thickened. Serve over roasted spaghetti squash, browned pork chops, or pasta
What is Pasta Puttanesca Pugliese?
For all things Italian my first inclination is to go to Lynne Rossetto Kasper’s recipes, so I went back to one of her earlier cookbooks that focused on Italy’s Farmhouse Kitchens, The Italian Country Table.
A recipe for a vibrant, spicy “streetwalkers pasta” (aka prostitutes’ pasta) sounded like a good starting place.
Kasper’s dish was called “Pasta Puttanesca Pugliese” and it sounded great but it was more of a fresh raw dish and I was looking for a warm cooked recipe. Her recipe was easy to modify however and it turned out wonderful.
How Can You Modify Pasta Puttanesca to be Slow Carb Friendly?
Now of course the typical pasta served with puttanesca is not slow carb and this rich sauce needs a bed or some sort of “noodle” to soak up all the goodness and give it some “chew”.
There are zucchini noodles and other alternatives available for slow carb substitutes, but I prefer spaghetti squash.
Using spaghetti squash as a bed of noodles allows a mild medium that won’t distract from the puttanesca sauce, but still has enough heft to add the desired texture. The slight squash flavor is a nice addition also.
Spaghetti squash also makes a great side dish for other low carb main dishes, like this pork ragu. Or try it using the squash shells as a bowl for this low carb lasagna or this low carb chicken enchilada.
I also made a non-slow-carb version using penne noodles, just to test the difference. It was good, but I actually preferred the spaghetti squash. Here is what it looked like with the penne pasta.
For a higher protein dinner I paired puttanesca with pork chops for this delicious slow carb dinner:
I see Mark Bittman also includes a version of puttanesca in his “How to Cook Everything“ book, but it does not include anchovies.
FAQ
Roughly “lady of the night” in Italian. The name’s origin is debated, but the sauce is a Neapolitan classic from the mid-20th century.
Yes, but you’ll lose the umami depth. Add extra olives or a splash of soy sauce to compensate. Many people who “don’t like anchovies” can’t taste them in the finished sauce.
Puttanesca is tomatoes with olives, capers, and anchovies (briny, bold). Peperonata is slow-cooked sweet peppers (sweet, mild). Different sauces entirely.
For saucy dishes like puttanesca, yes. The mild flavor doesn’t compete with the bold sauce, and the texture provides chew. Roast at 375°F for about an hour.
Yes. Brown the chops, add the sauce, cover, and simmer 10-15 minutes. The briny sauce pairs well with pork. Use thick, bone-in chops. Thin chops overcook quickly and become tough. Bone-in adds flavor and helps the meat stay moist.
Refrigerated, up to a week. The flavor improves after a day. Reheat gently.
Yes. No pasta, flour, or sugar. Serve with vegetables instead of bread for a complete low carb meal.
For recipes that make great use of these fruits and vegetables check out this Italian recipes category. For detailed and comprehensive information on starting your own Italian kitchen garden see this guide.
Low carb Italian Puttanesca
Equipment
- Dutch oven (Or large pot)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves tightly packed
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 28 ounces canned peeled, plum tomatoes I love Italian San Marzano canned tomoatoes
- 2 fresh tomatoes if available
- 2 teaspoon anchovy paste or two anchovy filets, chopped
- ½ cup olives pitted & coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 3 teaspoon red wine vinegar or a homemade tomato vinegar
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 spaghetti squash If not low carb, use 1 lb of pasta of your choice
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated (can use Romano cheese – Pecorino is my favorite)
Instructions
- With a sharp knife, mince together the basil, garlic, and hot pepper flakes with the coarse salt and set aside. (Alternatively, mash together with a mortar and pestle).1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- In a large skillet or dutch oven heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and lightly caramelized, about 6- 10 minutes. Add the garlic-herb mix and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the remaining 6 ingredients through the ground pepper and simmer until the sauce is thickened and slightly reduced (about 15 – 20 minutes). This can simmer while baking the spaghetti squash (or cooking the pasta).2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 medium onion, 28 ounces canned peeled, plum tomatoes, 2 fresh tomatoes, 2 teaspoon anchovy paste, 1/2 cup olives, 2 tablespoons capers, 3 teaspoon red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon tomato paste, 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Bake the spaghetti squash in the oven for about an hour at 375 F. Using a fork, remove the strands of squash.If using pasta instead of squash: Cook the pasta in rapidly boiling water, stirring often, until there is no raw flour taste (about 7-10 minutes for penne). Drain the pasta if using pasta.1 spaghetti squash
- Put the spaghetti squash strands (or the drained pasta) in a large pot and place over medium heat. Spoon most of the Puttanesca sauce into the pot and cook a few minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed.
- Taste for seasoning, and garnish with some chopped basil and grated parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese and serve. Place small bowls of extra sauce, and extra cheese to pass around for individual tastes.1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
Video
I’ve made pasta puttanesca a number of times. One recipe I’ve used has you “cook” the sauce in the hot summer sun. I don’t remember the details, but it’s a good and easy way to make it when local tomatoes, basil, etc., are at their best. Using smoked tomatoes sounds yummy!
I’m surely going to have to smoke some more tomatoes this year…it made a huge flavor difference. Seems puttanesca has a legend regarding prostitutes surrounding it!
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