This easy penne arrabbiata is a very quick Italian pasta recipe that is vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, sugar-free, and could be made with your favorite gluten-free pasta brand. Made with a simple red sauce and crushed red pepper flakes, this classic Italian dish is sure to please even the pickiest eaters.
I’m sort of wondering why this wasn’t one of the first pasta recipes I shared here with all of you. Along with my easy lemon ricotta pasta and spaghetti aglio e olio, penne arrabiata was another classic easy pasta recipe I’ve been making on constant rotation for years!
A complex tomato sauce that is cooked in fruity extra-virgin olive oil, a bit of fresh garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. So simple to put together, yet so flavorful!
The delicious sauce cooks in minutes and then is tossed together with the pasta, and a sprinkle of Italian parsley.
I guarantee you will add this pasta to your repertoire! So simple to make and truly satisfying, you'll have to serve it with our easy Ligurian focaccia bread with rosemary or some crusty no-knead Italian bread.
Jump To
- Why we love this spicy pasta recipe:
- What is arrabbiata sauce?
- Is it arrabiata or arrabbiata?
- What does Penne Arrabbiata mean?
- What ingredients are in easy pasta arrabbiata?
- How to make penne all' arrabbiata?
- Tips for the best pasta arrabbiata
- What to serve with Arrabbiata Sauce
- How to cook pasta:
- How to store leftovers?
- Can I freeze arrabbiata sauce
- some other pasta recipes to enjoy:
- Easy Penne Arrabbiata
Why we love this spicy pasta recipe:
- Made with simple pantry ingredients: Take a look in your pantry and I bet you have what is needed to make this pasta right this moment!
- Dairy free + vegan: Since this pasta is naturally vegan and totally dairy-free, you could make this for family/friends that follow those diets.
- Ready in a flash: The sauce cooks up so quickly and when it's almost, done, you make the pasta and combine it together.
- Gluten-free: Make it gluten-free, if you like! Use your favorite GF spaghetti or any other GF long pasta.
What is arrabbiata sauce?
Before we get to the recipe, you may be asking — exactly what is arrabbiata sauce? It’s a spicy tomato marinara sauce that originates from Rome, Italy. In Italian, arrabbiata translates to mean “angry” sauce, thanks to all of those spicy chile peppers. And as mentioned above, this sauce can be used in any number of dishes.
Traditional sugo all’arrabbiata is made with just olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and dried (or fresh) red chile peppers. But modern versions are often amped up with some extra basil and onion. And since many American grocery stores don’t sell whole dried (or fresh) red chili peppers, I’ve written this recipe using crushed red chili flakes instead.
The similarity in the two sauces is that they both use tomatoes as a base. Marinara is a mild sauce and arrabiata is a spicy sauce, as red pepper flakes are used in the sauce.
Yes, it is such a simple sauce to make. But it's really nice to cook up ahead of time. Make it 2-3 days before and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Cook the pasta and heat the sauce in a skillet when ready to enjoy.
Yes, just use your favorite gluten-free pasta brand.
Is it arrabiata or arrabbiata?
The correct name in Italian for this spicy sauce is "sugo all’arrabbiata" and it is spelled with two "b's".
Somehow in the States, a "b" got dropped from the name and it has remained spelled "arrabiata".
What does Penne Arrabbiata mean?
In Italy, it’s written grammatically correct like this: “penne all’arrabbiata”. Penne arrabiata literally means, angry penne. Arrabbiata means angry (or mad). The penne are angry because they’re spicy!
What ingredients are in easy pasta arrabbiata?
This is what you will need to make this classic Italian pasta dish (full printable recipe is below):
- Pasta: I used penne, but you could use any short pasta, like rigatoni, farfalle, mezze-penne. You could even use it with a long pasta, like spaghetti, or bucatini.
- Olive oil: As I typically mention for most recipes, use a very good quality extra-virgin olive oil. Even if you invest in a smaller sized bottle, you will notice the flavor difference.
- Crushed red pepper flakes: Not easy to find fresh peperoncini (red hot chili peppers) at a produce market (depending if you're in the States, you could use another type of red hot pepper). For this recipe, we used crushed red pepper flakes (not ground cayenne pepper).
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is best (I do not recommend garlic powder). If you find bottled minced garlic, you could use that.
- Canned whole tomatoes: Like the olive oil, it's important to use a very good quality brand. San Marzano DOP authentic whole peeled tomatoes would make the best flavored sauce. Any good-quality brand will make a very nice flavored sauce.
- Fresh Italian parsley : Use fresh parsley (or fresh basil). I do not recommend dried parsley. Add some more chopped fresh parsley on top when you serve the pasta (if you like).
- Salt: I used sea salt for the arrabbiata sauce. To cook the pasta, I use coarse sea salt.
How to make penne all' arrabbiata?
Here is how to make the arrabbiata sauce:
- Gather all ingredients: First step is to gather all the ingredients. This sauce is quick to put together.
- Sauté the crushed red pepper flakes: Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or deep sauté pan. Add in the crushed red pepper flakes and sauté for about 1-2 minutes. Keep an eye on it, because if the pan is too hot, they will brown quickly.
- Add the garlic: Add in the garlic and sauté until for a minute (it gets color quickly, so don't let it brown).
- Add tomatoes: Next, add in the tomatoes (also the juices). I break them up and remove the hard stem before I add them to the pan. Use your wooden spoon to break them up and stir.
- Simmer the sauce: Once the sauce comes to a nice simmer, lower the heat to medium-low. Keep it simmering for about 25-30 minutes. Continue heating the sauce until it comes to a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium (or medium-low) to maintain a low simmer, and let the sauce cook for about 30 minutes, or until it the sauce is as thick (or thin) as you would like to to be.
- Boil pasta water: When you have about 15 minutes left of simmering, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt to the water when it comes to a rolling boil.
- Cook pasta: Add in the pasta, and cook until it's 1-2 minutes before al dente (be sure to check cooking time on pasta box).
- Stir in the parsley + salt : Then taste the sauce, and season with any extra salt, and some more crushed red pepper flakes, as you like, to your taste.
- Drain pasta: Drain the pasta in a colander and be sure to reserve a bit of the pasta water. Immediately transfer the pasta to the pan with the sauce. Raise the heat a little and combine, stirring with the sauce. If it's too thick, add a bit of the reserved starchy pasta water to thin it out.
- Plate up the pasta: Serve the pasta and add some more chopped fresh parsley, if you like.
If the sauce gets a little too thick for your liking (especially once you have mixed it in with the pasta), feel free to add in 1/4 cup of the starchy pasta water to thin it out a bit. Or if the sauce is too thin for you, just keep simmering it until more of the juices have evaporated and the sauce has thickened.
Tips for the best pasta arrabbiata
- Prep all the ingredients: Get your sauce ingredients together before starting to cook. This is a very quick sauce to make. If you're chopping your own garlic, get that ready and cut up the fresh basil.
- Generously salted pasta water: Don't forget to add plenty of salt to the pasta water. IF you forget the salt, the pasta will end up being very bland.
- Keep an eye on the garlic: As soon as it turns a light golden brown, remove the pan from the heat and wait for the pasta to be ready to add.
- Adjust the heat: If you're making this for kids, leave out the hot pepper flakes. If you like it very spicy, add more pepper flakes to your taste.
What to serve with Arrabbiata Sauce
Arrabbiata sauce is usually served with penne pasta. Since it is such a versatile sauce, it could be enjoyed in different ways.
- Pasta: If you have other pasta shapes in the pantry on hand, go ahead and use one of them. It goes great with long pasta shapes, like spaghetti or bucatini. It's even delicious with gnocchi or ravioli.
- Polenta: Serve the sauce with our slow roasted Italian pork with polenta. If you don't want to make the pork, just cook up the polenta alone. The sauce and the polenta are a great combination.
- Eggs: Arrabbiata sauce is could be used in our eggs in purgatory. If you're making for kids and adults, I would do one portion not spicy (for the kids)and one spicy (for the adults).
How to cook pasta:
- Use a big pot: Very important to cook the pasta in a large enough pot with enough water. The pasta will expand as it cooks. For every 3.5 ounces of pasta, you'll need 4 cups of water. Stir the pasta as soon as you add it to the boiling water. If you don't, it will stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Generously salt the water: As soon as the water starts to boil, add in 1.5 tablespoons of salt. If you use less than that, the pasta will be very bland.
- Keep stirring: Stay close to the boiling pasta and stir it frequently. The water could boil over if you walk away and don't stir it. It has to stay at a rolling boil. Do not simmer the pasta, as it won't cook up.
- Reserve pasta water: Before you drain the pasta, keep some of the starchy pasta water. Do not rinse the pasta in cold water. The pasta gets added immediately to the pan with the arrabbiata sauce. If needed, you could thin out the sauce with a little bit of the starchy reserved pasta water.
How to store leftovers?
If you have any leftovers, let it cool down to room temperature and then store in airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Can I freeze arrabbiata sauce
Yes, you can freeze the sauce. Let the arrabbiata sauce cool down completely, and then store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge. When you're ready to enjoy the sauce, heat it with some cooked up pasta.
some other pasta recipes to enjoy:
Did you make this? Please RATE THE RECIPE below:)
Please Subscribe and give a follow on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TikTok xx
Easy Penne Arrabbiata
Ingredients
- 1 pound penne pasta or rigatoni
- 3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 28- ounce whole peeled San Marzano DOC tomatoes or jar of tomato passata
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 small bunch fresh Italian parsley chopped (leaves only)
Instructions
- Heat oil: In a large sauté pan or medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high until it's shimmering.
- Add garlic and pepper flakes: Add garlic and the crushed red pepper flakes and sauté cook until the garlic is fragrant (no more than a minute, or it will brown).
- Add tomatoes: Next, add in the tomatoes (also the juices). I break them up and remove the hard stem before I add them to the pan. Use your wooden spoon to break them up and stir.
- Simmer the sauce: Once the sauce comes to a nice simmer, lower the heat to medium-low. Keep it simmering for about 25-30 minutes. Continue heating the sauce until it comes to a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium (or medium-low) to maintain a low simmer, and let the sauce cook for about 30 minutes, or until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Boil pasta water: When you have about 15 minutes left of simmering, bring a large pot of water to boil. Add salt when it comes to a rolling boil.
- Cook pasta: Add in the pasta, and cook until it's 1-2 minutes before al dente.
- Stir in the parsley + salt : Then taste the sauce, and season with any extra salt, pepper and/or crushed red pepper flakes as needed.
- Drain pasta: Drain the pasta in a colander and be sure to reserve a bit of the pasta water. Immediately transfer the pasta to the pan with the sauce. Raise the heat a little and combine, stirring with the sauce. If it's too thick, add a bit of the reserved starchy pasta water to thin it out.
- Plate up the pasta: Serve the pasta and add some more chopped fresh parsley, if you like. Enjoy!
Nutrition Disclaimer
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information presented below is an approximation and may vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
Notes
- Pasta: Use your favorite gluten-free pasta brand to make this gluten-free.
- Sauce: I recommend San Marzano DOP. Or if you can find a nice passata, use that.
- Make ahead: Make the sauce a day or two in advance and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Make pasta and combine with heated sauce when ready to enjoy.
- Freeze sauce: You could freeze the sauce for up to 2 months in an airtight container. Thaw out the sauce overnight in the refrigerator. When ready to enjoy the next day, heat sauce in a saucepan over medium heat.
Jenny says
Spicy tomato sauce is my favorite sauce. I love to make this with spaghetti. It's so easy. I add even extra spice!!