Turn up the heat on pasta night with this spicy spaghetti arrabbiata! Red pepper flakes and loads of garlic transform a fresh homemade marinara sauce into a robust and "angry" tomato sauce that is bursting with flavor. Ready in under 30 minutes!
Say hello to my newest obsession! I've always loved spicy arrabbiata sauce and never thought making it at home could be so easy. But after speaking with the chef of an authentic Italian restaurant after enjoying my sugo all'arrabbiata dish, I was determined to recreate it immediately.
The word "arrabbiata" translates to "angry," as it gets its bold flavor and kick from red chili peppers and garlic. It's essentially made with just tomatoes, plenty of garlic, shallots and herbs and seasonings - simple enough for anyone to pull together with ingredients you likely have on hand already!
The sweet, juicy tomatoes get cooked down and the sauce is then blended or pulsed until it reaches your desired consistency. I'm telling you - the result not only blows jarred tomato sauce out of the water, but it's even better than restaurant quality.
Why You'll Love this Arrabbiata Sauce
- Fresh, bold flavor
- Make as spicy as you wish
- Ready in under 30 minutes
- Easy recipe with simple ingredients
- Works with all types of pasta
- Perfect for meal prep
- Naturally vegan and gluten-free
Ingredients
This recipe is similar to homemade marinara sauce, just with a lot more kick. See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.
- Spaghetti: I typically use spaghetti made from quinoa, brown rice or chickpeas to keep it gluten-free, but any type of spaghetti works perfectly. In fact, this spicy tomato sauce works well with any type of pasta such as penne or fusili.
- Cherry tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes make for the base of the sauce and therefore you want to use ones that are good quality. I highly recommend Sunset Grown's Flavor Bomb tomatoes (not sponsored) or San Marzano tomatoes.
- Tomato paste: This has concentrated flavor to enhance it.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh garlic: Be prepared to peel and smash the entire head!
- Shallot
- Red pepper flakes: It's not often that red pepper flakes are such a key ingredient, but they are essential for the spicy flavor here!
- Salt
- Maple syrup
How to Make Spaghetti Arrabbiata
1. Prepare the pasta. Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions.
2. Sauté the shallot and garlic. While the pasta cooks, add olive oil, diced shallots, smashed garlic cloves, salt and red pepper chili flakes to a large pan and sauté for 5-10 minutes over low to medium heat. Make sure you keep the heat low enough so that the shallot and garlic do not burn. It is important to cook the garlic long enough so it mellows out.
3. Burst the tomatoes. Add the whole tomatoes and sauté until they burst (another 5-10 minutes). Then add the tomato paste and maple syrup. Use a potato masher to break up the tomatoes.
4. Blend. Transfer everything from the sauté pan to a blender and blend until no tomato seeds are visible. You can choose to pulse a few times to keep it chunky or purée it into a smooth pasta sauce.
5. Serve. Pour the sauce overtop the pasta and garnish with fresh basil, vegan parmesan cheese and/or a drizzle of vegan heavy cream, if desired. Feel free to pair it with garlic bread for some true comfort food!
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator (once it cools) for up to 5 days.
Recipe Tips
Control the spice level. The beauty of making this spicy sauce at home is that you have full control over how much heat it has. Add more red pepper chili flakes and garlic to turn up the heat further, or use less of each to scale it back.
Simmer on low heat to thicken the sauce. After blending, you can thicken the sauce and intensify the flavor even further by putting it back on the stove in a nonstick saucepan and simmering on low heat for an hour (or longer). As it cooks down the sauce will concentrate in flavor and thicken up as the water from the tomatoes evaporates. This is by no means necessary but packs more flavor if you have extra time.
Serving Suggestions
This homemade spaghetti arrabbiata is a complete and satisfying meal all on its own, but that's not the only way to serve it!
- Add to fresh vegetables such as broccoli or zucchini noodles.
- Swap out the pasta for spaghetti squash!
- Mix in some vegan heavy cream for an arrabbiata vodka-like sauce (without the vodka).
More Delicious Pasta Recipes with Tomatoes
These are some of my favorite pasta dishes to make during tomato season:
I hope you love this spaghetti arrabbiata recipe as much as I do! It's great for elevating your usual spaghetti sauce to the next level by giving it a little kick. If you make it, please comment below or tag photos @eatingbyelaine as I always welcome your feedback!
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Spicy Homemade Spaghetti Arrabbiata
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Total Time: 25 minutes -
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Yield: 4 -
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Diet: Vegan
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Turn up the heat on pasta night with this spicy spaghetti arrabbiata! Red pepper flakes and loads of garlic transform a fresh marinara sauce into a robust and "angry" tomato sauce that is bursting with flavor. Ready in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- 8 ounces gluten-free spaghetti pasta
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot, peeled and diced
- 1 head garlic, peeled and smashed (10 large cloves)
- 1 teaspoon red pepper chili flakes
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine salt
- 24 ounces cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup
- Optional: fresh basil, vegan parmesan cheese and/or vegan heavy cream
Instructions
- Prepare the pasta. Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions.
- Sauté the shallot and garlic. While the pasta cooks, add olive oil, diced shallots, smashed garlic cloves, salt and seasonings to a large pan and sauté for 5-10 minutes over low to medium heat. Make sure you keep the heat low enough so that the shallot and garlic do not burn. It is important to cook the garlic long enough so it mellows out.
- Burst the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes and sauté until they burst (another 5-10 minutes). Then add the tomato paste and maple syrup.
- Blend. Transfer everything from the sauté pan to a blender and blend until no tomato seeds are visible. You can choose to pulse a few times to keep it chunky or purée into a smooth sauce.
- Serve. Pour the sauce overtop the pasta and garnish with fresh basil, vegan parmesan cheese and/or a drizzle of vegan heavy cream, if desired.
Notes
Control the spice. The beauty of homemade arrabbiata is that you have full control over the spiciness. Add more red pepper chili flakes and garlic to turn up the heat further, or use less of each to scale it back.
Simmer on low heat to thicken the sauce. After blending, you can thicken the sauce and intensify the flavor even further by putting it back on the stove in a nonstick pan and simmering on low heat for an hour (or longer). As it cooks down the sauce will concentrate in flavor and thicken up as the water from the tomatoes evaporates. This is by no means necessary but packs more flavor if you have extra time. This recipe makes 2-3 cups of sauce depending on how long you cook it.
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Prep Time: 5![]()
Cook Time: 20![]()
Category: Pasta![]()
Method: Stovetop![]()
Cuisine: Italian
Category:
Method:
Cuisine:The post Spicy Homemade Spaghetti Arrabbiata appeared first on Eating by Elaine.