This homemade spicy arrabiatta sauce is a spicy twist on a classic tomato sauce. With pantry staples, this homemade spicy tomato sauce comes together in under 20 minutes. You may never buy jarred sauce again! The best part - mop up this tingling sauce with homemade focaccia or skillet garlic dinner rolls until your plate is clean.
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Why This Recipe Works
It is made with pantry staples: This sauce does not require any fancy ingredients, or even a trip to a store. You likely have everything you need to put together this delicious sauce. Another great option to use up what you have on hand is my Tomato Basil Pasta, that can be super simple, or slightly elevated, too!
It is full of flavour: With minimal ingredients, this sauce is truly full of flavour. I generally do not enjoy plain tomato sauce on pasta, but this? AMAZING.
This sauce is a great base sauce: Once you nail this simple arrabiatta sauce, you can use this as a base for so many other pasta dishes! Looking to make use this for a lower carb dinner? This arrabiatta sauce is perfect on air fryer spaghetti squash, or giant cheesy stuffed shells, too!
Ingredients
- San Marzano tomatoes: San Marzano tomatoes are a variety of plum tomatoes. They are longer in shape, and have less seeds than regular plum tomatoes. These tomatoes are less acidic, and have a rich flavour. They make the perfect base for most tomato sauces - especially this one.
- Extra virgin olive oil: You will want to use a good quality olive oil for this recipe. You may notice that this recipe calls for a good amount of oil to fry the garlic and chilli flakes. It also marries into the tomatoes, so the flavour will shine through!
- Fresh garlic
- Red chilli flakes
A full list of ingredients with measurements is located on the recipe card, below.
Instructions
START WITH...
Collecting all your ingredients - This will make cooking so much easier. Gather all the spices you will need, and keep them nearby.
Boiling the water - Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water has come to a boil, salt liberally.
Boil the spaghetti in the boiling, salted water. Boil until al dente, as per package instructions. This should take 8-10 minutes.
Heat up a large skillet on medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and garlic, and saute until the garlic is lightly fragrant for 1-2 minutes. Mix in the chilli flakes, and saute for another 1 minute.
Add the canned tomatoes to the skillet and turn the heat to low. Using your spoon, break down the tomatoes so the sauce is mildly chunky, but with no excessively large chunks of tomatoes.
Let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes until the excess water has evaporated and the sauce is thick. Add the spaghetti, and toss so the pasta is coated. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.
Expert Tip
Monitor the heat of your pan to make sure it is not too high. If your pan is too hot, the garlic and chilli flakes will burn and will make the sauce bitter.
Substitutions
- San marzano tomatoes: If you cannot find san marzano tomatoes or do not have them on hand, you can use regular canned plum tomatoes. Alternatively, you can use tomato passata, but the sauce will be completely smooth and may be a little more acidic.
- Red chilli flakes: You can use Calabrian chilli paste in place of red chilli flakes for a different type of heat.
Variations
- Shrimp: Add some cooked shrimp for a shrimp fra diavolo twist to the pasta.
- Amatriciana: Add some bacon or pancetta to the olive oil and garlic to make this into an amatriciana sauce.
Equipment
This is what I used to make this recipe - Please be mindful that different equipment and cooking utensils may yield varying results. Most of my favourite equipment can be found on my storefront.
- Large pot
- Large skillet
Storage
Store leftover pasta in an airtight container for 3-4 days. You can also double the sauce recipe and store leftover sauce in an airtight jar for up to one week.
Reheat leftover pasta in the microwave or in a skillet on the stove.
Recipe FAQs
The base for arrabiatta sauce is marinara sauce. The key difference is the level of spice, specifically red chilli flakes, that is added to an arrabiatta sauce.
Arrabiatta translates to 'angry' in Italian. This is used to describe the spicy nature of this sauce.
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Homemade Spicy Arrabiatta Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 oz Spaghetti
- 14 oz San Marzano tomatoes
- ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves Garlic thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoon Red chilli flakes
- Salt to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- Boil the water - Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once the water has come to a boil, salt liberally.
- Boil the pasta: Boil the spaghetti in the boiling, salted water. Boil until al dente, as per package instructions. This should take 8-10 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup of pasta water before draining.4 oz Spaghetti
- Saute garlic and chilli: Heat up a large skillet on medium-low heat. Add the olive oil and garlic, and saute until the garlic is lightly fragrant for 1-2 minutes. Add the chilli flakes, and saute for another 1 minute.¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil, 3 cloves Garlic, 2 teaspoon Red chilli flakes
- Finish the sauce: Add the canned tomatoes to the skillet and turn the heat to low. Using your spoon, break down the tomatoes so the sauce is mildly chunky, but with no excessively large chunks of tomatoes.14 oz San Marzano tomatoes
- Toss the pasta: Let the sauce simmer for 10-15 minutes until the excess water has evaporated and the sauce is thick. Season with salt to taste. Add the spaghetti, and toss so the pasta is coated. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.Salt to taste
Notes
- Monitor the heat of your pan to make sure it is not too high. If your pan is too hot, the garlic and chilli flakes will burn and will make the sauce bitter.
Karla
This sauce was so easy to make. I loved the spice - if I were to make this for the family I would cut it down a little bit because it does have a good kick to it. For myself it was perfect.