Spaghetti arrabbiata is a super easy vegetarian pasta recipe that will become a weeknight dinner staple! Al dente pasta is coated in a spicy homemade tomato sauce that’s just begging for a salad and some garlic bread to come alongside.
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With just 10 ingredients, this recipe is ready in about 30 minutes, making it another quick dinner recipe I know you’ll love! I’m pretty accustomed to spicy food so I didn’t think this was very spicy, but my family had other opinions.
Even if you don’t love spicy food, I urge you to give this spaghetti a try. It’s easy to adjust the spice level in this dish, so start small and you can always add more as you go!
What is arrabbiata sauce?
Arrabbiata (sometimes spelled arrabiata) is a spicy pasta sauce made from olive oil, tomatoes, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. It originated in Rome, Italy. Arrabbiata means “angry”, which represents the spiciness of the dish.
This is an American version, inspired by Italian arrabbiata sauce. If you’re interested in learning more about the authentic version, you may want to try this authentic arrabbiata.
Arrabbiata sauce ingredients
- Spaghetti
- Olive oil
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Crushed red pepper flakes
- Crushed tomatoes
- Sugar
- Salt & pepper
- Basil
How to make spaghetti arrabbiata sauce from scratch
- Cook the pasta according to package directions, reserving ½ cup pasta water.
- Heat olive oil in a large sauté or sauce pan over medium heat.
- Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Bbring to a bubble, then reduce the heat and simmer 15-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from the heat and add basil. Stir in a bit of pasta water if it has become too thick.
- Toss pasta and sauce together and serve.
Top tips
Do I need to add sugar?
The sugar is technically optional in this recipe, but it helps balance out the acidity in the tomatoes and gives it more of a restaurant quality taste. If you prefer not to cook with sugar you can leave it out.
Choosing canned tomatoes
The quality of your canned tomatoes will make or break your sauce. I suggest choosing the best quality possible. If San Marzano tomatoes are available, I recommend always choosing those.
I usually purchase (affiliate link) Alessi brand tomatoes, but also love Muir Glen. There are lots of other authentic, high quality brands out there.
Can I freeze arrabbiata pasta?
Yes, you can cook the sauce completely, allow it to cool, then transfer to an airtight, freezer safe container to store in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, allow it to thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in a saucepan over medium heat.
I recommend only freezing the sauce and cooking the pasta fresh right before serving.
Tips for customizing spaghetti arrabbiata
- Use whatever pasta shape you have on hand such as penne or rigatoni
- Substitute the crushed tomatoes from diced tomatoes
- Adjust the heat in this dish by adding more or less crushed red pepper flakes
- Serve with a salad or top with grilled veggies for extra nutrients
- Add plant based meatballs or my eggplant meatballs for extra protein
More pasta recipes
- Tomato and Feta Pasta
- Easy Fettuccine Alfredo
- Pesto Linguine with Crispy Balsamic Chickpeas
- Spaghetti Aglio Olio
- Roasted Garlic and Tomato Penne
- Olive Oil Alfredo Sauce
Spaghetti Arrabbiata
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic, about 4-5 cloves
- 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- Coarse kosher salt to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves, torn
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan or medium saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and sugar and stir to combine. Bring to a bubble, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 15-30 minutes.
- While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook and drain pasta according to package direction, reserving ½ cup pasta water before draining.
- Remove the sauce from the heat, season with salt and pepper to taste, and add the basil. Toss the sauce with the spaghetti and serve topped with additional red pepper flakes, basil, and parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
Tips for customizing
- Use whatever pasta shape you have on hand such as penne or rigatoni
- Substitute the crushed tomatoes with diced tomatoes
- Adjust the heat in this dish by adding more or less crushed red pepper flakes
- Serve with a salad or top with grilled veggies for extra nutrients
- Add plant based meatballs or my eggplant meatballs for extra protein
Gabriele says
There is just one correct spelling for pasta all’arrabbiata: 2 r’s and 2 b’s.
As usual with every American recipe that tries to be Italian there are always the same errors: too many unnecessary ingredients or just too much of them.
The rule for real Italian cuisine is to keep it simple.
You don’t really need all that garlic, one clover is more than enough, there’s no black pepper in pasta all’arrabbiata, red pepper gives it the spiciness already and if you really want to add sugar just a pinch is more than enough.
My suggestion is to use either garlic or onion, not both, and if you choose onions red ones are the best. The pasta of choice for this recipe is usually penne rigate, not spaghetti.
Pasta is never served with salad, nor with meatballs, that’s just an american thing.
For real Italian (and not American-Italian) pasta brands I suggest De Cecco, Barilla, Rummo, Voiello, Gragnano, La Molisana, Divella, for the tomatoes Mutti, Cirio, Valfrutta, Barilla, Divella, Pomí, De Rica, Pummarò Star.
Honestly I’ve never heard before in my life of Alessi tomatoes nor the other brand, those aren’t Italian nor sold in Italy, this is quite a common thing: many brands want you to think they’re Italian while they’re not, a prominent example is pasta Rao, you will never ever find it in Italy, also it’s quite overpriced if you consider that normally in Italy 500gr of pasta cost from €0.60 to €2.00 in the worst cases, with an average price around €0.80-1.20 and that’s for 500gr or 17.7 Oz.
Lindsay Moe says
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I’ve been giving your words a lot of thought and want to take your criticisms seriously. This is definitely an Americanized version of this dish, and I have updated the post to better reflect that. I chose to use spaghetti because that seemed to be what people were looking for with this type of sauce. I would appreciate if you were able to point out where I misspelled the name of the recipe since I was not able to find it. Thank you!
Gabriele says
Hello and thanks for replying!
Actually the choice of pasta is the very last of the problems here 😉
I just don’t understand why people totally change recipes but still pretend to call them with the original name. Just name them differently and there won’t be a problem, even though trust me, try the real recipe and you won’t look back! 🙂
So many of the recipes that American people consider Italian are actually not Italian at all, for example there’s no such thing as spaghetti meatballs in Italy or any plate with chicken and pasta together, also the only parmigiana is the ones with eggplants, not chicken, you won’t find that in Italy.
Real recipe for carbonara? Just salted water, pasta, eggs (mainly yolks, I prefer a 2/3 ratio), Pecorino Romano cheese (no, the one you call just “Romano” I have no idea what that is), or a mix of Pecorino and Parmigiano Reggiano (not the fake parmesan), guanciale (or if you can’t find it just use pancetta or in worst cases bacon) and grounded black peppercorn, nothing more, no oil, no butter, absolutely no cream, no vegetables, no mushrooms no garlic, no parsley.
Remember the trick: keep it simple, and don’t overdo with ingredients or greasy things when not needed, in the case of carbonara there’s already the fat from guanciale, so you don’t need to add butter, oil or cream.
Also avoid falling for fake Italian brands, you’ll end up paying so much more and you won’t get the real thing…that is actually cheaper 😉