Whenever I need to make a gluten-free dessert, I love making flourless desserts because you don’t need any special flours and they are easy to make. I love my flourless chocolate cake, my flourless brownies, and these Flourless Peanut Butter Blon…
Whenever I need to make a gluten-free dessert, I love making flourless desserts because you don’t need any special flours and they are easy to make. I love my flourless chocolate cake, my flourless brownies, and these Flourless Peanut Butter Blondies. If you love peanut butter, I know you will LOVE these blondies! The blondies…
Our kiddo loves this homemade ranch dressing…and honestly, I do too! It has a delicious creamy texture and tangy, savory flavor. Keep it on the thicker side to use as a dip with veggies, or thin it out to drizzle over salads and pizzas (if ranch …
Our kiddo loves this homemade ranch dressing…and honestly, I do too! It has a delicious creamy texture and tangy, savory flavor. Keep it on the thicker side to use as a dip with veggies, or thin it out to drizzle over salads and pizzas (if ranch on pizza happens to be your thing). This ranch dressing recipe calls for simple ingredients, which make it taste SO much better than any store-bought ranch dressing I’ve tried. It has a rich sour cream base (Greek yogurt works too!), and seasonings like dried dill and garlic powder add bold flavor. Fresh lemon juice gives it […]
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If you are looking for a DELICIOUS fall salad, you’ve come to the right place. This quinoa salad with spinach, crisp apples, smoky bacon, white cheddar, salty pepitas, red onion, and a simple maple mustard dressing is a fall favorite! The maple balsamic dressing brings warmth and depth to the salad, balancing the flavors perfectly.…
Enjoy every bite of our pumpkin bars topped with creamy frosting. Easy to make, this pumpkin-spiced dessert is ideal for fall gatherings and holiday treats!
Enjoy every bite of our pumpkin bars topped with creamy frosting. Easy to make, this pumpkin-spiced dessert is ideal for fall gatherings and holiday treats!
If you love a spicy red sauce, this arrabbiata sauce recipe is for you! A hot bowl of pasta with arrabbiata sauce, or sugo all’arrabbiata in Italian, will warm you up on a chilly day. Arrabbiata literally means angry in Italian. The Romans call any recipe “arrabbiatto” when it’s cooked with enough garlic and chili…
If you love a spicy red sauce, this arrabbiata sauce recipe is for you! A hot bowl of pasta with arrabbiata sauce, or sugo all’arrabbiata in Italian, will warm you up on a chilly day. Arrabbiata literally means angry in Italian. The Romans call any recipe “arrabbiatto” when it’s cooked with enough garlic and chili to make you thirsty. I love it!
Like its cousin marinara, homemade arrabbiata sauce is very easy to make. You’ll need just four basic ingredients: one large can of whole peeled tomatoes, fresh garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes or small red chili peppers.
I fell in love with arrabbiata sauce during a college semester in Bordeaux, France. I was actually a picker eater, and I was learning how to cook by playing around in our dorm’s lackluster kitchen. We lived on cheap pasta during those months, and I livened up my noodles with various sautéed vegetables.
The spiciness of the arrabbiata sauce offered so much bold flavor that it made my simple meals taste exciting and helped me learn to love veggies like zucchini and bell pepper. I’ve come a long way since then, and it all started with arrabbiata sauce!
How to Make Arrabbiata Sauce
The full recipe is below, but here are a few notes before you get started.
The best tomatoes for arrabbiata sauce are San Marzano or Muir Glen brand. Canned tomatoes are the way to go because they offer rich flavor year-round.
Authentic Italian recipes seem to use peperone friariello or cayenne peppers, which I’ve not been able to find locally. While untraditional, Fresno peppers work well and taste very fresh. Jarred Calabrian peppers work, too, and lend a smoky undertone. The simplest option, which tastes wonderfully spicy and a touch smoky, is red pepper flakes.
Start small with the pepper flakes, which will intensify in flavor during the cooking process. Some red pepper flakes are spicier than others, and mine from Frontier Co-op are quite spicy. You can always add more to taste near the end.
Cooking the sauce for 45 minutes is vital to achieving amazing flavor. I’d love to offer a shortcut, but something magical occurs during this time. Plan to start the sauce early; it will make your kitchen smell amazing as it cooks!
You might double the batch and freeze the leftovers. They will keep for up to 6 months. To freeze, let the sauce cool to room temperature and transfer it to a mason jar (leave some room at the top for expansion) or silicone Souper Cubes. To reduce the amount of freezer burn that develops on the top, ideally chill the sauce thoroughly in the fridge before transferring the container to the freezer. If you’re using a mason jar, wait until the sauce is frozen to screw on the lid tightly.
How to Serve Arrabbiata Sauce
Penne rigate noodles are the ideal vehicle for arrabbiata sauce. The sauce clings to its ridges and tucks into the interiors. Similar noodle shapes like ziti will work particularly well, too. To be honest, I’d probably enjoy arrabbiata sauce on any noodle and definitely on spaghetti.
Traditionally, arrabbiata sauce is most often garnished with chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley and pecorino romano cheese. I love it with Parmesan cheese, too. If that’s what you have on hand, go for it.
Consider serving your arrabbiata sauce with any of these recipes to round out your meal.
Drinks: For an aperitivo, or a drink before your meal, try an Americano Cocktail or Classic Aperol Spritz. Italian red wines that pair well with spicy tomato sauces include Sangiovese and Primitivo, or for white wine, try Pinot Grigio.
This arrabbiata sauce tastes like spicy marinara sauce and offers authentic Italian flavor. Serve it over penne or similarly shaped pasta. Recipe yields 2 cups sauce (enough for 8 to 16 ounces cooked pasta, depending on how saucy you like it); double if desired.
Ingredients
1 large can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes*
4 large cloves garlic, peeled but left whole
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, more to taste, or 2 small red chili peppers**, seeds and ribs removed and finely chopped
Salt, to taste (if necessary)
For garnish, optional: Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley and grated pecorino romano or Parmesan cheese
Instructions
In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the tomatoes (with their juices), garlic cloves, olive oil and red pepper flakes.
Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to keep it at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes or until droplets of oil float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, and use a sturdy wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes against the side of the pot after the sauce has cooked for about 15 minutes.
Remove the pot from the heat. Smash the garlic cloves against the side of the pot with a fork, then stir the smashed garlic into the sauce. Use the wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes to your liking (you can blend this sauce smooth with an immersion blender or stand blender, if desired).
Add salt, to taste (the tomatoes are already pretty salty, so you might just need a tiny pinch). If you’d prefer spicier sauce, add more pepper flakes, to taste (keep in mind that the sauce will become more spicy with time).
Stir into hot, cooked pasta. If desired, garnish bowls with an extra sprinkle of pepper flakes. This sauce keeps well covered and refrigerated for up to 5 days. Freeze it for up to 6 months.
Notes
*Tomato recommendation: San Marzana tomatoes or Muir Glen brand yield the best sauce.
**Fresh chili pepper options: Traditional Italian recipes use peperone friariello peppers, which I’ve not been able to find locally. While untraditional, Fresno peppers work well and taste very fresh. Jarred calabrian peppers work, too, and lend a slightly smoky undertone.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
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On a recent trip, I packed spring rolls for the flight – a travel first for me. Over the years I’ve done leftover sesame noodles, veggie burgers, quinoa bites, quinoa patties, and chickpea salad – but never spring rolls. The time of year was all wrong for any sort of traditional Vietnamese-inspired spring rolls or summer rolls (it was February), but a wintery version would be fun to experiment with. Here’s where I landed: rice paper wrappers were slathered generously with an impromptu gingery-onion paste, stiff-spined lettuce leaves were added for crunch, brown sugar-rubbed tofu and mushrooms anchored everything, and lots of herbs (in this case cilantro) sealed the deal.
Make Ahead Friendly
When you have a glance at the recipe you might think it looks a bit component-y, but that’s just the nature of spring rolls. In many cases they actually come together pretty quickly. And the good news is, here, you can prep the onion paste and tofu – actually almost all of the ingredients – a day or two ahead of time.
No Dipping Sauce?
If you get the seasoning right on each of the components here, I’m going to argue, you don’t need a dipping sauce. I was aiming for a self-contained rolls, with no additional liquids going through airport security. That said, I made these a number of times in the weeks leading up to my trip, and they are certainly good with a simple soy dipping sauce. Or, I do a simple twist on peanut sauce with almond butter (in place of the peanut butter) thinned with a bit of soy sauce, splash of mirin, and either fresh lemon juice or brown rice vinegar to cut the creaminess of the nut butter. Thin with some hot water until it is the consistency you like.
On the Go
I love a good on-the-go lunch. And (real talk) while it doesn’t always happen around here, when it does, it’s always worth the effort. I did a big post about some of my favorite feel-good lunch ideas recently, and it’s worth a glance if you regularly pack a lunch for travel, work, school, or a road trip.
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