Penne all’arrabbiata is a pasta dish in a spicy tomato sauce. Quick and easy to make in under 30 minutes, it will become a staple when you’re looking to add a little extra heat to your dishes!
Penne arrabbiata is a dish from the Italian city of Rome, in the central region Lazio. While it looks like a simple tomato sauce, the red chili peppers add a spicy kick. Penne pasta is the traditional pasta to serve with this sauce.
In Italian, “Arrabbiata” means “angry“, and so when someone eats penne arrabbiata, the added heat can make them go red in the face, similar to the way someone gets when they are infuriated and raging! It’s also said that because the penne is coated with this spicy tomato sauce, the penne are angry so they will make your mouth angry too! So that’s how this dish got its name.
How to make penne arrabbiata – step by step
Boil water in a large pot for the pasta.
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a pan. The pan should be big enough to fit the pasta when cooked and be able to mix it in the pan.
Add the full garlic clove and the chili peppers to the oil (photo 1)
When the garlic clove is fragrant and sizzling, add the tomatoes to the pan (photo 2), and add a bit of water to the can of tomatoes (about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup), and add this water to the pan too. Add salt and pepper.
Cook the tomatoes on medium heat for about 20 minutes, until reduced (photo 3)
While the arrabbiata sauce is cooking, bring the pot of water to a boil. Salt the pasta water. Add the penne to the pot and cook until al dente.
When sauce is ready, remove the garlic clove. We’re only using the garlic to add a bit of flavor, not overpower – it’s a common Italian cooking technique.
Add the penne to the sauce in the pan, still over medium heat. Mix the pasta with the sauce with a wooden spoon for a few minutes, until sauce is well absorbed into the pasta (photo 4).
Add a splash of pasta water if sauce needs to be loosened. Add a sprinkle of parsley (photo 5) and mix one more time.
Plate, and top with more parsley. Add pecorino romano if desired.
FAQs
Arrabbiata literally means “angry” or “mad” in Italian. It refers to the spiciness of the chili peppers – that when eaten, it will make your face red, similar to someone who is angry.
What is the difference between arrabbiata and amatriciana?
Both arrabbiata and amatriciana are spicy tomato-based sauces.
But amatriciana has guanciale in it (cured pork cheek) – and arrabbiata does not, making arrabbiata vegetarian, while amatriciana is not. Arrabbiata also contains garlic and parsley – while amatriciana does not.
Over all, arrabbiata is a more simple sauce, an amatriciana is smokier and more complex in flavor.
What is the difference between arrabbiata sauce and marinara sauce?
It’s quite simple – both are simple tomato-based sauces, but arrabbiata is spicy with the addition of chili pepper. Marinara sauce doesn’t need to necessarily add spice.
It should be noted however that arrabbiata is a classic Italian tomato sauce recognized in Italy, while marinara sauce is an Italian-American sauce/recipe. In Italy, a marinara is not a sauce, it’s actually a type of Neapolitan pizza that is topped with tomato passata, oregano, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic.
What does arrabbiata sauce taste like?
It tastes like cooked tomatoes with added spice. The parsley adds a nice freshness to the whole dish.
Using fresh chili peppers or dried?
It really doesn’t matter. I used fresh chili peppers (red ones from the supermarket), but dried whole chili peppers will work well, as well as chili flakes – use whatever you have on hand!
Just keep in mind the level of heat you wan to add as everyone’s personal preference is different. For example, the chilis I used were very spicy, so I only used 4-5 slices (about half of a pepper). You could try your chilis first to see how spicy they are to help you decide how much spice to add to the sauce.
Top tips
- I used fresh red chili peppers to make this dish, but you can easily use dried chili peppers, or dried chili flakes.
- The amount of chili slices you add depends on how spicy your chili peppers are and how hot you prefer your pasta. The arrabbiata should have a good amount of spice to it, and it’s based on personal preference as well.
- In this recipe, remove the whole garlic before adding the pasta. This is because the garlic clove imparts a subtle flavor to the sauce and should not overpower. This technique is common in Italian cooking. But if you prefer, you can mince the garlic in the beginning and keep it in the sauce.
- Some prefer to top the arrabbiata with pecorino when serving, and some prefer to leave it simple, without cheese, I’ve had it both ways. It’s up to you!
- If you decide to top this dish with cheese and want to keep it traditional/authentic, the cheese to use is pecorino romano. Since penne all’arrabbiata is from Rome, pecorino romano is as well, so this is the natural choice of cheese. But of course, parmigiano reggiano works as well.
- It’s important to finish cooking the penne in the sauce over heat. In this way, the pasta really absorbs the flavor of the sauce – this is how you get restaurant quality pasta at home.
- I used penne rigate in this recipe (with ridges), but you can also use penne lisce (smooth penne). As long as you use a bronze die extruded durum wheat semolina penne lisce, they will hold the sauce very well. Bronze die extruded pasta creates a gritty texture for the sauce to cling to.
- If you need to loosen the sauce, feel free to add some pasta water to it.
- Even though penne is traditional in this dish, you can use any type of pasta you’d like. Rigatoni, spaghetti, fusilli, etc will also work well.
More roman pasta dishes
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Penne Arrabbiata – Spicy Tomato Pasta
Penne all'arrabbiata is a pasta dish in a spicy tomato sauce. Quick and easy to make in under 30 minutes, this penne dish will become a staple when you're looking to add a little extra heat to your dishes!
Ingredients
- 250 grams penne rigate (penne with ridges)
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 garlic clove
- 4+ slices fresh chili pepper based on personal preference
- 1 14oz can peeled plum tomatoes
- 2 tbsp parsley minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
-
Boil water in a large pot for the pasta.
-
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a pan. The pan should be big enough to fit the pasta when cooked and be able to mix it in the pan.
-
Add the full garlic clove and the chili peppers to the oil.
-
When the garlic clove is fragrant and sizzling, add the tomatoes to the pan, and add a bit of water to the can of tomatoes (about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup), and add this water to the pan too. Add salt and pepper.
-
Cook the tomatoes on medium heat for about 20 minutes, until reduced.
-
While sauce is cooking, bring the pot of water to a boil. Salt the pasta water. Add the penne to the pot and cook until al dente.
-
When sauce is ready, remove the garlic clove. We're only using the garlic to add a bit of flavor, not overpower – it's a common Italian cooking technique.
-
Add the penne to the sauce in the pan, still over medium heat. Mix the pasta with the sauce with a wooden spoon for a few minutes, until sauce is well absorbed into the pasta. Add a splash of pasta water if sauce needs to be loosened. Add a sprinkle of parsley and mix one more time.
-
Plate, and top with more parsley. Add pecorino romano if desired.
Recipe Notes
- I used fresh red chili peppers to make this dish, but you can easily use dried chili peppers, or dried chili flakes.
- The amount of chili slices you add depends on how spicy your chili peppers are and how hot you prefer your pasta. The arrabbiata should have a good amount of spice to it, and it’s based on personal preference as well.
- In this recipe, the whole garlic clove is removed before the pasta is added. This is because the garlic clove is meant to simply impart a subtle flavor to the sauce and not to overpower. This technique is common in Italian cooking. But if you prefer, you can mince the garlic in the beginning and keep it in the sauce.
- Some prefer to top the arrabbiata with pecorino when serving, and some prefer to leave it simple, without cheese, I’ve had it both ways. It’s up to you!
- If you decide to top this dish with cheese and want to keep it traditional/authentic, the cheese to use is pecorino romano. Since penne all’arrabbiata is from Rome, pecorino romano is as well, so this is the natural choice of cheese. But of course, parmigiano reggiano works as well.
- It’s important to finish cooking the penne in the sauce over heat. In this way, the pasta really absorbs the flavor of the sauce – this is how you get restaurant quality pasta at home.
- I used penne rigate in this recipe (with ridges), but you can also use penne lisce (smooth penne). As long as you use a bronze die extruded durum wheat semolina penne lisce, they will hold the sauce very well. Bronze die extruded pasta creates a gritty texture for the sauce to cling to.
- If the sauce needs to be loosened, feel free to add some pasta water to it.
- Even though penne is traditional in this dish, you can use any type of pasta you’d like. Rigatoni, spaghetti, fusilli, etc will also work well.
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