Name: Arrabbiata Sauce
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 cup diced yellow onion (from about 1/2 an onion); 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste; 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about three to four large cloves); 1 (28-oz) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes; 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil

If you’re looking to expand your pasta sauce recipe collection, there’s no better one to add than Arrabbiata Sauce, a spicy tomato sauce. It’s simple, ready in 30 minutes, and you can use it in all kinds of ways. Toss it with pasta, dip breadsticks in it, or use it to make lasagna and other favorite pasta dishes.

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Arrabbiata sauce is a spicy tomato sauce from Rome, Italy, and, like most things Italian, it is so simple. We’re talking weeknight-dinner-easy with just a handful of ingredients and a quick simmer.

Arrabbiata means “angry” in Italian and, in this case, refers to the kick of spice in the sauce. I love that you can adjust the heat level from merely miffed to raging mad by changing the amount of red chili flakes.

Ingredients

Olive oil
Onion
Red pepper flakes
Garlic
Fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
Fresh basil leaves

How to Make It

☑️ Saute

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onions and red pepper flakes. Cook them in the oil, stirring often, for a few minutes or until the onions are softened. Add the garlic and stir it for about a minute or until fragrant.

three photos showing how to make the sauce.

☑️ Simmer

Add the tomatoes, stir, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover the pan and simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes, then remove the lid.

Stir in the basil and simmer the sauce for another five minutes.

☑️ Serve

For a simple dinner, serve the arrabbiata sauce with your favorite pasta. You can add a protein, too, like cooked chicken, shrimp, ground beef, or turkey.

It also makes an excellent sauce for baked ziti, lasagna, or baked tortellini, or you can use it as a pizza sauce.

Or serve it as a dip with mozzarella sticks and garlic bread, or you can use it to make eggs in purgatory, another spicy dish I love. There are all kinds of possibilities with this one, friends.

the sauce being spooned over a bowl of pasta.

More Sauce Recipes

Arrabbiata Sauce

Arrabbiata sauce is a simple spicy Italian sauce that’s so easy to make. You only need a handful of ingredients and it’s ready to serve in about 30 minutes. Toss it with pasta or use it as a dipping sauce for garlic bread or breaded cheese sticks

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Author: April Anderson

Servings: servings

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 30

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion from about 1/2 an onion
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste
1 tablespoon minced garlic about three to four large cloves
1 (28-oz) can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh basil

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and red pepper flakes. Sauté the onions in the olive oil for a few minutes or until they soften.
Add the garlic and stir for a minute or so. Once the garlic is fragrant, add the crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Cover the pan and bring it to a simmer. Simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes and then remove the lid. Give the sauce a stir and add the basil. Stir and simmer the sauce, uncovered, for five minutes or so more.
Serve the sauce right away or allow it to cool to room temperature and store it in the refrigerator for later.

Video

Notes

Red pepper flakes: Heat tolerance levels vary and so you may want to adjust the amount of spice. While the sauce is simmering, give it a taste – if you think it needs more heat, add more red pepper flakes.

Salt: I don’t think this sauce needs added salt, especially if you’re serving it with pasta cooked in salted water. That said, be sure to give it a taste while it simmers, and add salt if you think it needs it. I would start with a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon and go from there.

Storage: If you want to store the sauce in the fridge, let it cool to room temperature before storing it in a container. It will keep for three to five days. You can also freeze it for a couple of months.