Bucatini all’Amatriciana is an easy pasta recipe with pancetta and a spicy tomato sauce that takes less than 30 minutes to make. Add some bucatini and you get a quick and easy weeknight dinner.
Like most Italian dishes, bucatini all’amatriciana is simple. So simple, in fact, that you can make it in about 20 minutes start to finish with just a handful of ingredients. Like my favorite pasta aglio e olio, carbonara and pesto sauce this bucatini recipe is my favorite kind of homemade fast food.
Recipe Notes
My bucatini all’amatriciana strays from other more classic versions which call for whole plum tomatoes, guanciale and pecorino cheese. I swap out some of these and add a couple other ingredients, but the result is the same: a spicy tomato sauce tossed with tender pasta.
- This recipe makes enough to serve two people, but you can easily scale it up to serve more.
- Bucatini is a long pasta that’s thicker than spaghetti. Most mainstream grocery stores sell it these days, but you can substitute any long pasta (like spaghetti or linguini) if you can’t find it.
- Look for diced pancetta at the store (it’s usually near the deli) which is similar to guanciale. They’re both uncured pork but are from different parts of the pig (guanciale is from the cheeks and pancetta is from the belly).
- Instead of whole plum tomatoes, I like to use tomato puree mostly because it’s a lot easier just to open the can and pour it in. If you’re feeling adventurous check out my homemade tomato puree recipe.
- To make this really easy, you don’t have to make your own sauce. Just substitute your favorite jarred marinara sauce. I’ve added a note about this in the recipe card.
How to Make It
- Boil the bucatini according to the package directions. While the pasta cooks, you can make the sauce.
- Cook the pancetta in a skillet until it renders it’s fat and starts to turn crispy. Add the onions, garlic, and crushed red pepper and cook them for a minute or so, just until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the tomato puree and water and stir to combine. Increase the heat to bring the sauce to a simmer. Simmer the sauce while you wait for the pasta to finish cooking.
- Add the balsamic vinegar, cooked pasta and toss it in the sauce until the pasta is evenly coated. To serve, top each serving with the grated cheese and chopped parsley.
Serve it in bowls or straight from the pan – I won’t judge.
Happy cooking!
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Bucatini all’Amatriciana
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
Description
This is a quick and easy pasta dish for two with simple ingredients and a little kick of heat from some crushed red pepper flakes. Bring the pasta water to a boil while you prep the ingredients for the sauce and, once you add the pasta to cook, the sauce comes together by the time the pasta is tender.
Ingredients
- 5 ounces bucatini
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 8 ounces diced pancetta
- 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 3 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste (see note)
- 3/4 cup tomato puree
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the bucatini and cook according to package directions.
- In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pancetta and cook until it renders it’s fat and starts to turn crispy. Add the onions, garlic, and crushed red pepper and cook them for a minute or so, just until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the tomato puree and water and stir to combine. Increase the heat to bring the sauce to a simmer. Simmer the sauce while you wait for the pasta to finish cooking.
- Add the balsamic vinegar to the sauce and stir to combine. Add the cooked pasta and toss it in the sauce until the pasta is evenly coated. To serve, top each serving with the grated cheese and chopped parsley.
Notes
- A 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes adds a nice kick of heat. Start with less if you’re worried about the amount of heat – you can always add more after you give the sauce a taste before serving.
- If you want to use jarred marinara sauce just cook the pancetta in the oil, add the sauce, simmer and then continue with the recipe as written.
- Recipe adapted from Food Network
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sautee
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 of recipe
- Calories: 409
- Sugar: 7.8g
- Sodium: 1105.4mg
- Fat: 25.6g
- Saturated Fat: 11.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4.3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 67.9g
- Fiber: 4.5g
- Protein: 23.1g
- Cholesterol: 47.2mg
Keywords: bucatini all’amatriciana, spicy tomato sauce, pancetta recipe
Post, photos, and recipe updated from the archives. First published in October 2014
The nutrition information in this recipe is an estimate only and was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
Katerina says
Mmmm, pasta perfection! Beautifully presented too – thanks so much for sharing!
★★★★★
Albert Bevia says
I am a huge lover of pasta dishes and this here recipe sounds absolutely delicious! I love all the simple ingredients that you used to create this! thank you for the wonderful recipe 🙂