Welcome to your free online Italian Puttanesca Pasta Course! In this class, you will master Spaghetti alla Puttanesca—an classic Italian pasta recipe.
This course is part of our series of Free Online Italian Cooking Classes for Pasta, where we teach you to cook pasta like Italians do—from dough to dishes.
Video Class Overview
This lesson is filmed in stunning 4K for visual clarity, with subtitles available in English, French, Spanish, German, and other languages.
Each class is structured to walk you through the techniques used by Italian cooks—so you can see what matters (and what doesn’t) when making pasta the traditional way.
Ingredients and How to Make Puttanesca Pasta
The full ingredient list and step-by-step instructions are below. We’ve formatted the recipe for easy saving or printing. Be sure to watch the video first—it covers essential technique tips!
We use the most traditional measurements and techniques, so you can recreate this recipe exactly as it would be made in Italy. We recommend against shortcuts, so no substitutions unless noted.
Italian Puttanesca Pasta Course: Masterclass
Ingredients
- 3 oz olives black—gaeta or kalamata are best
- 5 tbsp capers
- 4 filets anchovies spine removed (if necessary)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 whole fresh red chili pepper or to taste
- 1 handful flat leaf Italian parsley minced
- 14 oz whole peeled tomatoes crushed
- 4 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- fine salt if needed to taste
- 11 oz pasta spaghetti, vermicelli or penne
Instructions
Rinse or Soak Olives and Capers
- Rinse the olives and capers well. Better yet, let them soak in water for 30 minutes to remove excess salt and/or vinegar.3 oz olives, 5 tbsp capers
Prepare the Ingredients
- Roughly chop the olives.
- Mince the garlic and red chili pepper.2 cloves garlic, 1 whole fresh red chili pepper
- Remove the seeds from the inside of whole peeled tomatoes. Mash or purée the tomato pulp until it is the consistency of crushed tomatoes.14 oz whole peeled tomatoes
- Mince the parsley.1 handful flat leaf Italian parsley
Make a Soffritto
- Cover the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil. Over medium heat, add the minced garlic, pepper and anchovy filets. Mash the anchovy filets with a fork or back of a spoon to help it dissolve into the oil. Sauté until the garlic is golden.4 filets anchovies, 4 tbsp olive oil
Add the Tomato, Olives, Capers
- Add the tomato sauce.
- Stir in the capers and olives—leaving aside some of each for decorating the finished dish.
- Simmer the sauce for a few minutes. Then salt to taste (only if needed). In the meantime…fine salt
Cook the Pasta
- Cook the pasta a minute less than the time required for al dente pasta on the package instructions.11 oz pasta
Finish with Pasta and Parsley
- Drain and transfer the pasta to the sauce along with ½ ladle of hot pasta water. Cook the pasta with the sauce for about a minute until the pasta is al dente.
- Add the minced parsley and stir to combine.
- Buon appetito!
Equipment and Tools
You don’t need a professional kitchen to make great pasta—but the right tools can make it easier. For this recipe, we recommend:
- Seasoned Carbon Steel or Cast Iron – Spaghetti all’Assassina is cooked entirely in a pan. So, you’ll need a pan that can accommodate the pasta without the need of breaking it. In the video, we are using a 14” (36 cm) seasoned carbon steel pan.
- Tongs – to flip the pasta in an orderly fashion, frying the pasta on all sides
How to Make Puttanesca Pasta
Pasta Puttanesca is a celebration of Mediterranean ingredients: olives, capers, anchovies, tomatoes and garlic! It is also a classic and quick recipe of Naples. What many don’t know? This recipe’s name literally translates to ‘whorish’ and has a colorful history!
The first mention of this dish comes from an Italian cooking manual written by Ippolito Cavalcanti in the 1800’s where the basics of the dish are described without the tomato. Over time, as tomato became popular in Italy, tomato also became an ingredient in the Puttanesca. And for that scandalous name? Well, watch our video and then let us know in the comments what your favorite theory is!
- 0:00 Intro
- 0:19 Cavalcanti’s Early Version of Puttanesca
- 3:00 Puttanesca with Tomatoes
- 4:09 Origins of the Pasta’s Name “Puttanesca”
Pro Tips for Making Assassina Pasta
Sweetest Tomatoes
Italians know that canned ‘crushed’ tomatoes just aren’t as sweet. Choose the sweetest purée you can find or used canned whole tomatoes (San Marzano, seeds and water removed) as a base for your sauce. Blend or crush the pulp into a sweet sauce base!
Soak the Olives and Capers
Capers and olives usually come preserved in a salty brine. Give them a rinse or a quick soak to remove the excess salt before adding them to this dish.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Using Poor Quality Pasta
Choose the best pasta brands when making this dish, and always choose bronze-die cut pasta for the best texture and taste!