Easy tuna puttanesca spaghetti

Easy Tuna Puttanesca spaghetti

This easy Tuna Puttanesca Spaghetti is a fast and flavorful Italian pasta recipe perfect for busy weeknights. Made with pantry staples like canned tuna, anchovies, olives, and capers, this classic puttanesca sauce comes together in under 30 minutes.

Puttanesca has a rich and colorful history—said to be created by Italian prostitutes to lure customers with its irresistible aroma. Whether legend or truth, this spicy, briny sauce still draws everyone to the kitchen today.

Cooked in one deep sauté pan and tossed with spaghetti, this tuna pasta is a bold, satisfying dish full of robust Mediterranean flavor.

 Things to know about this Easy Tuna Puttanesca spaghetti recipe

I used spaghetti for this dish, but feel free to choose any pasta that fits your lifestyle and taste—long or short shapes both work beautifully. If the sauce feels a little dry, just add more pasta water. That starchy liquid not only adds body, but acts as a natural thickener that binds everything together.

For the olives, I went with kalamata because I love their bold, briny flavor. Growing up, my mother used olives from our family farm in Tuscany. She cured them the traditional way—soaking them in a salt water solution and changing it every few days for weeks until the bitterness was gone. They transformed from glossy purple to wrinkled and rich, then were marinated in olive oil, garlic, orange peel, and red pepper flakes. Time-consuming, yes—but unforgettable in flavor.

So for this simple sauce, don’t skip out on the quality olives—they’re key to the depth of flavor in this rustic, vibrant dish.

I hope you give this recipe a try, and the part I love most? Hearing what you think! Enjoy a little restaurant-style cooking in your own kitchen—and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations!

Ingredients

  1.  1/2 lb. Spaghetti pasta cooked according to package direction reserving 2 cups of the water before draining
  2. 1 small chopped onion
  3. 1 Tbs. minced garlic
  4. 4 anchovy fillets
  5. 2 cans albacore tuna in olive oil
  6. 1/2 cup capers
  7. 1 cup chopped kalamata olives
  8. 1 15 oz. can chopped tomatoes
  9. 1 15 oz. tomato sauce
  10. 1 cup reserved pasta water
  11. 1 Tbs. each chopped Italian parsley, basil,  thyme and red pepper flakes
  12. 2 Tbs. each olive oil and butter

Instruction

1.Cook pasta according to package directions reserving 1 cup pasta water

2.Mean while prepare your sauce by heating oil and butter in a large deep saute pan, add onion and garlic, cook until tender and just begining to brown

3.Add the anchovy fillets stir until anchovies disintegrate, then add both cans of tomatoes not drained and reserved pasta water.

4.Simmer covered for 20 minutes, add the Tuna, olives, spinach, capers, red pepper flecks and herbs, simmer 10 minutes longer,

5.Always salt and pepper to taste

6.Toss with the drained spaghetti pasta, ………ENJOY