Pasta Amatriciana

Pasta Amatriciana is a wonderful dish and so easy to make. It has all the rich flavors from tomatoes and red pepper flakes for a spicy kick. You can use any pasta that you love, but I find out tube shape pasta like penne or rigatoni works best.

In Italy Amatriciana means a spicy pasta made with bacon and tomatoes.

Sounds amazing, right? Who doesn’t love this, yum.

You and me can tell pasta is always a great choice, just go ahead and check out my Lemon Pasta, the Creamy Mushroom Pasta, to the Puttanesca Sauce.

Reasons to make this Pasta Amatriciana

I tell you there are lots of great reasons why you want to try this out:

First, it is so easy to make, and at the same time so flavorful it will remind you of eating in a fancy restaurant.

If you want to give the Pasta Amatriciana your own touch, you can make it with whatever pasta you have on hand. Even with leftovers, it tastes always great.

What you get with this recipe is a family meal with an on-point texture, rich, and the way the tomato flavor meets a little bit of heat is just yummy.

It is a really filling and at the same time budget friendly dish. So many reasons for why you will make this on repeat.

Amatriciana ingredients

Besides obviously pasta, olive oil and vegan parmesan you will need the following:

Diced tomatoes and tomato paste: An important trick is to drain the diced tomatoes, because this is what makes the texture so wonderful. You have a smooth taste, but with lots of fresh bites. Combining them with tomato paste adds another layering of tomato flavor to the pasta. Makes everything robust and just how sauces should be, just as you can see in my Arrabbiata Sauce or Spaghetti Sauce.

White wine vinegar makes such a great substitute for white wine. Of course, if you have a white wine that you love, you can absolutely use that as well.

The sweetness of brown sugar is wonderful to add because it complements the acid from vinegar. 

Vegan bacon bites have a lot of hearty flavor which is really fantastic. Comforting, meaty and unmistakably yummy.

Garlic, onions and red pepper flakes: All of them add so much flavor to the Pasta Amitriciana. Red pepper flakes make this extra amazing and delicious.

How to make Pasta Amatriciana

Start with giving the diced tomatoes from a can into into a sleeve with a bowl underneath. Try to remove as much liquid as you can.

Go ahead and cook your favorite pasta al dente in salted water according the manufacturer’s directions.

While your pasta is cooking, make the sauce:

In a casserole or skillet heat olive oil. Add the diced onions, minced garlic, and bacon bites. Cook all on high heat for around 4 minutes.

Next add drained tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, vinegar and a pinch of salt and pepper. Let everything simmer for another 9 minutes. Serve mixed with the pasta and top with parmesan.

Tips and tricks

Leftovers of the Pasta Amatriciana can be used for around 4 days, when properly stored in the fridge.

As you can see, I use penne pasta but of course rigatoni, spaghetti, linguine work just as perfectly.

Also you can prepare the sauce in advance and freeze it for later use. You can use freezer bags and it will stay good for around 3 months in the freezer.

Other great recipes to try

• Salisbury Steak
• Easy Homemade Lasagna
• Greek Lemon Potatoes
• Mujadara

Try this Pasta Amatriciana and tag me with your remakes on Instagram or Facebook.

Enjoy, Florian.