Pasta Arrabbiata
⏱ 10 min prep · 🍳 20 min · 🍽 4
Arrabbiata means "angry" in Italian, and the heat is almost entirely up to you: two whole chillies, seeds left out, give a clear but manageable kick — leave the seeds in if your household likes it hotter. Lemon zest and four cloves of garlic build the flavour base before the tomatoes even hit the pan; that combination, not the tomato quantity, is what actually gives arrabbiata its character.
Everything else comes from what's usually already in the cupboard: canned tomatoes, olive oil, parmesan, and a pinch of sugar to round out the tomatoes' acidity. That makes it an easy one to reach for on a night when a special shop isn't happening.
From pot of water to plate, it's under 30 minutes, and most of that time is chopping. Chilli, garlic and parsley can all be prepped ahead, so the only job left on the night is watching the pan.
Ingredients
- 500.000 g pasta av god kvalitet
- 1.000 boks hermetiske tomater
- 3.000 ss olivenolje
- 2.000 stk rød chili
- 4.000 fedd hvitløk
- 1.000 stk sitron
- 1.000 neve frisk persille
- 3.000 ss revet parmesan
- 1.000 ts sukker
- 3.000 ss kokevann fra pastaen
- salt og pepper
Instructions
Boil salted water in a large pot for pasta. In a separate high-sided frying pan, combine olive oil, sliced chili, minced garlic, and lemon zest. Simmer on medium heat for several minutes.
Pour canned tomatoes with their oil into the pan. Cook over medium heat, then add grated parmesan, sugar, and salt. Thin the sauce with 1-2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water.
Drain cooked pasta and combine with sauce. Stir in finely chopped fresh parsley and squeeze half a lemon's juice over the dish. Toss thoroughly until pasta is well coated. Plate and top with additional parmesan before serving.
This is a good one for households where kids are at different spice tolerances — some are fine with chilli from age five, others won't touch anything red in the sauce until they're ten. Rather than cooking two dinners, hold half the chilli back: stir it through once, taste, then only add more to the portion headed for the adults' bowls. The sauce also holds well off the heat for a good twenty minutes before serving, so it won't taste flat if dinner gets delayed by a school run or a last-minute bath. On a kitchen-screen weekly plan, this is a solid low-effort weeknight slot, since none of the ingredients tend to run out mid-week.
FAQ
Can I freeze pasta arrabbiata?
Yes, the sauce freezes well on its own in a sealed container for up to three months. Don't freeze it with cooked pasta already mixed in — it turns mushy once thawed and reheated. Cook fresh pasta the night you reheat the sauce instead, and loosen it with a splash of water if it's thickened in the freezer.
Can I make it milder for the kids?
Scrape out the seeds and white membrane before chopping the chilli — that's where most of the heat lives, and removing it mellows the dish without losing the flavor. For an even milder batch, spoon out a portion of sauce before adding the rest of the chilli, and keep chilli flakes on the table for anyone who wants more heat on their own plate.
How long do leftovers keep in the fridge?
Pasta arrabbiata keeps about three days in the fridge in a sealed container, and the flavor actually improves overnight as the chilli and garlic keep infusing the sauce. Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of water or oil rather than blasting it in the microwave, so the pasta doesn't turn rubbery or heat unevenly.
Can I use a different pasta shape?
Penne and fusilli hold the sauce well and tend to be easier for kids to fork up than long strands. Wholewheat pasta works too, but add a bit more of the pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce, since wholewheat releases less starch than regular pasta. Skip very thin shapes like angel hair — they overcook fast once tossed into the hot sauce.
How do I fit this into the weekly meal plan?
Put arrabbiata on a night you know will be busy, since the whole dish comes together in under 30 minutes from pot of water to table. Chop the chilli, garlic and parsley the night before or over the weekend and keep it covered in the fridge, so cooking is the only step left once you're home. It also works well as a planned leftovers night later in the week, since the sauce holds its flavor without going flat.
Can I make it vegetarian or vegan?
The dish is vegetarian as written. For a vegan version, swap the parmesan for a vegan hard cheese or nutritional yeast, which gives a similar savory depth. Taste and adjust the salt at the end, since parmesan normally carries part of the saltiness in the finished sauce.