ARRRRRRABBIATA!! Arrabbiata sauce! Was quite possibly my most favorite thing I ate in Italy this past summer. Okay, I take that back, I ate a ton of things that were my favorite — the pesto and sun-dried tomato focaccia in Cinque Terre — it brought me to my knees! Okay, that’s a little dramatic, but you get the picture. However, fiery red sauce (also known as arrabbiata sauce) is just one of those things I’ve always loved. It’s the first thing I search for on the menu of any Italian restaurant. Especially if it comes with freshly cooked rock shrimp. I mean, how could I even order anything else? So after years of recipe testing my homemade arrabbiata sauce, I’ve finally developed a recipe that I love. It’s loosely based off of an arrabbiata sauce that I had in New York at a well known Italian restaurant (so good I can remember exactly how it tastes till this day.) As usual, there’s one ingredient that may sound a bit out of place. You don’t see in arrabbiata sauce, but that sorta is my way right? Adding a secret ingredient that makes the sauce that much better? Oh yeah.
I love making homemade tomato sauce. Way back when I started my blog, I shared a homemade pizza sauce recipe, and till this day, it’s one of the most made recipes. Then a few years down the line, I made a spicy shrimp pasta, and mozzarella chicken smothered in tomato sauce and well, what I’m trying to say is that tomato sauce is kind of a staple in our house. And now, my arrabbiata sauce is going to be a freezer staple for us till the end of time. We heart it to the max.
What is arrabbiata sauce?
Arrabbiata sauce is a spicy, tomato-based sauce made with olive oil, garlic, fresh or canned tomatoes, and spiced with dried red pepper flakes. It’s usually simmered until it’s aromatic and served with pasta.
Ingredients to make homemade arrabbiata sauce:
olive oil fresh garlic crushed red pepper flakes onions tomatoes tomato paste fish sauce fresh basil
Why use fish sauce and is it necessary?
The fish sauce adds a pleasant, rich umami flavor. But don’t worry! You can not even tell it’s there. It’s in the background, just cheering on all the other characters. But in no way can you tell that any fish sauce went into this. I would think that anchovy paste is more typically used. However, I don’t ever have anchovy paste on hand. But, we make a ton of Asian food, so the fish sauce is a pantry staple! Instead of rushing out and buying another new ingredient, I wanted to test the recipe and see if it works well with what I have in the pantry (ever since the pantry project, I’m trying to utilize more of what I already have on hand.) Guess what? It. Works. Beautifully. If you follow a vegetarian/vegan diet, feel free to omit the fish sauce from the recipe. It tastes just fine without it. But if you want it to have a richer, umami flavor, try using a teaspoon of Better than Bouillon mushroom base or even dried mushroom powder if you keep that on hand at home!
How to make arrabbiata sauce:
What kind of pasta should I serve with homemade sauce?
Though you could use just about any kind of pasta you like, I usually prefer to serve my arrabbiata with rigatoni because I love when the sauce beautifully coats the pasta and you get a burst of hidden spicy and acidic tomato sauce tucked inside the noodle. Heart eyes emoji!
Tips for making authentic arrabbiata sauce:
Using homemade sauce:
When you’ve got the sauce ready to go, and you need to make mozzarella chicken on the fly! Use it with pasta and toss in cooked chicken or shrimp to make it a protein-packed meal Use it in my mozzarella stuffed meatballs Make meatballs subs with leftover meatballs, crusty bread, and provolone cheese Add in roasted veggies to make it a filling yet vegetarian dinner Use the sauce when you’re making Margherita pizza!! Serve it alongside my pull-apart garlic bread as a dipping sauce
for vegan/vegetarian: omit the fish sauce and swap it with a teaspoon of mushroom powder or better than bouillon mushroom base to produce the same umami flavor. If you don’t have either you can simply omit it from the recipe but it does taste better with it!
