5.0 from 150 votes
Rigatoni Arrabbiata
Spicy, simple rigatoni arrabbiata with fresh tomatoes and garlic—my favorite weeknight pasta that brings Rome right to my kitchen in just 20 minutes!
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Total Time
20 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 314 kcal
Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
Italian
Ingredients
- 1 pound rigatoni pasta
- 2 tablespoon s olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tablespoon s red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 pounds canned peeled whole tomato
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese substitute with vegan parmesan of choice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter optional, for finishing sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
Instructions
- Salt a large pot of water like the ocean! Cook the pasta following the box instructions but stop short of 2-3 minutes (packages typically list 10 to 15 minutes, so if it says 10 minutes, stop cooking at 7 minutes). Reserve some pasta water for later, about 1⁄2 cup. Set aside.
- Add minced garlic while the oil is still cold, when the garlic starts to sizzle, add red pepper flakes, and dried thyme. Fry on low heat for about 2 minutes. Stir constantly so the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Add a can of peeled whole tomatoes and stir on medium heat for about 8 minutes until the sauce thickens. You can use a wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes a bit (but not too much) to release the juices.
- Add the parmesan cheese, and stir for about 1 minute. You can use vegan parmesan instead as well. Taste, and then add salt / black pepper to taste.
- Add the pasta and butter to the sauce. Stir until just combined. If the sauce looks too dry, you can add a bit of the pasta water. Note: If you're going vegan, you can skip the butter step, or swap with plant-based butter.
- Serve immediately with fresh basil!
Cup of Yum
Notes
- Salt the pasta water generously! It should taste briny. For 1 pound of rigatoni, I recommend 2 tablespoons of salt to 1 gallon of water.
- I recommend cooking the pasta 2 to 3 minutes under package directions since you'll finish cooking the pasta in the sauce. If you cook to package directions, it might be too mushy!
- Arrabbiata literally means "angry pasta" so it's definitely got a kick to it. Make sure to adjust the spice levels to suit your taste.
- Rigatoni can be substituted with any short, tubular pasta (e.g., penne, shells, ziti, cavatappi, etc.)
- The traditional recipe calls for parsley, but I've used basil (mostly because the batch of parsley I had in my fridge the day I shot this recipe was all wilted, and I wanted something fresh instead). So if you want to go a more traditional route, make sure to garnish with parsley, not basil!
Nutrition Information
Calories
314kcal
(16%)
Carbohydrates
48g
(16%)
Protein
11g
(22%)
Fat
9g
(14%)
Saturated Fat
4g
(20%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
1g
Monounsaturated Fat
4g
Trans Fat
0.1g
Cholesterol
12mg
(4%)
Sodium
587mg
(24%)
Potassium
366mg
(10%)
Fiber
3g
(12%)
Sugar
4g
(8%)
Vitamin A
475IU
(10%)
Vitamin C
11mg
(12%)
Calcium
130mg
(13%)
Iron
2mg
(11%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 314
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 314kcal | 16% |
| Carbohydrates | 48g | 16% |
| Protein | 11g | 22% |
| Fat | 9g | 14% |
| Saturated Fat | 4g | 20% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 4g | 20% |
| Trans Fat | 0.1g | 5% |
| Cholesterol | 12mg | 4% |
| Sodium | 587mg | 24% |
| Potassium | 366mg | 8% |
| Fiber | 3g | 12% |
| Sugar | 4g | 8% |
| Vitamin A | 475IU | 10% |
| Vitamin C | 11mg | 12% |
| Calcium | 130mg | 13% |
| Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.