This veggie-fied version of traditional Puttanesca Sauce will bring a whole world of flavor to your next bowl of pasta. The secret ingredient is the roasted fresh tomatoes!
If you've been following the blog for a while, then you know that I'm a huge pasta lover! Growing up in an Italian family meant pasta was on the menu nearly every week.
And so I've learned a thing or two about amping up an otherwise boring bowl of pasta. In fact, I've learned that there are few things in life as delicious as homemade tomato sauce.
So today I'm sharing my favorite homemade puttanesca sauce. Yum!
This puttanesca sauce is:
- Loaded with freshly roasted tomatoes!
- Packed with flavor from garlic, olives, and capers.
- Easy to make with simple ingredients.
- 100% vegetarian and vegan friendly
While you're here, be sure to grab our FREE 5-Day Meatless Meal Plan. It's packed with tasty recipes to make vegetarian cooking easy and delicious!
How to Make Homemade Puttanesca Sauce
- Roast tomatoes in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Blend tomatoes in food processor.
- Add olives, capers, and herbs.
Detailed instructions with measurements can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this article.
FAQs
What is puttanesca sauce?
Puttanesca is an Italian pasta dish traditionally made with tomatoes, olives, capers, and garlic and served over spaghetti or other long noodles.
Many traditional versions include anchovies, but my version is entirely vegetarian (and vegan too)!
What does puttanesca mean in Italian?
In Italian, alla puttanesca literally means "in the style of a prostitute". (I swear - it's even in the dictionary.)
Why is it called puttanesca?
There is a theory that the dish was invented in one of the many bordellos in Naples in the mid-20th century. As far as I know, there's no real proof of this fact, but it sure makes for a fun story at dinner.
Tips, Tricks, and Variations
You can use the roasted tomatoes as a base for just about any kind of pasta sauce - simply roast the tomatoes with the garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and salt and then once they're roasted and pureed, stir in any additional ingredients. This makes a great flavorful marinara sauce as well!
Roma tomatoes work best for this recipe (and most pasta sauces) because they have a meaty texture with very few seeds. This makes them perfect for cooking down into a hearty sauce.
You can freeze this puttanesca sauce for several months and it will stay deliciously fresh, so feel free to make an extra large batch!
This puttanesca sauce is typically served over pasta, but it also makes a great topping for bruschetta or even a tasty topping for vegetarian pizzas.
More Recipes
If you love this recipe, be sure to check out these other delicious vegetarian recipes:
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- cooking spray or olive oil mister
- 2 lbs Roma tomatoes, cut into large chunks
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled
- ¼ cup olive oil, divided
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- salt, to taste
- 2 tablespoon basil, fresh, chopped
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano, fresh, chopped
- ½ cup kalamata olives, sliced
- 2 tablespoon capers, chopped
- pinch red pepper, optional
- pinch brown sugar, also optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or olive oil.
- In a large bowl, toss together tomatoes, garlic, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, vinegar, and salt. Transfer contents of bowl to baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, or until tomatoes are softened and just beginning to caramelize. Allow to cool slightly.
- Once tomatoes and garlic have cooled a little, transfer them to food processor. Add remaining olive oil and process until smooth. (For a chunkier sauce, pulse until sauce reaches desired consistency or skip the food processor and mash with a fork.) Stir in remaining ingredients and additional salt if needed. Serve over pasta.
Crystal says
I'm not vegetarian, but that looks yummy.
Kiersten says
Thank you!
Jackie @ Domestic Fits says
great recipe! I love roasted tomatoes so much, I could just eat a big bowl of those. This is a great reminder of how a little time in an oven can make some magic on veggies 🙂
Kiersten says
Totally! And while roasting takes a little more time, the great thing about it is that it's so hands-off, so it's not much more work.
Pam says
My favorite thing in the world is pasta and puttanesca! Now I can have it without the guilt!
Kiersten says
That's always a good thing, right? 😀
Joane says
Pam, I can't agree with you more. I also love Pasta! I have recently decided to do a turn-around regarding my eating habits and this looks like something I can incorporate without the guilt! I will definitely check this site now regularly for more delicious recipes!
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell says
I am SO making this!
Kiersten says
I was going to make a mushroom tomato sauce instead of puttanesca--good thing I didn't, huh? 🙂
Yadsia @ShopCookMake says
I bet the flavors are much more concentrated by roasting the veggies. Will try this,
Kiersten says
Roasting veggies is my favorite way of preparing them--it really changes how they taste, for the better. It gives tomatoes an almost caramelized flavor.
BusyWorkingMama says
YUM!! That sounds delicious.
Candace says
I love your vegetarian version of this sauce! Roasted tomatoes are sooo good. I'll be lucky to have them make it into the sauce though because I eat them like candy....one right after the other off the baking sheet with my fingers. I don't even give them a chance to cool off. Shameless! 🙂
Kiersten says
Ha! Well, I have a weird thing where I hate tomatoes, but I love things made with them. So I don't have that problem. 🙂
Alicia@ eco friendly homemaking says
Oh this looks so delicious! I just did a post on making your own pasta sauce also. I so agree it is so much better than store bought!
Kiersten says
I'm catching up on my blog reading tonight, so I will check it out!
Rachel @ Following In My Shoes says
I am going to try this one; I have had puttanesca sauce ONCE ... but couldn't get past the idea of anchovies in it. Blech. Love the idea of this version!
Kiersten says
Yeah, anchovies are just a little bit squicky to me. With the olives and capers and fresh herbs, the sauce is still really flavorful without them!
Brenda Williams says
This looks and sounds so wonderful, but the older I get the more short cuts I use...LOL
Kiersten says
Ha! Well, this recipe isn't too much harder than using a jar of sauce--it takes more time, but not much more work. Which is good enough in my book! I don't mind waiting, but I do mind a lot more work. 😉
Jenny says
Mmm, I think I might jump aboard the homemade pasta sauce train, this looks delicious.
Kiersten says
It is GOOD! I mean, I always knew it would be better than the store bought kind, but I didn't think it would be worth the trade off with the time involved, but it totally is.
Val says
My Dad has always made huge bathes of spaghetti sauce (often with veggies from the garden) and he freezes it in small batches. It only takes about 10 minutes to warm up in a sauce pan. Yum!
Kiersten says
Yeah, I want to make more and freeze it because there is no way I want to attempt canning. I like the idea of it, but, well, BOTULISM!
Genevieve says
Pasta sauce isn't something I make myself very often either (although I actually don't eat too much pasta either). This sauce definitely sounds worth the extra effort - I bet roasting the tomatoes makes such a difference! I'm also slowly becoming a fan of olives, so I would be interested to give this a try!
Kiersten says
Roasting the tomatoes really does make a difference in flavor and even though it takes more time than store-bought sauce, it's still a lot less time than the kind you make on the stove--it's a good compromise! 🙂 And if you don't like olives, you can throw in just about anything. A handful of basil is great too!
CulinarilyCourtney says
I'm not a vegetarian any longer, but there is something about anchovies that gives me the eebie-jeebies...This would be a lovely alternative, and as I love roasted tomatoes, all the better!
Kiersten says
Aren't you supposed to eat them with the bones still inside? That alone is pretty gross!
Mary @ Fit and Fed says
Wow, good job. I'm still in the mode of purchasing tomato sauce for the most part. Tomato season is extremely brief here in the Northwest, so the only time it's economical to make my own is late summer. If I were gung-ho I'd buy a case of tomatoes then and can it up. But roasting the tomatoes-- you just provided a really good incentive to make tomato sauce, because I know how good that would be.
Kiersten says
I'm afraid to can, but I want to make a big batch of this over the summer and freeze it. I'm hoping to have a big tomato harvest!
Natalie says
This looks amazing and I'm sure it taste a million times better than jarred pasta sauce! I don't mind using the storebought stuff when I'm feeling lazy or when it's going in a recipe with a bunch of other things, but when the sauce has to stand alone like in this recipe, I think homemade makes a big difference!
Kiersten says
It tastes SO much better--and this is coming from someone who likes the jarred sauce! I'm growing Roma tomatoes this summer, so I'm hoping to have enough that I can make a big batch of sauce to freeze and that way I'll have to use in recipes too. 🙂
Shell Fruscione says
I totally use jarred pasta sauce but my Mom would NOT be happy if she knew that! 😛 I'm going to have to try this recipe & surprise her with it. 🙂
Kiersten says
Ha! My husband is Italian, but he doesn't mind the jarred stuff. He likes this roasted tomato sauce even better though!
Patty says
I'm making this tonight!
Kiersten says
I hope it turned out well! I'm waiting for my tomatoes to ripen so I can make it again. 🙂
Storylark says
I made this last night and it was delicious!
Kiersten says
I'm glad you enjoyed it! 🙂