This Bucatini all' Amatriciana recipe is a spicy Italian dish of pasta served with a fiery amatriciana sauce of tomatoes, red pepper and guanciale. It's a spicy pasta lover's dream.
Bucatini all' Amatriciana Recipe
Italy isn't known for it's spicy cuisine, though you can find a number of spicy foods in Italian cooking. Bucatini all Amatriciana is one such dish.
Bucatini all Amatriciana is an Italian dish of pasta tossed in a spicy tomato sauce with guanciale and red pepper flakes. It's a spicy pasta lover's dream recipe. The dish is very similar to Italian Pasta Arrabbiata, which is usually vegetarian, though with guanciale.
The origins of amatriciana are controversial, with some sources attributing the dish to Amatrice, Italy, and others claiming it a Roman dish.
Others argue over amatriciana ingredients, such as whether or not to include onions, amounts of olive oil, the addition of cheese, and the importance of guanciale as a component.
My version includes guanciale along with onions and garlic, and I add in cheese at the end for serving. I also use some spicy Calabrian chilies in my dish, as I love the additional spice and heat, though you can skip them if you'd like.
Bucatini all Amatriciana Ingredients
For the sauce:
- Olive Oil
- Guanciale - Guanciale is cured pork cheek. Pancetta is the best substitute. You can also sub in hot soppressata or bacon.
- Vegetables - Onion, Garlic and optional Calabrian chili peppers. I love the peppers for additional flavor and heat. You can use other hot peppers to your personal taste.
- Tomatoes - I love canned, whole peeled tomatoes that I can crush with my hands.
- Seasonings - Crushed red pepper flakes, salt and black pepper.
For serving:
- Bucatini Noodles - You can use other noodles for pasta amatriciana.
- Garnish - Extra crushed red pepper, fresh chopped parsley, grated Parmesan or pecorino romano cheese
How to Make Bucatini all Amatriciana - the Recipe Method
Guanciale, onion and peppers. Heat the olive oil in a large pan to medium heat and add the guanciale, onion and peppers. Cook them down 5 minutes to soften.
Garlic. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until the fragrance blooms.
Crush the tomatoes. Crush the tomatoes and add the tomatoes them to the pan.
Seasonings. Stir in the red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Simmer the Amatriciana sauce. Reduce the heat and simmer the spicy tomato sauce for 15 minutes to develop the flavor, stirring occasionally. You can simmer longer if you'd like. Taste and adjust for salt, pepper and spicy chili flakes.
Get the pasta cooking. While the tomato sauce is simmering, prepare your noodles. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil at medium high heat. Boil until the pasta is al dente, 8-10 minutes. Follow the directions of the packaging.
Serving. Serve with prepared bucatini noodles. Add the pasta to sauce. Garnish with extra crushed red pepper, fresh chopped parsley, and grated pecorino cheese or parmesan cheese.
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Noodles. Bucatini is more commonly used, but spaghetti or angel hair pasta are excellent alternatives.
- Spice factor. You can easily dial back on the spice and heat factor by skipping or reducing the chili flakes. Add extra to really spice it up, and use the Calabrian chilies, Calabrian chili paste, or other hot peppers.
Storage & Leftovers
Once everything is tossed together, this spicy pasta is best enjoyed right away! While you can store it in the fridge for 2-3 days, it will dry out a bit as pasta absorbs liquids.
Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes
- Spicy Penne Arrabbiata
- Arrabbiata Sauce
- Shrimp Fra Diavolo
- Fra Diavolo Sauce
- Cajun Shrimp Pasta
- Pasta with Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Creamy Taco Pasta
- Creamy Tortellini Pasta with Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- Pasta Puttanesca with Shrimp
- Rasta Pasta with Shrimp
- Spaghetti All'Assassina (Killer Spaghetti)
- See all of my Pasta Recipes
Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.
Bucatini all Amatriciana Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 ounces guanciale chopped (sub in hot soppressata, pancetta, or bacon)
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 Calabrian peppers chopped (for extra heat and spiciness)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 28 ounce can peeled tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon spicy red pepper flakes or more to taste
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 12 ounces bucatini noodles prepared to al dente
- For Serving: Extra crushed red pepper, fresh chopped parsley, grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan to medium heat and add the guanciale, onion and peppers. Cook them down 5 minutes to soften.
- Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until the fragrance blooms.
- Crush the tomatoes and add them to the pan.
- Stir in the red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes to develop the flavor. You can simmer longer if you'd like. Taste and adjust for salt, pepper and spicy chili flakes.
- Serve with prepared bucatini noodles. Garnish with extra crushed red pepper, fresh chopped parsley, and grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese.
Nutrition Information
Emily says
This was delicious! I had to sub hot Johnsonville sausage, my store doesn't carry guanciale, but we thought it went well with the other ingredients. It made too much pasta for us (4 dinners & a lunch), so next time I think we might reduce the noodles to 8 oz instead of 12. We love pasta and it was really nice to find something completely different from what we're used to. We'll definitely be trying this again sometime in the future!
Mike Hultquist says
Glad you enjoyed it, Emily! I appreciate it!
Kathryn Luffman says
Another winner. Delicious. Made with bacon. Husband loved it! Again I'm obsessed with this site!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Nice! Thanks, Kathryn! Glad you enjoyed it. Making this again for myself soon. We love it!
Dan says
Excellent and so easy! Calabrian peppers add a great flavor. Another winner!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Dan! I love the Calabrian peppers addition. Extra spice! =)
Jérémie says
I realize I was missing a lot of ingredients for this recipe ...now that all is eaten!
I don't know calabrian peppers, so I choose two "very" different chinense peppers instead (lol): the sweet NuMex Suave Orange and the hot Trinidad scorpion (yum).
Guanciale is pretty hard to find, here, and I already have some pancetta in the fridge.
And I make my own fettucine.
I made the recipe with a bit of white wine after adding the tomatoes, and somme fresh basil instead of parsley.
So I made your recipe... my way!
Thanks a lot, Mike, this was great!!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
An excellent way to make it, Jérémie! I'm sure it was outstanding. =)
Tanya says
Pretty much everything in the pantry and boy this surprised my hubby! It was delicious and very easy to make!! This is a favorite we go to in a rush for great food!
Thanks so much!
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Awesome, Tanya! Glad you both enjoyed it! Yeah, super easy to make. We love this one.
col says
Mike...this looks and sounds excellent.
had many an arrabbiata in my time but never this,
had to look up guanciale so i'll sub that out but this will be getting made. rustic, simple...quick. ticks all my boxes.
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
Thanks, Col. Yeah, it's definitely tasty, and easy to adjust the heat if you'd like. We love it! Enjoy.