There is perhaps no pasta dish that teases and titillates a vegan cook’s imagination as maddeningly as Pasta Puttanesca. Brazen and vibrant, this Italian classic, which literally translates to whore’s pasta, appears at once attainable (all but one ingredient is vegan) and forbidding (darn those anchovies!).
Italian lore has it that Pasta Puttanesca was thus named because it was invented by prostitutes hoping to lure customers in with its rich aroma. Other versions attribute the sauce to the prostitutes’ uber-busy lifestyles: they didn’t have time to go shop for fresh ingredients, so they just threw together what was in the pantry.
Whatever its origins, Pasta Puttanesca is one of those dishes that, once you’ve had it, is impossible to forget.
In my pre-vegan days it was one of the pasta dishes I cooked the most, but after going fish-free I didn’t dare try it because it seemed close to impossible to find a vegan replacement for the anchovies. While it is easy enough to swap out fishy stuff in most dishes, the reason why it just seems that much harder with Pasta Puttanesca is that the anchovies and their peculiar saltiness melt into the sauce, forming a strong flavor base that ties together the rest of the ingredients, like the tomatoes, olives and garlic. Without the anchovies, in other words, you’d just be eating pasta in a tomato sauce with olives. And while that can be tasty enough, what’s the big deal about it?
When I first shared this Vegan Pasta Puttanesca recipe with you back in 2011 (it was titled “Vegan Slut’s Spaghetti at the time 😉 — a saucy sobriquet first used by Nigella Lawson), I researched replacements for anchovies and came up with suggestions ranging from vegetarian Worcestershire sauce to capers, but neither seemed like they would replicate that oceany flavor and rich saltiness of the anchovies. Besides, puttanesca sauce recipes usually already contain capers.
Then, I had a small brainwave that sent me rushing to my pantry. I used two ingredients to replace the anchovies: seaweed, which brought to the sauce that fresh-ocean flavor, and tamari, which added a rich, deep, sweet saltiness.
My Vegan Pasta Puttanesca did not miss a flavor beat. It is perhaps the pasta dish that’s most requested and cooked in my kitchen, and even little Jay has come to love it. I have updated the recipe, so I wanted to share it with you again, and to remind you once again that because you are vegan, there’s really no need to miss out on your favorite recipes.
This is one to fall in love with. Enjoy, all!
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Before we come to the recipe, I have a giveaway for you. Lagostina sent me this beautiful 11-piece Luminosa set of pots and pans with a favorite vegan “seafood” dish, and they will send an identical set to a lucky reader who wins this giveaway.
I use steel pots and pans and cast iron almost exclusively in my kitchen, so I was excited to try these. They are extremely handsome pieces, and I especially love the hammered steel lids which are both beautiful and work very well for me because they have a lip that comes in handy while cooking Indian vegetable dishes. I especially loved recreating my Pasta Puttanesca in these pots and pans. The steamer insert and stockpot were perfect to cook the pasta, and the saucepans gave me a wide range of sizes to mix everything in and carry them straight to the table. No need to fuss with serving dishes because these pots and pans are so handsome.
The set has has some other wonderful features too:
- I loved the sizes of the pots and pans. When I have bought a set of pots and pans in the past, there are invariably a couple of pieces, sometimes more, that I have almost no use for because the shape and size is not suitable to my cooking. What I love about the Lagostina set is that the individual pots are each a good size, so I am already using all of them on a regular basis.
- The polished stainless steel look does not, of course, react with food, which is very important for me. I long gave up cooking in non-stick pans for this reason, although I do have a couple of non-stick pans for specific uses.
- You can use your Luminosa cookware on any cooktop type, including induction cooktops, and it is oven- and broiler-safe up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. It is also dishwasher-safe.
- The lids are amazing, like I already said, but the cookware has another cool feature — flared edges that make it easy to pour out the food, important for me because I often transfer hot foods to the blender.
- The riveted handles are strong enough to handle the pots when they are heavy with food, and stay cool on the stovetop, making it easier to handle while cooking.
The 11-piece set you can win includes a 1.6 qt. saucepan 2.4 qt. saucepan, and 3.2 qt. saucepan, all with lids, a 6 qt. stockpot with lid, a steamer insert, an 8-inch fry pan, and a 10.25-inch fry pan.
To win this set, share this post on any social media and leave me a comment here telling me you did so. Comments between today and the day I announce the results — July 9 10 — will be entered for the giveaway. The set is also available at Bed Bath and Beyond where it retails for $199.
Good luck!
Vegan Pasta Puttanesca is a delicious version of the fabled and somewhat notorious Italian dish. I use two delicious ingredients that substitute perfectly for the anchovies. This is a vegan, nut-free recipe, and it can be made with an appropriate pasta to make it gluten-free.
- 1 pound whole-wheat or regular spaghetti or fettucine
- 2 tbsp powdered seaweed (I crumpled up Nori sheets, put them in my blender, and processed them to a fine powder. A spice grinder might work even better.)
- 1 tbsp Tamari (use soy sauce if you don't have this)
- 1 28-oz can plum or San Marzano tomatoes, crushed, or 10 fresh tomatoes, diced, with all juices
- 1 cup pitted, oil-cured olives, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 3 tbsp capers
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste.
- Cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente
- While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic and red pepper and toss until the garlic turns lightly golden.
- Add the powdered seaweed and stir for another minute.
Add the tomatoes, olives, oregano, parsley, and capers. Cook over medium heat until the tomatoes release their juices and the juices start to thicken. If using canned tomatoes, cook for 15 minutes or until the sauce turns a deep red.
- Add the tamari and more salt, if needed. Season with ground black pepper.
- Add the pasta to the sauce, toss to coat, and turn off the heat. Garnish with more parsley if you like, and serve hot.
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More delicious pastas from the archives:
(C) All recipes and photographs copyright of Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes.
Delicious sphagetti
this looks delicious! i love when pasta has a lot of elements added to it 😉
It’s healthy & Delicious…
I agree, I love Puttanesca sauce and angel hair pasta combination 🙂
yummm.. always fun to see that the fave dishes can all be made with non animal ingredients!!
the sauce and the pasta look super inviting!
Hope you all are doing good.
Richa @ Hobby And More Vegan Food Blog
Hobby And More on Facebook
SUPER idea, Vaishali to substitute Nori for anchovies! I simply have GOT to try this now. Thank you much!
This is a brilliant use of nori and tamari, I can tell it will be delicious.
Somehow, to me at least, puttanesca sounds better than slut or whore, I guess it’s the romance language thing. Like Potage au pommes de terre sounds better than Potato soup. Anglo-saxon language is different which is why Bubble and squeak doesn’t sound as good as, say, pot au feu.
But, what’s in a name huh?
Looks wonderful and delicious..
delicious yummy…..
Haha! I totally love the way you used the word slut without blinking like – “what? that’s what it means!”.
Brilliant substitution! So happy to have found your blog:)
Brilliant substitution! So happy to have found your blog:)
Looks yummy and enticing! I bet this would really be a winner when I serve this to our coming get together. Thanks for the blog.
Yay! I’ve been searching for anchovy substitute for just this recipe. I LOVE slutty spag. It’s my favourite, and, I too have not bothered making it since becoming vegan. Thanks!
YUM, so glad I found this blog
This is pretty random, but I was searching for a vegan alternative to anchovies for a food52 dish that needed them, and came across this. Was skeptical for the dish in question, but your suggestion worked great. Good stuff, thanks.
El Barto, that’s wonderful. I am glad you tried it.
I was perusing One Green Planet, which showcases so many great vegan recipes from all over the wen. Saw Pasta Puttanesca. Looked and sounded wonderful. So I made it last night, even though Andy was a little concerned that I’d never get the spice grinder clean enough after the seaweed to grind up some flax seeds the next day to sprinkle on our granola. But once he saw how it looked and tasted it, he agreed that it was well worth any resistant smells on the spice grinder (which cleaned up really well).
This was heavenly. So deep and complex. Pure umami. Grinding up the seaweed in the grinder is genius. I served it over spiralized zucchini.
So—this morning I went onto OGP to see who created the recipe, so I could thank them and follow his/her blog. And it was none other than…..beloved Vaishali! I should have guessed….
I loved your write-up of this. On OGP, it was very condensed (and “cleaned” up—maybe the slut thing was too much for them?).
Hi Ellen, that’s such a coincidence! 🙂 So glad you found the slut’s spaghetti post, and enjoyed the dish! It’s one of my favorite creations and I think the seaweed-tamari combination works better anyday than anchovies did. Happy you and Andy enjoyed it. And serving over zucchini sounds wonderful.
Glad you liked the write-up too. 🙂
The seaweed idea for anchovies is brilliant! I also found the suggestion from Bryanna Clark Grogan of using light miso, so I combined the ideas: 1 tablespoon miso, a leaf of pulverized pulse, and 1/2 teaspoon of tamari. The mixture even looks like pureed anchovies and tastes close, very close, to anchovies. Thanks for your idea.
Sounds amazing!
Whoops. My smart-alec computer decided I meant pulse, but what I actually meant was dulse, “a wild Atlantic sea vegetable.”
Shared this recipe on pinterest. onerawbite
I can’t wait to try this- probably in the winter when I have less produce. Right now my fridge is packed with veggies to cook with.
I was just looking for new pots and pans! I shared on Facebook, but for some reason the photo didn’t load. 🙁
The pasta sounds delicious, and those pots and pans are beautiful! I shared on my Facebook wall.
I would love to win the pots and pans ! Will be sharing this recipe on a Facebook page that I share with other plant based friends. Have enjoyed your recipe posts and hope to try this one later in the week.
Shared on twitter!
https://twitter.com/tcrowley122/status/881561227918536704
~shared this recipe in a chat group with my friends~
Relatively simple and elegant noodle meals are my favorite, along with Asian flavorful dishes. Added to the fact that seaweed was combined in this pasta recipe, makes it right up my alley.
I’m entering the giveaway because I’m a recent college grad with a tight budget and a love for cooking and dancing in the kitchen. I was never good at preparing meat so it was kind of a fairy-tale ending that I became vegan.
Thanks for the recipe and a wonderfully relatable story <3
Shared to the vegan womble Facebook page again,love your recipes x
This looks fantastic! I shared to Facebook. Thank you. <3
Definitely making this for dinner tonight! And I shared it on Facebook too!! My FB profile name is Goliath Croix.
I shared on Pinterest and can’t wait to try this recipe out…it looks delicious. I’ve made many of your recipes and have never been disappointed. Thank you for the fabulous blog!
So excited to try this as vegan and gluten free.
I love that your vegan recipes have flavor and are made from fresh ingredients. Thank you!
Oh and I posted on Twitter.
Looks fabulous, but then again, pretty much everything you post here is!
I shared to my Facebook 🙂
Finally! Vegan recipes where I can just go to the supermarket to get what I need. (Shared to Facebook where none of my friends will care)
Tweet! @Mrs_P2B. Great recipe!! You’ve got my mouth watering… Can’t wait to try it!!
Looks delicious! I shared with facebook.
Looking forward to trying this recipe. Also shared it on my Facebook page for my vegan friends. Can really use those pots and pans too! Thanks-
Just pinned this! I’ve made this before following your recipe and it was delicious! I’d never heard of capers before I saw your recipe, and totally loved it. The tartness was spot on! This was a good reminder to make this again!
I love your blog and I shared your recipe on Facebook. I definitely would love to win the pots and pans.
I literally started having hunger pangs halfway through the post. It looks amazing and I bet it also tastes delicious too. It is the perfect dish to cook up in this rainy season. I can’t wait to try it . Looking forward to reading more delectable recipes in the upcoming posts.
This looks great, it’s really creative. I never would’ve thought to use nori like this. Sharing with friends 🙂
Thank you for your recipe (s). The cookware sounds like it would be a big bonus in any busy kitchen. Having good kitchen “tools”, is a must for vegan cooking. I shared this on Facebook.
I love adding seaweed for the “seafood-y” taste, but never tried putting it in pasta! Def want to try.
And thanks for the opportunity, shared it on Twitter @our_chaos
Love the addition of seaweed to the recipe,. I’m trying to use more seaweed in my cooking and I love your suggestion of blending it.. great looking recipe and photos
Shared on Facebook, I need frying pans! Recipe is great.
I shared on Twitter at https://twitter.com/1froglegs/status/881859690732433408 and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tim.lintz/posts/1499170646811898
Hi Vaishali
So awesome to have a veg puttenesca. I used to have this at my parents house when I was younger and non-veg. I can’t wait to try it. I did post it to my FB and Pinterest pages. The cook set would be great to cook this in
Shared on Facebook and Twitter! I would love to win this!
I shared on Facebook
I can eat pasta any time of day and this looks so perfect. I am making this right away. You are a genius to use seaweed! Shared on Facebook!
Love the nori and tamari in the pasta putanesca. Gives it the depth in flavor to replace the anchovies. This is one of my favorite summer pastas, and this just makes it better! Thanks for sharing.
I also shared this on Pinterest, where you can find me at pinterest.com/candylikesart/
Love the nori and tamari in the pasta putanesca. Gives it the depth in flavor to replace the anchovies. This is one of my favorite summer pastas, and this just makes it better! Thanks for sharing.
I also shared this on Pinterest, where you can find me at pinterest.com/candylikesart/
I posted on fb. Love many of your recipes and writing too.
I shared on fb
Hey! I shared this mouthwatering yummyness to Facebook (Vikki Kay)
I would love a chance to win this amazing set! I shared on my Pinterest.
I shared thison twitter: https://twitter.com/amylou61/status/882367865550143489
This looks spectacular, a truly heart warming dish!
I shared the post on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FireRunner2379/status/882370793795182596.
I tweeted about the giveaway as @traciemcooper05 on 07/04/2017
Tweeted
https://twitter.com/rubylorikeet/status/882453648910856192
Shared on Facebook!
My friend (who is vegetarian) just gifted me with a pasta maker! So excited to give this a try! I love using seaweed, and never thought to use it as a fish substitute! Love it!! Thank you.
Nice recipe and giveaway. Will definitely try the recipe. Chitra
Cooking is my #1 passion in life and I would love to win these because my pots and pans are hand me downs!
‘shared
https://twitter.com/aktheartist63/status/882705711578451968
Shared on Facebook. 🙂
Pinned on pinterest! Love pasta puttanesca.
Your recipe is really expanding my horizons! It sounds scrumptious and I will do my best to replicate! I shared on FB – https://www.facebook.com/rusthawk/posts/1364791096902772
This looks soooo rich for a vegan recipe!
Tweeted: https://twitter.com/tinawoo21/status/883987892275523587
I shared on facebook! https://www.facebook.com/jenna.mendell.5?fref=nf&pnref=story
Thank you for all of the amazing recipes and for making vegan an easy choice. And thank you for adopting your doggies!
~Jenna