Pasta Puttanesca is a fabled Italian pasta dish made entirely with pantry ingredients like canned tomatoes, garlic, red pepper flakes, olives --and anchovies. In this vegan Pasta Puttanesca I use two delicious ingredients that substitute perfectly for the anchovies, and no one will be able to tell the difference!
![Photo of Vegan Pasta Puttanesca in a steel saucepan with olives, tomato sauce and a pair of tongs.](https://holycowvegan.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/vegan-pasta-puttanesca-7.jpg)
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.
![Overhead photo of Vegan Pasta Puttanesca in bowls with olives, tomato sauce and parsley.](https://holycowvegan.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/vegan-pasta-puttanesca-22.jpg)
Whatever its origins, Pasta Puttanesca is one of those dishes that, once you've had it, is impossible to forget (much like these two other dazzling pantry-ingredient pastas, Vegan Pasta e Fagioli and Vegan Penne alla Vodka).
In my pre-vegan days Pasta Puttanesca 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!
Related recipes
- Vegan Pumpkin Spinach Lasagna
- Vegan Wild Mushroom Lasagna
- Pasta with Vegan Turnip Pesto
- Vegan Lentil and Pasta Salad
- Masala Pasta, Indian Street Style
- Pasta alla Norma
Vegan Pasta Puttanesca Recipe:
![Spaghetti cooking in pot for vegan pasta puttanesca.](https://holycowvegan.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/vegan-pasta-puttanesca-1.jpg)
![Sauce for Vegan Pasta Puttanesca in steel saucepan.](https://holycowvegan.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/vegan-pasta-puttanesca-2.jpg)
![Vegan Pasta Puttanesca in a saucepan with a pair of tongs.](https://holycowvegan.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/vegan-pasta-puttanesca-5.jpg)
![Vegan Pasta Puttanesca being served with tongs.](https://holycowvegan.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/vegan-pasta-puttanesca-15.jpg)
![Vegan Pasta Puttanesca in two black and white bowls with a fork and a black and white napkin.](https://holycowvegan.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/vegan-pasta-puttanesca-18.jpg)
![Vegan Pasta Puttanesca - holycowvegan.net](https://holycowvegan.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/vegan-pasta-puttanesca-23-320x320.jpg)
Vegan Pasta alla Puttanesca
Ingredients
- 1 pound whole-wheat or regular spaghetti or fettucine
- 2 tablespoon 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 tablespoon 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 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoon capers
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste.
Instructions
- 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.
El Barto
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.
Vaishali
El Barto, that's wonderful. I am glad you tried it.
Anonymous
YUM, so glad I found this blog
Brissy Bron
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!
Irene @ H.V.R.
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.
the five o'clock teaspoon
Brilliant substitution! So happy to have found your blog:)
the five o'clock teaspoon
Brilliant substitution! So happy to have found your blog:)
appetiteaffliction.com
Haha! I totally love the way you used the word slut without blinking like - "what? that's what it means!".
Santosh Bangar
delicious yummy.....
Priya
Looks wonderful and delicious..
anthony stemke
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?
Skay
SUPER idea, Vaishali to substitute Nori for anchovies! I simply have GOT to try this now. Thank you much!
Richa
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
Priya (Yallapantula) Mitharwal
I agree, I love Puttanesca sauce and angel hair pasta combination 🙂
Ammu's
It's healthy & Delicious...
Caitlin
this looks delicious! i love when pasta has a lot of elements added to it 😉
Sharmilee! :)
Delicious sphagetti
Lesley Rice
Oh my days. Absolutely delicious.