This one-pan spaghetti puttanesca combines bright tomatoes, salty olives, briny capers, and savory sardines with pasta—all roasted together on a single sheet pan for fast, flavorful weeknight cooking.
The idea for this tray-bake came from live cookalongs I began hosting for families in 2020, and it quickly became a favorite for viewers and home cooks alike. It’s an ideal convenience dish: you layer the dry spaghetti and the other ingredients in a roasting pan (yes, the dried pasta goes straight in), bake, and in about 30 minutes you have a complete, satisfying meal. —Theo A. Michaels
One-Pan Spaghetti Puttanesca FAQs
This recipe offers nutritious components: tomatoes and garlic provide antioxidants, while the canned sardines contribute protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which help balance the carbohydrates from the pasta. Using sardines instead of anchovies increases intake of oily fish for those who don’t eat seafood regularly.
If you dislike sardines or anchovies, try canned tuna packed in oil as a milder alternative. When added to the finished dish, tinned tuna will provide protein and a pleasant umami note without an overpowering fishy flavor.
One-Pan Spaghetti Puttanesca
David Leite
Ingredients
- 11 1/2 ounces dried spaghetti
- 1 medium (8 oz) yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced
- One (3 1/4-oz) can pitted black olives, drained and halved
- 2 tablespoons capers, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- A pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- One (14-oz) can cherry tomatoes (or fresh cherry tomatoes)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 3/4 cups warm chicken stock
- One (5 1/2-oz) can sardines in oil, drained (reserve the oil)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- A few sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Place the dried spaghetti in a roasting pan or 9- by 13-inch baking dish. Scatter the diced onion, sliced garlic, olives, chopped capers, raisins, and red pepper flakes (if using) over the pasta. Pour the olive oil over everything and use your hands to massage it through the spaghetti so the strands are lightly coated.
- Add the canned cherry tomatoes with their juices, the tomato paste, warm chicken stock, and the drained sardines. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Use a fork to gently combine the ingredients, breaking the sardines into chunky pieces but not fully mashing them. Drizzle the reserved sardine oil over the top. The liquid should cover the spaghetti by about 1/2 inch (12 mm).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the pan and let the dish rest for 5 minutes so the pasta finishes cooking and absorbs the remaining liquid.
- After resting, use a fork to loosen the strands of pasta and toss everything together. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley. If the mixture seems too thick, stir in a splash of hot water; if it’s too loose, return it to the oven for an additional 5 minutes.
Adapted From
Canned
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and should be used as a general guide.
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Recipe Testers’ Reviews
Only a portion of recipes tested make it onto the site; this tray-bake went through blind testing by multiple home cooks and earned the Leite’s Culinaria approval. Testers praised its simplicity, balanced flavor, and consistent results.
Marge Rintoul
Easy, quick, inexpensive, healthy, and colorful. I worried the sardines might dominate, but they melt into the sauce and the dish remained well balanced. To reduce saltiness, I rinsed the capers and soaked the raisins briefly to plump them.
I used a food processor to pulse the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and capers, then added olives and plumped raisins at the end—simple and efficient prep.
Johnisha L.
This recipe is a brilliant time-saver. I used fresh cherry tomatoes when canned weren’t available and added a touch more tomato paste. The pasta, onions, and other elements were all cooked perfectly, and the leftovers stayed moist thanks to the oil in the dish.
Chiyo Ueyama
I expected an uneven bake, but the pasta came out uniformly al dente. The sauce had a pleasant balance of savory and sweet from the raisins, with heat from the red pepper flakes. This method gives a reliable pasta-to-liquid ratio to experiment with future variations.
Marcia L.
Uses pantry staples, comes together quickly, and produces consistent texture and flavor. I warmed the sardines briefly so they didn’t taste overly fishy, and the result paired beautifully with bread and a simple salad.