Simple Spaghetti Fra Diavolo

Name: Simple Spaghetti Fra Diavolo
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 pound dried spagetti; 1/3 cup (76ml) olive oil; 10 cloves garlic (minced ); 1 and 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (more or less, to taste ); 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes with basil; 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced; 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped; 1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped; 2 teaspoons salt; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

September 1, 2022 by Ashley Manila 57 Comments

Simple Spaghetti Fra Diavolo is a classic pasta dish you can make with just a handful of simple ingredients! You can make the spicy tomato sauce in about the time is takes to bring a large pot of water to boil. Then juice mix together the al dente pasta, pasta sauce, and fresh herbs.

Spaghetti Fra Diavolo Pasta

It’s no secret we love pasta! But this spicy spaghetti fra diavolo is definitely one of the most made (and loved) pasta recipes in our household. It’s simple, saucy, and SPICY! And we almost always have the ingredients needed on hand. Especially in the summer when our herb garden is in full bloom. By nature, it’s a vegetarian recipe, but you can certainly add shrimp or chicken for a heftier meal. We actually turn this into shrimp fra diavolo at least once a week!

Bonus: This pasta fra diavolo is breeze to make on busy nights when cooking time needs to be short and snappy. Cause let’s be real… who’s got time for crazy & complicated?!

Ingredients for Fra Diavolo

Spaghetti: I use dried, but fresh pasta will work! You can also use almost any noodle here, so don’t feel like you’re married to spaghetti.
Olive oil: Don’t be scared by the amount called for. It gives the sauce structure and flavor!
Garlic: 10 whole cloves!!! Again, don’t be tempted to scale back here. Garlic is the backbone of this dish!
Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: Feel free to cut back a little bit here, if you want to reduce the heat.
Crushed Tomatoes with Basil: I don’t suggest subbing diced tomatoes here, as the sauce will end up much chunkier and less cohesive.
Fresh herbs: Basil, parsley, and mint, oh my! Please, do not sub dried herbs.
Salt: This recipe NEEDS all of the salt called for. And you’ll also need salt for the pasta water. Reduce the salt if you must, but be warned it will leave you with a blander pasta sauce.
Black Pepper: For a little more spice and flavor!

I also suggest having some crusty bread, red or white wine, and freshly grated parmesan cheese on hand!

Let’s make Spicy Spaghetti

Warm the oil in a large skillet until it shimmers. You’ll add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Be sure to stir frequently and cook until the garlic is fragrant BUT NOT BROWN.
Add in the crushed red pepper and tomatoes and stir well to combine. Cook for about 15 minutes.
In the meantime, cook your pasta. Be sure to cook only until al dente. No one likes soggy noodles!
Before you drain the pasta, be sure to reserve 1 and 1/2 cups of the pasta water.
Return to the sauce and toss in those fresh herbs, salt, and pepper into the tomato sauce and stir well to combine. Taste and adjust seasonings as you desire!
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce. Then slowly drizzle in reserved pasta water, mixing as you add it, and letting it fully absorb before adding more. Add as much or little as you desire to reach your desired sauciness level.
Remove from heat and divide the pasta among shallow pasta bowls. Serve with cheese, wine, bread, and extra crushed red pepper flakes if you dare, eat at once!

What to serve spaghetti fra diavolo with?

If you want an extra authentic pasta experience, try my bucatini fry diavolo pasta recipe! When we were in Italy we ate Bucatini Fra Diavolo and fell hard for the extra thick noodles.

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