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This is the archived version of the Milk Street website and is no longer up to date.

Please visit 177milkstreet.com to see the current website with all of the latest recipes!

Pasta Puttanesca with Tuna

4-6 Servings

40 minutes

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In Naples, we learned to make an anchovy-free iteration of pasta puttanesca that leans on generous amounts of olives and capers for savoriness against the backdrop of sweet-tart tomatoes. We’ve added canned tuna, which gives the dish a satisfying meatiness. Spaghetti typically is the pasta of choice, but for this substantial sauce, fettuccine also is great. If you prefer short shapes, we like the way campanelle or orecchiette trap the flavorful bits.

4-6

Servings

Tip

Don’t use water-packed tuna, which is lean and dry. Olive oil-packed tuna is best. Also, don’t forget to reserve 1 tablespoon oil from the tuna before draining the can. The oil adds depth of flavor to the dish.

40 minutes

Ingredients

  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

  • 1

    pound spaghetti, fettuccine, campanelle or orecchiette

Directions

Reviews
HOLLY K.
December 31, 2025
Not a traditional pasta (in a good way!)
I love briny, acidic and spicy flavors so I was drawn to this recipe. It is simple to make and tastes great. I used whole wheat spaghetti but next time I'd use the shorter pasta because it broke from trying to incorporate the sauce.
Stephen T.
March 25, 2025
Fast, easy, and flavourful
This comes together super fast and is a dynamite solution for weeknight supper.
kathleen h.
February 27, 2025
boring
Too much sauce for the amount of pasta. Dumping them altogether in one pot made it very much over sauced and bland. Not worth it

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