Amatriciana Pasta Sauce

Skip the jar and make Amatriciana Pasta Sauce from scratch!  This Italian favorite with bacon, onions, and garlic is sure to be a new family favorite for pasta night!

I first tried Amatriciana Pasta Sauce when I lived in Hawaii. 

There was a great little Italian place my co-workers and I would walk to and it had the best food – Italian sub sandwiches, penne with Arrabiata sauce, and one of my favorites, spaghetti with Amatriciana sauce.

Fast forward many years later when I was making a recipe for “bacon sauce”.  The sauce called for bacon, onions, garlic, and tomatoes.  My whole family loved it. 

I’ve tweaked that recipe a little bit and have been making it ever since. 

Little did I know that the amazing bacon sauce I had been making has a real name, Amatriciana sauce – my favorite sauce from that little Italian place in Hawaii.

Ingredients needed to make this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):

  • Bacon
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Crushed tomatoes
  • Dried oregano
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Bay leaf
  • Salt & pepper

What I love about this sauce, besides the bacon (who doesn’t love bacon?), is that it’s a little chunky. 

The chopped onions and garlic give it great flavor and texture, but obviously, it’s the bacon that sets this sauce apart from the rest.

How to serve Amatriciana Pasta Sauce? 

This sauce is fabulous with your favorite pasta.  Penne, spaghetti, and rigatoni are my favorites for Amatriciana.

The following are great additions to this sauce:

 

Calabrian Chili Garlic Bread

How to store Amatriciana Pasta Sauce?

You can store this sauce in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.

It can also be frozen in freezer-safe containers for about 3 months.

NOTES:

  • Pancetta and lardons are often used in place of bacon, but I like the convenience and flavor of bacon.  Feel free to substitute.

 

 

Amatriciana Pasta Sauce

Amatriciana Pasta Sauce

Flavorful Eats
Skip the jar and make Amatriciana Pasta Sauce from scratch.  This Italian favorite with bacon, onions, and garlic is sure to be a new family favorite for pasta night!
5 from 1 vote
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Sauce
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 8 strips of bacon
  • 1 onion diced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano
  • 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 28 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Chop bacon into half-inch pieces (alternatively, you can use kitchen shears to cut the bacon). Cook bacon in a large pot until it is almost crispy. Leave the bacon and drippings in the pan and add the onion, garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and bay leaf.
  • Cook over medium heat until the onion has softened, then add the tomatoes, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook over low heat for an hour or so. Enjoy! This is a good time to start making meatballs!

Notes

Keyword Bacon, Pasta, Tomatoes
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