Easy Pasta Puttanesca with Beef

This Easy Pasta Puttanesca with Beef is flavourful and quick to make. It truly is a great weeknight dinner! The flavours all go together perfectly, the olives, capers, and beef pair so well together. Serve a side salad like this Simple Grape and Feta Arugula Salad with Candied Pecans as a side salad to pack in those veggies!

What is Pasta Puttanesca?

Pasta Puttanesca is a quick to make pasta sauce that includes tomatoes, olives, capers and chilli flakes. You can then add in meat if you choose or you can also keep it vegetarian.

Can I make this Easy Pasta Puttanesca with Beef gluten free?

Yes! This ground beef puttanesca can easily be made gluten free by using a gluten free pasta. Double check the other ingredients to make sure they don’t have any gluten additives, but they usually don’t.

Ingredients used in this simple pasta sauce recipe!

1. Ground beef – I used lean ground beef for this simple pasta recipe.
2. Olive oil – Used to cook the beef in.
3. Diced tomatoes – A 28oz can of diced tomatoes is needed.
4. Tomato Paste – A 5.5-6oz tin of tomato paste is used here.
5. Oregano -Dried oregano works great here.
6. Garlic Cloves – 5 garlic cloves minced or pressed are needed for this recipe.
7. Onion – One cup of diced yellow onion is used here.
8. Kalamata Olives – 1/2 cup of halved kalamata olives are in this pasta sauce.
9. Capers – 2 tablespoons of capers add the perfect zesty bite to this sauce.
10. Chili Flakes – 1/4-1/2 tsp of child flakes adds a little bit of heat to this pasta sauce!
11. Salt – I used 2 teaspoons of salt in my sauce as none of my canned tomatoes had salt. Adjust the level of salt if using salted tomatoes.
12. Pasta – I used tagliatelle, but any noodle like linguine or penne works great too!

How to make this beef pasta puttanesca?

This classic pasta recipe comes together super quickly. It’s quick and tasty, and makes for the perfect weeknight meal. It’s also fantastic for a weekend dinner with friends!

To make this simple pasta recipe, we start with browning the beef. Using a large heavy bottomed pot (I love my dutch oven for this) heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add in the ground beef and cook the beef until it’s almost completely brown. Then add in the onion and continue to cook until the beef is fully done and the onion is translucent.

Add in the garlic and the oregano and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the canned tomatoes and the tomato paste and stir it all until well combined. Add in the capers, olives, 1 tsp of salt and chilli flakes and let the sauce simmer for 15 minutes.

While the sauce is simmering, cook your pasta according to the directions, drain and set aside. If needed, drizzle with a bit of olive oil after straining in order to keep the noodles from sticking together.

After 15 minutes, test the sauce and add more salt if needed.

Serve over the pasta and sprinkle on some parmesan cheese or feta cheese! I love adding feta to my pasta dishes. It may not be traditional, but it’s super delicious.