Sardine Puttanesca Sauce (Paleo, Whole30, Keto)

Sardine Puttanesca Sauce is an incredibly flavorful combination of some humble ingredients that you can most likely have on hand in your pantry. It’s an easy recipe that pairs great with a variety of dishes to make a simple weeknight meal.

I generally don’t consider myself a prostitute, but I once unknowingly prepared Puttanesca sauce–which literally translates to “sauce in the style of a whore”— by happenstance.

One day I was famished, but all that I could find in the dark corner of my pantry was a can of tomatoes, some olives, and a tin of sardines.

With no other options, I decided to throw just everything together with a little garlic and…holy shiitakes! Flavor explosion.

Despite the titillating backstory that the translation implies, I have a feeling that’s exactly how Puttanesca was invented: a long time ago, someone in Italy (possibly a “lady of the night”) made a quick sauce for their pasta by scrapping together whatever dusty, cheap ingredients they could find in the dark corner of their pantry.

Perhaps I have the palette of a mid-century Italian harlot, but I find this quick to prepare, vibrant sauce to be simply seductive.

Seriously though…what is Puttanesca made of?

Puttanesca is traditionally made from anchovies, olives, and capers often combined with tomatoes, garlic, and red pepper.

In this recipe, however, I substitute sardines for the anchovies. Not only do I love the benefits of sardines, but I tend to have them on hand more often.

They really add a great, but not overpowering, flavor to the sauce.

Why This Recipe Rocks

Aside from it’s fun name with saucy translation (pun intended) this recipe is great because it’s:

• fast: the sauce comes together in 30 minutes, including prep time
• easy: one pan is all you’ll need
• flavorful
• Paleo
• Keto
• Whole30 compliant
• low-carb
• protein-packed

And, of course, it’s delicious!

Ingredients

For this recipe, you’ll need:

• sardines: one 4-ounce tin of sardines in olive oil
• canned tomatoes: a large can of whole, peeled tomatoes. I highly recommend San Marzano DOP.
• artichoke hearts: I just use artichoke hearts in water, but you can also used brined artichoke hearts for some extra flavor
• Kalamata olives: use pitted olives so they are easy to slice
• garlic
• capers
• red pepper flakes
• lemon zest: this really hightens all the flavors of the sauce, so I don’t recommend omitting it
• fresh parsley
• black pepper

You may notice that there’s no salt in the ingredient list because between the sardines, olives, and capers I usually find the sauce to be plenty salty enough. Feel free to add some to your taste though.

How to Make Sardine Puttanesca Sauce: Step-by-step

Start by heating a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet until shimmering.

Add some sliced garlic cloves and red pepper flakes and sauté for about a minute.

Add the sardines with their oil and break them up with a spoon. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until they start to dissolve.

Add in a can of plum tomatoes and crush them with a wooden spoon.

Toss in some olives, artichokes, and capers and season with lemon zest and black pepper.

Simmer the sauce over medium heat for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened.

Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in a generous handful of fresh parsley. Enjoy!

What goes well with Puttanesca Sauce?

Seeing how robust and versatile Puttanesca sauce is, pretty much the sky’s the limit in terms of accompaniments.

Just a few serving suggestions that come to mind are:

• Roasted spaghetti squash
• Spiralized zucchini noodles
• Gluten-free pasta
• Cauliflower gnocchi
• Any type of whitefish (just poach it in the sauce!)
• Grilled salmon, tuna, or chicken breast

You can even go crazy and crack a few eggs in the puttanesca, cover, and simmer until they are cooked. Now that’s some good eatin’!

More Sardine Recipes

• Fisherman’s Eggs

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