17 May 2026
Welcome friends. I saw a recipe for Arrabbiata sauce in a book of pizza recipes. It is fun saying arrabbiata which translates to angry. Once I became aware of it, I began noticing it on restaurant menus. The recipe is simple, adding some peppers, fennel, and pepper flakes to a basic tomato sauce. My other reference for this recipe comes from Michael Chiarello. He was a big inspiration as I started to improve my cooking. I always enjoyed watching his show on the Food Network. He would frequently tell the camera guy to zoom in, and then he'd say something like "you see that? that's what you're looking for!" The technique of straining the tomato juices comes from what he recalled of his mother's recipe.
I started making Arrabbiata sauce as a topping for meatloaf, but I found other uses for it. I like it with a cheese filled pasta. A generous dollop goes great with polenta. I found a recipe for oven polenta and I add this sauce and shrimp to make a version of shrimp and grits.
I like the sweet flavor the Calabrian peppers add. I found them in the Italian section at my grocery. This sauce comes together quickly and I like having some in my refrigerator.
Arrabbiata Sauce
25 min. prep time | 30 min. simmer time
Ingredients
makes about 4 cups
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes, preferably fire roasted
- 1/2 medium sized onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 4 to 5 Calabrian chili peppers, diced (optional)
- 3 Tbl olive oil
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground fennel
- 1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup water
Directions
set a large strainer over a large bowl. Pour in the tomatoes to strain out the juice. Stir the tomatoes a few times with a rubber spatula to collect more of the liquid. Reserve the juice.
peel the onion and cut it in half end to end. Medium dice half of the onion and place it in a small bowl.
mince the garlic and set aside.
dice the peppers and place them in a small bowl.
heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the oil to the pan once it is warm. Add the onion and saute until it is very tender and just starting to brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the peppers and garlic. Cook for about a minute (you don't want the garlic to brown and get hard).
add the tomato juice and bring to a simmer. Add the tomato pulp, salt, fennel, pepper flakes, and water. Stir to combine. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes.
smooth the texture of the sauce by using an immersion blender, or allow the sauce to cool for 30 minutes and use a blender. Once the sauce has cooled, store it in a mason quart jar in the refrigerator.