Slimming World Arrabbiata Pasta – Easy Spicy Tomato Sauce

If you like a simple but traditional healthy pasta arrabiata, then this unofficial Slimming World pasta arrabbiata could be the recipe for you. Arrabbiata pasta can be enjoyed on its own or topped, if you prefer, with a little grated cheese.

You might also see arrabbiata searched for or written as “arrabiata”, but the traditional Italian spelling is arrabbiata.

What is pasta arrabbiata?

Arrabbiata pasta is a simple Italian tomato sauce that’s given its characteristic kick with chilli. The name comes from the Italian word for “angry”, referring to the heat of the chilli in the sauce.

You’ll sometimes see it written as arrabiata, particularly in online searches, but the Italian spelling is arrabbiata.

One of the things I like about arrabbiata is its simplicity. You don’t need a huge shopping list or lots of expensive ingredients to make a really tasty pasta sauce. Tomatoes, garlic and chilli do most of the work, which makes it particularly useful when the cupboards are looking a bit bare.

My version has been adapted with Slimming World in mind, so it isn’t intended to be a claim that this is the one and only authentic Italian way to make arrabbiata. It’s simply an easy version that works well for the sort of meals I make at home.

Why this is such an easy midweek pasta recipe

There are plenty of evenings when I want something homemade but don’t particularly want to spend an hour standing in the kitchen, and this is exactly the sort of recipe that works for those days.

Most of the ingredients are inexpensive cupboard staples, there’s very little preparation involved and the sauce doesn’t require any complicated cooking techniques.

It’s also easy to keep the ingredients available for those evenings when you suddenly realise you haven’t planned dinner. Pasta and tinned tomatoes are things I usually have in the cupboard anyway, while garlic and chilli are easy enough to keep around too.

You can serve the arrabbiata as it is or add vegetables or a source of protein if you want to make the meal more substantial.

Can I use this as a basic tomato pasta sauce?

If you like making your own pasta sauces, arrabbiata is really just one step away from a simple tomato sauce, with the chilli giving it that characteristic heat.

If you want something without the spice, have a look at my homemade tomato pasta sauce instead. It’s much more useful to have a proper recipe for each than try to turn this page into five different pasta sauces at once!

How to make Slimming World arrabbiata pasta sauce

The beauty of arrabbiata sauce is that it doesn’t need to be complicated. A good tomato base, garlic and chilli give you most of the flavour, and you can adjust the heat depending on how spicy you like your food.

Follow the quantities in my recipe below for the exact version I make, but there are a few things that can make a difference to the finished sauce.

Give the tomatoes enough time to cook and reduce rather than rushing them. If the sauce is very watery when you add it to your pasta, you’ll end up with tomato-flavoured liquid sitting at the bottom of the bowl rather than a lovely sauce coating the pasta.

Garlic is important too, but be careful not to burn it. Burnt garlic can become bitter surprisingly quickly and isn’t something you can disguise by enthusiastically throwing more tomatoes into the pan afterwards!

Then there’s the chilli. Arrabbiata should have some heat, but exactly how much is entirely up to you. I don’t think dinner needs to become an endurance challenge just because the traditional sauce is supposed to be spicy.

If you’re following Slimming World, check the exact ingredients you’re using against the current plan rather than assuming every jar of tomatoes, seasoning or additional ingredient is treated in exactly the same way.

How spicy is pasta arrabbiata?

Arrabbiata pasta is supposed to be spicy – that’s really what distinguishes it from an ordinary tomato pasta sauce – but there’s no official level of chilli-induced suffering you have to achieve!

If you’re not particularly keen on spicy food, start with less chilli. You can always add a little more, whereas removing chilli from a finished sauce is considerably more difficult.

Remember that chillies vary too. The amount that was perfect with one batch may suddenly feel considerably hotter with another.

If you’re cooking for the whole family and some people like more heat than others, I’d make the main sauce at a level everyone can tolerate and let the chilli lovers add extra to their own portions.

You still get the lovely tomato and garlic flavours without making somebody sit at the dinner table sweating into their Arrabbiata Pasta.

Do you have to use penne for pasta arrabbiata?

Penne is one of the pasta shapes most commonly associated with arrabbiata, and it works brilliantly because the sauce can coat the pasta and find its way inside the tubes.

That doesn’t mean your dinner is ruined if the only pasta in your cupboard is fusilli!

You can use other pasta shapes with arrabbiata sauce, particularly if you’re making a quick family dinner rather than trying to impress an Italian chef. Rigatoni, fusilli and other short pasta shapes can all work well.

I usually use fusilli mostly as it is easy to buy and a favourite in our house.

If you’re following Slimming World, changing the shape of plain dried pasta isn’t the thing I’d be worrying about. It’s any additional ingredients or changes to the sauce that you need to check against the current plan.

Is this Slimming World arrabbiata pasta Syn Free?

If you’ve found this recipe after searching for a Syn Free Slimming World arrabbiata, I’d recommend checking the ingredients against the current Slimming World app rather than relying on an old Syn calculation online.

Slimming World changes its plans and terminology over time, and how this recipe fits into the plan can also depend on the exact products you use and anything you add to it.

I’d rather point you towards the current information than give you a figure here that could become outdated.

Can I make chicken arrabbiata pasta?

Yes. If you fancy chicken arrabbiata instead, you can add cooked chicken to the tomato and chilli sauce before combining it with the pasta.

Make sure the chicken is thoroughly cooked, and if you’re following Slimming World remember to check any changes you make against the current plan rather than assuming they’ll have exactly the same value as the recipe below.

If chicken pasta is something you make regularly, I’ve also got lots more chicken pasta recipes to try.

Pasta arrabbiata FAQs

Can you make arrabbiata pasta sauce ahead?

Yes. You can prepare the tomato and chilli sauce ahead of time and keep it refrigerated appropriately until you need it.

I actually think making the sauce separately can be more useful than making the entire pasta dish in advance. You can then cook fresh pasta when you’re ready to eat and simply heat the sauce.

It also means you can make a larger batch of sauce and use it for more than one meal.

Can you freeze arrabbiata sauce?

Yes, the tomato-based arrabbiata pasta sauce is suitable for batch cooking and freezing.

Let it cool appropriately before transferring it to suitable freezer containers. I prefer freezing sauce in useful portions rather than one enormous container, because you can then defrost exactly what you need.

I’d freeze the sauce rather than the cooked pasta if you’re deliberately preparing meals ahead, as freshly cooked pasta generally gives you a nicer finished dish.

Check my batch cooking guide for more recipes that are great for making ahead.

Can I make arrabbiata pasta without chilli?

You can make the same basic tomato sauce without chilli, but technically it wouldn’t really be arrabbiata anymore because the chilli heat is one of the defining features of the sauce.

If you don’t like much spice, a better compromise is to use a very small amount of chilli rather than leaving it out completely.

Of course, if you’re cooking at home and you genuinely hate chilli, leave it out. I’m fairly confident nobody is going to arrive at your door and confiscate your pasta!

What’s the difference between arrabbiata and ordinary tomato pasta sauce?

Both can have tomatoes and garlic at their heart, but the big difference is chilli.

Arrabbiata is deliberately spicy, while a basic tomato pasta sauce doesn’t necessarily contain any chilli at all.

That’s why arrabbiata is such a useful recipe to know. Once you’re comfortable making a basic tomato sauce, adding chilli is an incredibly easy way to turn it into something that tastes quite different without needing a completely new collection of ingredients.

More pasta recipes you might enjoy

If you’re anything like me and pasta is one of those things you nearly always have in the cupboard, there are plenty of other easy ways to turn it into dinner without buying loads of special ingredients.

For another simple tomato-based option, try my homemade tomato pasta sauce, especially if you like the idea of this arrabbiata but don’t always fancy the chilli. If creamy pasta is more your thing, my mushroom and spinach pasta bake or ham and cheese pasta bake are completely different but equally easy family dinners.

I’ve also got a chicken fajita pasta bake if you fancy something with a bit more going on, or you can have a look through my healthy pasta bake recipes for more ideas.

If you’re following Slimming World and came here specifically looking for meals that might suit the plan, my Slimming World pasta recipes page is probably the best place to go next. I’ve got everything together there so you can have a browse and see what you actually fancy rather than me trying to convince you that you need to eat arrabbiata again tomorrow!

Otherwise, head over to my main pasta recipes page where you’ll find pasta salads, sauces, bakes and plenty of other ideas for using that packet of pasta we all seem to have lurking in the cupboard.

Print

If you found this helpful please share!