If you have a tin of sardines and a can of tomatoes sitting in the cupboard, you’re already halfway to an incredibly flavourful pasta dinner. This spicy sardine pasta combines flaky canned sardines with garlic, chilli and a rich tomato sauce for an easy meal that comes together in around 30 minutes. The sardines break into the sauce as they cook, adding plenty of savoury flavour without requiring a long simmer. A squeeze of fresh lemon and parsley at the end keeps the tomato sauce bright and balances the richness of the fish. It’s one of those simple store-cupboard dinners that’s particularly handy for busy weeknights. It’s inexpensive, satisfying and made predominantly from ingredients you can keep on hand.
Why You’ll Love This Spicy Sardine Pasta
- Ready in around 30 minutes – the tomato sauce only needs a short simmer, making this an easy option for busy weeknights.
- Made with store-cupboard staples – canned sardines, canned tomatoes, pasta and dried seasonings mean you can make this without much planning – i.e. the perfect easy weeknight dinner!
- Big flavour from simple ingredients – garlic, chilli, tomato paste and sardines create a rich, savoury sauce from a relatively short ingredient list.
- Easy to customise – adjust the chilli to your preference, switch the pasta shape or add ingredients such as olives, capers or spinach.
- Budget-friendly – canned sardines are a particularly handy alternative to fresh seafood when you want a fish pasta without spending much.
Fun facts about Sardines
Named after the island of Sardinia in Italy, sardines are a very versatile ingredient to make. It might be small in size, but it’s packed with an abundance of vitamins and nutrition. Similar to salmon, it is an oily fish and contains high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, which is widely known to be beneficial to our health.
Sardines are most commonly found in tinned form because they are highly perishable and rot rather quickly. But if you’d like to try a taste of fresh sardines, grilled sardines are quite a popular starter dish in the Mediterranean.
How to Make Spicy Tomato Sardine Pasta
Ingredients You Need
- Sardines – I recommend oil-packed canned sardines for this recipe as they’re rich and flavourful. Drain off most of the oil before adding them to the sauce. Sardines packed in water or brine work too, although the finished sauce may be slightly less rich.
- Pasta – linguine and spaghetti both work particularly well because the strands become coated in the tomato and sardine sauce. You can also use short pasta such as penne or rigatoni.
- Garlic & Onion
- Red Chilli Flakes – one teaspoon gives it a noticeable kick, but you can easily reduce or increase this depending on your spice preference.
- Tomato Paste – adds extra depth and helps intensify the tomato flavour.
- Tinned Chopped Tomatoes – forms the base of the sauce.
- Italian Mixed Herbs
- Lemon Juice
- Parsley
- Olive Oil
- Salt & Black Pepper – to taste
Recipe Tips & Notes
- Don’t overcook the sardines. They’re already cooked, so they only need enough time to warm through and flavour the sauce.
- Leave some sardine pieces intact. Breaking some into the tomato sauce creates flavour throughout, while keeping a few larger flakes gives the pasta better texture.
- Cook the tomato paste before adding the tomatoes. Giving it a minute in the pan helps deepen its flavour.
- Reserve your pasta water. Add a splash when tossing the pasta through the sauce if it feels too thick or isn’t coating the pasta evenly.
- Be careful with the salt. Canned sardines can already be salty, particularly if they’re packed in brine. Taste the finished sauce before adding additional salt.
- Don’t skip the lemon. The acidity cuts through the richness of the sardines and brightens the tomato sauce.
Sardine Pasta Variation Ideas
What to Serve with Sardine Pasta
This sardine pasta is filling enough to serve on its own, but you can turn it into a larger meal with garlic bread, a simple green salad or roasted vegetables. For a little extra texture, try topping the pasta with toasted breadcrumbs, fresh parsley and lemon zest.
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Spicy Tomato Sardines Pasta Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g Linguine Pasta / Spaghetti
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 cloves Garlic finely chopped
- ½ large Onion sliced
- 1 tsp Red Chilli Flakes
- 120 g Oil-packed Tinned Sardines drained
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Italian Mixed Herbs
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 400 g (1 tin) Chopped Tomatoes
- Salt & Black Pepper to taste
- Lemon Juice to taste
- Fresh Parsley Leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in garlic and red chilli flakes, saute for a minute until fragrant.
- Add in the sliced onions, cook for 5 minutes until softened.
- Season with paprika, Italian mixed herbs, salt and black pepper.
- Stir in tomato paste. Let cook until deepened in colour.
- Add the sardines. Roughly break it up using a wooden spatula.
- Stir in chopped tomatoes. Bring to a boil then let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Toss in cooked pasta and mix well.
- Garnish with chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon. Serve immediately.
Notes
- I used oil-packed tinned sardines here but if you’re a bit more health-conscious than I am, feel free to use those in brined water.
it’s awesome! Let me know if you do join our community! I’d love for you to connect with our community and have you share your recipes 🙂
I was wondering if you were on FB at all? It would be amazing if you could share your recipe in our group, would love for our community of food lovers to check this one out! Check us out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OnlyGoodEats/
this is a beautiful recipe! Really loving this one 🙂
I was wondering if you were on FB at all? It would be amazing if you could share your recipe in our group, would love for our community of food lovers to check this one out! Check us out here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/OnlyGoodEats/
Thank you! Glad you liked it! Enjoy 😊