Pasta Amatriciana  Recipe (2024)

The bucatini shortage in America is real and has been documented. Reasons include pandemic shortages and the difficulty of making it. For what it's worth, Italians often prefer spaghetti with amatriciana because bucatini is difficult to eat without sending the tomato sauce flying. (It doesn't readily wrap around a fork like spaghetti.) So it makes a mess on your nice clothes, and here in Italy we care as much about our clothes as our pasta.

Great sauce, and it freezes well for future meals. I add a small, finely chopped onion when cooking the pancetta, as Marcela Hazan suggests, and it adds depth.

This is similar to the way I learned to make it from my Roman friend, but always remove/set aside the guanciale after it crisps and return it just before serving so it stays that crispy. Also I agree with Luca on limiting ingredients, but for me hot pepper is a must, and salt your pasta water till it tastes like the sea. I never needed to add pasta water to the sauce for this dish. Lastly, with a dish this simple, you must get the best tomatoes, cheese and pasta you can find.

When adding red pepper flakes in a sauce I always “toast” the pepper in the oil in the pan before adding liquids à la Lidia B. It flavors the sauce beautifully.

Holy [swearword]. My picky eating kid asked for seconds. I added shallots but I would add shallots to cereal so take that with a grain of salt.

I make a version of this for my family all the time - it's one of their favorites. I always, whether using guanciale or pancetta, crisp it up first and set it aside. I cook the onions in the rendered fat and add hot pepper flakes into the onion mixture to let the hot pepper bloom. Tomatoes go in next and I let it all cook down a bit. Right before serving I stir in grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino. I plate it and add a generous serving of the crispy guanciale or pancetta. So good!

I always use pancetta for this as guanciole is hard to come by in my small town. This dish happily accepts a finely chopped onion or shallot, a dollop of leftover wine or any number of small flavorings as long as you only add one; more than that and it changes rather than enhances. Thanks for the tip about toasting the pepper flakes.

I'm always amazed at how Italians take a few basic ingredients, prepare them in a simple way and create a dish that is stellar. Amatriciana is one of those dishes. This recipe from Kay Chun is spot on. Like BQW, I remove the guanciale after it crisps and add it back at the end so it doesn't just go limp and dissolve in the tomatoes. Lastly, despite someone's comment, amatriciana doesn't call for soffritto; tomatoes, guanciale and some pecorino and you're good to go!

With good guanciale you can definitely skip the olive oil. The fat from guanciale will be more than enough and will give the sauce its distinct flavor.

This is traditionally Smokey and spicy and if you can only find bacon, add a pinch of smoked paprika

I have cooked this sauce for decades, using variations on recipes by Ada Boni and the Romagnolis as inspirations, and find the addition of a chopped onion and a small amount of white wine works well. Yes, pancetta works just fine. I prefer bucatini which is traditional but penne rigate also work well and are often used in Rome. This is a very easy and forgiving dish, especially since I no longer over-sauce.

I haven't found bucatini either but I have found a square pasta that has the same texture as bucatini and a bit thicker than spaghetti. But I'm lucky in having an Italian market nearby. The last time I had amatriciana in a restaurant it was made with spaghetti. It was terrific. As was once said on another subject: "you don't go to war (pasta) with the army (ingredients) you want; you go with the army (pasta) you have." Good rule. At least for cooking.

Husband is Sicilian and grew up in an Italian neighborhood in Brooklyn but neither of us had had Amatriciana until we moved from NY to SF in 1982 and enjoyed it in Italian eatery there. Ahhh...some to find it simple to make at home and the recipe is just as this one. We've found we prefer pancetta when quality guanciale is hard to find depending on city we live in. Since bucatini "slaps the face" to try to eat it, we sub spaghetti if serving others to protect their dignity and clothes. :-)

One of my go-to sauces. I like to add some garlic and a few torn basil leaves and I've also found that using a little more tomato than the 28 oz. can works nicely with the bucatini. Red pepper flakes are a must.

Tossed the pepper flakes in the oil before the tomatoes. Added a Parmesan rind from the freezer (NYTimes Cooking gem). Couldn’t put down my fork. So good, so fast, so easy!!

Very easy, delicious as written. I used guanciale- truly a keeper!

I start with sauteeing a small chopped onion in the skillet and add a chunk of salted butter to the oil. I almost always use diced pancetta because I don’t want large chucks of pig cheek fat in my pasta, although I have occasionally found fairly lean pieces of guanciale. Use good San Marzano tomatoes and real pecorino Romano that you grate yourself, if you're going to spend the time to make this dish. I prefer spaghetti, otherwise make as directed - it’s a great recipe and freezes well.

Hmmm, this was so simple and delicious. I used spaghetti since bucatini is not that easy to find in the UK and 3/4lb only. I didn’t miss the onions or garlic and good canned tomatoes really carry this dish (Mutti are my favourite here). Will make this often!

Followed recipe exactly - best pasta this side of Italy. Ordered some guanciale and it was better than pancetta in this dish. Needed no more salt in Step 3. Who would have thought no onion, no garlic and delicious!!!

I’m hooked. So simple yet delicious. I’ve made it four times now and am always sad when it’s all eaten.

Lightly brown a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste with the bacon before adding the tomatoes. Really helps the depth of flavor of what is basically a very simple sauce.

What would you suggest as an alternative to pancetta please? Don’t boo me as i don’t eat this :( Would any seafood or chicken work?

Thanks for the various tips. I followed adding a shallot and removing the pancetta and adding at the end. Super delicious!!! Added a nice green salad and homemade garlic bread and it was perfecto!

You can absolutely (and in my opinion, should) forgo the olive oil. Just start your Guanciale (def use this over pancetta if possible) on low heat and let it render and use that to cook the Guanciale down.

Very good. Add some finely chopped onion and add back the guanciale at the end. Use thick spaghetti instead of bucatini.

Great simple dish that you can use as base and make it your own. I’ve used pancetta (easier to find), added a chopped onion, sometimes some white wine - sometimes even Ross in some spinach at the end for some extra veg. Quick and fast and reheats great.

I sautéed one clove of garlic and increased the prosciutto to 8 ounces. I also added fresh basil to the sauce. An amazing recipe.

Super important to slow cook the guanciale so you sweat out all the flavorful fat. It’s more than 5mins. Closer to 8 when you start in a cold pan.

Enjoy it immensely.

I’ve made this for years, using pancetta, as guanciale is difficult to find. And I always sauté some diced onion after the pancetta has rendered its fat. I prefer spaghetti to bucatini (or perciatelli, which is similar) for the reasons others have noted; they’re difficult to twirl and a bit chewy. And I highly recommend pecorino rather than Parmesan for serving; the saltiness is a perfect match for this dish.