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This authentic Sicilian spaghetti recipe is so easy and it takes only 5 ingredients to make it! Spaghetti Siciliana is a fiery mix of hot pasta mixed with lots of garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, chillies and olive oil. Simple and gorgeous!
If spaghetti is your favourite type of pasta, take a look at my Spaghetti Puttanesca recipe, that takes only 15 minutes to throw together!
As some of you know, I just returned from Italy 2 days ago and this recipe, along with Sicilian sun-dried tomatoes in a small tupperware container, was one of the things I brought home with me.
I was so blessed to be surrounded by amazing Italian homecooks, who gave me tips and advice on cooking authentic dishes from various regions of Italy. The sun-dried tomatoes were an unexpected gift from our dear hostess.
You gotta love Italian generosity and hospitality! I just briefly mentioned during lunch that I liked the tomatoes and she immediately pulled them off the table, put a lid on and handed them to me while saying, “Can you take them on the plane?”
As I was leaving, another friend quickly told me how to prepare this amazing spaghetti recipe. And in two days I’ve been home I’ve cooked it twice!
I was absolutely thrilled. You can never have too many spaghetti recipes!
Spaghetti Recipes
Spaghetti is quite possibly the most popular pasta shape outside of Italy. It is most definitely the first one we learn to love as children.
My kids enjoyed their first taste of Spaghetti with simple Tomato Sauce for a long time until they graduated into appreciating more complex flavours like Spaghetti Bolognese, meaty ragu cooked with vegetables for hours!
Now as teens their absolute favourite pasta dish is Spaghetti Carbonara. So delicious, creamy and once again so simple. The hallmark of Italian cuisine!
This pasta is beautiful in its simplicity. So flavourful and satisfying! Here is what you will need.
What ingredients go into Sicilian spaghetti?
- spaghetti
- olive oil
- sun dried tomatoes
- dried chilli flakes
- garlic
You can also add parsley and Parmesan cheese.
How to get most flavour
Before I start, I would like to say that the flavour of your dish will almost solely rest on the quality of sun-dried tomatoes, so keep that in mind when you are buying them. Get the best quality you can afford, after all you only need a little jar!
In a large pot of boiling and salted water cook your spaghetti according to package direction. I usually subtract 2 minutes off the cooking time suggested, this way you get them al dente.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a frying pan and add minced garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and red chilli flakes, cook while stirring over low heat for 1 minute, then add half of your chopped parsley. Set aside.
Drain your cooked pasta and toss everything together in the same pan, add salt to taste and remaining half of chopped parsley.
Serve with grated Parmesan cheese on top. Seriously, it couldn’t get any easier or tastier than that! Buon Appetito!
More traditional pasta recipes
- Pasta al Forno
- Fresh Pappardelle Carbonara with Arugula
- Tuna Pasta with Capers
- Bucatini Cacio e Pepe
Spaghetti alla Siciliana
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1-2 tsp red chilli flakes
- 4 tsbp This is an affiliate link.sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 500g/1lbs This is an affiliate link.spaghetti
- salt, to taste
- 2 tbsp Grana Padano or Parmesan
Instructions
- In a large pot of boiling and salted water cook your spaghetti according to package direction.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a frying pan and add minced garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and red chilli flakes, cook while stirring over low heat for 1 minute, then add half of your chopped parsley. Set aside.
- Drain your cooked pasta and toss everything together in the same pan, add salt to taste and remaining half of chopped parsley. Serve with grated cheese on top.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is my favorite pasta dish without meat sauce and is our go to for something easy/quick when I don’t plan on serving meat (or the budget doesn’t allow meat to be purchased if you know what I mean). My family doesn’t really like it but I remind them that if they were in Italy they would starve b/c American’s don’t really know how to cook Italian 🙂
Thanks for sharing this
My pleasure, Susan! I am so glad you love it!
Easiest, most delicious pasta I’ve made. This will be my go to recipe.
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe.
My pleasure, Patricia!
It’s delicious hands down. I prefer half the pasta, dried sun dried tomatoes in a bag, extra olive oil. I cannot imagine coating a lb of pasta with such little oil. Yeah can’t believe I tweaked your recipe!! Extra cheese too!! I only use one clove garlic. Unfortunately didn’t have fresh parsley but dried was fine. And definitely sprinkle with a little salt. I crave it whenever I see the pic.
Everyone knows that when you do pasta, you should add some pasta water to make the dish creamier. This is basic Italian.
Hi Bob, if you read the post, you would’ve seen that this recipe comes straight from a Sicilian cook. You clearly didn’t make it but you rated it. If you made it, you would’ve seen why you shouldn’t add water here. This pasta is not saucy, so adding water would be a big mistake as water and oil do NOT blend but hey, thanks for a patronising comment and mansplaining how Italian cooking works!