My Cavatappi Amatriciana recipe tastes just like the famous pasta side dish served at Carrabba’s Italian Grill. This Roman classic pasta sauce is made from scratch in under an hour. This pasta recipe is one your family will be asking for second and third helpings.
As you might know by now, my family and I love Carrabba’s Italian Grill. Years ago, I worked tirelessly replicating and perfecting Carrabba’s copycat recipes. I have over a half dozen copycat recipes. My Cavatappi Amatriciana recipe is pretty spot on to the restaurant version. I never knew until I was watching an episode of Bobby & Giada in Italy and learned that Amatriciana sauce comes from Rome. There are in fact four different traditional pasta/sauce dishes from Rome. They are Gricia, Cacio e Pepe, Carbonara, and Amatriciana.
I actually remember eating spaghetti all’amatriciana while we visited Rome for the day back in 2012. I was so happy to find that the recipe tasted very similar to what we have enjoyed here in the United States. So if you love the spiciness of Amatriciana sauce, you are going to love this recipe.
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Olive OIl – This will be needed to cook the meat and vegetables in prior to adding the tomatoes to make sauce.
- Cured Meat – You can use either Guanciale or Pancetta. The meat needs to be diced.
- Seasonings – I like to use freshly cracked black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. This will give the sauce a nice amount of spice. You’ll also need salt to salt the water for the pasta.
- Vegetables – Garlic, carrot, onion minced, and a can of peeled Tomatoes
- Cavatappi Pasta – I like to use cavatappi pasta because this is the same cut of noodle that Carrabba’s Italian Grill uses in their dish. However, any cut of pasta will work.
- Pecorino Romano – I like to buy the Pecorino Romano cheese that is pre-grated; however, you can also buy a block and freshly grate it. This is the exact cheese they use in Rome when making Amatriciana sauce.
How to Make Amatriciana Sauce
Heat olive oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Add pancetta; cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 6–8 minutes. Add cracked black pepper; cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes more.
Increase the heat to medium-high; add garlic, carrots, and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 6 minutes. Add chili flakes; cook for 1 minute.
Stir in tomatoes, breaking them into bite size pieces with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer with lid on, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 20–25 minutes. Season with salt; keep warm.
This is what the sauce will look like after it’s simmered for 25 minutes. It will be thick. This is why it’s important to save some pasta water to thin out the sauce.
How to Cook Pasta
While sauce cooks, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt to the pasta water. Add pasta and cook until just al dente, 6–8 minutes. Reserve ½ cup pasta water from the pot then drain pasta.
Heat reserved sauce over medium heat. Add pasta and reserved water; cook, tossing, until sauce clings to pasta, 2–3 minutes. Add ½ cup Pecorino; toss.
Divide between serving bowls; serve with remaining Pecorino. Top with chiffonade threads of basil if desired.
FAQs
Here are all the frequently asked questions readers have asked when making this recipe.
This copycat Carrabba’s Amatriciana sauce recipe with pasta makes enough to feed about 8 adults.
Amatriciana Sauce is made of guanciale (cured pork cheek), Pecorino Romano cheese, crushed canned plum tomatoes, red pepper, onion, garlic, and even carrots. All sauted and then simmered together to make a traditional Roman sauce.
Pancetta, which is essentially pork belly that is salt and pepper cured and most common here in the United States. Guanciale is the pork cheek. It is cured in a mix of salt and spices. Although both are similar (from a pig) they each have a slightly different taste and could be interchanged if need be in this recipe.
Tips & Tricks
Here are a few of my favorite tips and tricks I’ve learned when making this recipe.
- Time Saver Tip – I have found Pancetta pre-diced and packaged in the cold meat section by the deli.
- Meat – For this recipe you need either Guanciale or Pancetta. This is a cured meat that will add so much flavor to the sauce.
- How to Break up Whole Tomatoes – I will dump the can of tomatoes into the pot. Then use either a wooden spoon or a ground beef chopper to break the tomatoes into bite size pieces.
- Toppings – I love to add additional grated cheese and fresh basil to my pasta. I like to stack all the basil leaves on top of each other, then tightly roll, and thinly slice. This is called a chiffonade.
- Double Sauce – If you love this sauce as much as I do you can make double the sauce, then divide half of it and freeze it for a future easy dinner.
Carrabba’s Italian Grill Copycat Recipes
Still craving more food from Carrabba’s Italian Grill? Here are a few more of my favorite Carrabba’s recipes.
If you make this recipe, I would be honored and love for you to take the time to leave a star rating and comment! I spend hours developing and testing these recipes, and always love to hear feedback and user experience!
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Cavatappi Amatriciana
Equipment
- Stove Top
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 4 oz. Guanciale or Pancetta diced
- Freshly Cracked Black Pepper to taste
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 1 small Carrot peeled and minced
- ½ medium Onion minced
- ½ tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 28 oz. Can Peeled Tomatoes
- 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
- 1 lb. Cavatappi Pasta
- ¼ cup Pecorino Romano grated
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet, over medium heat. Add pancetta; cook, stirring, until lightly browned, 6–8 minutes. Add cracked black pepper; cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes more.
- Increase the heat to medium-high; add garlic, carrots, and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 6 minutes. Add chili flakes; cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in tomatoes, breaking them into bite size pieces with a wooden spoon. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer with lid on, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 20–25 minutes. Season with salt; keep warm.
- While sauce cooks, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon salt to the pasta water. Add pasta and cook until just al dente, 6–8 minutes.
- Reserve ½ cup pasta water from the pot then drain pasta. Heat reserved sauce over medium heat. Add pasta and reserved water; cook, tossing, until sauce clings to pasta, 2–3 minutes. Add ½ cup Pecorino; toss. Divide between serving bowls; serve with remaining Pecorino. Top with chiffonade threads of basil if desired.
Notes
- Time Saver Tip – I have found Pancetta pre-diced and packaged in the cold meat section by the deli.
- Meat – For this recipe you need either Guanciale or Pancetta. This is a cured meat that will add so much flavor to the sauce.
- How to Break up Whole Tomatoes – I will dump the can of tomatoes into the pot. Then use either a wooden spoon or a ground beef chopper to break the tomatoes into bite size pieces.
- Toppings – I love to add additional grated cheese and fresh basil to my pasta. I like to stack all the basil leaves on top of each other, then tightly roll, and thinly slice. This is called a chiffonade.
- Double Sauce – If you love this sauce as much as I do you can make double the sauce, then divide half of it and freeze it for a future easy dinner.
Nutrition
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