Spicy Spaghetti Amatriciana with Bacon
plus Parmesan & Chili Flakes
- Milk
- Wheat
Al dente pasta, smoky bacon, luscious tomatoes, spicy chili flakes, and savory Parmesan cheese—these are the simple ingredients that come together quickly in a hot pan to become a beloved dish Italians have enjoyed for centuries: spaghetti amatriciana. Bring a taste of Italy to your kitchen, and make it tonight!
Ingredients
4 ounce
Bacon
1 unit
Onion
1 unit
Crushed Tomatoes
1 clove
Garlic
3 tablespoon
Parmesan Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
6 ounce
Spaghetti
(Contains: Wheat)
1 teaspoon
Chili Flakes
Not included in your delivery
teaspoon (tsp)
Black Pepper
8 teaspoon (tsp)
Salt
0.13 teaspoon (tsp)
Sugar
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Heat a large dry pan over medium- high heat. Add bacon*; cook, turning occasionally and adjusting heat if browning too quickly, until crispy, 6-10 minutes. Turn off heat; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. • Carefully discard all but a thin layer of bacon fat from pan. • Once bacon is cool enough to handle, roughly chop.
• While bacon cooks, peel and mince or grate garlic. Halve, peel and mince onion.
• Return pan with reserved bacon fat to medium heat. Add garlic, a pinch of chili flakes, and pepper (if pan seems dry, add a drizzle of olive oil). Cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. • Add onion; season with salt (we used 1 1⁄2 tsp; 1 TBSP for 4 servings). Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 6-8 minutes. • Add Colavita crushed tomatoes, bacon, and 1⁄8 tsp sugar (1⁄4 tsp for 4); bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, 12-15 minutes more.
• Once sauce has simmered 4-5 minutes, add Colavita spaghetti to pot of boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until just al dente, 8-10 minutes. • Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water (1 1⁄2 cups for 4 servings), then drain.
• Add drained spaghetti and 1⁄2 cup reserved pasta cooking water (3⁄4 cup for 4 servings) to pan with sauce; cook, tossing occasionally, until pasta is evenly coated, 1-2 minutes. TIP: If needed, stir in more pasta cooking water a splash at a time. • Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.
• Divide pasta between bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan and remaining chili flakes if desired. Serve.
Bacon is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 145°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many loved the smoky bacon flavor, though some found it mild; adding extra herbs or spices boosted taste 🍲.
- Ease of prep: Quick and simple to make, with actual cooking techniques that impressed customers.
- Suggestions: Consider adding more bacon, diced tomatoes, or oregano for a richer sauce and deeper flavor.
- Portions: Some felt the dish needed more sauce; others suggested doubling ingredients for heartier servings.
- Spiciness: The chili flakes added a nice kick, but adjust to taste — some found it very spicy.
Reviews from our home cooks
Could only use a bit of the chili flakes...very, very, spicy. But recipe was very good.
Very tasty but the amount of bacon provided was way too small in proportion to the pasta. Since the bacon was so fatty, there was hardly anything left after it was cooked. Disappointing.
I want sure if we'd feel satisfied with the only protein being bacon. But we all agreed the spice was nice and bacon flicker throughout. It was a hit!
I loved the flavors, but found the sauce to be too watery. I would either add additional tomato or reduce amount of water added to the sauce with the pasta
Very good and easy dish. My only complaint and it is a minor one ... I would have liked a lot more sauce.
This was so delicious. It had plenty of sauce. Some of the pastas don't.
I wasn't sure about this recipe. But I'm glad I tried it. Different, but delicious.
Was actually really good, I liked that it used actual cooking techniques
Really liked it. The bacon fat gave the recipe a different but good taste.
This has a great texture, but it was bland. I could have done the same thing with noodles and Ketchup. Red pepper flakes as a seasoning is just sad. I would never cook this on my own and call it a meal. It was disappointing. You can do much better than this sad dish.
