This Spicy Spaghetti is an easy dinner made with fresh cherry tomatoes, a kick of red pepper flakes, and a delicious blend of fresh basil and parmesan cheese. It's the perfect summer entree sure to please your whole family with just the right amount of spice!

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Summertime is all about simplicity for me. I want easy dinners made with simple, seasonal ingredients.
This Spicy Spaghetti is exactly that. A simple pasta dish, it's packed with fresh summer tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and basil. And honestly not much else. THe sauce is essentially a homemade arrabbiata sauce.
It's so quick and easy to make and will appeal to nearly everyone who enjoys a little kick to their food (though you can easily control the spice level).
This dinner is truly summer to me! But don't worry, it can be made during any time of the year that you can find fresh cherry tomatoes.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
You'll love this spicy spaghetti because it's so simple and easy to make, but it's absolutely packed with flavor. It utilizes lots of fresh summer tomatoes and basil, along with a generous sprinkling of red pepper flakes for heat.
Plus, it's so easy to customize. You can easily add meat for extra protein or additional vegetables for more nutrition.
I make this dish all the time with little tweaks and I'll share some customization ideas with you later in this post.
🗒 Ingredients
As I've mentioned several times, this spicy spaghetti utilizes super fresh and simple ingredients. Here's everything you need (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipes instructions):
- Spaghetti
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Diced onion
- Minced garlic
- Red pepper flakes
- Cherry tomatoes: I especially love using mini San Marzanos when I can find them.
- Dried oregano
- Salt & black pepper
- Grated parmesan cheese
- Chopped basil
🍝 How to make spicy spaghetti
And the actual dish is so easy to make!
Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil and adding spaghetti. Cook pasta according to package instructions until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving about ½ cup of the water. You might need it to thin out the pasta sauce a bit. Set pasta and reserved water aside.
While water is boiling and pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until onion is starting to soften.
Stir red pepper flakes into onion and cook for 2 minutes. I use 2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes for a really nice kick. If you love extra spicy food, you can use more. If you're worried about the dish being too spicy, use less. You can always sprinkle some more on top!
Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute, until fragrant.
Add tomatoes, oregano, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have softened and released their juices.
Use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes slightly and release more of their juices.
There's your super easy and completely homemade pasta sauce!
Add drained spaghetti to the skillet with the sauce, along with grated parmesan and chopped basil.
Toss to coat evenly. If sauce looks too dry, add some of the reserved pasta water a little at a time.
Serve topped with more parmesan, basil, and red pepper flakes.
Hello, perfect summer pasta! I know this seems like a super simple and basic dish, but that's exactly what I love about it. The fresh tomato flavor really shines, which is especially awesome if you grew those tomatoes yourself.
It has the best spicy kick to it. Though my husband always adds practically an extra teaspoon of red pepper flakes to his (he likes it SO spicy). Definitely tweak it to your own personal taste.
This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for a crowd and, of course, you can add protein, additional vegetables, and so much more!
Bonus points if you serve it with garlic bread. OK fine, and a garden salad.
🎉 Variations on recipe
I kept this spicy spaghetti recipe as basic as I could, but every time I make it, I like to put a little twist on it, whether that's making a meaty spaghetti sauce or adding some more green. Here are some of my favorite recipe variations:
- Add sausage: I make this often with ground sweet Italian sausage or ground spicy Italian sausage. I've also made with with sliced chicken sausage.
- Add shrimp: Pasta with fresh tomato sauce and shrimp is one of my favorite dishes and shrimp makes a great addition (this baked shrimp and feta pasta is one of my favorites!)
- Add chicken: If you prefer chicken, sliced chicken breast is delicious with this spaghetti.
- Add ground beef: I recommend using lean ground beef for this dish if you're looking to turn this into a meat sauce.
- Use additional vegetables: You can add any veggies you want and I highly recommend taking advantage of any summer produce you have on hand. Especially tasty are bell peppers, zucchini, corn, spinach, and kale. You'll likely want to sauté vegetables like peppers and zucchini with onion and will want to mix in greens at the end with the basil.
- Add olives, sun-dried tomatoes, or capers: A little salty umami goes a long way in this dish and olives or capers are the perfect addition. For an additional deeper tomato flavor, sun-dried tomatoes are tasty.
- Add fresh lemon juice or wine: A little splash of fresh lemon juice and/or lemon zest can add a little extra brightness to the meal. You can also add a splash of red wine or white wine and happen to have a bottle open.
- Leave out the spice: If you don't love spiciness, but you like the idea of an easy homemade tomato sauce, consider making this spicy tomato sauce without the spice! Just omit the rest pepper flakes from the recipe. I'd add a little extra black pepper instead.
- Use a different pasta shape: You can make a spicy fettuccine or a spicy penne instead. You can also feel free to use whole wheat spaghetti, low-carb pasta, etc. Use any of your favorite pasta shapes and types for the dish; the key is the spicy sauce!
⏲️ How to store leftovers
If you happen to have any spicy spaghetti leftovers, they're easy to store so you can enjoy the next day!
After pasta is cooled, transfer the leftovers into an airtight container and keep in the fridge. They should keep fresh for 3-4 days.
When you're ready to eat the leftovers, you can re-heat them in the microwave or in a saucepan over medium-low heat. You may need to add a little water when re-heating if the spaghetti looks dry.
🧊 Can I freeze this dish?
I often freeze spaghetti dishes, but haven't tried freezing this particular one. You should be able to, though the texture of the cherry tomatoes may change a bit when the dish is thawed. If you do decide to freeze the leftovers, ensure they are in a freezer-safe container and consume within 2-3 months for the best freshness.
🍅 Can I use larger tomatoes?
Sure! I love using fresh off-the-vine cherry tomatoes for this pasta as they're easy to grow or purchase at the grocer store.
However, if you want to use larger tomatoes, just weight out about 1.5 pounds of them. And make sure you chop them up a bit before adding to the skillet.
🥫 Can I use canned crushed tomatoes?
If you can't get fresh tomatoes where you are, you can certainly use canned crush tomatoes. I think fresh tomatoes taste much better in this dish, but it will still be tasty with crushed. You can also add a little tomato paste for a deeper level of flavor.
If you can find canned San Marzano tomatoes, use them!
👩🍳 More summer pasta recipes
In my opinion there's not much better than an easy summer pasta packed with warm weather ingredients. I love that this spicy spaghetti can really be made year-round since it's fairly easy to find cherry tomatoes (even if they're not homegrown!), but its especially delicious in the summer.
Here are a few more of my favorite summer recipes:
This Summer Pasta Primavera from Once Upon a Chef also looks delicious.
I find summer pastas are best enjoyed alfresco. Perhaps watching the sun beginning to set. With a nice refreshing drink in hand.
What's your favorite way to enjoy pasta in the summertime?
📖 Recipe

Spicy Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 12 oz. spaghetti
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, (use less if you're sensitive to spice) plus more for topping
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 4 cups (about 2 pints or 1.5 pounds) halved cherry tomatoes (or mini San Marzanos if you can find them)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
- 2 tablespoon fresh chopped basil, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add spaghetti. Cook according to package directions until al dente. Drain, reserving about ½ cup of the water. You might need it to thin out the pasta sauce a bit. Set cooked pasta and reserved water aside.
- While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until onion is starting to soften. Stir red pepper flakes into onion and cook for 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute, until fragrant.
- Add tomatoes, oregano, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes have softened and released their juices.
- Use a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon to crush the tomatoes slightly and release more of their juices.
- Add drained spaghetti to the skillet with the sauce, along with grated parmesan and chopped basil and toss to coat evenly. If sauce looks dry, add some of the reserved pasta water a little at a time.
- Serve topped with more parmesan, basil, and red pepper flakes.
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