Fettuccine with Marinara Sauce features long, flat fettuccine noodles that perfectly holds more marinara sauce, enhancing each and every bite!
Years ago while in Italy, I was lucky enough to attend a cooking class where we learned how to make homemade marinara sauce, eggplant parmigiana, hand formed colonnata pasta, and a gorgeous lemon custard.
I am also embarrassed to say that I learned that spaghetti and meatballs is NOT a quintessential Italian dish (same with Fettuccine Alfredo)! Who knew that in Rome, the only time you will EVER see meatballs served is fried and on top of a bed of green peas (and if you see a menu advertising spaghetti with meatballs, know that you have fallen into a tourist trap). I mean, what? Completely different from our Americanized version.
The last thing I learned from our Italian chef is that fettuccine noodles are the perfect way to enjoy marinara sauce. In fact, for this particular chef, it’s the only way.
Why You’ll Love Fettuccine with Marinara Sauce
More marinara sauce with every bite – The broader surface area of fettuccine noodles, compared to spaghetti noodles, allows the marinara sauce to cling to each and every bite. Similar to heavier, meat-based sauces where the chunky pieces hold better to flatter fettuccini noodles.
Easy to Make – With just three ingredients, simply follow the package directions for the pasta and prepare the incredible but easy to make homemade sauce.
Authentic marinara sauce – The marinara sauce recipe provided undergoes a slow simmer, allowing the flavors, especially those from the tomatoes, to develop and intensify. As the water evaporates, the flavor becomes more concentrated, adding to the overall richness of the sauce.
Fettuccine with Marinara Sauce Ingredients Notes
This includes two of the three ingredients with this incredibly simple recipe.
- Fettuccine noodles – Use store bought or handmade noodles and I prefer my noodles cooked al dente where the pasta has a tiny amount of resistance. Simply remove the noodles about 2-3 minutes earlier than package directions.
- Marinara sauce – Nothing beats homemade marinara sauce but use or store bought if you must.
- Red chili flakes – Totally optional but I love the spicy kick chili flakes add.
Find the complete Fettuccine with Marinara Sauce ingredients list with amounts in the recipe card below.
How to Make Fettuccine with Marinara Sauce
- Prepare the pasta according to package instructions.
- Make the authentic marinara sauce (or open the jar!).
- Toss the noodles with the marinara sauce, add the red chili flakes and enjoy!
Variations & Substitutions
Caprese Marinara – Add fresh mozzarella balls and chucks of fresh tomatoes to the dish.
Seafood – Oddly enough marinara means mariner style or sailor style in Italian but there is no seafood in marinara sauce. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t add shrimp, crab, clams or mussels to this dish.
Pink sauce – Mix up the sauce by combining sweet marinara sauce with creamy alfredo sauce.
Tagliatelle – Tagliatelle noodles are almost a perfect substitute for fettuccine noodles. They have the same ingredients while Tagliatelle are simply a bit wider and thinner.
So, this is how you eat Italian Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce in Italy. With fettuccine noodles and a homemade sauce! And to kick it up a bit, I added a touch of red pepper flakes to give it a little heat. Totally optional 🙂
Fettuccine with Authentic Marinara Sauce
Fettuccine with Marinara Sauce features long, flat fettuccine noodles that perfectly holds more marinara sauce, enhancing each and every bite!
Ingredients
- 16 oz fettuccine noodles
- 2 cups homemade marinara sauce or store bought, if you must
- 1 tsp red chili flakes, optional heat
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and season with 1 tsp of salt. Add the fettuccine noodles and cook according to package instructions.
- Before draining, reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
- Toss the noodles with the marinara sauce and add about 1 tablespoon of the cooking liquid as well as the red chili flakes. Serve warm.
Notes
Use this authentic marinara sauce recipe to really make this dish stand out.
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