A fresh and simple pasta in a light tomato sauce with garlic, kalamata olives and cannellini beans. A true 20-minute meal made with pantry staples, and you can customize it with what you have.
If you’re reading this, there’s a solid chance you’re here to make a side of pasta for Whitefish in Tomato Sauce with Olives. If so, welcome! Otherwise, also welcome! And you should probably consider making that too. Here’s a picture.
Back to the deliciousness at hand. Bucatini with Tomatoes with Olives and White Beans is similar to spaghetti puttanesca, but white beans instead of capers and chili pepper. Fitting, because that’s a dish from Campania—just like branzino con pomodori e olive (aka the inspiration for my whitefish in tomato sauce with olives).
Also, much like the origin story for spaghetti puttanesca, this pasta is an anything goes kinda meal.
Got some spinach in the fridge? Chop it and add it to the sauce right before you add the pasta. Wanna add some parmesan cheese? Please do! A chicken breast you keep forgetting to eat? Chop it up and add it in! Got a different type of pasta? Cool, use it up.
This is an on-the-fly dish, and it’s highly customizable.
Bucatini with Tomatoes, Olives and White Beans came about for two reasons. First, I was making Whitefish in Tomato Sauce with Olives and I used a 28-oz can of tomatoes—technically 14 ounces more than I needed. It was a simple way to stretch a two-person meal into a big family dinner with leftovers.
Second, my husband doesn’t like seafood. I know, downer.
Don’t get the wrong idea, he’s happy to get his own food if I’m in the mood for seafood paella, but in this case it was pretty simple to just boil some pasta and make extra sauce. Add some white beans I always keep on hand for a little extra protein… done.
I think a lot of us are trying to go to the grocery store less often right now, and thus looking for healthy and tasty meals to make out of nonperishable staples. I hope this recipe helps you out, or at least inspires you to make your own version of pantry pasta!
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Bucatini with Tomatoes, Olives and White Beans
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
A fresh and simple pasta in a light tomato sauce with garlic, kalamata olives and cannellini beans. A true 20-minute meal made with pantry staples, and you can customize it based on what you have.
Ingredients
- 1 lb bucatini (can use spaghetti or other pasta)
- 14-oz can reduced sodium cannellini or other white beans
- 14-oz can whole peeled tomatoes*
- 1/2 cup halved kalamata olives in brine*
- 1 teaspoon sliced garlic*
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil*
- 1 teaspoons dried oregano*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more*
- Black pepper to taste*
- 8-oz can of tomato sauce
- Optional: a handful of spinach or other leafy greens
*If you are making this with Whitefish in Tomato Sauce with Olives, don’t use the starred ingredients! Just start with the sauce you reserved an add the unstarred ingredients.
Instructions
- Hand-crush the tomatoes into a bowl and add the juice from the can, the garlic, olives, oil, oregano, salt and pepper and stir (you can skip this step if you have sauce from Whitefish in Tomato Sauce with Olives).
- Cook the pasta to al dente according to package instructions (can be done while the fish bakes). Drain and leave in the colander.
- In the same pot, heat the oil and sauté the beans until warmed through.
- Add the sauce you made plus the can of tomato sauce, and bring to a simmer.
- Stir in the pasta, then the spinach, if using.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
- You can find a quick tutorial on hand-crushing tomatoes in the post for Whitefish in Tomato Sauce with Olives if you need it!
- Cook time doesn’t include the time it takes to get the water to boil.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: Bucatini with tomatoes olives and white beans, bucatini with tomato sauce, tomato sauce with olives and white beans
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