Amatriciana Recipe (Pasta Amatriciana with Guanciale or Pancetta)

What is Pasta all'Amatriciana?

Pasta Amatriciana (pronounced ah-mah-tree-CHAH-nah) is a spicy tomato sauce made with guanciale (Italian cured pork jowl), a little white wine, Pecorino Romano cheese, dried red chili peppers, and often also onions or shallots. The dish takes its name from Amatrice, a town in central Italy, where it originated.

And it's one of the four iconic Roman pastas that completes the "fantastici quattro" (fantastic four), alongside carbonara, cacio e pepe, and pasta alla gricia. In Rome, you'll also sometimes see it spelled "matriciana" without the "A," which is Roman dialect.

Why You'll Love This Pasta Amatriciana Recipe

• Authentic flavor using real guanciale (or high-quality pancetta), the way it's made in Italy (although pancetta is not truly authentic, it's still widely used here, especially by Italian home cooks, and we love it!)
• Ready in less than 30 minutes for an easy weeknight dinner
• Customizable, as I'll show you how to use fresh tomatoes, canned DOP tomatoes, or even high-quality tomato passata with or without onion.
• Simple high quality ingredients make a genuine restaurant-quality pasta
• Perfectly spicy with whole dried chili peppers that add warmth without overwhelming heat (totally customizable to your spice level preferences)
• Freezer-friendly sauce that scales easily for meal prep for even quicker 15-minute weeknight dinners
• Versatile - works beautifully with more than just bucatini, spaghetti, rigatoni, and penne (I've made it using countless pasta shapes, as you can see in this post!)
• I show you how to adjust for using pancetta instead of guanciale (which is slightly different and requires the addition of EVOO)

The Fantastic Four Roman Pastas (Fantastici Quattro)

What are the four classic Roman pasta dishes?

Amatriciana belongs to an elite group called "i quattro primi romani." Each pasta transforms simple (but extremely high-quality) ingredients through technique, and it's truly difficult to explain just how delicious they each are:

• Cacio e Pepe - The OG of cheesy noodles! Pecorino Romano, black pepper, and starchy pasta cooking water are all you need to enjoy this one. Try it in Italy or your favorite (authentic, not Italian-American) restaurant, since the best versions require a huge hollowed-out cheese wheel to get right!
• Pasta alla Gricia - The "white" ancestor of amatriciana with guanciale and Pecorino Romano, salt, black pepper, and a little starchy pasta water, but no tomatoes. Super easy to make at home and just as delicious as amatriciana (recipe coming soon)!
• Carbonara - Guanciale, egg yolks, Pecorino, black pepper, and a little starchy pasta water. This pasta can be a bit tricky to make for inexperienced cooks, but SO worth it to learn how! It's like bacon mac and cheese on steroids, but better in every way!
• Amatriciana (aka Red Gricia or Gricia Rossa) - Essentially, pasta gricia with tomatoes added, and just as easy to make! Tomatoes arrived in Italy from the Americas in the 1700s. The people of Amatrice added them to their delicious gricia sauce, creating pasta all'Amatriciana.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Contrary to what you'll read about pecorino Romano being the only cheese used for these classic pastas, Italian chefs often use half pecorino and half Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese to balance out the "wild" sharp flavor of pecorino. If you're unable to find the highest quality (not too wild-tasting or sharp) pecorino-Romano, I recommend substituting aged Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Guanciale vs Pancetta

Guanciale (pronounced gwan-CHAH-lay), photographed below, is cured pork jowl or pig cheek. It has roughly 70% fat to 30% meat, which renders beautifully and creates a rich, silky, deeply flavored meat sauce. The flavor can be intense or mild and slightly sweet, depending on the aromatics and seasonings used to cure it.

Guanciale is typically seasoned with sea salt, black pepper, garlic, and aromatics such as rosemary, sage, and bay leaves. Some producers also add juniper berries, although I prefer a less juniper-forward guanciale or none at all, as the juniper can overpower the delicate pork flavor if too much is used. This is the meat that authentic traditional amatriciana calls for.

We're lucky enough to be able to purchase our guanciale from premium butchers in Abruzzo and other areas, who craft it the traditional way using only sea salt, spices, aromatics, air, and time. No pink salt, nitrates, or nitrites! This artisanal, all-natural preservation creates a healthier product with pure, unbeatable pork flavor. We bring back whole slabs whenever we visit, then I portion and freeze them to use all year round. Below are a couple for you to see as reference:

Can you eat pancetta raw?

Yes. Italian pancetta is salt-cured and dried for weeks or months, which removes moisture and inhibits bacterial growth. This makes it safe to eat straight from the package, like prosciutto. The extended curing with salt and spices fully preserves the meat.

Bacon is different. It's only lightly cured (typically using nitrates/nitrites) and then smoked, leaving it essentially a raw pork product. Bacon must be cooked to kill pathogens like Salmonella or Listeria. Even "uncured" bacon requires cooking.

What can I substitute for guanciale?

As mentioned above, if you can't find guanciale and you end up using pancetta instead, you'll need to add up to ¼ cup (60g) of extra virgin olive oil to make up for the loss of fat from the guanciale. Here are the best meats to use for amatriciana:

1. Guanciale - First choice, authentic
2. Pancetta affumicata + EVOO- Smoked pancetta plus extra virgin olive oil (to add a little extra fat) is an excellent substitute
3. Pancetta dolce + EVOO - Unsmoked pancetta plus extra virgin olive oil (to add a little extra fat) is an excellent substitute
4. Thick-cut bacon - Last resort, still delicious (see note below)

Can I use bacon in amatriciana?

I've used bacon, and it's delicious! But out of respect (even before Italian cuisine received its coveted UNESCO certification), I don't call it "amatriciana" because it's not. And also because it tastes completely different from an authentic amatriciana sauce. Still super tasty, but it isn't amatriciana😉!

Notable Detail: Italy is the first country to have an entire national cuisine recognized by UNESCO (not just a single dish or tradition). Previous food-related recognitions include the French gastronomic meal (2010), Neapolitan pizza makers (2017), and the Mediterranean diet (2013, shared by multiple countries).

How should I slice and cook guanciale?

How you slice and cook guanciale matters. First, you'll need to remove the layer of skin and any of the seasonings from the underside, as you can see in the left photo above. If you don't trim off the seasonings, your amatriciana sauce will taste overwhelmingly of these aromatics, and you may also end up biting into a whole peppercorn or juniper berry.

Next, you can cut it into cubes (pictured in the left photo above - a more modern interpretation), or cut it into traditional matchsticks, or thin, wide slices (right photo).

I personally like using a blend of tender golden brown (not totally crispy) matchsticks and wider, thinner slices cooked until totally crispy for the best texture and flavor.

Here's my technique: Slice some pieces into wide, thin strips and others into thicker matchsticks. Cook everything over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, rendering the fat slowly, until the matchsticks are tender, slightly chewy, and cooked through but not totally crispy. Remove them to a plate. Continue cooking the thin strips for another 2-3 minutes, until they're ultra crispy and golden brown. This mix offers the perfect balance of chewy, tender, and crispy textures in every bite.

Best Pasta Shapes for Amatriciana

What is the best pasta for amatriciana?

The sauce works with many shapes, but some are more traditional. If I'm not serving it with some type of spaghetti or homemade bucatini (as seen above), I like to choose a noodle that has nooks and crannies where the guanciale and sauce can hide! Here are the top choices:

Spaghetti, Spaghettoni, and homemade Spaghetti alla chitarra are actually more traditional in Amatrice, Italy, and it's what I reach for most often at home.

Bucatini is what you'll find in many Roman trattorias. It's basically thick spaghetti with a hollow center that traps sauce inside each strand. Luca doesn't love bucatini, and honestly, it's not my favorite shape either. I think a lot of people are mostly intrigued by its straw-like pasta shape, but for us, other shapes taste better with amatriciana sauce.

Rigatoni and Mezzi Rigatoni have ridges and tubes that capture chunks of guanciale and pools of amatriciana sauce.

Maccheroni is delicious and one of the traditional pastas originally eaten with this sauce. This is the large fresh egg maccheroni tube pasta (not like elbow macaroni we have in the US).

Strozzapreti is also a common pasta used in Rome to pair with this sauce.

Penne works well and is widely available, but the holes are generally too small to hold any guanciale, so I use this pasta shape less often for amatriciana.

What pasta shapes have I made with amatriciana?

I've made amatriciana with homemade spaghetti alla chitarra (maybe my personal favorite?), spaghettoni, Verrigni's superspaghettoro, rigatoni, Rustichella d'Abruzzo's maniconi rigate, and gran fusilli, quadrato (Abruzzese regional thicker square-shaped spaghetti pasta shape), radiatore, and soqquadro. *some are photographed above so you can see them

I've even paired it with my homemade pumpkin fettuccine pasta (below) for a spicy fall pumpkin pasta all'Amatriciana. Absolutely delicious!

What is the difference between bucatini and spaghetti?

Bucatini has a hollow center running through each strand (see photo below). This makes it slightly thicker than spaghetti and allows the sauce to flow inside. But it also makes it a lot more difficult to twirl up onto your fork.

So, if you're making amatriciana for the whole family (including your kids), I suggest using a different pasta shape that's easier to eat🤗.

Is Amatriciana from Rome or Abruzzo?

Here's a fact that often gets lost in translation: until 1927, Amatrice was part of the L'Aquila province in the region of Abruzzo. Pasta all'Amatriciana is not originally a Roman dish, though Romans have definitely perfected it. Abruzzo is where Luca's family is originally from and where we also have a family home.

It borders the Lazio region (where Rome is located), which explains the overlap in this regional dish and why you'll find it served throughout Abruzzo and Lazio.

In Abruzzo (just 1.5 to 2 hours east of Rome), you'll find amatriciana sauce most often served with hand-made quadrato pasta (photos below), and spaghetti alla chitarra.

The passion and tradition that goes into crafting these precious Italian ingredients create one of the world's most loved pasta dishes.

Amatriciana and Rome

Does authentic amatriciana taste the same everywhere?

We've eaten this pasta in various places around Italy. And every version tastes slightly different depending on the pasta shape used, where the guanciale is produced, the pig's diet, how it's seasoned and cured, how it's cut and cooked, and the type and quantity of tomatoes used.

But much like an authentic Bolognese sauce, authentic amatriciana sauce somehow always tastes unmistakably like "amatriciana" no matter who makes it. The reason for this is that it's made using high-quality traditional ingredients, usually from Amatrice, or the greater Lazio and Abruzzo regions.

NOTE: The restaurant amatriciana pasta below had way too much tomato, and the tomato pieces were also too large. It drowned the pasta and masked the guanciale flavor.

These are a few real photos from some of the restaurants in Italy where we've eaten amatriciana over the years. Luca says this recipe beats the ones I've included here, and he's a tough critic when it comes to Italian food😉.

Coming from someone who grew up eating and loving this dish, it's a huge compliment. But honestly, it really all boils down to how good your ingredients are. It's hard for me to take much credit when I'm working with 5-star ingredients in the first place. The best ingredients will always = the best pasta sauce.

Authentic Amatriciana Ingredients

What is in traditional amatriciana sauce?

The original Pasta all'Amatriciana uses only fresh tomatoes, guanciale, Pecorino Romano cheese, sea salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Contrary to what you may see online, traditionally, here in Italy, it's actually more often served with fresh egg maccheroni, mezzi rigatoni, or spaghetti instead of bucatini.

Serving bucatini with amatriciana sauce has been popularized by the Romans. But more and more frequently, they're using mezzi rigatoni and spaghettoni for amatriciana. Use whatever you enjoy most, just try to find bronze-drawn or gold-drawn pasta because it holds onto pasta sauce better and just tastes better.

Can I add garlic to amatriciana?

You won't find garlic in amatriciana in Italy. Italians say it changes the tomato flavor too much (and honestly, it does, although it's still amazingly delicious). There was a huge controversy when chef Carlo Cracco was publicly chastised on Italian TV in 2015 for adding garlic! But if you love garlic, go for it, just don't call it amatriciana😉.

Some recipes add shallots or onions (we personally love to add onions when I'm using pancetta instead of guanciale), and some substitute pancetta for guanciale. Not a fan of Pecorino? Use Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano. It won't be authentic-authentic, but it's delicious (definitely better than using a sub-par pecorino)!

Amatriciana Sauce Ingredients

With so few ingredients, quality is everything. Use the highest-quality fresh (or canned) tomatoes, guanciale, and Pecorino you can find, and you're all but guaranteed a truly excellent pasta. This recipe serves four. Double it for a crowd or meal prep amatriciana by portioning the sauce to freeze for 10-minute meals for busier weeks.

• Pasta - Spaghetti, spaghettoni, spaghetti alla chitarra, fresh maccheroni, bucatini, rigatoni, mezzi rigatoni, gran fusilli, or penne all work great
• Guanciale - Cut into wide strips, matchsticks, or a combination of both
• Tomatoes - Whole peeled tomatoes. I use fresh, sweet grape tomatoes (or San Marzano garden-fresh tomatoes) when in season, blanched and peeled. Never cherry tomatoes because they're typically not sweet enough. Canned chopped tomatoes or high-quality Italian tomato passata also work. I've used all of these varieties. Just make sure whatever variety you use is the highest quality.
• Pecorino Romano - Freshly grated. Like many Italians, I sometimes substitute some or all of the Pecorino with sweeter, nuttier, milder Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano for a more balanced flavor. You may want to do the same because not all Pecorino Romano is equal. Especially because what you might have access to outside of Italy may be of a lower quality. And a lower-quality Pecorino can leave you with an overly sharp, beasty-stinky-foot-flavored pasta.
• Dried chili peppers - Whole peppers or crushed red pepper flakes for heat
• Dry white wine - A splash increases the deliciousness and is great for deglazing. Feel free to skip it if you're out of wine.
• Shallot or onion - Finely diced onions are optional, and I most often add them when I'm using pancetta to make "amatriciana" because the sweetness pairs really well with the smoky bacon flavor. If you're working with lower-quality tomatoes, onions add natural sweetness and can help improve the sauce's flavor.
• Salt and black pepper - Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper are essential. If you're not a fan of black pepper, omit it. Just avoid pre-ground black pepper, which tastes completely different.

See recipe card for exact quantities.

How to Make Pasta all'Amatriciana With Guanciale

Total time: 30 minutes. Here's the method:

How Do You Make Amatriciana With Pancetta?

If using pancetta instead of guanciale, the method changes slightly. Pancetta is meatier and has less fat to render, so you'll need to add about a ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil to this recipe.

Add the olive oil, pancetta, shallots, and chili peppers to the skillet all at once. Cook over medium heat until the pancetta is tender (not super crispy) and the onions are translucent. Deglaze with wine, add the tomatoes, and cook 3 minutes. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 15 minutes until the sauce thickens.

This is how many Italians make it at home, including Rana. It's not strictly authentic, but it's delicious.

Pasta Amatriciana With Pancetta Step-by-Step Recipe Photos

Substitutions

• Guanciale: Substitute pancetta affumicata, pancetta dolce, or, as a last resort, thick-cut bacon (but don't call it amatriciana!)
• Fresh tomatoes: Use canned whole peeled or chopped San Marzano DOP tomatoes, or, as a last resort, high-quality tomato passata with a 1:1 ratio. Mutti brand canned datterini tomatoes are an excellent choice if you can find them.
• Pecorino Romano: Substitute Grana Padano or Parmigiano-Reggiano if you prefer a milder cheese. I use Grana Padano most often, or half pecorino and half Grana Padano.
• Dried chili peppers: Use red pepper flakes if you don't have whole dried chilies
• White wine: Substitute with dry red wine, dry vermouth, or skip entirely. It won't be as super tasty because the wine chemically alters the tomatoes so they actually become even more flavorful, and allows for the emulsion of the fat, but it'll still be delicious!

Equipment

• Large pot for boiling pasta
• 12-inch sauté pan or skillet
• Microplane or fine grater for Pecorino
• Spider strainer or slotted spoon (for blanching tomatoes)
• Tongs for tossing pasta

Storage

How long does amatriciana last in the fridge?

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The sauce thickens as it cools. Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil if needed when reheating, or just add a splash of starchy pasta cooking water to help loosen it.

Can you freeze amatriciana sauce?

Yes! This is one of my favorite pasta sauces to meal prep and freeze for easy weeknight dinners. Portion and freeze the sauce (without pasta) for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat gently while you're cooking fresh pasta.

How do you reheat amatriciana?

Reheat in a pot or skillet over medium-low heat (about 300°F/149°C). Toss until warmed through. When your pasta is almost finished cooking, add 1-2 tablespoons (15-30g) of starchy pasta cooking water to the sauce and stir to combine. Add the pasta and toss, then add fresh Pecorino (or Parmesan) off the heat.

Serving Suggestions

What do you serve with amatriciana?

In Italy, amatriciana is a primi (first course). But as a main dish (secondi), you can pair it with:

• Simple green salad with lemon-tomato vinaigrette
• Crusty Italian bread for soaking up sauce
• Sautéed broccoli rabe or rapini
• Sautéed chicory with anchovies

More Authentic Italian Pasta Recipes

If you love pasta as much as we do, here are a few more recipes for easy weeknight pasta dinners: