Mediterranean Sardine Pasta with Lemon, Capers and Chili Flakes – Easy, Delicious and Heart Healthy Meal
Sponsored by Season Sardines.
In this healthy recipe, pasta plays host to a bounty of coastal Mediterranean flavors. Sardines, fresh lemon juice, capers, chili flakes, and olive oil combine to create a flavorful pasta dish. Most of the ingredients are probably already in your pantry or fridge. The result is a light yet filling, nourishing entree.
When Season Sardines contacted me about their tasty line of sustainably harvested sardines, my mind immediately drifted to pasta. Cooking up a quick batch of delicious Mediterranean Sardine Pasta sounded like the perfect way to celebrate sardines!
Season is committed to sustainable fishing. As a girl who grew up fishing the Central Coast of California, this is super important to me. They are proudly certified sustainable by Friend of the Sea, an international nonprofit organization that certifies products from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. Season Sardines are wild caught with methods that don’t impact the seabed and eliminate by-catches.
Sardines are currently in the spotlight for their health qualities and sustainability. However, Season Sardines have actually been around for decades. A Polish immigrant named Isaac Epstein inspired the brand. His career began over 80 years as a food merchant, selling his specialty food products to grocery stores in New Jersey and New York. The brand’s reputation as a seller of high quality canned sea food, specialty vegetables and Asian products began to take off around the 1950s. Over time Season brand became a household name in big cities like Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami. Today you can find Season products throughout the US and several other countries, including Canada and Argentina.
This Mediterranean Sardine Pasta with Lemon, Capers and Chili Flakes is easy, comforting, and good for you. In addition to being tasty, sardines are a great source of protein. In fact, they contain more protein than chicken breast, hard boiled eggs, and roast turkey. Likewise, they’re rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Sardines for the win!
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Sardine Pasta with Lemon, Capers and Chili Flakes
Ingredients
- 8 oz angel hair (capellini) or spaghetti pasta
- 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup shallots minced
- 2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes spicy - use more or less to taste
- 1/2 tsp salt or more to taste
- 1 package Season Brand Sardines in Pure Olive Oil, drained 4.375 oz
- 3 tbsp capers rinsed
- 5 tbsp lemon juice or more to taste
- 3 tbsp fresh parsley or basil chopped
Notes
Instructions
- Set a large pot of water over high heat to boil (this will be your pasta cooking water). Meanwhile, in a large sauteuse, sauté pan, or skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once the olive oil is hot, add the shallots, lemon zest, crushed red pepper and salt. Cook until the shallots are soft and translucent (careful, don't let them burn!).Add the sardines and capers to the pan. Saute for about 2 minutes until warmed through, breaking up the sardines into smaller pieces as you sauté.
- When the sardines begin to turn golden, slowly stir in the fresh lemon juice. Turn heat to lowest setting to keep warm while you cook your pasta.When pasta water boils, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving a cup of the pasta cooking water.
- Add the cooked pasta and fresh chopped parsley or basil to the pan with the sauce (alternatively, you can put the pasta back in the large pasta pot and pour the sauce over it). Toss pasta to evenly coat with sauce, mixing well with the other ingredients. If the pasta seems too dry, add a little of the reserved pasta cooking water, 1 tbsp at a time, to loosen it a bit. It should not be thick or heavy, and the noodles should be lightly coated with oil.Add additional salt, lemon or chili pepper flakes to taste, if desired. Serve hot.
Nutrition
Other Great Recipe Ideas
Mediterranean Vegetable Polenta
Healthy Mediterranean Tuna Salad
Sippity Sup: Sardine Sandwich with Horseradish Cream
Leite’s Culinaria: Sardine Pizza
Rachel says
Wonderful recipe! I love sardines, but don’t really have many ideas of how to use them. This recipe was perfect! The lemon and capers provide the acid really needed to balance the sardines. Will make this one frequently. I am on a special Auto-immune diet (AIP), so this is perfect for that if you leave out the red pepper flakes and use a compliant pasta.
David says
I loved this. Great recipe
BZB says
This was a stand-out dish of pure delicious nutrition. The combination lemon, capers and anchovies (yes! anchovies because I didn’t have the sardines) made the best pasta I have ever had. If you have a Mediterranean palate, you are going to love this dish. It’s on the menu for my next gathering. Only recommendation – Hold the salt if using anchovies or other salted fish.
Janice says
I enjoyed this. Fast, easy, tasty. I had some broccoli sprouts from the garden I needed to use, so boiled them in the pasta water a few minutes then added them to the sauce with the sardines. Added a nice crunch.
Andrew says
Very good! Thanks for sharing this recipe. Very flavorful and easy to make. I used chickpea spaghetti noodles as an alternative and it was very good. Very flexible recipe, you could add a lot of different things. Like I said, it’s very flavorful so if you’re sensitive to the strength of capers/lemon juice/crushed red pepper then adjust the recipe to your taste. The one thing I would change if I made it again is to use 6 oz of sardines, 4.375 oz just wasn’t enough in my opinion.
Linda says
Be warned if you’ve never tasted capers they have a strong taste and this might not be the recipe for you.
PhebeAnn says
This is so so good! I added a bunch of asparagus, chopped up and sauteed at the beginning on its own for a bit before adding the other stuff in. I used used roasted garlic olive oil, omitted the salt, used both the basil and parsley, and topped with parmigiano reggiano. Everyone loved it.
Coco says
Fabulous and Healthy!! My husband grew up in an italian household where sardines were a staple!! After reading how healthy sardines are for you I decided to go on the hunt for a recipe. First try was your recipe and it will be my last, cause it was delicious!!! I followed the recipe exactly and will definitely make it over and over again – Chef Coco
Mary says
Wow, way too much lemony flavor! I think I’d reduce the lemon juice to 2 T and also the capers to 1 T next time. It’s a quick, convenient recipe so worth trying again.
Sheila Targo says
Yummo!! Great recipe.🍋
R.A. Chamberlain says
LOVE it.
BL says
This is very, very close to a Mark Bittman recipe, but I actually prefer this one. It’s easier, and I like the addition of the red pepper flakes.
Tori Avey says
This is a typical Sicilian preparation for sardine pasta, so it doesn’t surprise me there are similar recipes out there. Glad you’re enjoying it!
Abigail Franz says
I have always heard that sardines are gross, but after trying them in this recipe, I beg to differ!
Jan T says
My husband and I loved this. I made fresh fettucine today and decided to try it since we were gifted some cans of sardines. Thanks for posting this recipe. I will be making it again and trying with fresh spaghetti.
Val schmerge says
It was delicious and very easy to prepare
Tina Wilson says
I made this today and I thought it was fantastic. My husband turned up his nose as it had sardines. While it was cooking, he came into the kitchen and decided that he had to try it. He loved it as well. I will definitely make this again. Very flavorful!
Tori Avey says
Glad to hear it!
Debra says
I tried this but didn’t measure the ingredients. I eyeballed a medium shallot, and used a couple dashes of cayenne because I didn’t have pepper flakes. Added everything else as the recipe called for and I must say the first bite and the fish taste was unexpected, but I couldn’t stop eating. I had seconds. So good…you get the sweet from the shallots (people using green onions are missing out on that) and the briny bite from the capers. I will make this again, perhaps with some other cooked fish.
Brad says
The first time I made this I thought it tasted good but was skimpy on the ingredients. I used two tins of sardines, the white part of green onions instead of shallots because I had some that I needed to do something with, added frozen sweet peas (thawed) and sliced black olives. I didn’t have any parsley but topped it with the green part of the green onions chopped. Awesome! I had two helpings which is something I almost never do.
Lori Ruland says
I’ve now made this recipe twice, and I absolutely love it! It’s fast and easy and soo flavorful!
KK says
What an awesome recipe. Today I made a variation by adding chopped fresh spinach before the sardines; replaced fresh shallots with bottom half of fresh green onion. Included green part with fresh parsley finish. Also replaced lemon juice & zest with a drizzle of Williams Sonoma Lemon Artichoke Asiago drizzle oil. Will certainly use this as a base for others in the future.