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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Sponsored by Season. Thank you for supporting my sponsors, they allow me to share more free recipes and cooking tutorials with you!
Sardine Pasta with Lemon, Capers and Chili Flakes
Ingredients
- 8 ounces angel hair (capellini) or spaghetti pasta
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup shallots minced
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes spicy - use more or less to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or more to taste
- 1 package Season Brand Sardines in Pure Olive Oil, drained 4.375 oz
- 3 tablespoons capers rinsed
- 5 tablespoons lemon juice or more to taste
- 3 tablespoons 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
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Other Great Recipe Ideas
Mediterranean Vegetable Polenta
Healthy Mediterranean Tuna Salad
Sippity Sup: Sardine Sandwich with Horseradish Cream
Leite’s Culinaria: Sardine Pizza
Very tasty recipe but would only be a small starter-sized portion for 4 people. I used 100g pasta, and a 90g tin of sardine just for one person for a fairly substantial dinner. Will definitely make again though 🙂
This recipe is amazing. I’m having to go more Mediterranean due to auto immune issues and this is delicious! I could see myself making this once a week minimum!
I’m here in California at the ebb of winter but California is throwing a weather tantrum.
Soup? Stew? break out the grill? Nah, I just decided to go with what sounded good.
Five stars for the above recipe.
It was perfect. My only change to the recipe (and it’s literally a small one) is that I used small, tinned sardines rather that the more robust fillets many of us are used to. Ramón Peňa small sardines in olive oils work perfectly. From Portugal, they have quite a stellsr reputation for quality. I am NOT associated withe business in any way but… if you’re considering this beautiful little masterpiece of a recipe I’d encourage you to investigate.
Hoping that all’s well in your world.
– Ray
Absolutely fabulous! Very delicious with a nice depth of flavor I did not expect. Also, easy to change up with different garnishes. Thank you!
You’re welcome Shari! So happy you like it.
Thank you for the inspiration!! I took this recipe and adapted it slightly: swapped out the olive oil for butter, the shallots for garlic, and added diced portobello and spinach. Delicious!!
So delicious and easy. I make this recipe on a regular basis now but mix it with brown rice instead of pasta and it’s healthy and delicious. Happy that this has become a regular way for me to eat sardines now, which are so good for you. Thank you for this fantastic recipe.
Just did this tonight, came it good…not bad 😉 Thanks for the recipe!
Easy as pie, and it came together in less than 30 minutes. All pantry staples I had on hand, I used a chickpea pasta instead of regular and sardines in water (enough oil in the recipe as is). Made 4 generous servings and it was delish.
This recipe was great! I didnt have capers, but used several sundried tomatoes in olive oil instead which I added when I added the sardines. Cant wait to have it again!
Fantastic recipe! Thank you!
i was making chicken soup with potato latkes and realized it is a Hannukah dish. I am going to finish making it tonight. I am not Jewish but am interested in the religion culture and food. so happy to have found you on the internet. i will let you know how the soup with the homemade motazh balls turn outw
This dish is DELICIOUS!! I don’t have much experience cooking pasta and seafood (even though I love cooking and baking), but I’ve been trying to find some good recipes during my pregnancy. This recipe is so simple, fresh, and DELICIOUS (bonus: it’s healthy!). I couldn’t find that brand of sardines here in Airdrie, AB, I’ll definitely take a look next time I’m out! This is a keeper dish, and I’ll definitely be making it again 🙂
Wonderful Rachel! Thank you for writing.
This is a take on Venetian pasta with salsa.
It is very authentic. Salsa means sauce in the Venetian dialect. I used a whole sweet onion rather than the shallots, Portuguese sardines with pimentos, and just a splash of lemon.
I don’t taste lemon in the version served in Venice. This is a great recipe.
I was trying to figure out what to do with sardines. They are very hart health but I only knew to eat them on crackers. So after searching for ideas I decided to try this recipe with a couple of changes. I replaced pasta with zucchini spirals and used orange instead of lemon, because I am out of lemons 😊. It was wonderful! I will be making this again.
This was so delicious and flavorful-I literally licked the spatula after cooking haha. The whole family, including my three year old son, devoured this. I doubled the sardine amount and I paired it with roasted tomatoes, zucchini and mushrooms. MmmmMmmmmm!
Love this recipe, since discovering I’ve returned to it time after time