This 6 ingredient sardine pasta is one of my favorite, quick weeknight dinners. This is an easy meal that uses ingredients I usually always have stocked in my fridge or pantry. I make this creamy pasta sauce with sardines when I haven’t been on top of going to the grocery store, it’s already the evening, and I want a quick but delicious dinner that’s easy to make in large batches. 

This recipe uses a few pantry staples to create a silky, rich sardine pasta that comes together in just about 30 minutes, and is extra delicious with a glass of white wine or prosecco.

Let’s get started!

What you’ll need to make this sardine pasta with creamy pasta sauce

3 tins of canned sardines in extra virgin olive oil

I don’t recommend using the ones in other oils or water to make this type of sardine pasta. But if that’s what you have on hand, test it out and see if you like it! This recipe will not work with sardines canned in tomato sauce, or other flavors that won’t match the cream sauce. However, I’m sure the ones in olive oil with a hint of lemon would be a hit! 

Heavy cream or half and half

I use the Califia Farms vegan heavy cream to make this creamy pasta sauce just a little lighter. But you can use a dairy heavy cream or half and half too. I do not recommend the Califia Farms vegan half and half for this recipe. And I can’t promise other vegan replacements will work either, but feel free to try them out and let me know how it goes!

Red pepper flakes

This is to give the creamy pasta sauce a slight kick and add dimension to the flavors. I’ll provide different amounts for different spice tolerances below. I don’t recommend making this dish without red pepper flakes, although the sauce will still work. If you absolutely hate any kind of spice and want to reduce the red pepper flakes, I’d double the garlic for extra flavor. 

Parmesan cheese

This will make the cream sauce thicker and cheesy. Don’t skip this one!

Pasta

Obviously, the star of the sardine pasta recipe is the pasta. My preference is fusilli or farfalle for this recipe, but it will work with any shape, including long pasta like spaghetti.

You can use any type of pasta in this recipe, but I love the brown rice pasta by the brand Jovial. It’s made with 100% whole grains, and tastes exactly like regular pasta to me. I’ve even fooled my pickiest relative who had no idea it wasn’t regular pasta. You can buy 4 boxes online here, but I can find it cheaper in my local organic grocery store. It’s also gluten free if that matters to whoever you’re cooking for.

Fresh garlic cloves

Not many savory dishes or pasta recipes are complete without garlic. For this creamy pasta sauce, I recommend using fresh garlic cloves rather than garlic powder. It’s the only thing you absolutely need to chop if you’re not using any of the optional ingredients.

Salt

I typically add a bit of salt towards the end of the cooking process and in the water that the pasta boils in. But if you’re using a higher amount of red pepper flakes or choose to include the lemon, you may want to omit adding salt to the sauce altogether. Spice and acid can make a dish taste saltier than it is. There are also already salts in the parmesan cheese. Taste it at the end and see what’s best for you. 

Fresh parsley (optional)

You can use fresh parsley to top the sardine pasta when it’s done. This is definitely not a must-have ingredient, especially in the spirit of this being a recipe made with things I typically have on hand. But it’s a nice touch, especially if you’re serving it to a group. Fresh herbs always add to the presentation of a dish. 

Lemon juice (optional)

While this dish will taste delicious without lemon, I love drizzling some lemon juice on top of my bowl of sardine pasta. Between the creamy pasta sauce and the canned sardines, it’s a really nice compliment to a seafood dish when I have some fresh lemons or bottled lemon juice on hand, especially in the spring and summer. A bit of fresh lemon zest could be a nice touch on top too.

How to make the sardine pasta

Step 1: Set a pot of water on the stove to boil over medium heat

I add salt to the water at this stage but you can also adjust the salt when you finish the dish.

Step 2: Crush and chop your garlic cloves.

I do this by using a wide chopping knife and crushing each garlic clove underneath it, then chopping the crushed garlic. The crushing part adds extra flavor and speeds up the chopping time. But if this is challenging or you don’t have the right knife, you can also chop it until it’s minced garlic.

Step 3: Drain the olive oil from one tin of sardines into a frying pan, and heat the pan to a medium heat

Open one can of sardines slightly and drain the oil out into a heated pan. If you didn’t have olive oil in your sardine can, use 1-2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and heat that instead. The oil from the sardine can will always be better since it adds extra flavor to the pasta. Set the other two cans of sardines aside for now. 

Step 4: Add your red pepper flakes to the pan

Before proceeding to the next step, wait until the red pepper flakes are sizzling and the oil has changed color to a light amber. This is one of the best ways to make sure the flavor from the red pepper flakes has infused into the oil.

Notes on adjusting the spice level of the dish: The minimum amount of red pepper flakes I think this dish tastes good with is ¾ tsp. If you want it very spicy, you can use up to 3-4 tsp, or more if you’re feeling extra spicy. My preference is to use 1 ½-2 tsp of red pepper flakes. If you hate spice, you can try using ½ tsp of red pepper flakes. I consider the final dish not at all spicy with this amount, but think it tastes much better with more. 

If you’re nervous about making this dish too spicy, start by adding ½ tsp to the pan, and we’ll adjust seasonings later in the process once the sauce has come together. Then, measure out how much more red pepper flakes you add in, and when you make this dish again, use the total amount you added at this step. 

Step 5: Add the garlic to the pan

Add your crushed and chopped garlic to the oil. Sautée with a wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic is softened.

Step 6: Crush one can of sardines and add it to the oil

While the garlic is cooking, using the same tin you just drained, crush up all the sardines in that tin into a paste. I usually use my hands to carefully crush them in the tin, but you can also use a fork. It should look like this.

Add the sardine paste to the oil, mixing the red pepper flakes, the garlic, the oil, and the sardine paste together. Cook for a few minutes. 

Step 7: Add the heavy cream into the pan

Mix the heavy cream with the sardine paste and bring it to a low simmer. Scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Step 8: Add your dried pasta to the boiling water

The pot of water you set to boil during step 1 is probably boiling by now. This is usually the point where I add the pasta.

In between all of the following steps, stir the pot every couple of minutes to keep your pasta from sticking together. The goal is to boil the pasta until before it’s al dente, or before it’s soft enough to eat. Remove it when there’s still some hardness in the pasta. It should ultimately finish cooking in the pan with the creamy pasta sauce.

While you stir the pasta as it cooks, taste the noodles so you understand how close the pasta is to being done at each stage.

Step 9: Add the parmesan cheese to the pan with the pasta sauce

Your cream is probably simmering by now. Once it’s simmering, not before, add the parmesan to the cream and stir to combine. In the next couple of minutes, you should see the creamy pasta sauce getting thicker. 

Step 10: Taste the creamy pasta sauce and adjust the seasonings

Taste the sauce. This is where you can optionally add salt or more red pepper flakes. If you plan to add lemon wedges, I wouldn’t add salt at this stage, and would wait until after the pasta has cooked in the pan and you’ve tasted it with lemon. 

Step 11: (Optional) Cut your lemons into wedges and chop your parsley. 

You can skip this step if you’re not using lemon or parsley.

Step 12: Lightly flake the rest of the sardines into chunks, drained of their oil. 

Remove the sardines from their oil and lightly break them into chunks.

Step 13: Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the sauce with ¼ cup pasta water and the flaked sardines.

Remove the mostly-cooked pasta from the pasta water while saving the pasta water in the pot or a container, and add ¼ cup pasta water to the sauce and the pasta in the pan. 

Remember that we want to remove the pasta before it’s al dente, or before it’s soft enough to eat, so it can finish cooking in the creamy pasta sauce.

Stir the partially cooked pasta into the sauce in the frying pan at this step. Add the flaked sardines as well.

Step 14: Cook the sardine pasta in the sauce until it’s fully cooked

Stir in the pasta and sardines. Taste as you cook to make sure the pasta is fully cooked and not underdone or overdone. If the sauce starts to disappear before the pasta is cooked, add more pasta water while the pasta is cooking. 

Once the sardine pasta is done, taste it again to adjust any seasonings, like salt and red pepper flakes. You can also top it with lemon or fresh parsley at this stage. You can also play around with other toppings, like bread crumbs or another type of fresh herb, like basil. It’s your sardine pasta dish, have fun with it!

How to store your creamy sardine pasta

And that’s it! You’ve got a delicious, perfect pasta dish. You can keep any leftover pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, or until your heavy cream or sardines are set to expire, whichever comes first. 

If you enjoyed this sardine pasta recipe and loved the creamy pasta sauce, please leave me a 5 star review below! It’s an easy way to help keep these recipes coming.

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