Arrabbiata pasta sauce, with bush basil
By Bob · Published 29 Oct 2026 · Last updated 29 Oct 2026
A fiery Italian tomato sauce of garlic, olive oil and chilli, finished with fresh bush basil in place of sweet basil. Bush basil’s layered notes of basil, mint, sage and clove give the classic penne sauce an aromatic Australian lift that holds its own against the chilli heat.
Native ingredients in this recipe
- Bush basil (Coleus graveolens), fresh leaves: the aromatic finish, stirred through at the end of cooking to keep its fragrance, with a few whole leaves to garnish. Swap: fresh sweet basil, with a couple of mint leaves for a similar layered note.
Arrabbiata pasta sauce, with bush basil
Ingredients
- 2 400g cans whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2-4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 3 small red chillies deseeded, finely chopped (or 1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes)
- 1-2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar or 1 tbsp lemon juice or ¼ cup red wine
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp cracked black pepper
Aromatics
- ¼ cup fresh bush basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat and stir in onions. Cook 2 minutes till transparent then add garlic (and pepper flakes). Cook, stirring for 1 minute, then add tomato paste (and fresh chillies) and cook for 1 more minute.
- Stir in and break up tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes until sauce thickens, stirring often. Stir in vinegar (lemon juice), fresh aromatics and salt and pepper.
- Usually served with pasta, topped with parmesan and fresh parsley.
From our kitchen
Arrabbiata must be kept in the fridge and should be used within a week or two. For longer you need to store frozen. The sauce has low acidity and high water content, making it a perfect breeding ground for bacteria et al once exposed to the air. One batch I forgetfully stored in the hall pantry and one bottle had mould growing on top after a month!
Adjust the chilli to taste: leave out the chilli and go light on pepper for a kid-friendly variant. Still makes a delicious tasty sauce. Or you can add more near the end of simmering, after tasting.
If you do not have any fresh bush basil leaves at hand, you can substitute fresh sweet basil. Or you can mix in a sprinkle of dried bush basil (or dried sweet basil and oregano) earlier, to simmer with the tomatoes.
Questions people ask
Is this sauce a condiment or a flavour base?
This bold, spicy sauce sits somewhere between a flavour base like the Spanish sofrito (where onions, tomatoes and garlic are cooked down into a thick jammy paste to serve as the flavour starter for paellas ) and a condiment like the modern tomato sauce / ketchup (that available table-top and optionally added to a dish after it is cooked). Arrabbiata is usually cooked alongside the pasta then served mixed with it to bind the dish together.
Can I make it ahead of the pasta?
Yes. Make the sauce ahead but keep it covered in the fridge, or freeze it in portions. Stir in fresh bush basil when you reheat it, as its aroma fades with long storage and cooking.
More with bush basil
- Bush Basil (Coleus graveolens): growing, flavour, cooking tips and more recipes.
- Bush basil, basil & macadamia pesto: our favourite, a pesto alla genovese with half the basil swapped for bush basil and macadamias in place of pine nuts.
- Zucchini & bush basil fritters: golden zucchini fritters flavoured with fresh bush basil.
Licence and how to cite this page
Text on this page is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Please cite as: Bush Basil, “Arrabbiata pasta sauce, with bush basil”, bushbasil.org, last updated 29 October 2026, https://bushbasil.org/recipe-arrabbiata-with-bush-basil/