One-Pot White Wine Pasta

By Ali Slagle

Updated April 14, 2026

  • Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Media 1 of 1
Ready In
25 min
Rating
4(486)
Comments
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While this pasta is reminiscent of scampi, piccata and vongole, it delivers something more — a hard-to-pin-down complexity that comes from cooking the pasta not in water but in wine. Really! The pasta soaks up the wine’s layered flavors and piercing brightness, while the sharp alcohol evaporates away. Butter and anchovies round out the pasta to create a silky, savory sauce. Serve with seared chicken, shrimp or scallops, roasted mushrooms or a crunchy fennel or arugula salad.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 8 anchovy fillets

  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, plus more as needed

  • 12 ounces long noodles, like spaghetti 

  • 1 (750-milliliter) bottle dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

  • Salt

  • ½ cup finely chopped parsley leaves

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 to 4 servings)

68 grams carbs; 37 milligrams cholesterol; 588 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 14 grams fat; 3 grams fiber; 699 milligrams sodium; 14 grams protein; 2 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large deep skillet or Dutch oven, melt the butter and anchovies over medium-high, smashing the anchovies until dissolved. When the butter is foaming, stir in the crushed red pepper. Add the pasta, white wine and 2 cups of water. Season with a big pinch of salt. Once boiling, cook, tossing often with tongs, until the spaghetti is tender, 8 to 12 minutes. If the pasta is looking dry, add ¼ cup more water. The sauce will continue to thicken as it sits, so better for it to be soupy than dry. 

  2. Step 2

    Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and crushed red pepper.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
486 user ratings
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Comments

keith

@Lee best overall substitute for anchovies to keep that umami taste: White miso paste;it dissolves like anchovies, delivers umami, and integrates cleanly into pasta sauces. Trader Joe's sells this. Other options: capers, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, mushroom concentrate umami powder (also at TJs), or nutritional yeast.

WTR

it's been asked before, but why do these pasta recipes seem to always call for 12 oz?

Trish

@Peter W. Maybe I’m just a philistine, but I often make beef stew with old open bottles of red wine I wouldn’t drink, and it turns out great!

LetHimCook

Didn’t really turn out. The sauce took on a weird texture from all the starch in the pasta, and I found that the wine came through way too strong. Ended up using a Pinot Grigio from Costco, which I love. It felt like I was just drinking the wine while eating plain pasta. Maybe it was just something I did wrong.

zjr58

I am a frequent cook and have made hundreds of NYT recipes. This was the worst meal I have ever made. Gloopy, acidic mess. Totally inedible. It should be removed from the app.

Rachel W.

I replaced the 2c water with chicken broth, added 5 tablespoons chopped garlic with the better and anchovies, and at the end sorted in 1/2 cup of grated gurye and Swiss cheese blend. Also mixed in 1/4 c chopped walnuts. Superb!!

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