TikTok's Dirty Martini Pasta

The dirty martini goes to Italy in this olive studded, umami loaded variation on the viral noods dish

By
Lauryn Bodden
headshot for associate food editor Lauryn Bodden
Lauryn Bodden
Lauryn is Food Editor for The Spruce Eats, creating recipes and cooking guides for all palates and expertise.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Published on 07/25/23
Tested by
Diana Andrews
Headshot of Diana Andrews
Tested by Diana Andrews
Diana earned her B.A. in Fine Art at Queens College and her culinary certification from the Institute of Culinary Education. Diana has served as head recipe developer and editor for Emmy-nominated PBS series Moveable Feast, food editor and test kitchen manager at Fine Cooking Magazine, and recipe developer, and product tester at Food Network.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Two bowls of dirty martini pasta, served with a side salad

The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 35 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
454 Calories
23g Fat
42g Carbs
11g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 454
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 23g 30%
Saturated Fat 8g 40%
Cholesterol 29mg 10%
Sodium 1785mg 78%
Total Carbohydrate 42g 15%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Total Sugars 5g
Protein 11g
Vitamin C 11mg 55%
Calcium 143mg 11%
Iron 2mg 14%
Potassium 236mg 5%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

For me, there are few greater pleasures than a stiff dirty martini at the end of a long day. Blue cheese-stuffed olives. Gin. Maybe a twist if I’m feeling sassy. Dirty martinis are back with a vengeance and they’re not just at happy hour. The iconic cocktail is making its way onto our plates and we’re not surprised. Now we’re seeing the bold attributes of a dirty martini pop up in salad dressing, chicken, pork chops, and pasta. 


Cocktail-i-fying our food is nothing new. Flashback to 2020 me, mid-pandemic, questioning where the lines blurred between “treat yo’self” and “this is just you,” when I wound up turning my favorite nightcap, the old fashioned, into a puckery upside-down cake. 

Recently, TikToker Emily Eggers created the viral dirty martini pasta that showcases how simple ingredients can create magic without the fuss. Her recipe utilizes that half-empty jar of olive brine idling in the back of your fridge along with lemon, garlic, parmesan, and booze, of course. Just like the classic cocktail you can choose between gin or vodka without significantly affecting the dish. Gin provides juniper notes for an herbaceous finish, while vodka is more neutral in flavor

Bring On The Umami

My riff on the viral dirty martini pasta recipe captures the strong components I love about the drink, but takes it a step further. A good cocktail, just like a great meal, needs balance. Whether that’s sweet and sour, botanical and punchy, fruity and spicy, or any other flavor duo. A dirty martini is at once briny and bright, the perfect duo for pasta. 

But with MSG martinis and the Pintxotini out there, it’s clear everyone is also embracing umami, so to add an umami boost I’m incorporating anchovies in my dirty martini pasta for a very subtle savory lift that sends you straight to Italy. 

Just wait for the moment you smell the anchovy, garlic, olives, and lemon frying in the bath of butter and olive oil. The use of both fats creates a velvety sauce that still tastes light in texture. Lemon brings a brightness that mellows the saltiness and a soft blue cheese turns the sauce into a creamy bowl of comfort.

Tips for Making Dirty Martini Pasta

  • Don't burn your butter—Careful to not let the butter burn when cooking down the anchovy-olive mixture. Start the heat lower and bring up if needed. If the butter appears to start browning, go ahead and add your brine mixture to cool it off before it goes brown.
  • Cook it al dente—Make sure not to overcook the bucatini—it’s supposed to have a bite. You can always drain the pasta earlier and finish cooking it in the skillet with the liquid. Add more liquid to the skillet and continue to cook until the pasta is al dente and coated in the sauce.
  • Castelvetranos are best—You can omit or swap out almost any of the ingredients. However, Castelvetrano olives are the best for this as their more mild flavor balances with everything else.
  • Give anchovies a chance—I encourage you to give the anchovies a try. They melt right into the sauce (so no one will even know!) and offer up an unmatched umami that helps round out the taste of the sauce.
  • Pasta water is your friend—If the sauce seems dry, add a splash of reserved pasta water and toss until the pasta is glossy and coated.
  • Taste your way to success—Taste everything along the way. The ingredients all have strong flavors of acid and salt, so you want to make sure you’re not overdoing it on either. You can always counterbalance with a splash of more alcohol or broth and a few cubes of butter to finish the sauce.

How To Serve Dirty Martini Pasta

Serve this dirty martini pasta with a light arugula salad, crusty bread, and even grilled chicken or shrimp over top if you want a hit of protein. This dish is best served right away, so we don’t recommend making any part ahead of time.

"If you love the briny bite of a dirty martini, then you'll love the briny bite of this Dirty Martini Pasta. Bold and assertive, this recipe is delicious with just the right amount of fruity olives, salty anchovies, and tangy blue cheese." —Diana Andrews

Dirty Martini Pasta/Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • Fine salt, as needed

  • 1 pound bucatini, mafalda, or linguine pasta

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 3 anchovies, finely chopped

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced or sliced

  • 1 cup pitted Castelvetrano or green olives, coarsely chopped

  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest

  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

  • 1/3 cup gin or vodka

  • 1/4 cup olive brine

  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh flatleaf parsley, plus more for serving

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

  • 2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled into walnut-sized pieces, divided

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients to make dirty martini pasta

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  2. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the 1 pound bucatini, mafalda, or linguine pasta and cook 1 minute less than al dente according to package instructions, about 8 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain. Reserve the pasta pot; you'll use it again.

    A colander of cooked bucatini pasta, and a glass measuring cup of pasta water

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  3. While the pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add 3 finely chopped anchovies, 3 cloves garlic, minced, 1 cup pitted Castelvetrano or green olives, coarsely chopped, and 1 tablespoon lemon zest. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and fragrant, about 3 minutes.

    A pan with olive oil, garlic, anchovies, olives, and lemon zest

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  4. Add 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1/3 cup gin or vodka, and 1/4 cup olive brine to the skillet. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Cook until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat.

    A pan with lemon juice, vodka, and olive brine added to the garlic-olive mixture

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  5. Add the sauce, pasta and 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water to the pasta pot. Simmer over low heat, tossing and stirring the pasta occasionally, until the pasta is al dente and  well-coated, about 2 minutes.

    A large pot of cooked bucatini, pasta water, and olive-lemon juice mixture

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

  6. Add 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley, a few generous grinds of black pepper, and half of the blue cheese, crumbled; toss to combine. Adjust the consistency of the sauce with more pasta water, if desired. Serve garnished with more parsley and the remaining blue cheese.

    A pot of dirty martini pasta, topped with crumbled blue cheese and chopped parsley

    The Spruce Eats / Diana Chistruga

If You Have Leftovers (...and that's a big if)

  • Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
  • To reheat, be sure to add a splash of water to help reconstitute the sauce before you microwave for a couple of minutes or reheat in a pan over medium heat.

Feeling Adventurous? Try This:

  • No booze, no problem—You can omit the alcohol completely or replace it with broth.
  • Make it creamy—Add about 1/4 cup of heavy cream if you want to lean into pasta al limone for a more creamy finish. 
  • Swap out the blue cheese—If blue cheese is too much for you, try swapping in freshly grated Parmesan or gorgonzola which is a milder version of blue.
  • Try a different pasta—Try out your favorite noodles from spaghetti, angel hair, and even smaller shapes like orecchiette.