Calamari Fra Diavolo Recipe

Calamari Fra Diavolo Recipe is an easy Italian dish featuring squid stewed in a flavorful fresh tomato sauce. It can be served as a side with crusty bread for dipping or paired with your favorite pasta for a delicious seafood meal.

Calamari Fra Diavolo Recipe

Our mom made this seafood dish often, and she’d call it “calamari marinara” but, today we made it mildly spicy. Red pepper flakes enhance the flavor of seafood dishes, making this recipe even better. The entire process is simple and takes only about 15 to 20 minutes to prepare, resulting in an incredibly delicious meal!

It is a lovely seafood dish served as a side, or as the main course tossed with pasta. The sauce is so good and flavorful – that you have to take some bread and dip it into it (the Italian way!)

Ingredients Overview

• Calamari – in translation, calamari means squid. It is lightly sweet and tender and absorbs all the rich flavors from the fresh tomato sauce.

• Fra Diavolo – in Italian means “among the devil” (among the heat). It is a mild-spicy sauce with crushed red pepper, which gives “heat” to the recipe.

• Olive Oil – extra virgin olive oil adds the “good” fat to the recipe, infusing all the flavors together.

• Garlic – fresh garlic offers deep aromatic flavors to fresh tomato sauce. It is a must for this recipe.

• Imported Cherry Tomatoes – canned cherry tomatoes are preferred, and these are found in (14-ounce) cans and imported from Southern Italy where they develop their fragrant, sweet, and succulent flavors.

• Fresh Italian Parsley – fresh parsley is a must-have for Italian seafood recipes. It adds a pleasant and fresh flavor to the dish.

• Seasonings – crushed red pepper flakes and sea salt are the only seasonings you will need for this recipe.

How to Prepare & Clean Squid?

1. To Clean Frozen Squid: If you use frozen squid, it is best to place the package in your refrigerator to thaw overnight. Then rinse thoroughly and drain before cooking.

2. To Clean Fresh Squid: Whether you buy fresh squid tubes or ones that are already pre-cut into rings, you will need to rinse them under cold running water thoroughly and drain them in a colander.

Then examine them, and remove and discard any plastic-like spine bone from the inside.  Next, cut any or all squid tubes on a cutting board, into about 1/2-inch rings.

Directions to Make Calamari Fra Diavolo Recipe:

Here are step-by-step photos and directions for making our Calamari Fra Diavolo. (*Full recipe card below!)

1. First, Prepare the Squid: Rinse, drain, and cut into rings.

2. Second, Heat a Skillet with Olive Oil and Garlic: Next, in a non-stick large skillet, heat olive oil and toss in the fresh sliced garlic. Sauté the garlic on moderate heat until they turn a golden color, about 2 minutes.

3. Next, Add the Canned Cherry Tomatoes: open and toss in one can (14-ounce) of cherry tomatoes including all the liquid in the can. Sauté the tomatoes for about 1 minute. Then stir in 1/4 cup of water and simmer the tomatoes for about 3 to 4 minutes.

4. Toss in the Fresh Parsley: Toss in about 3 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley and stir to fragrant the tomato sauce.

5. Add the Calamari Rings and Seasonings: add in the squid rings, along with the sea salt and crushed red pepper flakes.

6. Finally, Simmer the Squid: uncovered, for about 6 to 8 minutes, until the calamari rings are fully cooked, and tender to the bite. Turn off the heat and serve.

Calamari Marinara vs Calamari Fra Diavolo…

What is the difference between Marinara and Fra Diavolo? Calamari Marinara and Fra Diavolo are the same recipes. The only difference between them is that one is a mild tomato sauce and the other one is spicy.

What to serve with calamari?

• serve with some crusty Italian bread, or French baguette to dip into the broth.
• toss it with some spaghetti or mezzi rigatoni pasta for a delicious dish.
• with a side of easy sautéed broccolini and a green salad.
• as a side to grilled jumbo shrimps, or seared scallops over pesto sauce for a fabulous, and impressive seafood dinner.

How To Store and Reheat

• When it comes to seafood dishes, it’s best to enjoy the meal as soon as it is ready to serve.
• If you happen to have any leftovers, always store them in a sealed container and keep them chilled in the refrigerator. They should be consumed the next day.
• To reheat, you can easily reheat calamari in a small skillet for a few minutes until they are warm.

A Delicious Seafood Dish

Calamari Fra Diavolo is one of the easiest seafood dishes you can make.

Squid is often fried or boiled and served as an appetizer, like our Shrimp and Calamari Salad. However, as a warm, brothy stew, this recipe is easier and most delicious!  This Calamari Fra Diavolo is a great dish to serve family and friends!  Try this recipe, you’ll be glad you did!

ENJOY!

Additional Easy Seafood Recipes…

• Easy Shrimp Dinner
• Little Neck Clams in Wine and Garlic Broth
• Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi
• Spicy Shrimp Recipe-10 Minutes!
• Sheet-Pan Salmon with Vegetables
• Mixed Seafood Stew (Cioppino)
• Spaghetti with Swordfish Sauce

If you make our easy calamari fra diavolo, let us know and leave a comment with a star rating!  We’d love to hear from you.  Sharing your insights and experiences helps everyone who reads them, and helps us too! 

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Have a great day!

Happy Cooking …

xo anna and liz