What is a Fra Diavolo sauce? 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 6 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced 2 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp (about 30) peeled and deveined Salt One 35-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano), cored and coarsely crushed Usually fra diavolo is a tomato based sauce that uses chilli peppers for spice. Fra Diavolo is Italian for “Brother Devil” a nickname for the spicy sauce for pasta or seafood. Another recipe that I use with the fra diavolo sauce is my Seafood Cioppino. My version doesn't pack too much heat because neither me or Steve can handle too much, yup wimps, but you can certainly up the crushed red pepper! This quick linguine dish packs a punch with its spicy tomato-based sauce, made with Cento Extra Hot Calabrese Peperoncino. Fra Diavolo is all about the fresh seafood and spicy tomato sauce, hence the devil reference in the name.