Filipino Style Spaghetti – Sweet and Salty!

Filipino style spaghetti is unlike any spaghetti you’ve had before. It’s sweet, made with banana ketchup, topped with a mountain of sharp cheddar cheese and has hotdogs! So good!

(Looking for another Filipino noodle dish? This easy pancit canton recipe is another favourite Filipino recipe you can try.)

Just like that, Thanksgiving (American and Canadian) is over and our brain automatically goes on Christmas mode.

Filipino spaghetti is one of my all time favourite things and it typically makes an appearance on our holiday menu (or any time we have a celebration).

And I’m so happy to be sharing this recipe with you.

What is Filipino spaghetti and what makes it sweet?

Unlike Italian spaghetti which is more on the acidic side because of all the tomatoes, Filipino spaghetti is sweeter; it actually has sugar in the list of ingredients.

Banana ketchup too (sometimes it’s called banana sauce here). It’s the more commonly available variety in the Philippines (Jufran, anyone?) with many considering tomato ketchup too sour.

Filipino spaghetti also has hotdogs in it (just like how Sheldon likes it!).

Filipinos are great at improv and since beef is expensive, we use the cheaper, more readily available hotdog to make the dish meatier.

What is Filipino style spaghetti sauce?

At first glance Filipino spaghetti sauce ingredients are very similar to that of regular spaghetti sauce (ground beef, tomato sauce, garlic, onions) but look closer and you’ll find:

• hotdogs
• banana ketchup
• heavy cream
• sugar

Certainly unique but very delicious!

(Though if you think about it, cream is not an out-this-world pasta ingredient. In fact I use it to make this delicious and creamy chicken spaghetti – a great recipe for leftover chicken!)

How to cook Filipino style spaghetti

What’s not unique is how to cook it. It’s easy and straightforward as can be.

Fry the hotdogs until light brown around the edges. Remove from pan and using the same pan, sauté garlic and onion until translucent.

Stir in ground beef and cook until the beef is browned.

Add back the hotdogs. Plus the tomato sauce, tomato paste, banana ketchup, heavy cream and sugar.

Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve meat sauce on top of cooked spaghetti. Sprinkle with a generous helping of cheddar cheese (the more cheese, the better!).

That’s all there is to it!

What does it taste like?

Filipino spaghetti is delightfully sweet and salty.

Personally, I think Jollibee spaghetti is a really great example of how it should be done (a close second would be the spaghetti from Makati Supermarket of the 80s) but every family has its own take on the dish.

Much like how you’ll find a million and one variations of adobo.

What’s common is its place on our tables.

Whether it’s Noche Buena, Christmas Day, or New Year’s Eve; Father’s Day, someone’s birthday or graduation, you’d most likely find spaghetti being served (add some smoked party ribs!)

It’s a great weekday meal too. Who says everyday can’t be special?

Hope you try it!

(Looking for more pasta recipes? Slow cooked minced pork ragu is delicious, lemon caper pasta is perfect if you’re looking for a bright and light lunch and angel hair pomodoro is packed with fresh Campari tomatoes.)

Filipino dessert recipes

Are you having people over? These Filipino dessert recipes are always a hit.

• Ube cake or Filipino purple yam cake is not only stunning; it’s also delicious.
• Brazo de Mercedes cupcakes are pretty and scrumptious too. They are easier to make than traditional Brazo de Mercedes but just as delicious.
• This yema cake recipe is a soft and airy chiffon cake, with a rich and thick yema spread filling, and yema frosting that’s stable and so easy to decorate with.
• Not in the mood to bake? This strawberry refrigerator cake (or the Filipino version of strawberry icebox cake) is the dessert for you.

 

Happy cooking!

Did you make this Filipino spaghetti recipe? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

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