Filipino style spaghetti is unlike any spaghetti you’ve had before. It’s sweet and salty, made with banana ketchup, topped with sharp cheddar cheese and has hotdogs! It’s a beloved dish served at almost all Filipino celebrations.
(Looking for another Filipino noodle dish? Try this easy and delicious pancit canton recipe.)
Filipinos grew up having spaghetti for their birthday (noodles signify luck and long life) and it’s always a part of Filipino celebrations.
It’s perfectly sweet and salty, hearty and filling, delicious.
Why you’ll love Filipino spaghetti style
I know that sweet Filipino spaghetti isn’t for everyone. Who makes spaghetti with banana ketchup anyway? And sweet pasta? The horror!
But lemme tell you, Filipino spaghetti sauce just works and once you try it, you might be surprised at how much you like it.
- Kid-friendly. Kids love the sweet and salty flavor, plus hotdogs!
- Easy to make. And if you’ve ever made regular spaghetti, Filipino style spaghetti is made the same way.
- Comfort food. Grew up with weekend trips to Jollibee? This pinoy spaghetti recipe is not only a trip down memory lane but pinoy comfort food at its finest, too.
How to make
Filipino spaghetti ingredients
At first glance, Filipino spaghetti sauce ingredients are very similar to that of regular spaghetti sauce — ground beef or ground pork, tomato sauce, garlic, onions — but look closer and you’ll find:
- Hotdogs — ideally you’ll want to use Filipino hotdogs but any brand will do. I just don’t recommend substituting with sausages.
- Banana ketchup — sometimes called banana sauce. You can find it in Asian supermarkets and Amazon. I don’t recommend using tomato ketchup.
- Heavy cream — this is cream that has at least 36% milk fat. Whipping cream (at least 35% milk fat) will work, too.
- Sugar — just regular white sugar.
Step-by-step photos
Using a large saucepan on medium heat, fry hotdog in oil until lightly brown around the edges. Remove from pan.
Using the same pan, sauté garlic and onions until translucent.
Stir in ground beef.
Cook until the beef is browned (5-6 minutes).
Add back the hotdogs, 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.
Expert cooking tips
Easy, right? Here are tips for perfect Filipino style spaghetti every time.
- Don’t overcook your pasta. This is true for all pasta dishes; you want to keep your spaghetti noodles al dente. You don’t want your pasta to get too mushy once combined with the sauce.
- Taste with pasta. When tasting the meat sauce on its own, it will taste very sweet. So you might end up over-seasoning it with salt to offset the sweetness. A better way is to taste the sauce with some spaghetti. It will taste sweeter than your usual bolognese — but what you’re looking for is a nice sweet and salty balance.
- Combine just before serving. Sometimes we serve the meat sauce on top of the cooked pasta, sometimes we combine the pasta and the sauce in the pot. If you’re doing the latter, be sure to combine just before serving.
- Serve with grated cheese. And I find that the sharper the cheese, the better! It works so well with the sweet sauce. We usually skip the parmesan here.
Recipe FAQs
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.
It has banana ketchup too. 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.
Filipinos are great at improv and since beef is expensive, we use the cheaper, more readily available hotdog to make the dish meatier.
Filipino spaghetti is delightfully sweet and salty.
I think Jollibee spaghetti is a really great example of how it should taste like (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!
Leftovers can be stored covered in the fridge. It should keep for up to 3 days.
You can freeze the sauce if you want to keep it for longer. Simply place the cooled sauce in a freezer-safe container or large Ziploc bag.
No need to thaw, just place the frozen sauce in a saucepan to reheat.
More Filipino recipes for your celebrations
Planning a get-together? Add these to your menu:
Filipino spaghetti was such a big part of our lives growing up. Served with pandesal, Korean garlic bread or homemade dinner rolls.
Whether it’s Noche Buena, Christmas Day, or New Year’s Eve; Father’s Day, someone’s birthday or graduation, you’ll most likely find spaghetti being served (add some Filipino pork barbecue and smoked party ribs!)
We love it, hope you do, too!
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.
Happy cooking!
Did you make spaghetti Filipino style? I’d love to hear all about it! Leave a comment or a star rating below. You can also tag me on Instagram or Facebook. I’d love to see your creations!
You can also find me on Pinterest and YouTube.
Filipino Style Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp canola oil can use any neutral oil
- ½ lb hotdogs (about 6 pieces) sliced into ½ inch thick pieces
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ lbs ground beef
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 2 oz tomato paste
- 4 oz banana ketchup
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- ⅛ cup granulated sugar see notes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lb spaghetti cooked al dente
- sharp cheddar cheese grated
Instructions
- Using a large saucepan on medium heat, fry hotdog in oil until lightly brown around the edges. Remove from pan.1 tbsp canola oil, ½ lb hotdogs (about 6 pieces)
- Using the same pan, sauté garlic and onion until translucent.1 medium onion, 2 cloves garlic
- Stir in ground beef and cook until the beef is browned (5-6 minutes).1 ½ lbs ground beef
- Add the hotdogs, tomato sauce, tomato paste, banana ketchup, heavy cream and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.15 oz tomato sauce, 2 oz tomato paste, 4 oz banana ketchup, 2 tbsp heavy cream, ⅛ cup granulated sugar, salt and pepper
- Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Serve meat sauce on top of cooked spaghetti. Sprinkle with a generous helping of cheddar cheese.1 lb spaghetti, sharp cheddar cheese
Video
Notes
- You can substitute ground pork for ground beef, or use a combination of both.
- When tasting the meat sauce on its own, it will taste very sweet. So you might end up over-seasoning it with salt to offset the sweetness. A better way is to taste the sauce with some spaghetti. It will taste sweeter than your usual bolognese – what you’re looking for is a nice sweet and salty balance.
- See post for more tips, FAQs and step-by-step photos.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Sarmistha Goswami
I thought spaghetti was an Italian dish only. Didn’t know about the Filipino version of it. Would love to try out the recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Tonya Wilhelm
Oh, this recipe looks amazing. Such a better option than plain old spaghetti. I think I can actually do this one!
Akamatra
As a Greek I love pasta but I haven’t really tried Filipino cuisine. I’d love to be adventurous though and try something different!
jhilmil
Wow, this sweet and salty spaghetti looks delicious and I’m sure my son would love it . Shall make it this weekend.
Trish
I gotta try your recipe as I just usually rely on ufc or del monte spaghetti sauce. Your recipe seems perfect with the salty Filipino eden cheese!
What specific kind of hotdog do you use? Too bad there are no red hotdogs here!
Jolina
Hi Trish! We buy Filipino style hotdogs at the Asian supermarket. I think they’re called Pinoy Delight or something?? Yeah too bad there’s no Purefoods hotdogs here!!
Soonjoo
Yum! Banana Ketchup sounds really interesting! I tend to get overwhelmed to try different cuisine at home (I’m worry if I loose the originality of the dish) but this recipe is super easy to follow for me! Totally want to try this for dinner 🙂
Liz Mays
This is such a cool idea. I’d like the change of pace from our usual pasta dishes. The sweetness might be nice.
Heather Johnson
My kiddos and I love all things pasta! This Filipino style spaghetti sounds like a delicious version of the classic!
Ana De- Jesus
Woah I love the sound of banana ketchup and filipino style spaghetti. It is interesting that it is sweeter than your traditional spaghetti dish and it is something that I am very intrigued to try too!
Ruth Epstein
OMG this sounds so good, I have a close friend who makes Filipino food so am going to share this with her and see if she will make it , yummmmm
Jolina
Thanks Ruth! Or you could cook some Filipino style spaghetti for her out of the blue 🙂 That would be quite the surprise!
Nichole
I love pasta and this one sounds delish! I’m going to bookmark it for after the crazy busy holiday season!
Neely Moldovan
This sounds so good! I love pasta and this sounds like the perfect dish!
Anita Anderson
Mmmm, this is a mouth-watering recipe. My family would love this.
Scott
That certainly sounds like an interesting variation on classic Italian spaghetti. I would love to try it at least once!
Dawn
Where is the time going? I’m not quite in Christmas mode yet, but getting there. And I totally get that Sheldon reference…one of my favourite shows!! We always watch the marathon that is on during the holidays. This spaghetti sounds super interesting, Jolina…and on the sweeter side you say? I would love to try it! Love the cheddar cheese on top! That’s the icing on the cake…or, er, cheese on the spaghetti 😉 Have an awesome week!
Jolina
Hi Dawn! I usually smother mine with cheese teehee. Love that stuff. When I saw that Big Bang episode (I love how he says it I-talian haha) I immediately thought OMG we like the same kind of spaghetti we’re totally friends LOL. Happy Sunday!