Haitian Spaghetti Recipe

Content… What Is It? Recipe Ingredients How to Make It Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Make-Ahead Instructions Serving and Storage Instructions What to Serve More Flavorful Pasta Recipes to Try

What Is Haitian Spaghetti?

Haitian spaghetti hails from Haiti, as you may have guessed. Ingredients commonly used in Haitian kitchens are red and green bell peppers, green onion, and scotch bonnet peppers. Basically, it’s spaghetti with tomato sauce, cut-up sausage, and plenty of veggies.

Sometimes, Haitians enjoy this dish for breakfast! It certainly keeps you full and gives you plenty of energy for the day. However, I usually enjoy it for lunch or dinner. 😉

Haitian Spaghetti Ingredients

1. Spaghetti – Regular or whole grain, thin or thick, gluten-free—grab your favorite variety of spaghetti for this dish.
2. Sausage – Pork sausage is what I usually use, but you could use beef kielbasa, smoked sausage, hot dogs, or any other sausage.
3. Tomatoes – Two tomatoes and some tomato paste create the base for the red sauce. 
4. Veggies – Red and green bell peppers, green onions, garlic, onion, and scotch bonnet all infuse delectable flavor into the sauce. 
5. Seasonings – With so many flavorful ingredients, you can keep the seasonings simple with the classic thyme, salt, and pepper. 

How to Make Haitian Spaghetti

Prep the Ingredients

• Cook Spaghetti – Heat a large pot of salted water to boil over medium heat. Add the pasta and cook as the package instructions indicate to al dente. (The time will depend on your choice of pasta.) (Photo 1)
• Drain – When the pasta is ready, strain it in a sieve, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water. 
• Cook Sausage – Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Sauté the pork sausage until brown on both sides, about 2 minutes on each side. Set the sausage aside on a plate.  (Photo 2)
• The Sauce – In the same skillet, sauté the white onions, garlic, thyme, and bell peppers for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, stir well, and cook for 2 more minutes.  (Photos 3-6)
• Season – Next, add the scotch bonnet pepper and bouillon powder and adjust seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.

Assemble

• Simmer – Add ½ cup of reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce. Let the mixture simmer for 8-10 minutes.
• Assemble – Add the cooked spaghetti to the sauce and stir well to coat it with the sauce. Finally, add the pork sausage to the pasta and stir to combine.  (Photos 7-8)
• Serve – Garnish with sliced green onions over the top, serve, and enjoy!

Recipe Variations

1. Swap out the pasta. You can use any variety of pasta for this recipe, from penne to linguine.
2. Use a different meat. You can trade the sausage out with ground beef, turkey, lamb, hot dogs, or any other meat to this dish.
3. Skip the scotch bonnet. If you don’t do spicy foods, just leave out the scotch bonnet. This dish will still taste amazing sans hot peppers. 

Tips and Tricks

1. If the sauce seems a little too thick, add a few tablespoons of water left over from the spaghetti.
2. Please don’t overcook the pasta. Drain it as soon as it is al dente since you’ll be heating it back up in the sauce later. No one likes mushy pasta. 🙅🏿‍♀️
3. Add some extra garnishes if you please. Sliced avocado or boiled egg are typical garnishes that look pretty and add a lot of flavor to the dish. Fresh chopped parsley also looks and tastes great.

Make-Ahead Instructions

Feel free to make this a day or two in advance because it tastes even better the next day. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to reheat it. You can also freeze it for up to three months.

Serving and Storage Instructions 

Serve Haitian spaghetti hot off the stove with a warm baguette.

Store leftover Haitian spaghetti in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days. Reheat it stove-top over medium heat until hot, or just pop it in the microwave.

What Goes With Haitian Spaghetti

I like to add a side of homemade garlic bread and a tossed salad to this meal. You could also serve it with some sweet plantains and a cool glass of sorrel drink. 

More Flavorful Pasta Recipes to Try

1. Pastalaya
2. Creamy Shrimp Pasta
3. Cajun Chicken Pasta
4. Jerk Chicken Pasta
5. Salmon Pasta