A sweet, savory, meaty version of traditional Italian spaghetti, this Filipino-style Spaghetti is a copycat recipe of the famous Filipino fast food Jollibee Spaghetti. It's easy to make at home for a delicious family dinner!
If you've ever been to a Jollibee Filipino fast food restaurant, you've likely had Jollibee spaghetti. It's basically a take on Filipino-style spaghetti, which is made sweeter to suit the sweet flavors of Filipino cuisine and Filipino palates.
My Lola Epyon (great-grandmother) made this for me only a couple of times, but I remember the flavors so well. I've always been a huge fan of any kind of spaghetti, and growing up, I had a super sweet tooth. So Filipino-style spaghetti (or Pinoy Spaghetti) was definitely my kind of dish!
If you've never made this version, I encourage you to give it a try, especially if you have kids who are picky eaters. I'm betting they will gobble this sweet spaghetti up!
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🌟 Why this recipe works
Filipino spaghetti is like a kid's dream pasta dish: full of hearty noodles, ground meat AND hot dogs, a sweet banana ketchup and tomato sauce, and topped with cheese. Heck, many adults view this traditional Filipino recipe as their dream dish!
This is a popular dish that a lot of people make on special occasions. It's a popular birthday party dish. But it's a comfort food that is so easy to make at home that I think it's perfect for any weeknight dinner.
- Most of the ingredients are easy to find at your local grocery store. The others are easy to find online or at Asian supermarkets.
- This is an easy recipe that is great for beginning cooks to pro home cooks.
- The recipe makes a lot of food: about 6-8 hearty portions, but more than that in our family.
- It's a comfort food dinner that the whole family will love.
If you've been craving Jollibee spaghetti, this recipe will take you right back to that fave fast food chain. And now you'll know how to make it at home!
🛒 Ingredient notes
Noodles - Spaghetti noodles are the best for this dish.
Meat - Some people put ground beef or ground pork, or a mixture of both, in their Filipino spaghetti. Jollibee only puts 100% ground beef in their spaghetti, so that's what we're putting in our recipe.
Hot dogs - Sliced hot dogs add a whole extra depth of flavor to this dish! You can use your favorite hot dogs, or use Longganisa, a Filipino sausage.
Banana ketchup - The signature flavor that makes this Jollibee copycat recipe stand out is banana ketchup. Bananas are abundant in the Philippines, and banana ketchup is exactly what it sounds like: ketchup sweetened with bananas. You can find banana ketchup in most Asian supermarkets and some chain grocery stores around the US. You can also buy bottles of banana ketchup online; Jufran is a popular brand.
Other sauce ingredients - Rounding out the sauce ingredients include tomato sauce and tomato paste, beef broth, minced garlic, diced yellow onion, and a little bit of sugar.
✅ Step-by-step instructions
Detailed instructions and ingredients are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here's a visual step-by-step to help you make this Jollibee spaghetti recipe at home.
- Cook the hot dogs in a saucepan over medium heat or medium-high heat. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- In the same pan, sauté the onions and garlic.
3. Add the ground beef and cook through.
4. Add the remaining sauce ingredients to the pan, stir, then cover and simmer for 30 minutes to one hour, until the meat sauce has thickened and is a rich, flavorful sauce.
5. While the sauce simmers, cook the pasta according to package instructions in a large cooking pot, just until the pasta is al dente.
6. Add the cooked hot dogs back to the sauce.
7. Add the cooked spaghetti to the sauce, along with ¼ cup of hot starchy pasta water. Add more pasta water if needed to thin the sauce a bit.
8. Top with shredded cheddar cheese.
If you want, you can also top each serving with chopped fresh parsley.
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQs
Jollibee spaghetti is sweeter than original spaghetti recipes, as it contains banana ketchup. It is also made with hot dogs in addition to the ground meat. Finally, Jollibee spaghetti is topped with cheese, which is another signature ingredient that makes it so special.
Allow the food to cool, the store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four or five days.
Yes! Allow the spaghetti to cool down, then store in freezer bags or freezer safe airtight container in the freezer for up to two months.
Sometimes you'll find Filipino spaghetti made with chopped ham, red bell pepper, or condensed milk.
🍽 Serving ideas
This sweet Filipino spaghetti is absolutely delicious with our Air Fryer Garlic Bread. It's also great with Pandesal or Spanish Bread -- two classic Filipino breads.
Serve popular Filipino side dishes like Filipino Macaraoni Salad or everyone's favorite Filipino food: Lumpia.
Make it a complete meal with Filipino desserts like Taisan (Filipino Chiffon Cake), Ube White Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Leche Flan.
🍷 🥂 Wine pairings
This is a truly rich spaghetti sauce that calls for a big bold red wine.
I love pairing Filipino spaghetti with Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, or Tempranillo.
🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to make this delicious, beloved family recipe? Here are the kitchen tools and equipment you'll need:
- Large pot - You'll need a large stockpot to cook the spaghetti noodles.
- Large saucepan - Use a large saucepan or Dutch oven to cook the banana sauce and bring all of the ingredients together. This is the enamored cast iron casserole pan I cook my Filipino spaghetti in. It's perfect for all types of kitchens, induction cooking!
- Wooden spoon - Use a wooden spoon to stir the sauce.
- Tongs - Kitchen tongs make it easy to transfer the pasta to the saucepan.
More Filipino recipes
If you enjoy this recipe, please try any of our other Filipino recipes! As a Filipino-American cookbook author, I am proud to share these recipes from my heritage, and hope you and your family love them, too!
Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Jollibee Spaghetti Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 4-5 hot dogs, sliced diagonally (on the bias)
- 1 small onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 can (15 ounce) tomato sauce about 2 cups
- 1 cup banana ketchup
- 1 can (8-ounce) tomato paste about ½ cup
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 pound spaghetti noodles
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- optional: chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the hot dog slices and cook through, about 5 minutes. Once fully cooked, transfer the hot dog slices to a plate and set aside.
- Add the onions and garlic to the saucepan and sauté for 1-2 minutes, just until they are soft and fragrant.
- Add the ground beef and cook, stirring regularly. Once cooked through, drain any excess fat as necessary then return the pan to the stovetop.
- Pour in the tomato sauce, banana ketchup, tomato paste, beef broth and sprinkle in the sugar. Stir well, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- During this time, cook the spaghetti in a large pot, according to package directions.
- Once the sauce has become slightly thicker and developed a rich flavor, uncover and add the hot dog slices back to the pan; stir. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Add the pasta to the pan, along with ¼ cup of hot starchy pasta water, and toss to coat. Add more pasta water as needed to get the sauce to your preferred consistency.
- Serve topped with shredded cheese and, if desired, chopped parsley.
Notes
- add chopped bell peppers when you are cooking the onions and garlic.
- add diced ham instead of hot dogs
- add condensed milk at the end if you want an even sweeter sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is a general estimate. Actual nutrition details may vary depending on the exact foods & brands you use to make this recipe. It does not take into account any substitutions, toppings, or optional ingredients.
Jasmin says
I absolutely recommend this recipe! My siblings and I LOVED it! The taste is amazing.
Marlynn Jayme Schotland says
So glad to hear you all loved this Filipino spaghetti, Jasmin! ❤️
Alexander Adedotun says
So amazing and delicious 😋