Spaghetti jollof infuses tender pasta with West African flavors from fragrant spices and aromatics. This post will guide you through how to make the best jollof spaghetti with simple ingredients and my expert tips for delicious results every single time!
Wondering what is jollof spaghetti? It's a Nigerian fusion dish where spaghetti is cooked in the same ingredients we use to make jollof rice so you get sauce and pasta all in one with lots of flavor. Growing up, we just called it spaghetti or spaghetti with stew.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my Nigerian jollof rice, too!
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❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
One Pot Pasta - Just one pot makes for easy cleanup! You can use a skillet, saucepan or Dutch oven to prepare delicious spaghetti jollof.
Full of Flavor - The spaghetti is simmered in rich Nigerian tomato stew seasoned like jollof rice so you'll taste a balance of savory, fiery, warm, and umami flavors.
Easy to Make - You don't need any fancy kitchen tools or techniques to make this recipe so it's beginner friendly.
As a Nigerian American, I love fusion recipes like these suya beef tacos and zobo hibiscus lemonade. And don't forget the sweet plantain ice cream for dessert!
Featured Reader Review
★★★★★
"I made this for my Nigerian housemate, as a birthday dinner. When he walked through the door, he said our house smelled like home, in his Mom's kitchen. He loved it! He told me I made it perfectly, and he was amazed I didn't need to watch a video to learn to make it. I told him the instructions that came with the recipe, were easy to understand and follow."
-Katherine
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Spaghetti is the most popular pasta for this dish but you could also use other types like penne pasta or fettuccine or even indomie, which is beloved in Nigeria.
Fresh Tomatoes, Pepper, and Onion are pureed together and as the spaghetti cooks in it, all the liquid is absorbed, leaving behind a thick, rich and savory tomato sauce. Just perfect. Use Roma tomatoes, aka plum tomatoes for the best results.
Meat Broth or Stock adds hearty flavor to the cooking liquid and makes for plump, juicy noodles. Chicken, beef, and turkey broth are the most common options and you can even use a combination!
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Oil - Palm oil is traditionally used for native spaghetti jollof but you can use your favorite cooking oil for this recipe, though I recommend one with a neutral flavor, if not palm oil. Olive oil, avocado oil, and grape seed oil are my picks.
Peppers - Any color bell peppers will work in this recipe and you can use scotch bonnet or habanero pepper interchangeably since they have similar heat levels. And you can adjust the fire factor up or down with the number of peppers--one for a little tingle and so on.
Proteins - Add cooked meats to the mix or quick cooking protein like shrimp to make this recipe into a on-pan meal!
Vegetables - I like to add chopped spinach for extra color and some fiber but that is not part of the traditional recipe. The beauty of making jollof rice with veggies is that you can add whatever you like--peas, carrots, corn, other leafy greens, and much more!
Vegan or Vegetarian - Make your jollof spaghetti vegan by using vegetable broth and bouillon cubes.
How to Prepare Jollof Spaghetti Step by Step
Step One: Add the tomatoes, half onion, bell pepper, and scotch bonnet peppers to a blender with water and puree until smooth.
Step Two: Meanwhile, chop the spinach, other half of the onion, and mince the garlic.
Pro Tip #1
You can prep the puree up to three days ahead of time, just make sure to stir it up before us in case of separation.
Step Three: Cook the chopped onion, garlic, and spices, in oil.
Step Four: Pour in the vegetable puree and cook until bubbling and reduced.
Pro Tip #2
Cooking the aromatics (garlic and onion) and spices together in the oil deepens their flavor and infuses it throughout the dish. This technique is called "blooming" the spices.
Pro Tip #3
If you want to cook jollof spaghetti with smoked fish, add it to the pot in step three.
Step Five: Stir in the broth and bring to a boil.
Step Six: Cook the spaghetti in the sauce then stir in the chopped spinach.
Pro Tip #4
Be sure to taste test the sauce and add salt, as needed. Since we're using maggi cube and broth, it's best not to add additional salt at the start of cooking but you want to salt the sauce just as you would water for boiling pasta!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make jollof spaghetti up to three days in advance as long as it is stored properly in the fridge.
To store, transfer the spaghetti and sauce to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to five days.
You can freeze cooked spaghetti jollof for up to three months in an airtight, freezer-safe container or zip top freezer bag.
How to Serve
You can serve jollof spaghetti with turkey, chicken, beef, and most any other kind of protein. Here, I've paired spaghetti jollof with my suya shrimps, which come together quick and easy in the oven!
For a bigger riff on this fusion recipe, you can use ground meat, sausage or corned beef to make jollof spaghetti and meatballs.
More Favorite Nigerian Recipes
Now that you know how to cook Nigerian jollof spaghetti, I hope you'll enjoy soon and very soon. And sharing is caring so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
The Best Jollof Spaghetti
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 Blender
- 1 large pot or saute pan 4 quarts or larger
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 4 Roma tomatoes or plum tomatoes
- 2 bell peppers
- 1-2 scotch bonnet peppers
- ½ cup water
- 3-4 tablespoons oil
- 2 cups spinach leaves fresh or frozen, thawed, and drained
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 maggi cube crushed into powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground thyme
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 cups broth or stock
- sea salt to taste
- 16 ounces spaghetti uncooked
Instructions
- Cut the onion in half and add one half with tomatoes, bell peppers, and scotch bonnet peppers to blender with water and puree until smooth (about two minutes).
- Meanwhile, add oil to pot over medium flame. Dice the remaining onion, chop the spinach, and mince or crush the garlic then add the onion to the heated oil along with curry powder, crushed maggi cube, smoked paprika, white pepper, ginger, and thyme. Do not add salt (see recipe notes).
- Cook until fragrant and onions are nearly translucent (about four minutes) then add garlic and cook one minute more.
- Stir the tomato paste into the pot, followed by the tomato puree and bay leaf. Reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for about 20 minutes or until bubbling and slightly reduced.
- Stir in the broth or stock then increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil.
- Taste test the sauce and add salt, if needed, to your preference. Reduce the heat to medium then add spaghetti to the pot and cook to al dente (about 16 minutes).
- Remove from heat and discard bay leaf then stir chopped spinach into pasta until wilted. Serve hot.
Ken says
I recently made this for my Nigerian partner and it was a hit! I made Jazz's suya recipe and marinated it with short ribs. Braised the short ribs in a dutch oven and cooked them with the jollof sauce recipe in the oven for two hours. It was delicious! I also switched out the spaghetti with rigatoni. Thanks for the recipes!
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Ken! Thanks so much for your feedback. Everything sounds amazing and I'm so happy you and your partner enjoyed.
Katherine says
I made this for my Nigerian housemate, as a birthday dinner. When he walked through the door, he said our house smelled like home, in his Mom's kitchen. He loved it! He told me I made it perfectly, and he was amazed I didn't need to watch a video to learn to make it. I told him the instructions that came with the recipe, were easy to understand and follow. Unfortunately, due to stomach problems, I wasn't able to taste test it, my gastric reflux would keep me awake all night with heartburn if I ate something with hot peppers in it, I enjoy the taste of hot spices, but my stomach doesn't agree. Thanks so much for this recipe, my housemate said it was delicious!
Jazzmine Woodard says
Wow, what a thoughtful story! I'm so glad your housemate enjoyed this, Katherine, and that the instructions were easy to follow. Hope you find more to love here!
Krysten says
One pot recipes are always my favorite! Little effort without compromising on any of the flavor! This was my first time trying jollof spaghetti and I’m never going back! So delicious!
Marcus Avery says
Now this is a different type of spaghetti and I loved it! I would have never thought to merge the flavors of jollof with spaghetti. I can’t wait to make this again. It tastes superb!
Shani Whisonant says
This recipe is AMAZING! I love how the heat can be customized for jollof newbies, and my kids were thrilled to have another delicious, great way to eat spaghetti! Thank you so much for this recipe! It's a keeper and I'm putting it into my regular rotation!