Dirty Spaghetti Recipe

A white bowl filled with Dirty Spaghetti—topped with sliced sausage, ground meat, and garnished with chopped green onions—set on a rustic blue wooden surface with a brown cloth nearby.

Dirty spaghetti is a Cajun-style pasta loaded with ground beef, smoky andouille sausage, and the holy trinity, all tossed in a rich, beefy gravy sauce. No red sauce here, just deeply satisfying Southern comfort food. It comes together in about 30 minutes and it's always a hit at our table.

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Cajun

Keyword: cajun spaghetti, dirty spaghetti, spicy spaghetti

Servings:

Calories: 507kcal

Author: Mike Hultquist

Ingredients

1 teaspoon oil
1 pound ground beef 80/20
1 yellow onion diced
1 green bell pepper diced
1-2 jalapeno peppers diced (optional, for a spicy kick)
2 celery stalks diced
4 garlic cloves minced
0.5 pound andouille sausage sliced (or swap in ground Italian sausage)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix packet
2 cups beef broth
1.5 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoons smoked paprika
0.5 teaspoons black pepper
0.5 teaspoons salt to taste
1 pound spaghetti
To Serve. Fresh chopped green onion, fresh chopped parsley, red pepper flakes

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the ground beef, breaking the meat up as it cooks. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until mostly cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Drain excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.
Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion, bell pepper, optional jalapeno, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Add garlic and andouille sausage. Cook another 60 seconds until fragrant and the andouille browns.
Push the meat and vegetable mixture to the sides of the pan. Add the butter to the center and let it melt. Sprinkle in the flour and stir constantly for about 1-2 minutes to cook off the raw flour taste. This is your roux, the step that makes it taste like dirty rice and thickens the final sauce.
Stir in tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and Lipton Beefy Onion Soup Mix packet. Pour in 2 cups beef broth gradually, stirring to incorporate the roux.
Add Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, and black pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens and darkens. Taste and adjust salt.
While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti noodles until al dente according to package directions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain and set aside.
Add the drained spaghetti to the pan sauce and toss to coat. Add a splash of reserved pasta water if needed to loosen the sauce. Everything should be dark, clingy, and saucy, not soupy.
Serve onto plates and top with freshly chopped green onion and parsley, and red pepper flakes to taste. Serve immediately.

Notes

Heat it up: Add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne to the seasoning mix. A few dashes of your favorite hot sauce stirred in at the end works great too.

Soup mix swap: If you can't find the Lipton Beefy Onion packet, use this homemade version - 3 tablespoons dried minced onion, 2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules, and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder. Stir together and use as directed.

Italian sausage swap: Swap the andouille for ground Italian sausage for a milder, more Italian-leaning version. Add when you add the ground beef.

Nutrition