Filipino Spaghetti with Creamy White Sauce

From time to time, I have burgers and pasta cravings. For burgers, I know what I am looking for – meaty, juicy, cheesy and big burgers – it can be from any fast-food chain or restaurants. When the craving is really bad, I can settle with any burger. But when I say I am craving for pasta, I don’t mean the pasta from the restaurants. I want the Filipino Spaghetti with Creamy White Sauce that I always make.

Well, there’s nothing wrong with restaurant pasta. In fact, I have a few favorites that I’d want to eat, but I don’t crave them as much as I crave for my pasta.

There’s nothing really special or a huge secret on how to make this pasta, maybe this is one of the dishes which my family and friends remember me. I guess that’s what makes this (and any dish) special. You know, when people say “Hey, this is one of Jhuls’ signature dishes.” I am not saying that this is the BEST pasta in the world, but in my world (and I hope my family’s, too) this is the best.

I was not planning on posting a recipe for this, but when I posted a photo on my Instagram account last week, many have asked for the recipe, so here I am. 😀 I’ve already shared a recipe of my Filipino pasta with white sauce before – this version is slightly different but equally delicious.

On to the pasta…

The Filipino version of pasta doesn’t need making the sauce from scratch; we use the readily available in the grocery that’s labeled “spaghetti sauce”. Filipino spaghetti sauce varies from sweet style, Italian and Filipino-style (I think the combination of sweet & Italian). Some have parmesan mixed in the sauce, cheese or mushrooms. Unlike the Italian style pasta, the Filipino version is sweet.

Aside from the spaghetti sauce in pouches, I also use banana ketchup in my sauce and cheddar cheese. For the meat, I use ground beef and sometimes add hotdogs. Some version has sugar or condensed milk, I don’t usually add them to mine.

And that was the Filipino style spaghetti – with sweet red sauce. (I have a slightly different recipe here by using the pasta water with the sauce.) But hey, we can level up and add white sauce, right?

For the white sauce, I use Nestle all-purpose cream (it is widely used in the Philippines), evaporated milk, more cheddar cheese, (of course) salt & pepper, and the not so secret ingredient is bottled (processed) cream cheese. Maybe for some places, this is not bottled – it’s the “spreadable cream cheese”. You can also add garlic and onion powder, but I mostly skip these. If you want a sweeter version of this sauce, add condensed milk (to taste). I’ve tried it and my family loves it. I should also make it for my friends and see what they think.

To serve, just mix your pasta, red & white sauce plus add LOTS of cheese! Now, imagine eating a forkful of this creamy, delicious pasta. Yummy, right? 😀

I hope you can try the recipe and let me know. I’ve shared a video on my YouTube channel. Please don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe. See you there! 😉

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Filipino Spaghetti with White Sauce

Level up your Filipino Spaghetti by adding a creamy white sauce that’s been cooked separately so you can adjust how creamy you want your pasta to be.

Cuisine Filipino

Servings 6

Author Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook

Ingredients

• 400 g spaghetti cooked according to package instructions

Red Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 large onion chopped
• 8 cloves garlic chopped
• 500 g ground beef
• 5 beef hotdogs sliced (or you can use your preferred hotdog)
• 1 L spaghetti sauce your favorite Filipino spaghetti sauce
• ¾ cup banana ketchup
• ½ cup (125 ml) water
• ¾ cup grated cheddar cheese I used Eden

White Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp butter
• 8 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 250 ml Nestle all-purpose cream you can use heavy cream or cooking cream
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) evaporated milk (you can use fresh/whole milk)
• ½ cup bottled processed cream cheese (I think there’s nothing wrong with using the cream cheese in blocks)
• ½ cup grated cheddar cheese I used Eden
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1-2 tbsp condensed milk optional (this is if you want your sauce to be sweeter)

Instructions

For the Red Sauce:

1. In a large pot over medium heat, add cooking oil and butter; let the butter melt.
2. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Next, add onion and cook until translucent.
3. When the garlic & onions are cooked, add ground beef. Break the ground beef into small pieces; cook until no longer pink.
4. Add sliced hotdogs; cook for 5 minutes.
5. Pour your favorite spaghetti sauce, banana ketchup and water into the pot. Mix, cover the pot and let this simmer for 15 minutes over low heat. Add grated cheese.
6. Do a taste test and adjust accordingly.
7. Turn off the heat and set aside until ready to serve.

For the white sauce:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, add butter; let it melt.
2. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
3. Pour the cream, evaporated milk and cream cheese into your saucepan. (Also add the condensed milk in this step if using.) Add salt and pepper, and then mix. Set the heat to the lowest and let the sauce thicken for a bit. The sauce will thicken more as it cools down so do not overdo it.
4. Add more grated cheddar cheese.
5. Do a taste test and adjust accordingly.
6. Turn off the heat and set aside until ready to serve.

To serve:

1. On your plate, just mix the pasta and the two sauces. Add grated cheddar cheese. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

I am not sure how the processed cream cheese is packed in your location, but it’s  “spreadable cream cheese” in some countries. If you cannot find it, maybe you can add more cream and cheese or try the cream cheese in blocks, but I haven’t tried it. 

Thanks a bunch for spending your precious time with me!

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