Bison Jollof Spaghetti
Bison Jollof spaghetti is savory, spicy, slightly sweet, and very flavorful! Full of all your favorite flavors and smells of jollof rice but served over a mountain of spaghetti! This recipe is made with red bell peppers, scotch bonnet chilies, tomatoes, chicken broth, and bison. Easy to make, it is an amazing go-to meal for lunch or dinner!
Jollof Spaghetti is pasta cooked with Jollof stew! Easier to make than Jollof rice but full of the same amazing flavor!
My sister and I have been trying to cook more food from the Motherland. Yes, American, Midwestern, and Southern/ soul food is amazing – that’s what we grew up with, however, are roots are in Africa and we want to create more food around our culture and heritage.
Jollof rice was one of the first recipes we learned how to make and loved! Our roots are in Nigeria so naturally, we made Nigerian Jollof! This pasta dish is based on all the flavors and spices of Nigerian Jollof but it’s made easy to serve over pasta. Many recipes cook the pasta with the sauce kinda like how you would make jollof rice, but I’ve never been a fan of cooking pasta in a sauce unless it’s mac and cheese or lasagna! Of course, if you want a more traditional dish, you can cook the pasta in the sauce for a few minutes if you like!
What is Jollof?
Jollof or Jollof rice is a West African dish made of rice cooked in a stew of tomatoes, red bell peppers, scotch bonnet peppers, red onions, and spices. Sometimes meat is added as well.
The ingredients are blended together and fried to create an incredibly flavorful and spicy tomato and pepper red sauce. Jollof stew is most commonly cooked with rice to create Jollof rice, but it can also be cooked with spaghetti to create Jollof Spaghetti!
There are many different variations of Jollof, Nigerian is the most common, but there are also Ghanaian, and Cameroonian.
I’ve only ever tried Nigerian Jollof Rice, but I’m totally open to trying the other types are well!
Which type of Jollof rice is your favorite?
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Ingredients for Nigerian Jollof Spaghetti with Bison
Ground bison – You can use ground beef if you like.
Red bell pepper – A classic ingredient in Jollof rice stew.
Red Onion – Sweet and savory taste to the sauce. You can use yellow onion if needed.
Hot peppers – Scotch bonnet/habanero peppers, jalapenos, or a few shakes of cayenne pepper, would all work well in this recipe. The sauce is spicccy. If you don’t like spice use 1 scotch bonnet pepper or a milder pepper.
Tomato sauce – I used 1 can of organic tomato sauce. Canned tomatoes can sometimes have a bitter taste, so make sure to cook it for 1 – 2 minutes before adding chicken broth.
Dried thyme – A common ingredient in jollof rice.
All-purpose seasoning – Not traditional but it adds so much flavor. You can use a seasoning cube instead!
How to Make Jollof Pasta:
All ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Step one: Rinse and remove the seeds and ribs from the red bell pepper and the scotch bonnet peppers depending on how spicy you want your sauce. Add them to a blender then blend until smooth. Set aside.
Step two: Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the red onions until they are soft and starting to brown. Make a hole in the center of the pan then add in the minced garlic, and cook for 1 – 2 minutes, stirring so it doesn’t burn. Lastly, add the pepper mixture. Fry everything together for another 2 – 3 minutes stirring frequently. (Your eyes might start to burn during this step!) Then transfer everything to a small bowl then set it aside.
Step three: In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil then cook the bison with the herbs and spices until the meat is well browned, 10 minutes.
Step four: Next, add the pepper onion mixture back to the pan with the meat. Stir then add the tomato sauce. Cook for a few minutes to get rid of the canned tomato taste. Next, add the chicken broth and bay leaves. Reduce the heat down to a simmer, and allow the sauce to cook covered for 30 minutes.
Step five: Boil the pasta according to the package instructions.
Step six: Once the pasta is done toss it with the Jollof meat sauce, taste and adjust for seasoning if necessary then serve and enjoy!
Recommended Tools
Tips and Tricks
Storing the sauce: Make a big batch of the sauce then store it in a freezer-safe container for several months. Freeze it into portions so you can easily grab and thaw what you need.
Cook pasta in the sauce: If you prefer, cook the pasta in the sauce so it’ll be even more flavorful.
Make it spicy or not: Add more or less scotch bonnet peppers or jalapenos depending on your spice preference.
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Bison Jollof Spaghetti
Equipment
- Blender
- Large skillet
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons avocado oil divided
- ½ red onion sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 red bell pepper
- 2 whole scotch bonnet peppers*
- 1 lb ground bison or beef
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon all-purpose seasoning
- 1(15) ounce can tomato sauce
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 3 bay leaves
- 8 ounces spaghetti or the pasta of your choice
Instructions
- Rinse and remove the seeds and ribs from the red bell pepper and scotch bonnet peppers. Add them to a blender, then blend until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, on medium-high heat 6 tablespoons of avocado oil, then add the sliced red onions. Cook until the onions start to brown about 5 minutes. Then add in the minced garlic. Cook for 1 minute, frequently stirring so the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Add the pepper mixture to the onions and garlic. Fry for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer the pepper and onion mixture to a small bowl, and set aside. (Your eyes might start to burn during this step)
- In the same skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of oil, then add the ground bison and seasonings – salt, black pepper, dried thyme, and all-purpose seasoning. Mix until combined, and cook until the meat is well browned – 10 minutes.
- Next, add the pepper onion mixture to the meat, and the can of tomato sauce. Fry for 1 – 2 minutes to get rid of the canned tomato flavor. Then add in the chicken broth and bay leaves. Reduce the heat to a simmer, then cook covered for 30 minutes.
- Boil the pasta according to the package instructions.
- Taste the Jollof spaghetti, and adjust for seasoning if necessary. Serve over spaghetti. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition information is automatically generated and should be only used as a rough estimate. This recipe card may contain affiliate links.
