Espagueti con Carne Molida (Puerto Rican Spaghetti)

5 from 2 votes

Espagueti con Carne Molida (Puerto Rican Spaghetti)

This Espagueti con Carne Molida (Puerto Rican Spaghetti) is a delicious, popular dish made often for lunch or dinner. It's inexpensive, making it perfect when feeding a large family and cooks in 30 minutes!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Puerto Rican

Servings:

Calories: 558kcal

Author: Catherine Arena

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef
¾-1 lb spaghetti
1 onion chopped
1 red or green bell pepper chopped
2 tablespoon sofrito
5 cloves garlic peeled and minced or use 5 teaspoons pureed
1 packet Sazon with Annatto found in the Latin section of grocery store
½-1 teaspoon dried oregano
24 ounces tomato sauce I prefer to use a flavored tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
parmesan cheese for serving, optional

Instructions

Add the oil to a large pot and heat over medium heat. Add the ground beef and using a spatula or potato masher, break up the beef to cook evenly. Add ½ a cup of water and break apart again. Cook for a few minutes until the beef has browned.
Add the onions and peppers, stir into the meat. Cook until the onions are translucent. (Lower the heat if the beef starts to burn and add a few tablespoons of water if needed)
Once the onions have cooked, add the sofrito, garlic, oregano and sazon. Stir well to combine into the meat.
Add the tomato sauce, salt and pepper to taste and stir. Lower the heat if needed to medium low. Cook for 20-25 minutes semi-covered with a lid.
While the sauce is cooking, cook the spaghetti per the box instructions.
Once the sauce is done, taste for salt and pepper and add more if needed.
Add the meat sauce a little at a time to the spaghetti and incorporate well. Continue adding more of the sauce until the spaghetti is combined well with the sauce.
Once enough of the meat sauce has been added to the spaghetti, you can reserve the rest for serving on top of individual servings. Or you simply add all of the sauce now to the pasta if you prefer.

Notes

Variations:

You can also choose to use ground pork or chicken in place of ground beef.

Recipe Notes:

If you would like to use different pasta, penne, ziti, or macaroni work well for this dish.

For Serving:

Serve this dish on its own or with a side of crusty bread and a tossed salad.

Leftovers:

Try reheating this recipe in a skillet. For some reason, heating this dish in a skillet is so much better than reheating it in the microwave.

Nutrition