Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Baasto iyo Suugo (Somali Spaghetti)
Spaghetti under a xawaash-spiced beef and tomato sauce, the Somali table always finished with a ripe banana on the side.
Somali · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 40 min
~777 cal · 42g protein · 114g carbs · 17g fat · 9g fiber · 23g sugars · 6g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Baasto iyo suugo is Somalia's much-loved spaghetti, a legacy of the Italian presence in the country reworked to Somali taste. Suugo means sauce and suqaar means small pieces, so the finely cut beef in tomato under xawaash, the warm Somali blend of cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and clove.
It is everyday food in Mogadishu and beyond, and it is almost always served with a ripe banana alongside, eaten in bites between forkfuls. The spicing is what makes it unmistakably Somali rather than simply Italian.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
400 g spaghetti
400 g beef, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (400 g) chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp xawaash spice blend
3 tbsp olive oil
4 ripe bananas, to serve
Instructions
1
Soften the onion, pepper and garlic in the oil, then add the beef (or lentils) and the xawaash and cook until browned.
2
Stir in the tomato paste and chopped tomatoes with a cup of water and simmer 30 minutes until thick.
✎ Chef’s note
Let the sauce reduce slowly so the xawaash blooms and the tomato loses its raw edge.
3
Meanwhile boil the spaghetti until just tender and drain.
4
Serve the sauce over the spaghetti with a ripe banana on the side, Somali style.
Somali home cooking, Mogadishu.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Mogadishu. Mogadishu turns lunch into bariis iskukaris, rice perfumed with the spice mix xawaash and cooked with goat or camel. Somali cooking shows Indian Ocean trade in cardamom, cumin, and cinnamon, alongside sambusa pastries and banana served beside the rice.
🗺️
Somalia. The seasoning that ties Somali cooking together is xawaash, a blend of cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and more, whose name and form came from Yemeni hawa'ij across the water. Canjeero, also called laxoox, is the fermented sourdough pancake eaten at breakfast, a lighter cousin of Ethiopian injera made mainly from sorghum or a flour mix.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Somalia
Bariis IskukarisFragrant basmati rice cooked with xawaash spice, caramelized onions, and raisins, Somalia’s festive celebration rice.
CanjeeroA thin, spongy fermented pancake (laxoox) eaten with a drizzle of sesame oil, sugar, or stew.
SuqaarSmall cubes of meat sautéed with potato, peppers, and Somali xawaash spice, a quick everyday dish.
Browse all Somalia recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Best fresh. Leftovers keep 2 days refrigerated; loosen with a splash of water or oil as you reheat so they do not clump.
Make it a Somalia meal
Shaah SomaliDrink
XalwoDessert
Bariis IskukarisDinner
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Cuisine
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Frequently asked questions
What is Baasto iyo Suugo (Somali Spaghetti)?
Spaghetti under a xawaash-spiced beef and tomato sauce, the Somali table always finished with a ripe banana on the side.
Where does Baasto iyo Suugo (Somali Spaghetti) come from?
Baasto iyo Suugo (Somali Spaghetti) is a Somali dish from Mogadishu, Somalia.
Can Baasto iyo Suugo (Somali Spaghetti) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Baasto iyo Suugo (Somali Spaghetti) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Baasto iyo Suugo (Somali Spaghetti) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Baasto iyo Suugo (Somali Spaghetti) take to make?
About 55 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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