Haitian Spaghetti (Espageti) 🍝
Growing up, we did not call it Haitian spaghetti. In our house it was just espageti. And we ate it for breakfast. Yes, spaghetti for breakfast. Lunch too. Dinner too. Midnight snack if you were lucky.
A little history behind the plate. Espageti is commonly traced back to the U.S. occupation of Haiti, from 1915 to 1934. Haitian cooks took pasta, hot dogs and ketchup and made them their own with the seasonings they already knew. Every household makes it a little different now. Hot dogs, sausage, herring. This is mine.
The sausage gets cut like the noodles
We are not big hot dog people in this house, so I use chicken andouille sausage. I slice it thin, about the size of the spaghetti, so you get a piece in every forkful. Lay it flat in the oil and leave it alone until it browns and crisps on the edges. Then the peppers and onions go in.
What really makes this dish is the epis. Two good scoops right in the middle of the pan, cooked for a minute or two before anything else touches it. If you do not have a jar in your fridge, I made it in my last video and the recipe is in the card notes.
Thick sauce, not soup
This is not an American style red sauce. It is thick so it sticks to the noodles. Tomato paste first, cooked down in the pan. Too much makes it dry. Too little makes it look bland. Then a small can of tomato sauce, fresh thyme, a little butter and bouillon. A splash of pasta water only if it needs it.
The noodles go in a little at a time so everything gets coated. Parsley on top, boiled eggs on the side, and somebody is going to walk in asking if it is ready. Every time.
Haitian Spaghetti (Espageti)
Spaghetti tossed in a thick epis and tomato sauce with crispy sliced sausage, peppers and onions, served with boiled eggs.
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti
- Salt for the pasta water
- 1 lb chicken andouille sausage, sliced thin
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 heaping spoonfuls Haitian epis
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 1 small can (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 4 to 5 garlic cloves, pressed
- A few sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp Better Than Bouillon or your preferred bouillon
- Salt free garlic and herb seasoning, to taste
- Reserved pasta water, as needed
- Chopped parsley
- Boiled eggs, for serving
Instructions
- Boil the spaghetti in salted water until just tender. Save a cup of pasta water and drain.
- Heat the oil in a large pan. Lay the sausage flat and let it brown on both sides without moving it too much.
- Add the peppers and onions and cook a few minutes.
- Push everything aside, add the epis to the middle of the pan and cook 1 to 2 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste and let it cook down. Add the garlic and thyme.
- Add the tomato sauce, butter, bouillon and garlic herb seasoning. Go easy on salt since the sausage brings plenty.
- Let the sauce thicken. Add a splash of pasta water only if it looks dry.
- Add the spaghetti in batches, tossing until every noodle is coated. Rest a few minutes, then finish with parsley.
- Serve with sliced boiled eggs on the side.
Notes
Swap the sausage for hot dogs, beef sausage or herring. All traditional.
The sauce should be thick enough to cling. If it is runny, give it more time before the noodles go in.
No epis yet? Make a batch first. It keeps in the fridge for days and goes in almost everything.
Recipe by Toni Jefferson · Rooted In J's
© 2026 Rooted in J's LLC. All rights reserved.
Please link back to this page instead of reposting the full recipe.
The thyme came from outside
The fresh thyme in this pot came from the yard, same with the peppers when they are producing. Herbs and peppers are some of the easiest things to grow in Florida, and they are what make Haitian cooking taste like Haitian cooking.
Grow the seasoning, not just buy it
The free Florida plant guide is 61 pages of what to plant and the month to put it in the ground, for all three regions of the state.
Get the Free Plant GuideWatch the VideoThe kitchen tools I use are on my Amazon storefront. If you buy through it I make a small commission and it costs you nothing extra.
A recipe or a garden journal entry goes up every week on Patreon for five dollars a month.
So tell me. Did you grow up with hot dogs, sausage or herring in yours? And was it breakfast or dinner at your house?
Toni