As a way of streamlining my weekly meal prep, I make a pasta dish as one of my meals every single week. This allows me to play around with a variety of different pasta recipes while also giving me less to agonize about when I’m planning out my weekly menu.
One of my absolute favorite pastas to make hails from Somalia, where the influence of the country’s colonial Italian past still lingers in varied ways. If there are any two groups of people I trust to deliver delicious, flavorful food, it’s Somalis and Italians, so it’s no surprise that I find suuqo suqaar, a Somali-style spaghetti dish, completely irresistible. It’s in frequent rotation on my meal prep menu, and I’m sure it will soon be on yours.
Let’s dive deeper into one of Somalia’s most popular dishes, and what makes it so crave-worthy.
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What is Suugo Suqaar?
The word “suugo” means sauce and the word “suqaar” translates to “small pieces,” which refers to the fact that the meat in the dish is finely chopped. It is an artifact of Italy’s colonial presence in Somalia, during which they introduced pasta to the region.
The meat simmers in a tomato-based sauce that’s flavored with a beautiful blend of warm spices. In Somali cooking, a spice blend called Xaawash is the backbone of savory cooking in a variety of different dishes. It includes spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin and turmeric. As the sauce cooks, your kitchen becomes filled with the most deeply comforting aroma.
At first glance, suugo suqaar may appear to be your average spaghetti and meat sauce, but it is so much more than that. Somalis adapted the recipes brought over by Italians to their own local tastes, and created something completely new, and arguably, ten times better.
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Why is Banana Added to Suugo Suqaar?
Suugo suqaar is often eaten with bananas, which may be surprising to those who aren’t familiar with the dish. However, in Somalia and other parts of Africa, it is a beloved tradition. This is in part due to the fact that bananas are one of the country’s most plentiful crops.
Bananas serve as the perfect flavor contrast for savory, tomato-based dishes like suugo suqaar. The smooth, sweet banana, which one typically takes bites of in between forkfuls of spaghetti, cuts through the hearty spiced beef sauce and balances out the dish.
While it may be an unexpected combination, I think you’ll be delighted by how good this pairing is.
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How to Make Suugo Suqaar
Several years ago, Somali chef and cookbook author Hawa Hassan shared her recipe for suugo suqaar with Bon Appétit, and it’s a perfect introduction to the dish and how to make it.
You start by sautéing the onions in olive oil over medium heat, before adding garlic and some xawaash to the pot. Once the garlic and onions are fragrant, add in diced green bell pepper. Next, mix in tomato paste and let it cook with the other ingredients. Once the tomato paste has darkened in color, it’s time for the ground meat. Hassan uses turkey in her recipe, but you can also use beef.
When the meat has browned, add in diced tomatoes with all of their juices, then cover the pot and let the sauce simmer for about 30 minutes. You can toss it with spaghetti, or you can take a page out of Hassan’s book and eat it on top of a roasted sweet potato.
My Honest Review of Suugo Suuqar
Suugo suqaar is one of the most flavorful meat sauces I’ve ever had. The sauce is rich, meaty and wonderful spiced. The banana on the side doesn’t make the pasta sauce taste fruity or strange at all. Rather, it adds a subtle sweetness that lightens each bite of the meat sauce. The dish is unexpected, playful and a nice break from classic Italian pasta with meat sauce. Now, whenever I make this dish, I don’t consider it complete without a banana on the side. If you’re on the fence, I insist that you try the suugo suqaar and banana pairing at least once. It really is part of the whole experience.
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Tips for Making the Best Suugo SuqaarThere’s no such thing as too much xawaash
Now, that’s probably not entirely true, but don’t be afraid to add in more xawaash. You really want the flavor of the spice blend to shine through.
Toast your spices
Many of the spices used to make xawaash are best when they’ve been toasted whole and then ground. For the most flavorful sauce, it’s worth the extra effort.
Make extra of everything
I highly recommend making extra suugo suqaar and xawaash. The sauce freezes wonderfully, and xawaash can be used in so many other ways, from seasoning chicken thighs to flavoring a curry dish. Future you will be so pleased that you have some on hand.
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This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 30, 2025, where it first appeared in the Food & Drink section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Dining and Cooking