A spicy, slow-simmered red sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes and tossed with penne pasta. Here I've added a few additional seasonings, some chopped sweet onion and finished it with fresh Parmesan cheese and parsley.

Spicy Arrabiata Sauce with Pasta

The word arrabiata (ah-rah-BYAH-tah) literally translates into the word "angry" and it's the heat from the addition of red pepper flakes here that earned the sauce the name, setting it apart from other more traditional Italian sauces.

If you enjoy a little heat in your sauce, start with the lesser amount of red pepper flakes. If you are already a lover of super spicy, increase that according to your personal taste.

While you can use fresh tomatoes, this sauce is often made using shelf-stable canned tomatoes, whether home canned or commercially bought, so it's an easy pasta sauce that can be prepared from the pantry anytime.

A quick skillet pasta meal of thin spaghetti noodles with chicken, diced tomatoes with green chilies, the trinity with garlic, shredded cheese and cream soup, prepared stovetop.

Stovetop Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

When we talk about spaghetti, most everyone first thinks about spaghetti noodles in a tomato-based sauce that has either a ground beef base or meatballs. Delish!

But, there is a whole world of spaghetti to be had out there y'all!

Down here along the Gulf Coast, shrimp spaghetti is a top favorite, as is a Creole daube made from a roast, along with an andouille based spaghetti but, there's also veggie spaghetti, cowboy bacon spaghetti and many others to be had also.

An American-style Bolognese meat sauce, seasoned with a mirepoix of vegetables, beef and pork, tomatoes and wine, made in the Instant Pot!

Instant Pot American-Style Bolognese Sauce (Spaghetti Meat Sauce)

So, the other day I had a craving for spaghetti.

I know, crazy, right? Mostly folks have "cravings" for sweet things, but me, I'm more of a savory kind of gal, so when I get a craving it's more likely it's for some kind of savory comfort food.

Maybe chicken and dumplings. Or tacos. Lasagna. Or those little burgers like Krystal's. Roast Chicken. Chicken Pot Pie. Homemade Mashed Potatoes. That sort of stuff.

Anyway, this specific time after our recent carb-heavy holiday meal, I was craving meat and more specifically meat sauce. I started to just make my normal semi-homemade spaghetti sauce, but then, I thought...

A rich baked spaghetti that includes spaghetti noodles mixed with sour cream, cottage cheese, eggs and cheese, topped with a meat sauce and finished with a layer of Cheddar, mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.

Million Dollar Baked Spaghetti

Million Dollar Spaghetti is another one of those baked casseroles that has been around for a long time, although, it's gotten some recent viral attention on TikTok in the last year.

Like I said in a previous post, with social media, all things old become new again!

Although I am not a TikTok user, or even a fan, I have to admit it is kinda cool to see old recipes getting a revival with some younger folks.

A quick and easy, one pot spaghetti and meat sauce, finished with shredded Italian style cheese.

One-Pot Skillet Spaghetti

Spaghetti is such an easy meal that it's pretty much one of the first meals that everybody learns how to make.

Sometimes it starts as simply as boiling some noodles and topping it with a quality commercial sauce. Then it might graduate to adding beef, pork, or even a mix, chicken or seafood, using a mix of canned tomatoes instead (Cento San Marzano highly recommended) - and even better if they are home canned!

Hands down my personal favorite is a spaghetti made in the heat of the summer, from fresh, homegrown, backyard tomatoes.  You just can't get that flavor any other way. Yum y'all.

Spaghetti Recipe Roundup

When folks think of spaghetti, they typically think of the classic spaghetti in meat sauce or with meatballs. It's definitely a favorite, easy to make and easy to teach, and even though it's the version I make most often, I also like variety!

I've put together a collection here of some of my favorite spaghetti recipes, all right here on DeepSouthDish.com, for when you're looking not only for the classic version of spaghetti, but maybe something a little different.

A quick spaghetti dish made with roasted fresh tomatoes and seasoning vegetables, mushrooms and bacon. Known by a few different names, including Okie Spaghetti and Cowboy Spaghetti, when beef is also included.

Bacon Spaghetti

A few years back one of our readers, Brian, was looking specifically for a Bacon Spaghetti recipe. Although I make some variation of my semi-homemade version of spaghetti most often, and in the summer, you just cannot beat a homemade sauce from those fresh from the garden tomatoes, I do love mixing things up with spaghetti recipes too. I don't know why using bacon as the base meat never really occurred to me!

Sometime after that, I was browsing through the Notes archive on my Facebook page, and ran across a recipe called Okie Spaghetti shared by another reader Linda a few years before. I used her recipe as a base for this one, adding in my own spin, of course!

A one pot spaghetti dish made with ground beef, tomatoes with green chilies, taco seasoning and shredded cheese.

Cheesy One-Pot Taco Spaghetti

Although most of the time when I make spaghetti, I use my favorite semi-homemade recipe. It's easy, it's reliable, it's tasty, and The Cajun absolutely loves it. That's really what counts the most, isn't it?

Still, spaghetti is so easy to make and delicious that I also like to mix it up a bit from time to time. In the summertime when the backyard tomatoes are in abundance, you just cannot beat a homemade, fresh tomato sauce and my big batch recipe is enough for two meals - spaghetti, usually followed by a lasagna or ziti. When the garden is overflowing with fresh vegetables, there's my veggie spaghetti, and my smaller batch fresh tomato pasta sauce is fabulous for those weeknight meals.

Garlic and butter scampi pasta with white wine, fresh herbs, lemon and red pepper flakes, tossed with seasoned, pan-seared shrimp.

Pan Seared Shrimp with Scampi Pasta

I always thought shrimp scampi was, well, just shrimp scampi. A very simple, but flavorful dish, and so satisfying for those of us who love shrimp with plenty of garlic and butter, tossed with some pasta. Accented with a little white wine, some fresh lemon and herbs, and a dash of red pepper flakes, it's a quick to the table dish and just delicious!

Apparently, the word scampi actually refers to the name of a pale pink crustacean called langoustines, or lobsterettes, according to my Italian cookbook The Silver Spoon {affil link}, which has a variety of recipes dedicated to using them... but oddly, nothing like this! Langoustines come from the North Sea, and look and taste similar to lobster, although it's far smaller. Reminds me of a pale pink version of our local crawfish, but with more slender claws. It is, apparently a very important part of European cuisine though. Who knew?

Photo Credit

Deep South Spaghetti with Andouille Sausage

A spaghetti meat sauce made with the trinity and thin slices of spicy, andouille sausage, for a taste of the Deep South.

Dad's Deep South Spaghetti with Andouille

When I make a pot of meat sauce for spaghetti, I usually toss the cooked noodles with a few spoons of the sauce, then top each serving with more sauce. Dad mixes the cooked pasta and sauce together and also adds thin slices of Andouille sausage to his meat sauce. I admit, I sure love when he sends a plate of his spaghetti over to me and since The Cajun also loves his Dad's spaghetti, I patterned this version after his.

A fresh tomato pasta sauce, made with garden vegetables - peppers, squash, zucchini, corn, eggplant, okra, beans - whatever you have! For a protein boost, add leftover roasted chicken, seasoned and sauteed shrimp, cooked ground beef, sausage, or other meats.

Garden Fresh Vegetable Spaghetti

I have been up to my ears in garden fresh tomatoes the past few weeks... not that it's a bad thing, don't get me wrong! It's just that as fast as I process some into sauce, I'm plucking a near equal amount off of the plants.

The last picking right before the tropical storm and steady coming!

My interpretation of Aglio e Olio, spaghetti, sauteed in olive oil and garlic, tossed with fresh herbs, red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese, and finished with melted tiny tomatoes.

Spaghetti with Olive Oil, Garlic and Melted Tiny Tomatoes

I cannot imagine living my life without pasta. I hope the day never comes that I have to!

I try not to go overboard with it, of course, and yes, like everybody else, I try to incorporate some of the healthier pastas into my diet here and there too. Some of it is quite good, like this Dreamfields brand {affil link} (love!).

BBQ Sketti, a spaghetti made with leftover pulled BBQ pork, chicken or beef.

BBQ Sketti - Pulled Pork Spaghetti

How was your long holiday weekend? Although we had stormy weather, there were enough breaks here and there to sneak in some fun. I have to say it's been a pretty fab week overall really, beginning with our family reunion last weekend, a baby's first birthday, a delicious family birthday dinner for my sister at Half Shell Oyster House, a Biloxi Shuckers baseball game and a nice firework show afterward, in-between a bit of blog and magazine work, and ending with a cookout at home yesterday with the typical goodies - burgers, dogs, pulled pork, smoked sausage, baked beans and potato salad - and that we managed to get in just before the last downpour.

A homemade spaghetti meat sauce made with fresh tomatoes and ground beef.

Homemade Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Meat Sauce

There is not a thing wrong with shortcut spaghetti sauce - I use a semi-homemade version of one myself most of the time. It's a quicker version that takes canned pasta sauce and jazzes it up a bit to give it homemade flavor. I've been making it that way forever, and it's a great recipe when you want a good sauce in a hurry. My husband loves it, and that's good enough for me.

Chili Spaghetti - Homemade Stovetop Beef Chili with Beans

My homemade beef and bean stovetop chili, served "Cincinnati Style" on a bed of spaghetti noodles and topped with cheese. If you've turned your nose up at this and never tried it, you must try it at least once. I got hooked first bite.

Chili Spaghetti

Oh Chili Spaghetti, Chili Spaghetti (or is it Spaghetti Chili?), where oh where have you been all of my life? ♥

I'm gonna tell y'all straight up front before y'all get all over me, that yes, this is a dish stolen straight away from above the Mason-Dixon line. Yep, sure is.

Baked Spaghetti from Trisha Yearwood

A perfect potluck casserole, this one feeds a crowd! Using a basic tomato based spaghetti meat sauce as a base with layer of spaghetti noodles & cheese, finished with a cream soup topping.

Baked Spaghetti

Baked Spaghetti is a fantastic meal for any day, but most especially for feeding a crowd, making it perfect for potlucks, church suppers and social events. 

This one has been a favorite around my house ever since the first time I made it. It comes from the cookbook Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood {affil link}, another favorite, and it is simply delicious. Check out the Hot Corn Dip I made from the new cookbook and the Warm Feta and Artichoke Dip I made from her first cookbook too while you're visiting.

Shrimp Spaghetti, often referred to as shrimp boat spaghetti, because it could easily be made with a scoop out of the day's catch and ingredients easy transported on a shrimp boat. A nice shortcut, tomato based sauce made with shrimp, bell pepper and garlic and tossed with spaghetti noodles.

Shrimp Spaghetti

Because this dish takes shortcuts by using canned pasta sauce and tomatoes, here in the Deep South it is often referred to as Shrimp Boat Spaghetti, a dish that can easily be made with a scoop out of the day's catch with ingredients that are easily transported on a shrimp boat.

Spaghetti Daube is a well loved regional dish and a budget stretcher. A slow braised beef roast, it is cooked in, then shredded & returned to, a flavorful Creole sauce. Serve over spaghetti noodles.

Creole Daube and Spaghetti

Daube, pronounced dohb, in its French origins, is simply put, a stew of braised beef.

In years past, this version, more of a fusion of French Creole and Italian, was a popular dish along the Gulf Coast and among the population of the Point Cadet area of Biloxi where my family is from. I'm afraid that it has gone the wayside with the younger generations, and even those of us in the not-so-young-generation in these modern times.

Too bad, because it is both delicious and definitely not difficult at all to do.

A nice light pasta dish made with fresh crab, garden tomatoes, fresh basil, butter and olive oil. Great with other proteins or even all on its own too!

Pasta With Crab

This is truly one of my most favorite pasta dishes, if not the most favorite. It is so fresh and light and for the pasta and seafood lover, so satisfying.

Many, many years ago, I once had a dish similar to this at Alberti's Italian Restaurant when it was in Biloxi - in the old Goofy Golf building with the landmark gorilla out front. The dish was so delicious that I set out to immediately recreate it!

A fresh homemade tomato sauce and a whole cooked hen make for one of my favorite spaghetti dishes in memory of my grandma.

Grandma Mac's Homemade Chicken Spaghetti

I've been thinking about my Grandma Mac a lot here lately. I was looking for a document on an old desktop PC that I rarely use anymore, and I ran across a letter I'd written to my Grandma when she went to stay with my aunt in Alabama, shortly before she died.

She had started having a bit of dementia by this time and I had written the letter in that manner, "remember that they are in Japan" and "this is Rosalie, my aunt, Mama's sister."

I was still working then, no Hurricane Katrina had passed our way, my sister-in-law Teresa, who later died just before her 40th birthday from breast cancer, was still living then, and we had just finally sold my parents' house, several years after they had both passed.

A lot had happened in just a few years.