Spaghetti and Bacon: You Call that Soup?

Warning! This recipe may be frowned upon by Italians. In my family with my Italian husband, a snicker could be heard anytime I had the nerve to call this dish spaghetti. Nevertheless, what you will find here will be a Norwegian version of the pasta dish.

We’ve always called it Bacon Spaghetti. My cousins call it Spaghetti Soup. Both are fitting titles for this delicious—if not Italian—spaghetti dinner.

Bacon Spaghetti was always a comfort food for me when I was sick. Oh sure, we had chicken soup, or better yet, Chicken and Dumplings, but the spaghetti was the best. My Norwegian grandmother would make it for us. Then my mother would make it for us. Now I make it for myself. Of course part of the comfort in it now is the memories it holds over past decades.

It’s a very simple dish to prepare that you can have ready to serve in less than a half hour. The flavor it wonderful with bacon, onion and tomato juice—totally different from traditional spaghetti sauce. It is best served with lots of juice so that it is soup-like.

Bacon always add a wonderful flavor to any meal. Somehow it is also a food that is hard to resist. Even several vegetarians I know confess to eating bacon occasionally.

Today there are so many varieties of bacon you can use. Traditional bacon is always scrumptious, but I will often make this recipe with turkey bacon for lower calorie and fat content. I’ve never had vegetarian bacon, but that might work too. Lately my favorite has been Applewood’s bacon that contains no nitrates or preservatives.

Whichever you prefer, give this soupy spaghetti dinner a try. See what you think.

The complete recipe is here.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Merry Citarella, often writing as Merrci, writes on a wide range of topics. Recently relocated to the Oregon Coast in the northwest United States, she frequently writes travel features on the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She specializes in health and aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, food, lifestyle, and book reviews. For more information you can see her on The Writers’Door. You can read more articles here or at her websites Alzheimers HQ and Simple Living Ideas