Snoop Dogg's (54) Famous Spaghetti Recipe Has One Ingredient You Might Not Expect

Snoop Dogg’s cooking career did not start as a joke or a one off collaboration. His dish called Spaghetti de la Hood comes straight out of his own cookbook, From Crook to Cook, Platinum Recipes from Tha Boss Dogg’s Kitchen, a project that grew out of his long running friendship with Martha Stewart.

The recipe has since taken on a life of its own online, with home cooks testing it out and posting their results by the thousands. It follows the basic bones of a classic spaghetti and meatballs dinner, but one small addition tends to catch people off guard the first time they read through the ingredient list.

The Ingredient Most People Don’t Expect

At first glance, everything about the recipe looks familiar. Ground sirloin, breadcrumbs, parmesan, a beaten egg, canned tomatoes, garlic and onion all read like any classic spaghetti and meatballs recipe you would find in a family cookbook.

Then comes the twist buried in the sauce itself, a spoonful of plain granulated sugar. It sounds unusual to add sugar to a savory tomato sauce, but the goal is to balance out the natural acidity of the canned tomatoes, and home cooks who have tried the recipe say it makes a real difference in how smooth the finished sauce tastes.

Ingredients

1 pound ground sirloin or ground beef
1 cup dry Italian breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 bay leaf
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 pound spaghetti

Steps

In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, breadcrumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper and beaten egg. Mix well, then form the mixture into 12 ping pong sized meatballs and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the meatballs, being careful not to crowd the pot, and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned. Remove the meatballs and set them aside.
Add the onion and garlic to the same pot and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onion turns translucent.
Stir in the tomatoes, sugar and bay leaf, tasting and adjusting the salt if needed. Cover the pot, lower the heat, and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste, then return the meatballs to the pot. Cover again and simmer for another 30 minutes.
While the sauce finishes cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti until al dente, about a minute less than the package instructions suggest.
Drain the spaghetti and add it directly to the pot with the meatballs and sauce, gently stirring to coat the noodles before serving.

Turns out this is not even the only Snoop Dogg recipe with a surprise twist. His pancake batter reportedly gets a scoop of sour cream for extra fluffiness, proving that a well placed unexpected ingredient might just be his signature move in the kitchen.