Spaghetti and Meatballs

Who doesn’t love spaghetti and meatballs? Tender and juicy meatballs simmered in a rich, simple tomato sauce, spooned over perfectly-cooked spaghetti is a please-everyone Italian meal that our families ask for on the regular. Best of all? This recipe is so easy to make, and you’ll get zero complaints. Even the pickiest folks can be quieted (just put a few plain noodles on that high chair tray and call it a day), so what are you waiting for? 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s crowd pleasing! You’ll hear nothing but “YUM!” when you serve this recipe. Everyone loves Italian comfort food (think Baked Ziti, Lasagna, or even Fettucine Alfredo).
• It serves a lot of people (it makes about 45 meatballs!) and you can double the recipe easily to serve even more. This is a classic way to feed a big crowd. Just add a big Italian salad and some Garlic Bread, and you’re golden.
• It features the best, easiest homemade tomato sauce! Our tomato sauce recipe comes from Marcella Hazan, the famous Italian cook who calls for only three ingredients in her classic, velvety, rich tomato sauce (a sauce that inspired our SpaghettiOs recipe, too!). Canned tomatoes, butter, and onions.
• Cook the meatballs in the sauce! Simmer beef and pork meatballs in the tomato sauce for the most moist, juicy meatballs ever.

Key Ingredients For Spaghetti And Meatballs

Scroll down for the full recipe with measurements below.

For the homemade tomato sauce

• Tomatoes: Specifically, canned whole tomatoes (you’ll crush these up a bit with your hands as you add them, which is a lot of fun to do) AND canned tomato sauce. You want a little texture, but not too much.
• White onions: Sharper in flavor than yellow onions, we love the punchy flavor that white onions give this sauce.
• Salted butter: If you’ve never made buttery tomato sauce before, you’re in for a treat. Salted butter makes a this basic tomato sauce taste incredible. 

For the Italian meatballs

• Meat: Our meatball recipe is THE BEST thanks to a combination of ground beef and ground pork. We just love the richness that the added pork gives to the meatballs. However, you could use all beef, if you prefer.
• Eggs: Eggs make the meatballs super moist and help them hold together.
• Italian-style breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs hold the meatballs together and they also stretch the meat a little further. Classic Italian recipes usually are thrifty like this! Who doesn’t love that? “Italian-style” just means that these are the kind of breadcrumbs with some Italian herbs mixed in.
• Fresh parsley: We add even more fresh parsley, though, because you want the meatballs to taste really homemade (after all, you’re doing all that work!) and fresh herbs are a great way to do that.
• Parmesan cheese: Salty, earthy Parm! Don’t make meatballs without it.
• Garlic: Of course, our Italian meatballs have tons of garlic in them! 

How to Make Classic Spaghetti & Meatballs

1. Make tomato sauce in a large pot and we do mean LARGE. This recipe makes a lot of sauce and then you’ll need room to add the meatballs, too.
2. Let the sauce simmer for 40 minutes, then take the onions out.
3. Gently mix all the meatball ingredients in a big bowl.
4. Roll the meatballs. We usually aim for golf ball sized meatballs.
5. Add the meatballs to the sauce.
6. Simmer the meatballs in the tomato sauce for about 30 minutes.
7. In the last 10 minutes or so of the simmer, cook the spaghetti until it is perfectly al dente. Usually this is about 1-2 minutes less than the suggested cooking time on the pasta packaging.
8. Serve the meatballs and tomato sauce over spaghetti topped with additional parsley and Parmesan.

Tips For Making Perfect Meatballs

We’re big meatball fans (as long time readers will know!) and we’ve perfected the process! Here are our best tips for no more messy hands, and perfectly tidy meatballs that are tender every time: 

• Work with a small bowl of water next to you as you roll the meatballs. Keep your palms damp (not wet but damp) so that the meatball mixture doesn’t stick to your hands while you roll.
• You can eye-ball the meatball sizing, or use a small scoop (either ¾ ounce or 1 ounce size) to measure.
• Make the meatballs as evenly-sized as you can. That way, they’ll cook evenly and will all be perfectly cooked, rather than having some undercooked or overcooked.
• Use your hands to gently mix your meatball mixture. This will prevent over-mixing, which can make meatballs tough.
• Don’t use pre-shredded Parmesan. Grate it yourself with your trusty microplane grater for Parm that melds seamlessly into the meatballs.
• For even more meatball recipe ideas (we’ve got TONS), check out our favorite Meatball Recipes! 

How to Store Leftovers 

Leftovers should be eaten within 3-4 days, or you can freeze the meatballs in the sauce for up to three months. If you do want to freeze the meatballs in the sauce, let them cook completely first and then transfer the meatballs to a freezer safe container. Put a “good until” label on it, and pop it in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat them, defrost them in the fridge, then warm them gently on the stove top until they’re warmed through. 

Tuck In Your Napkin Bib!

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