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Traditional spaghetti and meatballs are, like, THE perfect dinner in my house!
Meatballs. On my noodles. Weird, man.
I’m more of a ground beef mixed throughout the sauce kinda girl. Well, I was that kinda girl. Now I’m a convert. A meatball convert. Light, fluffy, super soft and moist meatballs will do that to a girl.
I’ve also been a jarred sauce kinda girl, but not anymore. I’m now a homemade sauce convert. Sweet, spicy, full of flavor tomato sauce will do that as well.
Clearly this recipe changed my life. Give it a chance! It might change yours, too.
You should try it. Only, trust me, this is so much better the second day. I will be making this the day before I want to eat it from now on, because holy moly. Something magical happens while this dish sits in the fridge overnight.
How much sauce do you like on your spaghetti and meatballs?
We ate this for dinner last night and my husband thought it could use more sauce. I thought the amount used was perfect, but feel free to double the sauce recipe if that’s your thing.
I heated this back up this morning and sat it in on my little table that I use for photographing food. I took my photographs and then went to the dining room to scarf this down. When I came back, this is what I found.
She posed for a bit and hopped down as soon as I put the camera down.
Cats are weird.
Spaghetti and Meatballs are good.
The end.
Try my one pot spaghetti too!
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 1/4 cups fresh bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 cup warm water
- Vegetable oil
For the sauce:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 14 ounces tomato puree
- 14 ounces diced tomatoes canned
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For serving:
- 1 1/2 pounds spaghetti noodles
- 1/2 cup Freshly grated Parmesan
Instructions
- To make the meatballs, place the ground meats, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, salt, pepper, onion powder, egg, and 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl. Mix lightly with a fork. Use your hands to lightly form the meatballs. Mine were around 2 inches, but you can make them smaller or larger based on your personal preference.
- Place meatballs in the refrigerator for at least one hour to rest. Remove from fridge 30 minutes prior to cooking to allow them to reach room temperature.
- To cook the meatballs, pour vegetable oil in a deep frying pan to a depth of 1/4 inch. Brown the meatballs in batches, turning carefully with a fork or spatula to brown all sides. Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain. When all of the meatballs are browned, discard the oil but do not clean the pan.
- To make the sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan. Saute the onions until translucent and soft, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute more. Turn the heat to high and add the wine, using it to deglaze the pan. Continue cooking the wine on high heat for 3 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in the tomato puree, diced tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, and parsley.
- Return the meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
- Serve over hot, cooked spaghetti and sprinkle with Parmesan.
- (This is delicious right after being made, but the second day it is even better!)
Nutrition Information:
Recipe lightly adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Rachel says
Made this yesterday and it was really great! My best attempt at making home made sauce yet. I didn’t have any tomato sauce so I used a can of tomato paste and some warm water; also, I did add a bit more garlic, and also a bunch of fresh basil and oregano from my garden, doubled the sauce ingredients too. With the published recipe I was able to make about 16 meatballs, and they were very tasty! I don’t see any reason to go back to jarred sauce! Thanks for sharing.
Karly says
Wonderful! Sounds like some great additions to the sauce!
Ruby says
OH.MY. GOODNESS.!
These are the BEST meatballs! The sauce was awesome! My kids, all of them, ate their entire dinner! And had seconds. Really, this was a wonderful meal. Thank you so much for sharing.
Karly says
Yay! So glad you felt the same way I did about these! 🙂
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megan @ whatmegansmaking says
I love spaghetti and meatballs. My mom makes it almost every time I come home. Beautiful picture of your cat!