The best ever Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

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In this classic Spaghetti and meatballs recipe the star of the show are the juicy, tender meatballs. Gently fried before simmering in delicious home made pasta sauce and served with spaghetti.

I’m going to share with you the tips you need not only recreate this timeless dish but I’m going to teach you how to make the most tender meatballs.

The culinary classic recipe of spaghetti and meatballs has been passed down for many generations each with their own variations. Its such a classic dish that you would have to be living in another universe if you haven’t tried it in your lifetime!

Is Spaghetti and Meatballs Italian?

Growing up with two Italian grandmothers I thought it was a no brainer. Spaghetti is Italian, meatballs otherwise known as polpette are Italian so the combination of spaghetti and meatballs must be Italian right? WRONG!

We have been brought up to think of the Italian chef probably named Luigi serving up Spaghetti and meatballs in a fancy Italian restaurant. However if you visit Italy it is not very likely that you will find “spaghetti and meatballs’ unless you are visiting a touristy restaurant.

Spaghetti and Meatballs has been said to originate in America from Italian immigrants.

Shocked? So was I until I thought back to when I was a kid and yes Nonna did make me spaghetti all the time and she did make meatballs cooked in sauce but the two weren’t always paired together. Sometimes we would have pasta as the entree and then the meatballs with a side salad and bread.

No mater where it all started or who created it I am forever grateful because I could eat this dish every single week and never grow tired of it.

Why I love Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs is definitely a staple recipe at our house along with of course Spaghetti Bolognese.

There is something really comforting about the dish that just leaves you so satisfied.

perfectly cooked al dente pasta drenched in beautiful tomato sauce with 2 or three (or more) tender meatballs and top that off with a generous grating of fresh pecorino or parmesan. Now that’s heaven on a plate!

This dish is perfect for meal prepping as the sauce and the meatballs freeze really well and they make for the perfect quick weeknight meal.

What is the secret to making tender meatballs

Just like I explain in my healthy oven baked beef burger post. If you want tender and moist meatballs the secret is stale bread! Yep I know what your thinking…How can stale bread do this? Well, you soak the stale bread in milk for 5 minutes. Once the milk has been soaked up by the bread, squeeze out the excess milk and crumble the bread into your beef mixture. This will truly transform your meatballs into next level stuff! You have to try this!

Many meatball recipes you will find use beef mince alone. Beef can dry out quite easily especially if the mince is very lean. My Nonna taught me to use a 50/50 mixture of beef and pork. The pork mince not only gives the meatballs so much more flavour but due to the higher fat content it will make your meatballs juicier and more tender.

What goes into meatballs?

• 50/50 mix of beef and pork mince; as I explained above this makes for more tender meatballs that are bursting with flavour.
• Crushed garlic; I love the flavour that garlic brings and a little bit goes a long way to liven up these meatballs.
• Bread crumbs or stale bread that has been soaked in milk and then broken up into small pieces. This is my number 1 secret for juicy, tender meatballs
• Parsley, this is finely chopped and added to the mixture. I find it literally just makes the meatballs taste better.
• Carrot: I add carrot just because I think It’s better to add veggies whenever you can especially when Im cooking for my kids.
• Grated Parmesan cheese because like I always say, everything tastes better with parmesan! The parmesan also acts as a binding agent.
• One egg which also acts as a binding agent so the meatballs won’t fall apart.
• Salt and pepper to season

How do you make meatballs

Start by adding all the above ingredients into a large bowl and using clean hands gently mix until all the ingredients are well combined.

Using damp hands roll the mixture into golf size balls and place on a lined tray.

Next heat oil in a large heavy based fry pan on medium-high heat and gently fry the meatballs in batches for a few minutes until they are golden all over. This helps to lock in all the beautiful juices from the meat. It also makes the meatballs taste so damn good!

The last step is to transfer the meatballs into your sauce. the sauce creates a bath for your meatballs to gently simmer in. They will continue cooking in the middle without drying out and will result in beautiful fluffy, moist meatballs.

Are you drooling yet?

What goes into the pasta sauce?

only a few simple classic ingredients Are needed to create a delicious tomato sauce. Otherwise know as Napoletana sauce. It’s good to note that this sauce alone makes for a wonderful meat free pasta sauce.

• Onion and garlic a staple of so many dishes
• Carrot and celery: again these are ingredients that act as a base and provide flavour and depth
• Bay leaves: At first glance they may not seem like anything very special. Bay leaves work their magic when they are left to simmer in your sauce enabling them to release their flavour. They add a subtle bitterness to the sauce to keep it lighter.
• Good quality cans of crushed tomatoes
• Good quality passata: Unlike crushed tomatoes which are thick and chunky passata literally means “passed” through a sieve to remove the seeds and tomato skins.
• Oregano, parsley and basil: these herbs are added to provide flavour to the sauce.

How to make Italian pasta sauce

In a medium heavy based pot heat oil on low-medium heat and cook onion until soft. Add the garlic, carrot, celery and bay leaf and continue to cook until the veggies soften.

Add the crushed tomatoes the passata oregano and basil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes. Season to perfection

Thats it! its that simple to make pasta sauce at home. this is the base of all your tomato based pasta sauces and once you have tried this you won’t go back to the store bought jar stuff.

What to serve with your Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs is a very substantial meal and is very filling so I would not suggest serving it with anything too heavy.

I love to freshen it up with a crispy salad. check out my refreshing Greek salad with amazing dressing.

You also can’t go wrong with crusty white bread so at the end of the meal you can mop upon any extra sauce.

Garlic bread also goes great with spaghetti and meatballs.

For something a little lighter I also love to have the meatballs on their own as a stand alone dinner and serve that up with salad.

I hope you will enjoy this Spaghetti and meatball recipe

You may also like these Recipes!!

• Chicken Cacciatore
• Traditional Italian pizza dough
• 5 minute creamy pesto
• Ultimate chicken pie
• Succulent roast pork with crunchy crackling

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Print Recipe

Spaghetti and Meatballs

The classic family favourite dish spaghetti and meatballs is a must have recipe for every household. This is my recipe for moist and flavoursome meatballs. 

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: Easy dinner, Food prep, italian classic, Spaghetti, Spaghetti and meatballs

Servings: 5

Author: Marie Muccio

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

• 4 slices white bread
• ½ cup milk
• 500 g beef mince
• 500 g pork mince
• 3 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 carrot grated
• ¾ cup parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• small punch parsley finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the pasta sauce

• 1 onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 carrot finely diced
• 1 stick celery finely diced
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 2 400g cans crushed tomatoes
• 600 g jar passata
• small bunch fresh parsley finely chopped
• small handful fresh basil leaves
• 2 tsp oregano dried is fine
• 500 g spaghetti
• parmesan cheese grated to serve

Instructions

For the Meatballs

• Place bread and milk in a small bowl and leave to soak for 5 minutes.
• Remove bread from milk and squeeze out excess liquid. Break up into small pieces and add to a large bowl along with remaining ingredients. Using clean hands mix together until well combined.
• Using damp hands roll into balls around the size of golf balls and place on a lined tray. place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to firm up.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large fry pan on medium-high heat. Fry the meatballs in batches for 2-3 minutes until lightly golden all over. place on a tray with paper towl to soak up excess oil.

For the pasta sauce

• Meanwhile in a medium, heavy based pot cook the onion for 2-3 minutes or until soft.
• Add garlic, carrot, celery and bay leaves and cook for further 5 minutes.
• Add the crushed tomatoes, passata, parsley, basil and oregano. Reduce heat to low and season to perfection.

For the meatballs

• Gently drop the meatballs into the sauce and simmer gently for 25 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Remove meatballs from sauce and keep warm.
• Cook Spaghetti in salted, boiling water according to packet instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking water and then return the spaghetti back to the pot. Add 3-4 ladels of the sauce to the spaghetti along with two tablespoons of olive oil and a good splash of the reserved cooking water. Mix through until the spaghetti is evenly coated.
• To serve, divide the spaghetti amongst serving bowls and top with a few meatballs and serve with grated parmesan cheese.

Notes

Have you made this recipe? Don’t forget to tag me @mrsfoodiemumma and use the hashtag #mrsfoodiemumma 

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