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Spaghetti and Meatballs, a true classic, and a recipe I fall back to time and time again. It’s comforting, hearty, and a family staple. The meatballs and tomato sauce can be made in advance, which makes this recipe a great option when hosting a larger crowd.
I love making a big batch of tomato sauce on Sunday and using it throughout the week. I love to freeze what we don’t use it in different recipes throughout the week like my Pasta Bolognese, Italian Stuffed Peppers, Italian Meatball Subs, Chicken Parmesan or Baked Zucchini Parm.
My mom taught me how to make this simple tomato sauce years and years ago and I have been making it for a good 15 years now (maybe even longer!). It’s my husband and kids favourite thing to eat and like I mentioned, I use tomato sauce in so many of my recipes, so having a big batch of homemade on hand makes my life so much easier during the week, plus it elevates any recipe that calls for tomato sauce.
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Keep in touch with me on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest! Also, if you do make this recipe (or any recipe of mine for that matter) be sure to tag #sammymontgoms so I can see your re-creations!
What type of tomatoes should I use?
I usually buy Mutti or San Marnzano jarred or canned tomatoes. Something with only tomatoes as the ingredient (and sometimes a little salt), and they have to be grown in Italy. No exceptions here. Be sure to read the back of your can or jar of tomatoes as it will tell you where the tomatoes have been grown.
I like to cook my tomato sauce for about two hours. Since tomatoes (even in the jar or can) contain so much water, cooking it slowly over an extended period of time will help eliminate excess water in the tomatoes, allowing it to reduce, creating a very rich, full bodied, delicious, flavourful tomato sauce.
Ingredients
Here is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need to make my Spaghetti and Meatballs. For the exact detailed measurements and ingredients, scroll to the bottom of this page to review my recipe card.
- olive oil
- spaghetti
- Italian tomatoes
- tomato paste
- garlic cloves
- carrots
- red bell pepper
- ground beef
- ground pork
- eggs
- breadcrumbs
- parmesan cheese
- milk
- Italian parsley
- fresh basil
- salt
- pepper
- dried oregano
- red pepper flakes
- onion powder
- dried oregano
- dried basil
- dried fennel
4 steps to make Spaghetti & Meatballs
1: Prepare the tomato sauce and let simmer for 2 hours.
2. While the sauce is slow cooking, prepare your meatballs.
3. Cook the meatballs in the tomato sauce for 15-20 minutes.
4. Combine the spaghetti, tomato sauce and meatballs.
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Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
Tomato Sauce:
- 2 boxes spaghetti, or pasta of choice
- 1/4 cup olive oil, extra virgin
- 6x 680mL Italian tomatoes (about 16 cups), jarred/canned, strained
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 4 garlic cloves, whole, peeled
- 1 large carrot, peeled
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
- 1 heapting tsp salt, more to taste
- fresh basil , chopped, for topping
- pecorino romano, grated, for topping
Meatballs: makes 23-28
- 1½ lb ground beef
- ¾ lb ground pork, or veal
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated, plus more for serving
- 1/2 cup milk, 2%
- 1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped fine
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped fine
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp fennel, crushed
- 1¼ tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Begin by preparing the tomato sauce by grabbing a large deep pan and set to medium heat.
- Add the olive oil, and once hot add the carrot and red bell pepper.
- Sauté on medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes flipping over halfway. The goal here is to lightly brown the veggies to add flavour to the sauce as it cooks over the next 2 hours.
- Reduce heat to low/medium and add the whole garlic cloves, dried oregano, and red pepper flakes.Saute for 1-2 minutes just until the garlic begins to brown. DO NOT burn the garlic.
- Add the tomato paste and let cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, just until it changes to a deeper red color.
- Add the can or jars of tomatoes to the pan. Once you have emptied the tomatoes into the pan make sure to add 2-3 tbsp of water to each can/jar and shake ensuring all tomatoes that are left on the sides get poured in the pan.
- Bring the sauce to a light boil and simmer for 6-7 minutes.
- Reduce heat to simmer, and let cook for 2 hours stirring every 30 minutes.
- Now begin by preparing the meatballs.
- To a large mixing bowl add all of the meatball ingredients.
- Using kitchen gloves, gently mix until just combined.Sammy's Tips: try not to over-mix, as this will result in a tougher meatball. I also recommend frying one meatball in a small frying pan before rolling out all of them to ensure the mix has enough salt to your liking.
- Roll the meatballs into 1 inch round balls and pop into your fridge to let chill until the sauce has finished cooking.
- When the sauce needs about 15 minutes left to cook, add a large handful of fresh basil and salt. Stir and taste here in case you need to add more salt.
- Remove your whole garlic cloves, red pepper, carrot, and basil from the sauce.
- Add the uncooked meatballs to the tomato sauce and fully submerge the meatballs into the sauce.
- Cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until just cooked through.
- While the meatballs are cooking, cook the spaghetti according to packaging instrutions.
- Once the meatballs are finished cooking, remove from the tomato sauce and set aside for a few minutes.
- Add a couple big ladles of tomato sauce to the cooked spaghetti and toss to combine.
- Add the meatballs on top of the bowl of spaghetti and pour over more of the tomato sauce.
- Garnish with fresh basil and lots of pecorino romano cheese.
- Serve right away and enjoy.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Meatballs came out perfect and not dried out at all! Husband loved it and have leftover for meatballs subs.
Hi Jessica! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. I am so happy you enjoyed the recipe! And be sure to check out my meatball subs recipe! xo