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    Home » Recipes » Pasta Recipes

    Authentic Italian Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

    Published: Jun 14, 2018 · Modified: Oct 9, 2021 by Chef Dennis Littley

    1.2K shares
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    4.96 from 107 votes
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    ¾'s view of a white bowl filled with spaghetti and meatballs with a sprig of parsley in the corner of the bowl, sitting on a wooden cutting board

    What could be more Italian than Spaghetti and Meatballs? It’s a true Italian Classic and will easily become one of your family’s favorite meals.

    One of the great joys of life is eating what we want when we want it. And worrying about the consequences shouldn’t be in the decision-making process.

    spaghetti and meatballs in a white bowl with a sprig of Italian Parsley and grated cheese

    One dish that should be in everyone’s repertoire is spaghetti and meatballs. And even if you don’t like meatballs (gasp) you can still learn to make homemade spaghetti sauce using my easy-to-make recipe.

    If you like classic Italian spaghetti sauce, make sure to try my Bolognese Sauce.

    Table of Contents:

    • Ingredients to make Spaghetti Sauce
    • How to Make a Classic Italian Tomato Sauce:
    • Ingredients to make Italian Meatballs
    • How to Make Homemade Italian Meatballs
    • More Recipes You’ll Love!
    • Spaghetti and Meatballs
      • Ingredients
        • Meatballs
        • Tomato Sauce
      • Instructions
        • Meatballs
        • Tomato Sauce
        • Pasta
      • Nutrition

    Ingredients to make Spaghetti Sauce

    ingredients to make tomato sauce in glass bowls sitting on a wooden cutting board

    Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Authentic Italian Spaghetti and Meatballs. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”

    Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.

    *I don’t use tomato paste in my recipe because I let it simmer long enough to naturally thicken the sauce. If you don’t have time to let it simmer for hours, you can add one small can of tomato paste to the sauce.

    *The only tomatoes I use in my sauces are from the San Marzano region of Italy; they are less acidic and don’t cause the number of stomach problems (heartburn) that other tomatoes do. And they have excellent flavor.

    How to Make a Classic Italian Tomato Sauce:

    This family recipe has been passed down for generations, and it’s how I’ve been making Authentic Italian Spaghetti Sauce for more than 50 years.

    garlic added to pot with sauteed onions

    In a large skillet or small saucepot, sauté the diced onions for 3-5 minutes in olive oil, then add the finely chopped garlic and continue cooking for another 1-2 minutes.

    Don’t let them burn!

    crushed tomatoes and seasonings in a large pot
    • Add the crushed tomatoes to the pot. Rinse the cans with a little water and add to the sauce (if crushed tomatoes are not available, use whole tomatoes and crush them by hand or with an immersion blender).
    • Add the chopped basil, sugar, sea salt, and black pepper to taste (don’t overseason the spaghetti sauce; you can always add more later). Mix the ingredients together.
    • Bring the tomato sauce to a boil and reduce the heat to a low simmer. For a rich, hearty, and totally amazing spaghetti sauce, allow it to simmer for 3-5 hours before serving the spaghetti and meatballs. You’ll thank me for it later!

    *Gently add the browned meatballs to the sauce about one hour before you’re done cooking the tomato sauce. Don’t be tempted to leave the meatballs in the sauce for the entire process; they will get dry and tough.

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    Ingredients to make Italian Meatballs

    ingredients to make Italian meatballs sitting on a wooden cutting board

    The ingredients needed to make my Italian meatballs recipe are pretty basic. I used an equal combination of ground pork and ground beef, but you can always substitute ground turkey or ground chicken if you like. I also suggest using bread instead of breadcrumbs to make your homemade meatballs.

    How to Make Homemade Italian Meatballs

    stainless steel bowl filled the ingredients to make Italian meatballs

    Place all the meatball ingredients into a large bowl.

    Italian meatball mixture sitting in a stainless steel bowl on top of a wooden cutting board

    After combining all the ingredients, cover the bowl with plastic and place in the refrigerator for one hour.

    Do not overmix the meatball mixture. If you do, your meatballs will be tough.

    raw meatballs place in rows on a rectangular white serving dish

    Roll your meatballs out, closing up the gap, making the outside of the meatball as smooth as possible.

    authentic italian meatballs on a white platter

    Getting a crust on the outside of the meatball is your goal. This means leaving them alone for 2-3 minutes before turning them. This lets them get nicely browned, making the perfect meatballs for my spaghetti and meatballs.

    Once they’re browned, set them aside until you’re ready to add them to the tomato sauce. Again, only leave them in the sauce for an hour, no longer.

    spaghetti and meatballs with a sprig of Italian parsley on a white bowl

    Then all that’s left to do is cook the pasta and serve up a delicious bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. Garnish the pasta with grated pecorino romano cheese or parmesan cheese and chopped Italian parsley(for color). Then get ready for the rave reviews!

    If you like a little heat, don’t forget the crushed red pepper flakes. I don’t add it to the sauce because not everyone’s a fan of heat.

    The meatballs also make delicious meatball sandwiches, so make to make enough!

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    spaghetti and meatballs with a sprig of Italian parsley on a white bowl
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    4.96 from 107 votes

    Spaghetti and Meatballs

    Nothing says comfort food to me more than a plate of the Italian Classic, Spaghetti and Meatballs. I never get tired of this delicious dish and making a batch of sauce and meatballs ahead of time is a great way to make sure you have dinner in the freezer whenever you need it.
    Prep Time30 minutes mins
    Cook Time30 minutes mins
    chill meatball mixture1 hour hr
    Total Time1 hour hr
    Course: Entree
    Cuisine: Italian
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 937kcal
    Author: Chef Dennis Littley

    Ingredients

    Meatballs

    • 1 cup stale Italian bread
    • ½ cup milk
    • ½ cup onion fine dice
    • 1 pound ground beef
    • 1 pound ground pork
    • 2 eggs
    • ¼ cup Italian parsley chopped
    • 1 tablespoon garlic minced
    • 2 teaspoon sea salt
    • 1 ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
    • ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
    • 1 teaspoon dried basil
    • ¼ cup grated Romano cheese
    • 2 tablespoon olive oil to fry meatballs

    Tomato Sauce

    • ½ onion finely diced
    • 1 tablespoon fresh garlic finely chopped
    • 56 ounces Crushed Tomato San Marzano (whole tomatoes crushed by hand or with immersion blender)
    • 1 bunch fresh basil finely chopped – about 1 cup
    • ¼ cup Olive Oil
    • 2 teaspoon sugar optional
    • 1 teaspoon Sea Salt to taste
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
    • 2 pounds spaghetti I used De Cecco
    US Customary – Metric
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    Meatballs

    • Soak bread in milk in a small bowl for 20 minutes.
    • Mix beef and pork together in a large bowl. Stir onions, bread mixture, eggs, parsley, garlic, salt, black pepper,dried basil, and Romano cheese into meat mixture with a rubber spatula until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about one hour.
    • Using wet hands, form meat mixture into balls about 1 ½ inches in diameter.
    • Heat about ¼-inch of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the meatballs until they are browned on all sides and cooked through, about 15 minutes.

    Tomato Sauce

    • In a large skillet or small sauce pot, sauté diced onion and chopped garlic in olive oil until onions are translucent, do not allow them to burn!
    • Add crushed tomatoes, rinse cans with just a little water and add to the sauce (if crushed tomatoes are not available use whole tomatoes and crush by hand or with an immersion blender).
    • add chopped basil, sugar, sea salt and black pepper to taste (don’t over season you can always add more later).
    • After your sauce has reached a boil, reduce the heat to low, a simmer for 15-20 minutes for classical Marinara / simmer for 1-3 hours for a rich hearty Tomato Sauce.
    • Gently add the browned meatballs to the sauce about one hour before you're done cooking the tomato sauce. Don't be tempted to leave the meatballs in the sauce for the entire process, they will get dry and tough.

    Pasta

    • Cook pasta.  Follow instructions on box.
      **Unless you have a large enough pot to cook both pounds at once cook them 1 pound at a time.  

    Nutrition

    Calories: 937kcal | Carbohydrates: 105g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 126mg | Sodium: 995mg | Potassium: 1218mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 560IU | Vitamin C: 20.1mg | Calcium: 176mg | Iron: 6.1mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askChefDennis or tag #askChefDennis!

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    About Chef Dennis

    Picture of Chef Dennis

    Chef Dennis Littley is a classically trained chef with over 40 years of experience working in the food service industry. In his second career as a food blogger he has made it his mission to demistify cooking by sharing his time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen. Let Chef Dennis help you bring the joy of cooking into your home. For more details, check out his About page.

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    1. Catherine Santiago Jose

      July 26, 2019 at 11:24 pm

      4 stars
      Spaghetti meatballs or not it is still my kids favorite and no other food can beat that. You have a great recipe and I will definitely make this for my kids.

      Reply
    2. Chad

      July 26, 2019 at 2:47 pm

      I love meatballs spaghetti!!! I mean who doesn’t love a good spaghetti!!! I can’t wait to make this one, can’t wait.

      Reply
    3. Catherine

      July 26, 2019 at 1:35 pm

      5 stars
      Looks and sounds delicious, Dennis! I’d love to try these…a classic meal you can never go wrong with!

      Reply
    4. Gilda Campos

      July 26, 2019 at 11:06 am

      5 stars
      Thank you for this delicious recipe. I’m sure my family will love it! This weekend we will be cooking it.

      Reply
    5. Whitney Morrow

      July 26, 2019 at 9:31 am

      one of my favorite foods! I need to make these this weekend!

      Reply
    6. Kumamonjeng

      July 26, 2019 at 7:39 am

      5 stars
      Glad that beside meatballs you also have other recipes such as Pasta alla Caponata, Classic Fettuccine Alfredo
      Lobster fra Diavolo Bianco,Spaghetti Fresca with Crabmeat. I would still prefer the crabmeat or seafood. Thanks for all the great recipe. By the way, hope you enjoy your cruise recently. 🙂

      Reply
    7. Rhonda Albom

      July 26, 2019 at 6:10 am

      We tend to make our spaghetti with a thick meat sauce, but this week I think we will try your meatball recipe. It sounds wonderful. I love the video, it’s perfect for an average cook like me.

      Reply
    8. Yeah Lifestyle

      July 26, 2019 at 4:15 am

      5 stars
      A super classic recipe indeed and I love that you have used 2 meats as well as added herbs in your meatball. I have made this before, but I pan friend the meatballs, then oven baked it and then just added it into the dish in the end and I found my meatball to be dry, would let it cook in the sauce next time.

      Reply
    9. Shannon Gurnee

      January 09, 2019 at 12:24 pm

      My kids love Spaghetti with Meatballs. I definitely want to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
    10. Stephanie Parrell

      January 09, 2019 at 6:53 am

      3 stars
      mmm this looks like a wonderful family meal. Great with a glass of wine too!

      Reply
    11. rika

      January 06, 2019 at 2:17 pm

      5 stars
      I love classic Italian recipes! My kids always order Spaghetti and meatballs every time we dine at restaurants! You always make great food!

      Reply
    12. Lynndee

      January 05, 2019 at 7:33 pm

      I love pasta and spaghetti and meatballs are one of my favorites. I would love to try your recipe one day. It looks absolutely delicious!

      Reply
    13. Cherri Megasko

      January 05, 2019 at 1:09 pm

      For the last few decades, I’ve tended to snub spaghetti in favor of more robust pastas. But I do like angel hair, and I think I might just give your recipe a try! Thanks.

      Reply
    14. Beth

      January 05, 2019 at 12:04 pm

      I’ll have to try your sauce recipe. Usually, we buy sauce in a jar and I never really like it. My sister says if I would like spaghetti if I had a good sauce.

      Reply
    15. Karen

      January 05, 2019 at 11:04 am

      Yum, yum and yum! Spaghetti and meatballs is about my fave dish, so I am drooling reading this! Great idea about the basil plant! I’ll do that next time at the grocery store!

      Reply
    16. Tim B

      January 05, 2019 at 9:46 am

      5 stars
      My daughter LOVES spaghetti! When we make it at home normally use meat sauce instead of including meatballs. She always get meatballs when ordering spaghetti at restaurants. Will have to try out this meatball recipe and see how she likes them next time cooking at home!

      Reply
    17. Gervin Khan

      January 05, 2019 at 9:44 am

      This looks yummy and very delicious. We can never go wrong with spaghetti and you add our all time favorite meat balls, it will definitely be an outstanding recipe.

      Reply
    18. Kathy

      January 04, 2019 at 9:44 pm

      This recipe does look amazing. My family loves having spaghetti and meatballs. It’s one of our favorite dishes.

      Reply
    19. Brandy

      January 04, 2019 at 8:21 pm

      It’s like you just knew I needed a new recipe to try when I do spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. I’ll be trying your recipe out for sure.

      Reply
    20. Sarah Bailey

      January 04, 2019 at 6:54 pm

      Now this sounds like an absolutely delicious meal. I mean who doesn’t love spaghetti and meatballs and I most definitely need to give it a try for myself!

      Reply
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    My name is Dennis Littley or “Chef Dennis” as I’m known both at work and across the blogosphere. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

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