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 mins
Cook Time30 mins
chill meatball mixture1 hr
Total Time1 hr
Course: Entree
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: italian food, spaghetti and meatballs
Servings: 8
Calories: 937kcal
Author: Chef Dennis Littley
Meatballs
- 1 cup stale Italian bread
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 small onion
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 bunch Italian parsley chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
Tomato Sauce
- 2 cloves fresh garlic chopped
- 56 ounces Crushed Tomato San Marzano
- 1 bunch fresh basil
- 1/2 onion finely diced
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
- 2 pounds spaghetti I used De Cecco
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 1/2 inches in diameter.
Heat about 1/4-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.
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.
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