Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs
One of my all time favorite meals is spaghetti and tomato sauce. It has comfort food written all over it. It works any time of year and is so versatile. You can make it in a quick pinch with pre-made tomato sauce or slow cook a simmering pot with meatballs for hours on a slow moving Sunday.
I’ve made tomato sauce many times altering the ingredients every time. I’ve tried to mimic tried-and-true classic recipes from family members and recipe writing gurus. Each one just a little different from the amounts of herbs to techniques for prepping tomatoes. I make this recipe as my basic, go-to recipe. You can most definitely tweak it to be more your own.
You can’t go wrong with a rich, flavorful sauce, but adding meatballs or Italian sausage does step it up a notch. Tender meatballs that fall apart with a fork are my favorite. Be careful with your breadcrumb to meat ratio so you don’t end up with hockey pucks on your plate. The amount of fat content in your meat and quality cheese helps to keep them very tender. I hope these turn out for you! Share in the comments your techniques for making tender meatballs!
Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- Spaghetti noodles or pasta of choice
Tomato Sauce
- 1 yellow onion
- 3-4 cloves garlic
- 2 carrots
- 2 (28-ounce) cans of whole tomatoes
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped (substitute 2 tsp dried)
- 1/4 cup fresh basil (substitute 1 Tbsp dried)
- 1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme (substitute 1/2 tsp dried)
- 1/3 cup red wine
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp sugar
- Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
Meatballs
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped (substitute 1 tsp dried)
- 1/3 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano (substitute parmesan cheese)
- 2 shallots, minced
- 1/2 lb ground chuck
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
Directions
Make the Tomato Sauce
- Peel and chop 1 yellow onion into large chunks. Remove the peel from 3-4 cloves of garlic. Chop 2 carrots into large chunks.
- Place the onion, garlic and carrots on a foil lined baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
- Pulse 2 cans of whole tomatoes in a food processor. (Do this in batches if necessary.) Pulse until only some chunks remain.
- Add the tomatoes to a large saucepan.
- Pulse the roasted onions, carrots and garlic in the food processor until smooth. Add the mixture to the saucepan along with 1 Tbsp of butter.
- Cover and cook the sauce for 6-8 minutes over medium heat.
- While the sauce cooks, prepare the herbs by chopping the oregano leaves into 1 Tbsp, the basil leaves into 1/4 cup and removing the thyme leaves from their stems and chopping into 1/2 Tbsp. Or substitute dried herbs.
- To the sauce add the oregano, basil, thyme, 1/3 cup red wine, 2 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 bay leaf and 1 tsp sugar. If you have a Parmesan cheese rind add it to the pot.
- Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce to a simmer over low heat while you make the meatballs. Keep the saucepan covered.
Make the meatballs
- Remove the parsley leaves from their stems and chop into 1/4 cup.
- Remove the oregano leaves from their stems and chop into 1 Tbsp (or substitute dried).
- Grate the Pecorino Romano or Parmesan in a food processor or with a hand grater into 1/3 cup.
- Peel and mince 2 shallots.
- In a large bowl, use your hands to fully combine the parsley, oregano, cheese and shallots with 1/2 lb ground chuck, 1/2 lb ground pork, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1 tsp salt, 1 egg, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and 1/4 tsp dried thyme.
- Shape the meat into 1 and 1/2 inch balls and add to the tomato sauce.
Finish the Sauce
- Simmer the sauce and the meatballs for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.
- Remove the bay leaf and Parmesan rind. Serve the tomato sauce and meatballs over pasta and top with freshly grated cheese.
If you have time, you can continue to slow cook the sauce and the meatballs longer. The flavors will become more rich and the meatballs more tender. Keep the sauce-pot covered so you don’t lose the liquid to steam and simmer on low.
I learned from Food and Wine a good rule of thumb for tender meatballs. For every pound of meat use a half cup of breadcrumbs, one egg and one teaspoon of salt. I found that this keeps the meatballs firm enough to not fall apart and still very tender.
The fresher your ingredients are the more vibrant the results. If you can use fresh herbs and grate your own cheese the sauce has so much more flavor. Use the best tomatoes that you can, too. I like San Marzano tomatoes if you can find them. If you make this during the summer, use fresh tomatoes for even more flavor.
Use the Extra Ingredients
If you have leftover sauce and meatballs, use the to make meatball sandwiches. Check out my Italian Meatball Sandwich Recipe
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