spaghetti and meatballs marinara recipe

Spaghetti and meatballs recipe

I love pasta and I cook it very often. The first pasta I’ve learned to cook was spaghetti Bolognese. It was so easy and quick to make it. My personal record is to make spaghetti Bolognese in 20 minutes. At one point, I got bored with Bolognese sauce so I tried to make meatballs instead. My spaghetti and meatballs recipe is very easy and although it requires some time and patience the results are great.

Meatballs are crispy outside and juicy inside. Tomato sauce is fresh, unlike store bought tomato and Bolognese sauces. With every bite you take you can feel the fresh flavors of tomatoes, basil and juiciness of meat balls. Parmesan cheese gives the dish that creamy touch.

Tips for making and cooking meatballs

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Before I share the spaghetti and meatballs recipe with you, let’s see what things you should have in mind when you make meatballs:

Baking soda– this powerful ingredient makes your meatballs firm so they don’t fall apart even after cooking them in a tomato sauce.

Egg– use egg as a glue, it helps you knead the meat and make the balls easily.

Ground meat– Don’t buy already prepared ground beef. It is better to ask the butcher to mince the fresh ground beef. In that way you will be sure the ground beef is 100% meat and you can choose the cut of meat you like. 

Dried basil– although it is always better to use fresh basil, dried basil is easier to handle when you are preparing meatballs. But, you can put fresh basil in tomato sauce.

Onion and garlic– make sure you cut garlic and onion super finely. It will be easier to mix them with the meat.

Size of the meatballs– make small balls because they will be easier to cook. I made 15 meatballs of 500gr ground beef. 

Cook meatballs at lower to medium heat so they don’t get burned and stay juicy inside. Use a deep pan so the hot air is circulating from all the sides.

Tips for making tomato sauce

Pelati– use canned pelati of high quality or fresh tomatoes. Don’t used highly processed tomato sauces. Pelati is more natural than a regular canned tomato sauce. 

Basil– if you have, use fresh basil. I used dried one because I didn’t have fresh basil.

Salt– never enough of salt when it comes to seasoning tomatoes.

Sugar– thanks to white sugar, tomato sauce is less sour. When tomato sauce is cooked, taste it and if it is still sour, add more sugar in it. 

Spaghetti and meatballs recipe

Ingredients: 

  • 300gr spaghetti 
  • Water
  • Salt
  • Parmesan cheese, grated (for garnishing)

For the meatballs:

  • 500gr ground beef
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 tsp of baking soda
  • a tsp of pepper
  • 2 tsps of sea salt
  • Some basil
  • 1 tsp of chilli powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp of sweet Hungarian paprika
  • Olive oil

For the sauce:

  • 1 can of pelati (400gr)
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 3-3 tbsps olive oil
  • 2 tsps of dry basil (or fresh)
  • 3 tsps of sea salt 
  • 2 tsps of white sugar (or one carrot, diced)
  • 1 tsp of black pepper

Preparation:

  1. Make meatballs first. Chop one onion and two cloves of garlic. Season ground meat with salt, pepper, chilli powder, paprika and baking soda. Add basil, chopped onion and garlic. Combine everything well. Add one egg and knead the meat nicely for a minute or until it gets combined well. Make small meatballs. 
  2. Put some olive oil in a deep skillet or pan and cook meatballs at medium heat. Turn the meatballs around after 3 minutes. Meatballs are ready 7 or 10 minutes. They should be nicely baked. 
  3. Meantime, stir fry onions and garlic in olive oil, in a deep pan. Once they are translucent, add pelati and cook for around 15 minutes at low-to-medium heat. While pelati is cooking, start to add all the seasoning: salt, sugar, pepper and basil. 
  4. After 15 minutes or when you see that tomato sauce is cooked enough, add meatballs and sit them carefully. They should be soaked into tomato sauce. Cook meatballs in a tomato sauce at low heat for about 5 minutes. 
  5. Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water. The cooking time depends on the spaghetti. It is usually about 7 minutes. Strain spaghetti but don’t wash them with water. 

Serving:

I prefer to stir spaghetti into the sauce but you can also serve spaghetti and sauce separately. Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top of your spaghetti and meatballs.

Additional notes for spaghetti and meatballs recipe

If you don’t want to eat spaghetti you can choose some other type of pasta. Or, if you want to skip the pasta, you can cook rice or mashed potatoes instead. Meatballs in tomato sauce go well with rice or mashed potatoes.

Also, if you don’t want to cook tomato sauce, you can prepare white sauce for pasta instead, with cream and cheese. 

Spaghetti and meatballs recipe

This spaghetti and meatballs recipe is very easy and although it requires some time and patience the results are great. Meatballs are crispy outside and juicy inside. With every bite you take you can feel the fresh flavors of tomatoes, basil and juiciness of meat balls.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time30 mins
Course: dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: meatballs, pasta, spaghetti, tomato sauce
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 239kcal

Ingredients

  • 300 gr spaghetti
  • 700 ml water (check the instructions on the package)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 tbsps Parmesan cheese (grated, for garnishing)

For the meatballs:

  • 500 gr ground beef
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic chopped
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 tsps sea salt
  • some basil to taste
  • 1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:

  • 1 can of pelati (400gr)
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsps dry basil (or fresh)
  • 3 tsps sea salt
  • 2 tsps white sugar (or one carrot, diced)
  • 1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  • Make meatballs first. Chop one onion and two cloves of garlic. Season ground meat with salt, pepper, chilli powder, paprika and baking soda. Add basil, chopped onion and garlic. Combine everything well. Add one egg and knead the meat nicely for a minute or until it gets combined well. Make small meatballs.
  • Put some olive oil in a deep skillet or pan and cook meatballs at medium heat. Turn the meatballs around after 3 minutes. Meatballs are ready 7 or 10 minutes. They should be nicely baked.
  • Meantime, stir fry onions and garlic in olive oil, in a deep pan. Once they are translucent, add pelati and cook for around 15 minutes at low-to-medium heat. While pelati is cooking, start to add all the seasoning: salt, sugar, pepper and basil.
  • After 15 minutes or when you see that tomato sauce is cooked enough, add meatballs and sit them carefully. They should be soaked into tomato sauce. Cook meatballs in a tomato sauce at low heat for about 5 minutes.
  • Cook spaghetti in boiling salted water. The cooking time depends on the spaghetti. It is usually about 7 minutes. Strain spaghetti but don’t wash them with water.

Notes

Stir spaghetti into the sauce and sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top.

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