Spaghetti and Meatballs

This is the easiest recipe for homemade spaghetti and meatballs. A 5-ingredient marinara sauce simmers while the meatballs bake, then everything is tossed together with spaghetti noodles.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword spaghetti and meatballs

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1 5

Servings

Calories 690kcal

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ cup yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup coarse fresh bread crumbs
½ cup whole milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, minced
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 pound ground beef
1 pound ground pork

For the Spaghetti & Sauce*

1 28-ounce can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, with purée
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 sprigs fresh basil, plus more basil for garnish
1 pound spaghettl
freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Instructions

Make the Meatballs:

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet. In a small skillet, heat oil over medium. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool until just warm.
Place the bread crumbs in a small bowl, add milk, and let stand for 5 minutes. Squeeze the milk from the breadcrumbs and add to a medium bowl with the egg, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, and reserved onion mixture. Add the ground meats and mix with your hands just until combined. Do not overmix or the meatballs will be tough instead of light and fluffy.
Using wet hands, shape the meat mixture into 18 meatballs, then line them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the tops are browned, about 20 minutes, then turn and bake until cooked through, 15 minutes more. Remove from the oven.

Make the Marinara Sauce:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and season generously with kosher salt. Meanwhile, make the marinara sauce. Pour the tomatoes and purée into a bowl and crush with your hands or the the back of a spoon, and set aside.
In a large cold skillet, add the extra-virgin olive oil and garlic cloves, and bring to medium heat. As the garlic begins to sizzle, stir occasionally, and cook until fragrant and golden, about 5 minutes. Monitor the heat so the garlic doesn't cook too quickly or burn.
Very carefully stir the tomato paste into the garlic and oil—take care so the oil doesn't splatter and burn you as the paste is added—and cook for 1-2 minutes. Carefully spoon the tomatoes into the pan with the oil and paste and season with salt and pepper. Add the basil sprigs and bring to a boil. Reduce to a bubbling simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Stir to mix the oil that rises to the top, then discard the basil sprigs and garlic. Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for 10 minutes.

Cook the Spaghetti, Then Assemble:

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling water just 2 minutes shy of suggested cooking time on the packaging. Drain the pasta reserving ½ cup of the pasta water. Add the pasta back to the pot with half of the marinara sauce and ¼ cup pasta water, tossing to coat. Add more water as needed. Divide the pasta among individual pasta bowls, and top each serving with more sauce and an equal number of meatballs. Sprinkle with Parmesan, fresh basil, and serve.

Notes

*Marinara sauce: You can also use 6 cups (48 ounces) of store-bought marinara sauce if you don't want to make it from scratch.

Nutrition