Spaghetti and Meatballs

A blue plate with spaghetti, topped with meatballs and red sauce.

This spaghetti and meatballs is a favorite family dinner for all of us. I make the meatballs with ground beef, basil, parmesan and few more ingredients, bake them then simmer them in homemade marinara sauce. Mix the sauce, meatballs and spaghetti for a fantastic pasta dinner!!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword spaghetti and meatballs

Servings servings

Calories 1103kcal

Author Sonila

Equipment

1 medium glass bowl
1 Deep skillet
1 Pasta Pot
1 Strainer for pasta
1 Pasta tongs

Ingredients

Simmering Marinara

3 cups marinara sauce homemade marinara or store bought
2 tbsps olive oil
0.5 yellow onion
2 garlic cloves

Meatballs

2 lbs ground beef or 1 lb ground beef and 1 lb ground Italian sausage
0.5 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 cup breadcrumbs or stale bread
0.5 yellow onion
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
5 leaves fresh basil
1 tsp sea salt
0.5 tsp black pepper
0.5 tsp crushed red pepper optional for some spice

Spaghetti

8 ozs spaghetti
water
salt

Instructions

Meatballs

In a medium glass bowl add ground beef, parmesan, finely chopped onion, garlic, chopped basil leaves, Italian seasoning, eggs, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and crushed red peppers.
Mix with your hands until everything is incorporated. Let chill for 15 minutes or so in the refrigerator if you have time, if not start shaping the meatballs one by one right away.
Add the meatballs to a baking sheet, place parchment paper or aluminum foil underneath. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes then switch to broil for another 5 minutes or so.

Simmer Marinara

Add olive oil to a deep skillet, medium heat. Once it shimmers, add finely chopped onion and minced garlic. Saute until aromatic and then add marinara sauce. Lower heat so sauce doesn't splatter.
If desired you can add some basil leaves intact for added flavor and aromatics, but it's optional. Remove after few minutes.
Add the baked meatballs to the sauce and let simmer with the marinara sauce. Turn them gently every few minutes so they cook evenly and get coated with the sauce. Let them simmer at least 15 minutes or so. Turn heat off.

Cook Pasta

Fill up a pasta pot with water, add salt, boil then add spaghetti in and cook al dente according to package instructions. Drain pasta.
You can mix spaghetti with meatballs and marinara sauce using tongs. Or you can serve spaghetti topped with meatballs and sauce individually.
Add more basil, black pepper and parmesan as desired in each individual plate. Buon Appetit!

Notes

Meatballs vary in size, but usually I plan 4 per person when they're on the smaller side or 2 big ones. If you change the size, make sure you bake them properly first.
I usually estimate 3 cups of marinara for 4 servings of spaghetti. Anywhere from ½ to ¾ cups of marinara per person.
Adjust salt and pepper to your taste.
If using seasoned breadcrumbs, adjust seasonings for meatballs so you don't over season.

Nutrition