Spaghetti & Meatballs

The classic spaghetti and meatballs are a staple on most dinner tables any night of the week. This makes a big batch and freezes well.

When my daughter was much younger (she’s only 14 now, but she’s still my baby…now matter how much she hates me saying that) she loved to ask me about my favorite “fill in the blank.” “What’s your favorite color, mommy?” “What’s your favorite movie, mommy?” And the inevitable “What’s your favorite food, mommy?” The answer to that was, is, and probably always will be spaghetti. And you’ll note I’m not talking about favorite dessert, here…that’s a whole other category and might take some considerable time for me to pare down a list.

Why spaghetti? I don’t really know. I’ve loved it ever since I was a kid. Maybe it’s just the simplicity of it. It’s filling, it’s easy, it’s homey, it’s a good, solid, year-round meal…it’s pretty hard to screw up.

I like this recipe because it’s not too heavy. I use ground turkey for the meatballs, but lean ground beef works well, too.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

A classic recipe for savory meatballs in a rich tomato sauce.

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Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 8

Ingredients

  

Sauce Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Meatball Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground turkey or beef
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and shredded
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1/3 cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

 

Sauce Directions

• Heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and saute additional minute.
• Add tomato paste and mix well. Cook tomato paste for approximately one minute, then deglaze the pot with the wine.
• Add the remaining sauce ingredients and mix well. Simmer, covered, over low heat for one hour.

Meatball Directions

• While the sauce is simmering, prepare the meatballs. Move an oven rack to the top setting and heat the oven to broiling. Line a sheet pan with a piece of foil.
• In a large bowl, combine the meatball ingredients and mix well with your hands.
• Keeping hands wet (keep a small bowl of water next to you during this step), form meat mixture into golf-balls sized meatballs and place on foil-lined baking sheet.
• Broil meatballs for 10 minutes.
• Add meatballs to sauce and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes. Serve over your favorite pasta.

Notes

This makes a LOT of sauce and meatballs. I usually make this and halve everything so I can freeze half for later. 

Keyword Marinara, Meatballs, Pasta, Spaghetti