Go Back
Print Recipe

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Author: Leah Porche, Leah Porche, RDN, LDN

Ingredients

For the sauce

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion diced
  • 2 carrots peeled and diced
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 6oz can tomato paste
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp black pepper table ground
  • 1 16oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 32oz can of peeled whole tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil shredded

For the meatballs

  • 2 slices bread
  • 1½ cups milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 onion shredded
  • 1¼ cups parmesan grated
  • 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley fresh, finely chopped (or 1 tbsp dry)
  • 1/2 cup basil fresh, finely chopped (or 1 tbsp dry)
  • 2 cups bread crumbs
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 lb italian sausage mild, uncased

Instructions

For the sauce

  • Heat pot to medium heat, add oil, then onion and carrots.
  • Sauté until soft and slightly golden, about 5-10 minutes.
  • Add garlic, cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.
  • Then, add tomato paste.
  • Cook for at least 10 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent sticking and charring.
  • When tomato paste is a deep red color add in sugar, salt, and pepper, stir well to combine.
  • Add remaining tomato ingredients and half of the basil.
  • Allow to simmer on medium-low heat for a minimum of one hour, optimally 2+ hours.
  • Add meatballs when they are ready.
  • Add remaining basil when ready to serve. 
  • Cook your pasta of choice according to package directions, top with sauce, grated parmesan, and extra basil if you have it.

For the meatballs

  • Preheat oven to 400°F.
  • Place bread and milk in large bowl, allow bread to absorb all the liquid, then add eggs and scramble into bread mixture.
  • Add in remaining ingredients, except meat, and mix thoroughly. Last, add meat, mix just to combined.
  • Then, roll the meat into balls, a scoop can make this easier, somewhere between the size of a cotton ball and a golf ball, and put onto a cookie sheet about a half inch apart.
  • Bake them for about 20 minutes, you want them to brown and harden up on the outside. 
  • Gently, drop them into your sauce and let them finish cooking on low heat, just make sure not to stir the sauce for about a half hour or so after you drop them in so they can finish cooking.

Notes

.