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Home / Recipes
1 hour 20 minutes
4.66 from 80 votes
15 Comments

Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs

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  • 401
by: Joanna Cismaru
07.09.21

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Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs – a classic comfort food and pretty much everyone’s favorite. This dish with delicious and hearty meatballs in a simple flavorful and tasty tomato sauce served over spaghetti. 

a fork twirling spaghetti with meatballs, parmesan, and tomato sauce

Meatballs

Because meatballs are great, they’re versatile, and they’re great in and on everything. You can bake them, you can fry them, you can slow cook them, you can stuff them with cheese and make them all gooey and delicious, they’re great in sandwiches, spaghetti and meatballs, meatball casseroles, meatballs in soups, meatballs on pizza, I’d even put them on a salad,  the sky is the limit.

a bowl full of spaghetti topped with meatballs, parmesan, and parsley

Spaghetti and Meatballs

In the 8 years that I’ve been working on this blog, I just now realized that I don’t have a classic spaghetti and meatballs recipe, so here I am after all this time with probably the easiest and most popular meatball dish out there.

A classic but super comforting spaghetti and meatballs dish, and not with frozen meatballs, but homemade meatballs! Because this post is about meatballs, after all.

a spoon scooping 2 meatballs out of a large braiser

How to Make Meatballs

The meatball recipe is a pretty basic Italian meatball recipe loaded with herbs such as basil, oregano and parsley. They’re really easy to make too, you can use any ground meat your prefer. Traditionally they are made with beef, veal or pork, but it’s up to you what you use, really anything goes.

The sauce couldn’t get any simpler, we’re talking crushed tomatoes, some onion, garlic, salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and basil. Let it simmer and that’s all that’s really required. Another way I like to make this sauce is to roast my own tomatoes and then run them through the food processor, you could do that too if you wanted to and you’d have that nice flavor of roasted tomatoes.

Serve these meatballs over spaghetti, drenched in this yummy sauce, and load on the Parmesan cheese. So good, and such a comforting dinner. It truly is everyone’s favorite.

a fork twirling spaghetti from a bowl with meatballs and parmesan

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side view shot of a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs

Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs

4.66 from 80 votes
Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 1 hr
Total: 1 hr 20 mins
Author: Joanna Cismaru
Serves: 8
Print Pin Rate
Spaghetti and Meatballs is a classic comfort food and pretty much everyone’s favorite. A classic dish with delicious and hearty meatballs in a simple flavorful and tasty tomato sauce served over spaghetti. 

Ingredients

For Meatballs

  • 3 slices white bread
  • ½ cup milk
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 2 large eggs
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 2 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
  • 1 tablespoon oregano dried or fresh
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper

For Sauce and Everything else

  • 3 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ cup chicken broth low sodium
  • 56 ounce crushed tomatoes (2 28 oz cans)
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper or to taste
  • 2 large basil sprigs
  • 1 pound spaghetti uncooked
  • Parmesan cheese
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Break the bread slices into pieces and place in a large bowl. Pour the milk over them and let the bread soak for about 10 minutes.
  • To the same bowl add the remaining meatball ingredients. Mix well using your clean hands. Shape the meatball mixture into balls around the size of a golf ball. 
  • Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the meatballs and saute until brown and cooked through. Turn them often so they hold their shape. You might also need to do this in a couple batches, depends on how big or small your meatballs are and the size of your skillet. It should take about 10 to 15 minutes per batch.
  • Transfer the meatballs to a plate and set aside. If there’s too much oil in your skillet, drain some of it out. You need about 1 tbsp of fat remaining in skillet. 
  • Add the onion and garlic to the skillet and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until onion is soft and becomes translucent. Deglaze the pan with the chicken broth and scrape all the brown bits from the meatballs, this will add flavor to the sauce. Add the crushed tomatoes, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and basil springs. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the skillet with a lid and simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce should reduce a bit.
  • While the sauce is simmering cook the spaghetti according to package instructions. Reserve about 1 cup of the pasta water. 
  • If your sauce is too thick, add some of the pasta water to thin it out a bit until desired consistency is achieved.
  • Place pasta in a large bowl and add about 1 to 2 cups of the sauce to the pasta and toss well. Add the meatballs to the remaining sauce in the skillet and toss. Serve the meatballs over spaghetti, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and garnished with parsley or basil.

Video

Recipe Notes

  1. Before making your meatballs, you can place the meatball mixture in the fridge for 1 hour to up to a day. This will help the meatballs hold their shape while cooking. Since I baked these, I wasn’t afraid of them losing shape, but if you choose to fry them instead, you might want to refrigerate the meat first for about an hour.
  2. Alternatively you can bake the meatballs at 400 F degrees for about 30 minutes until golden brown.
  3. If you feel like the amount this recipe yields is too much, you can hover your cursor over the number of servings in the recipe card. A slider will appear, and you can change the number of servings. The recipe will change accordingly.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1servingCalories: 639kcal (32%)Carbohydrates: 66g (22%)Protein: 35g (70%)Fat: 27g (42%)Saturated Fat: 9g (56%)Cholesterol: 126mg (42%)Sodium: 704mg (31%)Potassium: 1174mg (34%)Fiber: 7g (29%)Sugar: 13g (14%)Vitamin A: 789IU (16%)Vitamin C: 24mg (29%)Calcium: 167mg (17%)Iron: 6mg (33%)
Course:Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine:American, Italian
Keyword:italian food, meatballs, spaghetti and meatballs
Tried this recipe? Rate it belowtag @jocooks on instagram and hashtag it #jocooks!
  • 401
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Meet Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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Comments

  1. Raissa Saravia says

    November 4, 2019 at 6:22 am

    5 stars
    Sooooo I discovered your website a few weeks ago, and I’ve made many of your recipes. They are all so so good. Last night I made these spaghetti and meatballs recipe and my goodness.. It is incredible. My husband said that its the best meatballs he has ever had and I agree with him. It’s so so good. I’m not really the type to write reviews (although I should) but I’m like this woman needs to know that she is transforming how I cook. I added a bit more red pepper flakes to the sauce (I like my sauce a bit more spicy) it’s perfect. Thank you a million Jo for sharing your recipes with the world. I am forever a fan.

    Reply
    • Jo Cooks Team says

      November 4, 2019 at 10:03 am

      Thank you so much, Raissa! Your kind words mean lots. We’re glad you’ve been having fun with our recipes 🙂

      Reply
  2. Marit says

    January 19, 2019 at 7:35 am

    Love the idea with meatball monday… you should try danish meatballs – they are called frikadeller – we eat them with potatos eller spaghetti

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      January 19, 2019 at 10:23 am

      Oh I’ve made bitterballen before: https://www.jocooks.com/recipes/dutch-meatballs-bitterballen/ but haven’t tried the frikadeller!

      Reply
  3. Barb says

    December 3, 2018 at 2:54 pm

    I just made this and my husband and I devoured it. He was hovering over me eating the meatballs while I was making the sauce haha needless to say, I’ll be making this again!

    Reply
  4. Cindy says

    December 1, 2018 at 10:51 pm

    5 stars
    I made this dish for my husband and he loved it. He thought it was the most authentic spaghetti ad meatballs I had ever made.

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      December 2, 2018 at 10:08 am

      Best compliment! 🙂

      Reply
  5. Marlene De Paula says

    March 24, 2018 at 8:42 am

    5 stars
    Wonderful spaghetti recipe My favorite dish

    Reply
  6. Rhonda says

    July 3, 2017 at 7:08 am

    I think she means why not have the recipe for a smaller amount eg the 2 or 4 person recipes.I don’t think she means 4 people can eat this much.
    Haven’t tried this yet but I plan to looks delicious .

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      July 3, 2017 at 7:29 am

      If you hover over the servings size, a slider should pop up and you can change the servings size to 4 or 2 and it will readjust the quantity of ingredients.

      Reply
  7. Dee says

    June 26, 2017 at 11:01 am

    Looks like a great, easy recipe. I will try! I like to let my meatballs simmer in the sauce (without stirring!) until done. They come out nice ‘n soft, just the way I like! Have you ever tried cooking them that way?

    Reply
    • Fenne Kieken says

      June 28, 2017 at 10:26 am

      Yes you could do that and I have done it as well.

      Reply
  8. Nigel Roberts says

    June 26, 2017 at 7:48 am

    5 stars
    Why a recipe for 8 people, it would be far better for 4 or even 2 which is the norm?

    Great recipe though, will try it,

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      June 26, 2017 at 9:34 am

      Oh no trust me, this makes a lot! A LOT! It really is for 8 people.

      Reply
      • Michael J Bonavita says

        June 9, 2019 at 8:15 am

        Nice recipe, the only thing I would say is omit the onions, unless you like onions a lot because it takes over the flavor of everything else

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I'm Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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