Italian Meatballs with Marinara Sauce

These Italian Meatballs with Marinara Sauce are a classic comfort food and everyone’s favorite. 

The weather has been wonderful here in Calgary this week, which is really nice after all the snow we had last week. During the winter, one of my favorite things to eat are meatballs, not sure why but I associate meatballs with winter food. They are a classic comfort food.

I have been craving some meatballs with marinara sauce for a long time now, so I finally decided to make them. We make meatballs quite often at my house, but rarely with any type of sauce. But I’ve been wanting these meatballs so I can have them with some great mashed potatoes. These meatballs are pretty simple to make but they are full of flavor.

You can also use any type of ground meat you want, I used a pound of pork and half a pound of beef. The meatballs turned out very tender and delicious.

If you guys love this recipe, and most importantly make it yourselves, please let us know. Take a picture and tag it #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!

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Italian Meatballs with Marinara Sauce

4.8 from 5 votes

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 50 mins

Total: 1 hr 10 mins

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Serves: 6

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These Italian Meatballs with Marinara Sauce are a classic comfort food and everyone's favorite. 

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 lb ground pork
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder optional
• 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp basil dry

Sauce

• 3 tbsp butter unsalted
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 1/2 cups marinara sauce I used store bought
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
• 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.
• Prepare a cookie baking sheet by pouring half a cup of the marinara sauce and spread it evenly over the surface.
• In a large bowl mix all meatball ingredients well so that everything is well incorporated. Shape into meatballs.Place the meatballs on the baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes.
• In the meantime melt the butter in a large sauce pan and add chopped onion and saute until onion is translucent. Add chopped garlic and saute for another minute, making sure garlic doesn't burn. Add marinara sauce and the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir. Add meatballs and make sure toss them around a bit to make sure they are fully covered in sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for around 30 minutes.
• Serve with mashed potatoes or your favorite side dish.

Recipe Notes

Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 456kcal (23%)Carbohydrates: 16g (5%)Protein: 27g (54%)Fat: 29g (45%)Saturated Fat: 13g (81%)Cholesterol: 128mg (43%)Sodium: 1113mg (48%)Potassium: 783mg (22%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 7g (8%)Vitamin A: 890IU (18%)Vitamin C: 9.5mg (12%)Calcium: 168mg (17%)Iron: 3.4mg (19%)

Course:Main Course

Cuisine:Italian

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