Celebrate Sunday night with these delicious Spaghetti and Meatballs! This family style dinner recipe is made with homemade Marinara Sauce and tender and juicy seared meatballs!
What a better way to bring the family together around the table than having a good meal. This pasta with juicy and tender meatballs, cooked in a homemade Marinara Sauce, is one of my favorite dishes that will please everyone, even a picky eater!
I like making it for big family dinners or as part of my meal prep. And if you love this recipe, you will also like my Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs, Greek Meatballs, Turkey Zucchini Meatballs, and Tefteli. Oh, and you definitely want to try my Classic Chicken Parmesan Recipe if you are cooking for a big family!
Why you will love this recipe
- Easy to make. This dinner recipe is really easy to make in 6 simple steps and takes about 1 ½ hours from start to finish.
- Family Style. This recipe makes a big batch, enough for you whole family (it should serve about 6 to 8 people). Or, if you have any leftovers, you can use it for your meal prep.
- SO delicious! You can’t go wrong with homemade tender meatballs cooked in tomato sauce and served with spaghetti! This is a great classic meal that everyone will love!
How to make it
Prepare the meatballs
For this part, I use my popular recipe for Oven Baked Meatballs (you can check the recipe for more details and tips). However, instead of baking them in the oven, we are going to pan sear and then finish cooking them in Marinara sauce.
To make, just mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl (1 pound ground beef, ½ cup bread crumbs, ¼ cup milk, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, ½ cup grated onion, 1 egg, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes). Then, using your hands or a spatula, mix everything until well combined.
Roll the meatballs (about 2 tablespoons each), place them on a plate, and set aside. (Photos 1-2)
Prepare the Sauce Ingredients
For this part, I double my recipe for homemade Marinara Sauce from Scratch.
I really suggest to use San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes as the base of this sauce. It’s less acidic and will provide more flavor. Just pour them in a large mixing bowl and using your hands, take out the tomato’s hard cores and crush everything else.
Then finely chop a large onion. It might seem a lot, but most of it will cook off while caramelizing. Also, mince the garlic (I usually use about 4 large cloves, but you can use more or less, depending on your taste).
Sear Meatballs
I like to use a 3-4 Qt Dutch Oven for this recipe. It has a thick bottom not to burn the sauce and dip enough to fit everything.
Preheat the Dutch Oven over medium/high heat and add olive oil. Sear the meatballs from all the sides (about 2 minutes per side). Do it in two separate batches not to overcrowd the pot. Otherwise, they will produce too much liquid and won’t sear. (Photos 3-4)
NOTE: Don’t worry about cooking them through, as we will finish cooking them in the sauce. At this point, we just need to get a nice crust. Also, it’s ok to have some burnt bits left in the pot, as it will give more flavor to the sauce.
When the meatballs are seared, transfer them to a plate and set aside.
Make Marinara Sauce
Add another tablespoon of olive oil and chopped onion to the Dutch Oven. Sauté for about 10 minutes, until it’s softened and golden color. The onions will produce some liquid, that will help you to scrape off all the burned bits from meatballs. (Photos 5-6)
Add minced garlic, stir and cook for about 1 minute, until it releases aroma. (Photo 7)
Now we can add the rest of the ingredients (peeled and crushed tomatoes, dried oregano, dried basil, salt, pepper, sugar, and red pepper flakes) and stir. As soon as it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes, occasionally stirring. (Photos 8-14)
Cook the Meatballs
Then add the seared meatballs to the sauce, stir, and cook for about 15-20 minutes. (Photo 16)
Cook Pasta
While the meatballs and the sauce are cooking, boil the water in a separate pot and cook spaghetti according to the instructions.
Assemble
When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add to the Dutch Oven with sauce and meatballs. Toss everything in until pasta is evenly coated with the sauce. (Photos 15-16)
Turn off the stove and cover the pot with a lid. I like to let the sit on the stove with a lid on for about 10-15 minutes before serving, so the pasta will absorb more flavor.
Tips for best results
- The secret to the great sauce is let it simmer on low heat. If your tomatoes are a bit more acidic, just let them cook off longer. It might take between 40 minutes to an hour. Also, don’t forget to stir it, so it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
- To bring the sauce to a whole new level, add a piece of Parmesan rind. It will make it more balanced and add a lot of flavor.
- When searing the meatballs, don’t move them until their ready to be turned over. This way it will be easier to release them from the pan and get the perfect crust.
Options and Substitutions
If you don’t have bread crumbs, you can chop 2 white bread slices (crust removed) and soak them in ¼ cup milk. Then add to the meat mixture.
Frequently Asked Questions
I like to serve this meal in a large bowl or a platter. Top it with some grated Parmesan and chopped basil. And don’t forget some warm Easy Dinner Rolls or Sandwich Bread Recipe.
You probably don’t have enough binder. In this case a large egg holds all the ingredients together.
They probably don’t have enough moisture. In this recipe we add milk and grated onion with juices to make sure that they come out nice and tender.
If you have any leftovers, put them in an air-tight container and refrigerate. It will stay fresh for up to 5 days.
Did you make this recipe?!? I’d love to know how it turned out! leave a comment and a rating below👇 thank you!
Best Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
Ingredients for Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef 85%
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- ½ cup onion grated with juices
- 1 large egg
- Salt, pepper to taste
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Ingredients for Marinara Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cans San Marzano peeled tomatoes 28 oz each can
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- Salt, pepper to taste
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
Prepare the meatballs
- Mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl (1 pound ground beef, ½ cup bread crumbs, ¼ cup milk, ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, ½ cup grated onion, 1 egg, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes). Then, using your hands or a spatula, mix everything until well combined.
- Roll the meatballs (about 2 tablespoons each), place them on a plate, and set aside.
Prepare the Sauce Ingredients
- Pour 2 28-oz cans San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes in a large mixing bowl and using your hands, take out the tomato’s hard cores and crush everything else.
- Then finely chop a large onion and mince the garlic (I usually use about 4 large cloves, but you can use more or less, depending on your taste).
Sear Meatballs
- Preheat the Dutch Oven over medium/high heat and add 2-3 tbsp olive oil. Sear the meatballs from all the sides (about 2 minutes per side). Do it in two separate batches not to overcrowd the pot. Otherwise, they will produce too much liquid and won’t sear.
- NOTE: Don’t worry about cooking them through, as we will finish cooking them in the sauce. At this point, we just need to get a nice crust. Also, it’s ok to have some burnt bits left in the pot, as it will give more flavor to the sauce.
- When the meatballs are seared, transfer them to a plate and set aside.
Make Marinara Sauce
- Add another tablespoon of olive oil and chopped onion to the Dutch Oven. Sauté for about 10 minutes, until it’s softened and golden color. The onions will produce some liquid, that will help you to scrape off all the burned bits from meatballs.
- Add minced garlic, stir and cook for about 1 minutes, until it releases aroma.
- Now we can add the rest of the ingredients (peeled and crushed tomatoes, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried basil, salt, pepper, 1 tsp sugar, and ¼ tsp red pepper flakes) and stir. As soon as it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes, occasionally stirring.
Cook the Meatballs
- Then add the seared meatballs to the sauce, stir, and cook for about 15-20 minutes.
Cook Pasta
- While the meatballs and the sauce are cooking, boil the water in a separate pot and cook spaghetti according to the instructions.
Assemble
- When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add to the Dutch Oven with sauce and meatballs. Toss everything in until pasta is evenly coated with the sauce.
- Turn off the stove and cover the pot with a lid. I like to let the sit on the stove with a lid on for about 10-15 minutes before serving, so the pasta will absorb more flavor.
Notes
- The secret to the great sauce is let it simmer on low heat. If your tomatoes are a bit more acidic, just let them cook off longer. It might take between 40 minutes to an hour. Also, don’t forget to stir it, so it doesn’t burn on the bottom.
- To bring the sauce to a whole new level, add a piece of Parmesan rind. It will make it more balanced and add a lot of flavor.
- When searing the meatballs, don’t move them until their ready to be turned over. This way it will be easier to release them from the pan and get the perfect crust.
- If you don’t have bread crumbs, you can chop 2 white bread slices (crust removed) and soak them in ¼ cup milk. Then add to the meat mixture.
I made the meatballs portion of this last night. I had some ground beef and a considerable amount of sauce leftover from another venture, so I only needed a good meatball recipe. They turned out to be excellent! Very tender and tasty. This will definitely be my go-to for meatballs in the future. I did make a few “tiny” adjustments to the recipe. 1) I used the bread crumbs with Italian seasoning, because it was the only bread crumbs in my pantry, and why not, right? 2) I had chopped up a couple of garlic cloves, so that got thrown in (you can never have too much garlic, amirite?). 3) And lastly, I read on the Milk Street Community web page that a lady had used Bloody Mary mix in her meatloaf (hmmm, got me thinkin’) so I threw in about a quarter cup of that and added a few more breadcrumbs to soak it up. Beside being tasty meatballs, the instructions were great, and a big help in pulling off having the meat, sauce and pasta all finished at the right time. I used that last 10 minutes of resting time to bake garlic knots and open a nice robust bottle of red. Bada bing-great meal! Thanks.
Thank you so much, AJ! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe! I also love adding breadcrumbs with Italian seasoning to the meatballs, as they add a lot of extra flavor 😉
Can you use an insta-pot to cook this meal. What would be the time?
Can you use an insta-pot to cook this meal. What would be the time?
What a great idea to use Parmesan rind! I have no idea why I’ve never done that. These meatballs look so delicious. Can’t wait to give them a go!
Wow, thank you for recreating this classic dish. I loved the way you have cooked the meatballs in sauce for more depth in flavors. Thanks a lot for the recipe.
These look fantastic and I absolutely love the step-by-step photos, they are super helpful. this would be perfect for the next Sunday dinner.
Comfort food at its finest is what we’ve got here! Thank you for this very detailed post that makes it very easy even for beginner cooks to tackle this classic and bring all the flavours this dish is supposed to have!
Meatballs are always so fun to make and this recipe was so good to eat, too!! Thank you!! Thanks for all the tips!
A family favorite and a classic – thank you for a recipe that’s meant for a crowd! It’s so nice knowing going in that it’s going to be enough!
You can never go wrong with spaghetti and meatballs. Always a hit in my house. In fact, it is a must for when the grandkids come here for sleepovers.
These are truly the best spaghetti and meatball!! Perfect for a Sunday dinner- they were a hit!
Thank you so much for this incredibly thorough, no-fail recipe! Your step-by-step photos and your extra tips (like adding the parmesan rind – brilliant!) are so helpful. Spaghetti and meatballs is definitely one of those meals that brings everyone running to the table – the makings of both a great family meal and also wonderful family memories! 🙂