Valentina's Corner
Spaghetti is one of those quick meals that is always a hit. Our spaghetti and meatballs recipe combines everything you love, from the cheesy sauce to the mouth-watering homemade meatballs. All you need is little to no prep time and a few simple ingredients to make this restaurant-quality dish.
For an authentic Italian dinner, you must serve this delicious dish alongside homemade buttery breadsticks and a classic caesar salad.
Spaghetti tastes best when paired with a fresh tomato sauce. Each bite is loaded with cheesy, saucy goodness. This quick and easy meal comes together with minimal ingredients, but the result is an iconic dish that will become a staple in your home.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple recipe. This recipe comes together with ease; anyone can make it!
- Minimal ingredients. You only need a few basic ingredients for this incredible recipe.
- Customizable. Easily make this dish your own!
- Easy meal prep. This dish is easy to make ahead of time for an easy meal for the week.
Ingredients for Spaghetti and Meatballs Meatballs
- Meatballs – our from-scratch easy meatballs.
- Canned crushed tomatoes – an easy way to get a delicious tomato sauce.
- Garlic – infuses the sauce with incredible flavor.
- Seasoning – a dry oregano, parsley, salt, and black pepper blend.
- Basil – fresh basil gives this sauce the best flavor.
- Spaghetti pasta – long pasta that soaks up all the sauce.
- Parmesan cheese – gives this spaghetti a finishing touch.
See the recipe card below for a complete list of ingredients and quantities.
Instant Pot Meatballs
Make these meatballs in advance using an instant pot. These instant pot meatballs are so juicy and easy to make!
Expert Tip for the Perfect Meatballs:
Keep the meatballs uniform in size so that they cook evenly. Do this by using a kitchen scale to measure an even amount of meat for every ball.
How to Make Spaghetti and Meatballs
Step-by-step instructions make spaghetti and meatballs!
Meatballs –
1 – Add all the meatball ingredients to a large bowl.
2 – Mix the ingredients by hand until you have the perfect meatball mixture.
3 – Wet your hands and shape the meat mixture into small meatballs.
4 – To a large pan, add olive oil and lightly sear each side of the meatballs. Cook them in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Once each side is seared and fork tender, remove from the pan and set aside.
Marinara Sauce –
1 – Lightly saute the onions in a dutch oven or a large skillet.
2 – Add canned tomatoes, garlic, water, and seasoning to the pan. Stir together and let it simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Use an immersion blender to get the consistency you want.
3 – Add the meatballs and fresh basil to the sauce and let them simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in a large pot of salt water according to package instructions, then drain.
4 – Finish by adding the spaghetti to the sauce and lightly mix. Top with fresh basil and parmesan cheese to serve.
Substitutions and Variations
- Add spice: Bring the heat to this dish by adding red pepper flakes to the sauce. The result is a light spice that elevates this dish!
- Meatballs: Replace ground beef meatballs with ground pork or ground turkey for a complete change in flavor.
- Protein: Don’t like meatballs? Top the spaghetti with pan-seared chicken for a delicious dish.
- Extra easy: Skip the ground beef meatballs and make a hearty meat sauce to serve over the spaghetti.
- Baked: Love an oven-baked pasta dish? Try our baked ricotta ziti for the perfect tomato sauce baked pasta.
Serving Suggestions
- Italian dinner: Serve this spaghetti with freshly baked italian bread. Pro tip: Dip the bread in the sauce!
- Salad: Serve with a creamy caesar salad or a lighter spring salad.
Recipe FAQs
Use any of your favorite cheeses. Mozzarella works great because it melts perfectly.
When searing the meatballs, they don’t need to be fully cooked. The meatballs finish cooking in the sauce.
This results from too much binder in the meatballs, a.k .a. too many breadcrumbs.
Store & Reheat
- Storage. Store leftover spaghetti in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheat. Warm spaghetti in a skillet over low-medium heat until warmed through.
- Freeze. Place cooled spaghetti and in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat: Thaw spaghetti in the fridge overnight before warming on a skillet.
More Italian Recipes
If you enjoyed this pasta with meatballs recipe, be sure to try our other popular Italian-inspired recipes; here are some of the reader favorites:
If you tried this spaghetti and meatballs recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below – we appreciate it!
Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
meatballs-
- 1 1/2 lbs ground meat beef, pork, turkey or Italian sausage
- 1/2 medium onion finely grated
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp of fresh basil
- 2 Tbsp of whole milk
- 3 Tbsp of oil for searing meatballs
sauce –
- 1/2 large onion finely chopped
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 2 Tbsp water
- 28 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp of ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp fresh basil finely chopped
- Parmesan cheese for topping
pasta –
- 8 oz uncooked spaghetti pasta
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
meatballs –
- Add meatball ingredients to a large bowl and mix together.
- Wet your hands to shape meat mixture into even-sized meatballs.
- Heat oil in a large skillet and lightly sear each side of the meatballs.
- Set cooked meatballs aside.
sauce –
- In a pan, heat oil and butter, and add chopped onion. Cook until translucent.
- Add water, canned tomatoes, minced garlic, and seasoning. Stir together and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Use an immersion blender to puree the sauce to your desired consistency.
- Add the meatballs and fresh basil to the sauce and cook for ten minutes.
pasta –
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta to al dente and drain. Add 2 Tbsp of butter to the noodles.
- Add the pasta to the sauce in the pan and let come together for 2 minutes. Top with freshly grated parmesan and serve!
Notes
-
- Even meatballs: Use a kitchen scale to measure out meatballs to create even-sized balls. This helps them cook evenly.
- Refrigerate spaghetti: Refrigerate leftover pasta in the fridge, in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Freeze spaghetti: Allow the spaghetti to cool completely before transferring it to a freezer-safe container. Label and freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat: Allow spaghetti to defrost overnight in the fridge before warming on the skillet.