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    Home » Cooking Stuff

    Mmmmm .... Spaghetti & Meatballs

    February 8, 2025 by Karen 114 Comments

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    So you're wondering how to make spaghetti and meatballs.  Try this easy and undeniably delicious version. Or don't. But then you'll be missing out on something realllyyyyyyy good.

    Skip right to the recipe.

    I wanna talk about spaghetti & meatballs. Kind of because it's spaghetti & meatball season and kind of because  I often want to talk about spaghetti & meatballs.

    Take these conversations I recently made up, for example:

    My mother:  "I don't really like your hair that way, dear. You look like a squirrel.."
    Me:  "Do you like spaghetti & meatballs?"
    My mother:  "Oh my Lord! I LOVE spaghetti & meatballs. I remember this one time when your father and I ... is that a new hairdo? It looks sharp!"

    Another example:

    Your Boss:   "Did you finish that assignment I gave you today?"
    You:   "No. You can suck it. I'm taking a 5 hour lunch today that will involve eating spaghetti & meatballs, you miserable wound."
    Your Boss:   "Did you say spaghetti & meatballs? I LOVE spaghetti & meatballs. Hey! When's the last time I gave you a raise?  Or a day off for no reason?  And do you have a company car? You totally need a company car. Jeez ... I can't believe you love spaghetti & meatballs. I love 'em too."

    There's just something about spaghetti and meatballs that brings out the best in us.  And by "us" I mean human beings, dogs, cats, most other animals and the occasional stray from outer space.

    So if you're looking to lift your mood today - do it with love. Do it with meatballs.

    Homemade Spaghetti & Meatballs

    Ingredients for Sauce

    • Tomato juice
    • Tomato paste
    • Onion
    • Oregano
    • Basil
    • Garlic
    • Sugar
    • Parmesan
    • Bay Leaf

    Ingredients for Meatballs

    • Ground beef (& pork if you like)
    • Egg
    • Bread crumbs
    • S&P

    There are a multitude of ways to cook spaghetti & meatballs including using fresh tomatoes, but my preferred way is to use tomato sauce that I jar in the fall.

    Would you like to save this stuff?

    We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.

    Dump in the juice.

    Some tomato paste.

    Diced onions.

    The spices and stuff. Add in all of your spices and remember to crush them in your fingers to bring out the aroma and flavours of them.

    A bit of cheese.

    Give it a stir and the sauce is ready.

    Mix your beef ingredients (and pork or veal if you're using it).

    Form into balls. Taking a large tablespoon of meat, roll it in your hands with medium pressure. The harder you roll the meatball the more dense it will be. If you barely form it together it will be too soft and will fall apart. Medium pressure.

    I mostly use beef, but sometimes I do 50% beef and 50% pork for the meatballs.

    You may find they just sort of float on top of the sauce. Not to worry. This is how they brown.

    The taste of this recipe completely changes according to how long you cook it.  The longer you cook it the smokier and richer it tastes ... the less you cook it the more vibrant and bright it tastes.

    As you can see from the recipe ... if you don't have a couple of quarts of homemade tomato sauce you can use the secret ingredient ... tomato juice.  From the can.  Yup ... that tomato juice.  The kind you'd normally drink in a juice glass while lounging in the velvet booth of  a 1970's steak house.

    Make sure you get reduced salt tomato juice though, otherwise your spaghetti sauce will be too salty.  Dead sea salty.  Salt lick salty.  Long Shoreman salty.


    Spaghetti & Meatballs

    Classic homemade spaghetti and meatballs.  PLUS it's super easy!
    4.78 from 22 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Italian
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 2 hours hours 45 minutes minutes
    Servings: 6 servings
    Author: Karen

    Ingredients

    Sauce

    • 48 oz tomato juice (1 large can, reduced salt)
    • 12 oz tomato paste
    • 1 onion diced
    • 1 teaspoon oregano
    • ½ teaspoon basil
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
    • 2 tbsps parmesan cheese grated
    • 1 bay leaf

    Meatballs

    • 1 lb ground beef Or use ½ lb pork and ½ lb ground beef
    • 1 egg
    • ½ cup bread crumbs

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F or 350 degrees F convection.
    • Combine all the sauce ingredients into a dutch oven.
    • Mix the ingredients for the meatballs and then form them. You'll get 15 smaller sized meatballs from 1 lb of ground meat or 8-10 larger ones.
    • Add meatballs to the sauce allowing the tops to float out a bit. This will brown them.
    • Put a lid on the dutch oven and put it in a 375 degree F oven for half an hour. After that time, remove the lid and continue to roast for another 2 hours.
    • Stir the sauce occasionally to allow the meatballs to turn over and brown on various sides. (anything sticking out of the sauce will brown)
    • The sauce is done whenever you want.  The longer you cook it the darker and earthier tasting it will be.  If you take it out early it will be brighter and more tomatoey tasting. 

    Notes

    I use 2, one litre jars of my own home pressed tomato sauce for this recipe but if you don't have that (and many people don't) the best substitute is regular tomato juice. The kind you would drink. Don't forget to buy the reduced salt version of tomato juice because you boil it down so much in the oven it'll be too salty otherwise.

    And the reason it's called "Gramma's Spaghetti & Meatballs"? Because when my niece first moved out of her parent's house I typed out a bunch of her/my favourite recipes to give her. (GREAT gift idea by the way)

    And the originator of this recipe is ... her gramma. My mother. Betty.

     

    Mmmmm .... Spaghetti & Meatballs

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    1. Kristi B

      April 27, 2025 at 11:15 am

      I came back to say that this also works great in a crockpot! I cooked it on low for 6-8 hours. I live in the Central Valley of Ca and it gets too warm in the spring/summer to use the oven for dinner prep. I’m so happy I don’t have to wait until next fall to make this again!

      Reply
      • Karen

        April 27, 2025 at 9:03 pm

        What a great tip, thanks! ~ karen

        Reply
    2. Betty Dacko

      March 09, 2025 at 3:52 pm

      I loved this easy & tasty recipe, but it totally splattered tomato juice in my oven (mess to clean) but easy to add extra meatballs so makes lots of leftovers. Will definitely make this again when I have to feed a crowd.
      Thanks Karen & Betty

      Reply
      • Karen

        March 09, 2025 at 11:28 pm

        I'm glad you liked it! I make a batch and then freeze the leftovers. ~ karen!

        Reply
    3. Hettie

      March 09, 2025 at 12:58 pm

      I love an easy meal, so I'll be making this later in the week. Thanks, Karen! And Betty!

      Reply
      • Karen

        March 09, 2025 at 11:28 pm

        Hope you like it hettie! ~ karen

        Reply
    4. Robin

      March 09, 2025 at 11:55 am

      How many servings would you say this makes? I'm trying to decide if I should double it. I'm excited to make this tonight!

      Reply
      • Karen

        March 09, 2025 at 11:30 pm

        I'm pretty sure I'm too late in answering this but I'd say 6-8? ~ karen!

        Reply
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