Classic homemade spaghetti and meatballs. PLUS it's super easy!
Course Main Course
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutesminutes
Cook Time 2 hourshours30 minutesminutes
Total Time 2 hourshours45 minutesminutes
Servings 6servings
Author Karen
Ingredients
Sauce
48oztomato juice(1 large can, reduced salt)
12oztomato paste
1oniondiced
1teaspoonoregano
½teaspoonbasil
2clovesgarlicminced
1tablespoonbrown sugar
2tbspsparmesan cheesegrated
1bay leaf
Meatballs
1lbground beefOr use ½ lb pork and ½ lb ground beef
1egg
½cupbread 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.