Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs – A traditional dish with incredible flavor. This recipe includes how to get the most tender, moist meatballs and a homemade marinara sauce – classic Italian comfort food, made easy.
Comfort Food
Nothing says comfort food like a big bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. A perfect pair, they go hand in hand. It’s the first dish that comes to mind when someone says “Italian food” for me, and will always be one of my favourites – to eat and make!
I previously showed you how to make your own fresh homemade marinara sauce that you can use in this recipe, however feel free to use store bought. This delicious marinara sauce will inevitably end up smothering big, hearty meatballs made from scratch. A big dish of comfort waiting for you in your own home.
Ingredients for Spaghetti and Meatballs
Keep scrolling to the recipe card for full ingredient amounts and instructions or click “Jump To Recipe” at the top of the page!
Meatballs
- Ground beef – You can use whatever protein you like. Pork or a mixture of pork and beef would work well. If using chicken or turkey your meatballs may have more of a dry texture.
- Eggs – Large.
- Onion – Small, grated.
- Parmesan Cheese – I used fresh, finely grated.
- Garlic – Fresh is best! Minced.
- Panko Breadcrumbs – Used as a binding agent.
- Milk – To keep moisture in the meatballs and help bind ingredients.
- Oregano – I used dried.
- Salt and Pepper – To taste.
- Parsley – Fresh, finely chopped.
Spaghetti and Marinara
- Marinara Sauce – Use this homemade Marinara Sauce Recipe or you can use your favourite store-bought.
- Spaghetti – Packaged, uncooked.
How To Make Spaghetti And Meatballs
- Cook Pasta – Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions until it’s al dente. Drain, but reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
- Preheat Oven – Preheat the oven to 425 F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make Meatballs – In a large bowl, mix all the meatball ingredients together until well combined. Form the mixture into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Place the meatballs on prepared baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
- Simmer and Finish – Add the marinara sauce and reserved pasta water to a large pot or skillet and bring to a simmer. Remove half the sauce and toss with cooked spaghetti. Add the meatballs into the remaining sauce and toss. Reduce the heat to simmer the meatballs for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Garnish and Serve – Serve the meatballs over your spaghetti, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and garnished with parsley or basil.
How To Serve This
Spaghetti and meatballs is a dish best served among friends and family. There’s nothing like a big group enjoying a nice meal together and this classic is the perfect dinner to serve for a large group. I like to serve mine “family style” with a big plate in the middle of the table where everyone serves themselves. Paired with a nice, crunchy garlic bread and fresh caprese salad or chopped salad – it’s the ultimate dinner.
Tips On How To Get The Perfect Meatballs
- Use good quality meat! If you want the best meatballs you need a good meat. Protein with a higher fat content will make for the juiciest meatballs!
- Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty! Using your hands allows you to not over mix your meatballs. Over mixing can cause your meatballs to lose their texture quality. Wet your hands with water as needed to keep the meat mixture from sticking, this also makes it easier to roll the meatballs.
- Don’t use too much panko! While breadcrumbs are what give the meatballs their bulkiness and texture, you don’t want to overdo it. Using too much panko can make your meatballs stiff and dry.
- Handle your meatballs with care! When rolling your meatballs, you don’t want to pack them too tightly or they will become dense and lose moisture causing your meatballs to turn out chewy, tough and rubbery.
- Keep your meatballs the same size! This will allow them to cook evenly avoiding any burning or undercooking.
Can I Make This in Advance?
Bonus! Meatballs can be made a day in advance and cooked up to 24 hours later – just make sure to cover and store in the fridge. You can also cook your meatballs beforehand and refrigerate for up to three days before reheating.
Meatballs can also be stored in the freezer! They will last for up to a month when frozen raw – just form your balls and keep them in an airtight container in the freezer for convenient use. You can also do this with your homemade marinara sauce.
How to Store Leftovers
Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, pop in the microwave or skillet until heated through. You can use your leftover meatballs and sauce for meatball subs the next day! Yum!
To extend the life of your leftover meatballs or marinara sauce you can keep these in the freezer in an airtight container for up to three months.
Did You Like This Recipe? Try These:
- Spaghetti Carbonara
- Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
- Chicken Meatballs Alfredo
- Chicken Bacon Pasta with Tomato Sauce
- Chicken Parmesan
- The Best Lasagna
- Chicken Alfredo Bake
- One Pot Spaghetti
- Gnocchi Recipe
- Beef Ragu
- Pasta Alla Norma
- Chicken Piccata Pasta
Craving More? Follow Along:
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 pound ground beef
- 2 large eggs
- 1 small onion grated
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 2/3 cups milk
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley finely chopped
Spaghetti and Meatballs
- 4 cups marinara sauce
- 1 pound spaghetti uncooked
Instructions
- Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions until it's al dente. Drain but reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water.
- Preheat the oven to 425 F degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix all the meatball ingredients together until well combined. Form the mixture into 1 1/2 inch meatballs. Wet your hands with water as needed to keep the meat mixture from sticking, this also makes it easier to roll the meatblls. You should end up with about 35 meatballs, depending on size.
- Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.
- Add the marinara sauce to a large pot or skillet and bring to a simmer. Remove half the sauce and toss with cooked spaghetti.
- Add the meatballs into the remaining sauce and toss. Reduce the heat to simmer the meatballs for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Serve the meatballs over spaghetti, sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and garnished with parsley or basil.
Tips & Notes:
- Recipe will yield about 35 meatballs, depending on size of meatballs.
- Meatballs can be made a day in advance and cooked up to 24 hours later – just make sure to cover and store in the fridge. You can also cook your meatballs beforehand and refrigerate for up to three days before reheating.
- Meatballs can also be stored in the freezer! They will last for up to a month when frozen raw – just form your balls and keep them in an airtight container in the freezer for convenient use. You can also do this with your homemade marinara sauce.
- Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, pop in the microwave or skillet until heated through. You can use your leftover meatballs and sauce for meatball subs the next day!
Sorry to ask, but what happens to the half cup pasta water, where do we add it?
It’s to add it to the sauce if you find the sauce is too thick, depends what consistency you’re looking for.
This is my first time making meatballs for spaghetti ( I ve done hamburgers) and your recipe is delicious. I tweaked it a bit by frying onions n garlic till aromatic n mix it when cooled. Thanks🌷
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Can I make up ahead and bake following day for potluck?!
Yeah you can certainly reheat it in the oven.
I keep checking from JoCooks to CravingHomeCooked. Love both sites. Great technique and flavours.
Thank you!