Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs Recipe

Oh wow! These meatballs were phenomenal. I coated them in flour and sauteed them in olive oil first to seal in juices. I rolled them about the size of a silver dollar. This will be something I make often.

This was absolutly the most wonderful spaghetti. This was my first time making homemade spaghetti. I work long hours and don't have time at night to make a 2 hour meal, so what I did was use my slow cooker. In the morning i sauteed my onion and garlic, combined it with all the ingredience including half a can of tomato sauce for extra liquid since it tends to lose some in a slow cooker. Had my husband turn the cooker on low at his lunch, so the sauce cooked about 6 1/2 hours. one hour before the sauce was done, he put the meat balls in. We did end up adding the extra half a can of sauce just for liquid, but the flavor was amazing. By using the slow cooker for us working cooks, it was nice to come home to a ready made meal and good as this.

For Celeste, who found the meatballs too dry, may I suggest adding 1/2 cup of water, or milk, or tomato sauce to the meatballs? The eggs will bind them, but not make them moister - adding liquid makes them exquisitely tender and juicy. Also, if you want a lighter meatball, substitute oatmeal for the breadcrumbs - measure it first, then run it briefly in the blender so you won't have any big bits in the meatballs. I added 1.5 tsp oregano and 3 tsp basil; added 1 tsp seasoned salt, 1 medium green pepper. I was very, very happy with the sauce. Put it into a 250 degree oven while I cooked other stuff, for about 2 hours,it was wonderful. :D

Loved this. Changed a few things. Two tins of chop tomatoes (I recommend Mutti), cook for 30 mins max not 90 as that’s why people complained about lack of flavour. You cook out the flavour of salt and herbs if you simmer for 90 minutes and again for 20 also why some said too sweet. Brown sugar instead as I had it. 1 tsp of oregano. 2 bay leaves maybe 3 if not fresh ones. (I used fresh off my tree) Drop the raw meatballs in and cover with sauce and put a lid on and bring to a high simmer and then put a lid on a turn it down low/medium and do not remove the lid again until 20 minutes. The meatballs came out perfectly cooked and soft. Me, Kids and husband loved it. I can’t comment on the meatballs as I bought sainsburys organic ones as only slightly more than a pack of mince and less time wasted.

Super simple and very delicious! My variations: added an anchovy to the onion & garlic saute and deglazed when done with 1/4 cup red wine, mashed tomatoes after 90 minute simmer, then made a smooth and slightly creamy sauce with an immersion blender before adding the meatballs.

Definitely a keeper. I'm on a low sodium diet so I substituted low sodium tomatoes and gran padano cheese instead of parmesan. I also pureed the tomato sauce with a hand processor before adding the meatballs. Also reduced the bread crumbs to 1/2 cup.

1) I think it would make more sense to start with the sauce and then prepare the meatballs, since they aren't added until the last 30 minutes. That reduces the start-to-finish time, since the sauce needs to simmer for 90 minutes at the beginning. 2) I followed the meatball recipe almost exactly, except that I added a little bit of salt based on some of the other reviews and soaked the bread crumbs in a half cup of milk (I did a 1.5× recipe). I also used 80/20 ground beef, which isn't really "lean", I suppose, so I baked them for a bit first before adding them to the sauce in order to let some of the fat drain out and to crisp up the outside. My family found the meatballs to be lacking in flavor: quite frankly, they needed a lot more salt than the quarter teaspoon or so that I added. I would probably increase the salt to 1 tsp were I to make the recipe again. I also think the amount of garlic powder could be increased, and I would personally swap the parsley for a more flavorful herb or herb blend in the future. 3) The sauce, on the other hand, was very flavorful and delicious! I did have to make some substitutions regarding the type of tomato, given what I had on hand, but that only affects texture, not taste. I would definitely make the sauce again, and hopefully I will remember to buy whole canned tomatoes so that I can try it as written.

I’ve been making this for awhile now and have dialed it into my liking. First, I added a couple grated up carrots from the food processor as well as diced mushrooms to make the sauce thicker and give it a garden fresh twist. I sauté the veggies with the olive oil before adding anything. I use 2 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes instead of whole pealed, the sauce gets done much quicker this way. I also stir in a 1/4 cup dry red wine when I add the sugar. I sub the meatball version of this recipe for Chef John’s on this website and the dried basil for Italian seasoning. I garnish it with fresh chopped Italian parsley and fresh grated Parmesan cheese. This is a 10/10 every time, the kids ask for it once at least once a week and I couple it with homemade garlic bread. Thanks!

I loved this recipe. The sauce truly tastes so “fresh”. For the meatballs, I doubled everything because I added a pound of ground pork. I think good meatballs need ground pork to counteract any dryness. For the fresh breadcrumbs, I soaked them in just a small amount of milk. Other than using fresh herbs because my garden is overflowing with them, that’s the only changes I made. A tip for the meatballs - DONT over mix them. The less handled, the more tender.

For meatballs, I used 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 ground pork. For sauce I used (1) 28 oz can “Kitchen Ready” tomatoes and (1) 28 oz can tomato purée instead of the two cans listed. After sautéing vegetables, I added all to the pot at once, brought to a boil then simmered one hour. I then added (1) lb sweet Italian sausage and the meatballs. Simmered for 30-60 minutes more. Delicious!

I made a few modifications. I used a little more garlic, added parsley to the sauce. I use an immersion blender as it cooked down. I also only used 3/4 cup of bread crumbs and more parm. The outcome was absolutely wonderful. I crave spaghetti and meatballs every now again. Really good!!!

I make this time and time again. It is a family favorite.

I made this recipe just as it says, except After onion and garlic rue I just added all ingredients to the sauce at the beginning. Also I baked the meatballs separately and added to sauce after. Delicious!!

I’ve been making this recipe for years! We absolutely love it! Every time I make it I get compliments!!!! 😊

Cooked many times now. I use shop bought meatballs, brown them off when there is 30 minutes left of the sauce cooking time and then add them to the sauce for the remaining time. I normally use one can of plum tomatoes, and one can of cherry tomatoes to mix things up a bit. Oh, I'm never shy when it comes to adding basil either! Fabulous recipe. It's also our goto pizza sauce now, for that we add some oregano too.

My go to!!!

I love this recipe. I add a grated carrot and some fresh thyme to the sauce for the last half hour.

Fast, simple, and insanely good.

Simple recipe. Delicious.

We love this recipe! For the folks that find the meatballs dry or tough, please be mindful that it specifically calls for fresh breadcrumbs. The ratio is different if you use the store bought crumbs.