There’s nothing quite like a plate of homemade spaghetti and meatballs to bring warmth and comfort to the dinner table. Whether you’re cooking for your family, hosting friends, or simply craving a cozy meal, this classic dish never goes out of style.
In this post, I’ll walk you through my tried-and-true recipe for spaghetti and meatballs made from scratch. The meatballs are tender and flavorful, simmered in a rich, homemade tomato sauce that clings perfectly to the pasta. This is a great dinner to get your family to the table.
This dish has been a favorite in our home for years- and once you try it, I think it’ll become one of your favorites too.
Below, you’ll find the full recipe card you can print or save for later. After the recipe, I’ve added some step-by-step photos to show you the process and a few tips for making the best spaghetti and meatballs from scratch.
If you’re new to from-scratch-cooking, don’t worry-this is a great recipe to build your confidence in the kitchen. ♥️
Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1/4 cp olive oil
- 2 large onions
- 1 large can of tomatoes *
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 8 ounce can of tomato paste
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
- 2 T parsley
- 1/4 cp Parmesan & Romano cheese*
- 1 egg
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- 1 cp flour
Instructions
Instructions for the sauce
- Cover the bottom of a large Dutch oven with the 1/4 cup of olive oil, use less or more depending on the size of your pot just make sure the whole bottom is covered in oil. Next chop up your 2 large onions and add to your pan, sauté on medium, to medium high until the onions become translucent, add garlic clove or I just use minced garlic from a jar. Sauté another minute or 2. Add your large can of tomatoes. Juice and all, add tomato paste and salt and pepper. Mix together, bring to a boil and turn heat down to simmer. Put lid on and simmer for 3- 4 hours. Start making meatballs.
Instructions for Meatballs
- In a large bowl, add the ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, seasoning, cheese and egg. Mix all together and use a 1 inch cookie scoop to make meatballs. Roll meatballs in flour and add to a heated pan with oil and cook until browned, (it’s ok if the meatballs aren’t completely cooked through, they will finish cooking in the sauce.) Add meatballs to sauce. Keep lid on pot and Continue cooking for the 3 hours.
- Make sure you have your heat to simmer and check your pot ever so often to make sure it’s not cooking to fast. You want a slow cook here so the bottom doesn’t burn and you don’t want to be stirring too much or the meatballs can break down. After the 3 hours taste to see if it needs more salt or pepper. Serve over spaghetti. I usually make garlic bread or homemade French bread to go with this also.
Notes:
- The best tomatoes to use in this sauce is San Marzano tomatoes. They are from Italy. They are a plum tomato grown in San Marzano, in volcanic soil, have less seeds and have a smooth, sweet taste, and a perfect texture for melting in a sauce. You can use regular stewed tomatoes and it will be fine but if you can use the San Marzano, they won’t disappoint.
- The Parmesan/Romano cheese is just the kind you get in the green shaky jar.
- Last but not least I also add about 1-2T of sugar to my sauce , just to help chill out the acidity. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to but my family likes that hint of sweetness.
Instructions with photos:
Make the Meatball Mixture– combine the ground beef and ground pork, bread crumbs, seasonings, cheese,and egg. Mix throughly. Set aside and let’s start the sauce.
For the Sauce- cover the bottom of a Dutch oven with olive oil. Chop up your 2 large onions and cook until translucent about 10 minutes. Next add garlic and cook for about 2 minutes or until fragrant.
Next-add your large can of tomatoes and can of tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste, mix together, bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer and put the cover on your Dutch oven and let that start working its magic. See how easy this is! Now let’s get those meatballs going to add to your sauce.
Meatballs- Add flour to a shallow dish, using a 1 inch scoop, roll meat into a ball and roll in flour add to heated pan and cook until browned. You don’t need to worry if they are cooked through, they will finish cooking in the sauce.
Next add meatballs to your sauce after you ate finished browning them.
Next- Gently mix meatballs into sauce so they are coated in sauce. Then put the cover on and let cook for 3-4 hours. Take a peek every so often to make sure all is good. Don’t stir too often or you can break the meatballs and nobody wants that! Also make sure the heat isn’t too high , just a slow simmer. You don’t want it to burn.
Finished! This is what it looks finished. Now plate up some pasta and add your sauce and meatballs. You will be very pleased with yourself!
FROM MY HEARTH TO YOURS, ENJOY!
Becky♥️
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