A delicious homemade recipe for Italian meatballs and spaghetti in a marinara sauce recipe! A family favorite that is easy to prepare and I always make extra to freeze meatballs for another meal! Authentic Italian meatball and spaghetti dinner, you won't be disappointed, these are delicious!
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Italian meatballs always remind me of my Mom! Why would Italian meatballs remind me of an Irish-American Mother, because my Mom taught me how to make these when I was a little girl. My Mom is a self-taught cook who has always made great food but her Mama Murphy meatballs are always amazing. Mom got her original recipe idea from a neighbor on our block who was a great Italian cook. No measuring was really every done but they were always incredibly tasty and a family favorite! I have changed my recipe slightly over the years and I have different versions of my Italian meatballs. I go back and forth with the ingredients because I am extremely conscientious of my family's cholesterol intake so I am always changing the egg combination and type of breadcrumb that I use to make these. This particular recipe is using 90% lean ground meat! I use an eggs, low-fat milk, and seasoned Italian breadcrumbs.
Everyday tip - I always make extra meatballs to freeze a batch for another meal! These are perfect in the slow-cooker! When I am making extra meatballs to be frozen, I spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray, I place the extra meatball on the cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for about a half hour and let them cool and place into freezer bags for future meals!!
I know many who like to fry their meatballs. I confess, I do not like my meatballs fried. I like to make a marinara sauce and add in my meatballs and let them simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. Then I gently stir occasionally until the meatballs are cooked, 45-60 minutes, major deliciousness!! The key to a tender meatball is to not overwork the meat mixture as you form the meatballs!!
These can be made the night before you would like to serve them. I personally feel they taste even better the second day. Serve these Italian meatballs with a pound of whole wheat or fiber-enriched spaghetti and a side salad like Weight Watchers Caesar Salad with Poblano Dressing!! I made these at the end of last week and I think I am going to take a few frozen meatballs out of the freezer for dinner tomorrow! These pictures are making me hungry!
I would love to hear how you make your meatballs! What type of meat do you use? What's your cooking method? I hope you try mine and enjoy!
When you make one of my recipes, tag me with #everydayeileen so I can see what you are making I will share it too!
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Thank you for always sharing my passion and love for food and family!
xo! Eileen
#This recipe was originally published in September 2015, I have made some updates to the original recipe!
📖 Recipe
Italian Meatballs and Spaghetti
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Equipment Needed:
Ingredients
- ¼ cup dry red wine
- 2 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 1 ounce can diced tomatoes liquid drained
- 1 6 ounce can tomato paste
- 1 6 ounce can water use the tomato paste can
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon ground fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- Italian Meatballs:
- 2 ½ pounds ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- 280 grams Italian bread about ½ loaf
- 8 - 10 ounces milk
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon fresh parsley finely chopped
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 small onion grated
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tespoon black pepper
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Instructions
- Marinara Sauce
- In a large pan, over medium heat, add olive oil. Add the onions until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and stir about another minute.
- Add the red wine and stir for 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, bay leaf, ground fennel seeds, basil, oregano, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Let simmer over low heat while preparing the Italian meatballs.
- Italian Meatballs
- In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, Italian seasoned breadcrumbs, milk, Parmesan cheese, beaten eggs, finely minced garlic, finely minced onion, salt, and pepper.
- Use your hands to form meatballs, around 2 inches each.
- Add the formed meatball to the Marinara Sauce, cover pot and allow to simmer around 15 minutes.
- Gently stir the meatballs, being careful not to break any of the meatballs.Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally for another 44-60 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through.
- Remove bay leaf. Check seasoning.
- Serve over spaghetti.
