Go Back Email Link
–+ servings
healthy Italian meatballs and homemade marinara over spaghetti
Print

Italian Meatballs and Spaghetti

A delicious homemade recipe for Italian meatballs and spaghetti in a Marinara sauce! Super easy to prepare and a perfect recipe to make extra Italian meatballs to freeze for later! A tasty old family recipe!
Course Main Dish
Cuisine Italian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 8 servings
Calories 546kcal
Author Eileen Murphy Kelly

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
  • 2 cups Italian bread, diced, packed about 100 grams
  • 1 cup 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 teaspoon black pepper

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.

Notes

I prefer to use my mini food processor to finely chop the garlic and onion for the meatballs

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 546kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 1075mg | Potassium: 1283mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 860IU | Vitamin C: 18.5mg | Calcium: 322mg | Iron: 8.2mg
QR Code linking back to recipe