Spaghetti and Meatballs
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When it comes to family dinner, nothing beats a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs—easy enough for weeknights, special enough for Sunday supper.
This is my go-to recipe for spaghetti and meatballs. It’s perfect for busy weeknights and always a hit with the whole family (even the picky eaters). The meatballs are juicy, flavorful, and fork-tender—the kind that keep everyone coming back for seconds.
To save time and cut down on mess, I brown the meatballs in the oven on a sheet pan instead of pan-frying them on the stove. I also use a good-quality store-bought marinara (Rao’s is my favorite), but if you have homemade tomato sauce on hand, by all means use it.
For more family-friendly Italian meatball recipes, try my turkey meatballs or chicken piccata meatballs—both family favorites.
“I don’t think I’ve ever commented on a recipe in my 40+ years of life but OMG!! These meatballs were fantastic…My husband said they even rival my Sicilian mother-in-law’s so that’s saying something!!”
What You’ll Need To Make Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Ground meat: The most flavorful meatballs (and meatloaf) come from a blend of beef, pork, and veal (often sold as “meatloaf mix”). If your store doesn’t carry it, use half beef and half pork (veal can be hard to find).
- Egg & water: Help bind the meatballs and keep them moist.
- Breadcrumbs & cheese: Italian-style breadcrumbs (like Progresso) for texture, plus freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for rich, nutty flavor. Be sure to use authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano imported from Italy — you can spot it by the rind, which is embossed with the name. If it’s pre-grated, check the label to make sure it says “Parmigiano-Reggiano,” not just “Parmesan.” Domestic Parmesan is milder and can’t compare in flavor.
- Garlic, herbs & seasoning: Minced garlic adds savory depth; basil and parsley keep things fresh; oregano gives that classic Italian note. Don’t forget salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper to make all the flavors pop.
- Marinara sauce: Go for a good-quality brand (I love Rao’s) for the best flavor.
- Spaghetti: The classic pasta pairing—cook until al dente so it holds up well to the sauce.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Start the meatball mixture. In a large bowl, combine the egg, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic and water; whisk well.
Step 2: Mix in the meat, breadcrumbs, and cheese. Add the meatloaf mixture, seasoned breadcrumbs and Parmigiano Reggiano to the wet ingredients and mix with your hands until evenly combined.
Step 3: Form the meatballs. Roll the mixture into golf ball–sized meatballs and place them on an ungreased, unlined baking sheet. Direct contact with the pan helps them brown and makes flipping easier—on foil, they’re more likely to stick.
Step 4: Bake. Pop the meatballs in the oven for about 10 minutes, then pull out the baking sheet and use a metal spatula or tongs to turn them. They may stick a little, so you’ll need to nudge the spatula underneath to loosen them. Return the meatballs to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, until they’re nicely browned and almost cooked through.
Step 5: Simmer the meatballs. While the meatballs finish baking, bring the marinara sauce to a simmer in a large skillet. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed (I usually add a good pinch of sugar and some freshly ground black pepper). Add the browned meatballs to the sauce, leaving the fat behind, then cover loosely with a lid or foil and let them simmer for about 10 minutes, until the flavors come together and the meatballs are cooked through. Keep warm until ready to toss with pasta.
Step 6: Cook the Spaghetti. While the meatballs simmer, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Drop in the spaghetti and cook until al dente, then drain in a colander—but be sure to save a cup of the cooking water in case you want to loosen the sauce later.
Step 7: Toss and serve. Add the drained pasta to the skillet with the meatballs and sauce, tossing everything together until well coated. If the sauce looks a little tight, splash in some of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up. Divide among bowls and finish with fresh basil and plenty of grated cheese.
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Spaghetti & Meatballs
This spaghetti and meatball recipe is the ultimate weeknight family dinner—quick, easy, and picky eater-approved!
Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil (plus more for serving)
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup water
- 1½ pounds ground "meatloaf mix" (approximately equal parts ground beef, pork and veal)
- ¾ cup dried Italian style bread crumbs (such as Progresso)
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (plus more for serving)
- Large jar (32 oz) good quality Marinara sauce (such as Rao's)
- 1 pound spaghetti
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic and water. Add the meat, breadcrumbs and cheese and mix until just combined (your hands are the best tool). Do not overwork it.
- Roll the mixture into golf ball-sized meatballs and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes, then remove the baking sheet from oven and use a metal spatula to turn the meatballs (they will stick a bit but should release easily when you scrape under them with the spatula). Put the meatballs back in the oven and cook for another 10 minutes, until they are nicely browned and almost cooked through.
- In the meantime, bring the marinara sauce to a simmer in a large skillet. Taste it and adjust the seasoning if necessary (I usually add a healthy pinch of sugar and some freshly ground black pepper). Transfer the browned meatballs to the marinara sauce, leaving the fat behind. Cover loosely with a lid or foil and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the flavors marry and the meatballs are cooked through. Keep warm until ready to toss with pasta.
- While the meatballs are cooking, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente. Reserve about a cup of the cooking water, then drain. Toss the pasta with the sauce and meatballs (you may find it easier to do this in the pasta pot rather than the skillet, depending on the size of your pans). If the sauce seems dry, add a splash of the reserved pasta water to loosen it. Serve topped with fresh basil and more grated cheese.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cooked meatballs can be frozen, in their sauce, for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, defrost overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stovetop until the meatballs are hot in the center.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 731
- Fat: 29 g
- Saturated fat: 10 g
- Carbohydrates: 78 g
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 37 g
- Sodium: 897 mg
- Cholesterol: 116 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I use milk to moisten meatballs instead of water and my secret ingredient is a dash of ground nutmeg to the mixture. I also always fry my meatballs never bake.
My IN-LAWS (from Rome, Italy) would be turning over in their graves IF I used basil,onion and oregano in my meatballs. And Romano is the cheese of choice in our meatballs.I use Ilio DiPaolo’s bread crumbs..The crumbs are seasoned with ROMANO and parsley.
OREGANO IS ONLY FOR PIZZA…Not sauce/not meatballs.
Carol, My in-laws are from just outside of Rome and the same here…. use only seasoned bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper in the meatballs. She said the sauce will absorb the seasoning from the meatballs (because I cook the meatballs in the sauce) and the meatballs will absorb the seasoning from the sauce. I put slightly sauted garlic, fresh parsley and onion and then add red wine & parmesian in my sauce. As a matter of fact, we’re making sauce from the tomatoes in our garden now.
I forgot, I chop up the leaves of celery and then drop a piece of celery in the sauce while it’s cooking. It helps take the acidity out of it! Never use sugar!!
Essentially a good recipe…BUT, ground veal is either too expensive or non-existent. I haven’t seen ground veal in a supermarket in many years. Ditto the meatball mix. The butchers at Krogers and Publix will be happy to grind the $14.95 per pound veal cutlets, etc. if and when they have it. I have taken to use ground chicken or turkey in its stead. I’ve been making Italian style meatballs for over 55 years, and my recipe is very similar, but I deep fry my meatballs and never bake them.
I bake my meat ball too but , but I place a rack in the pan so the meatballs don’t set in the grease at all
I use a similar recipe but don’t fry or bake the meatballs. I throw them into a crockpot with the sauce and let them cook in the sauce on low for several hours. The absorb some of the sauce and are extremely tender and moist.
George, I used to put the meatballs raw right into the sauce too, but my husband (who is the Italian) wanted me to fry them a little first. To get any grease out of the sauce, just cool it overnight and the grease will harden on top and you can scoop it all out. They taste so much better cooked in the sauce!
The secret is to use ground chuck (it’s not as dense and will maintain the flavor and juices), add ingrediants, roll meatballs, fry but not completely done. You want the center to be raw so that it soaks up the spaghetti sauce as they simmer and finish cooking in the sauce. They must cook in the sauce a minimum of 4 hrs. The next day is always better (about 8 hrs of cooking). The flavors from the meatballs will also add great flavor to the sauce.
For those west coasters – surely you must have butcher shops in California! Someone mentioned a particular one not far from me for another item, and to be honest, I was so used to the convenience of my local supermarket, I totally forgot to go to the butcher shop…. they’re usually at small neighborhood stores. My recipe is also quite similar to so many. Everyone says that my sauce always tastes better the next day, even tho I simmer it all afternoon. I also add a small pork roast, small piece of beef, sweet Italian sausage to the sauce. mmmmm.
I neglected to mention pignoli nuts. Other family members prefer to add raisins in the meatballs, which I hate, so I’ll half the meat, put raisins in half of them. No basil, parsley or oregano. Also, never use powders, but chopped garlic & minced onions. My mom used to braise the meats & fry the sausage & meatballs and add the bits on the bottom of the pan in the sauce for additional taste. Nowadays, there’s usually just teflon coated pans, so there’s no sticking left.. We also never called it gravy, but sauce. My dad was from Italy & “taught” my mother to cook Italian….. “THAT does NOT taste like my mother made it!” So she learned through trial and error, as his mother had passed away prior to her meeting. Later people thought SHE was the Italian, not him! .;)
just saying that i have always broiled my meatballs. I started doing this when i had gallbladder issues. cuts out a lot of the grease and as mentioned better for you. Takes only about 5 minutes, then simmer with your sauce.
i don’t fry or bake my meatballs—i put them directly in to the sauce, it think that makes for a very tender, tasty mb & it gives additional flavor to the sauce. i also don’t use any herb except italian parsley.the type of grated cheese you use is more of a person preference. since my family comes from the naples region, we use romano. for all you people who can’t find a beef/pork/veal mixture—most stores will grind a mixture for you==all you have to do is pick what cut of meat you want from the meat case. the ratio is generally 1 lb beef, 1/4 lb pork, 1/4 veal.. this way you can control the amount of fat in your mixture, & if you can’t find veal, you can always substiture turkey just ask the butcher to grind the meats separately & then grind the mixture a 2nd time with all 3 meats so the are completely mixed together. .
80/20 ground beef, locatelli romano cheese, fresh onion, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, eggs, breadcrumbs w/ a bit of water, salf and pepper. used to fry, but switched over the baking and they taste great. Must have home made “gravy”…use lots of cheese in the sauce along with a few small carrots to “sweeten” the sauce naturally…takes the “bite” out of the acidity of the tomatoes The fresher the ingredients, the better the final product. Making it this way for close to 40 years…