Spaghetti and Meatballs
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This spaghetti and meatball recipe is the ultimate weeknight family dinner — quick, easy, and picky eater-approved!
This is my go-to recipe for spaghetti and meatballs. With a quick 45-minute cook time, it’s perfect for busy weeknights and sure to please even the pickiest eaters. The meatballs are juicy and packed with flavor, with a fork-tender texture that keeps everyone coming back for more. To make things easy and save on mess, I brown the meatballs in the oven on a sheet pan instead of pan-frying them on the stovetop. I also use a good quality store-bought marinara sauce to save time, but feel free to use homemade tomato sauce if you have some on hand.
For more family-friendly Italian recipes (everybody loves Italian!), try my baked ziti, stuffed shells, and chicken parmesan. For an alternative to beef meatballs, try my favorite turkey meatballs.
What You’ll Need To Make Spaghetti and Meatballs
For the most flavorful meatballs (or meatloaf), I recommend using equal parts beef, veal, and pork; at most supermarkets, this blend is labeled “meatloaf mix.” If your market doesn’t carry the blend, you can use half beef and half pork (since ground veal isn’t readily available).
For the cheese, be sure to use the real-deal imported Parmigiano-Reggiano from Italy; domestic Parmesan pales in comparison. You can always tell if it’s authentic by looking at the rind, which is embossed with the name over and over. If the cheese is already grated, it should be labeled “Parmigiano-Reggiano,” not “Parmesan.”
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin with the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the egg, basil, parsley, oregano, salt, pepper, garlic and water; whisk well.
Add the meat, breadcrumbs and Parmigiano Reggiano. meatball recipe
Mix with your hands until just combined.
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 the oven and use a metal spatula or tongs 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. Drain, then toss with the sauce and meatballs.
Transfer the spaghetti and meatballs to serving bowls and top with fresh chopped basil and more grated cheese.
You may also like
- Turkey, Spinach & Cheese Meatballs
- Bolognese
- Chicken Meatballs with Tomato-Balsamic Glaze
- Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli
- Turkey Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
- Cacio e Pepe
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. Drain, then toss with the sauce and meatballs (you may find it easier to toss everything together in the pasta pot rather than the skillet; it depends on the sizes of pans you are using.). 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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Made these for dinner and it was a hit! The meatballs were so tender and flavorful!
A big thank you for this recipe. My grand-daughter said “These are amazing”! Will definitely be cooking them again. Everyone enjoyed them.
Hi Jenn, quick question I want make these but only have curly parsley (hubby grab the wrong one at the store). Can I use it instead and would it be the same amount?
Thanks 🙂
Sure that’s perfectly fine, Sharon. Enjoy!
Fantastic! Improvised a bit – used turkey, dried basil and parsley and upped the fresh garlic a bit. So…good. Very moist and flavorful! My family loved the meal!
Made the meatballs exactly per the recipe – they were absolutely incredible! Everyone loved them. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
These meatballs were good but didn’t wow me. I followed the recipe exactly, except I didn’t bake the meatballs, I pan fried them. I just thought there was too much breading in the meatballs and even though the meatballs were well seasoned, I didn’t get that “this is amazing” feeling. Not the best I’ve had, not the worst.
Jen, thank you for all of your wonderful recipes. I learned to cook as a twenty year old, from Delia Smith ( I’m 64 now) I have enjoyed making many of your recipes, as much as my family have enjoyed eating them! This recipe is equally successful! Again many thanks 😊
Amazing! Best meatballs I’ve ever made!
WOW! I can finally make meatballs! My family loved them and they were easy and quick to make. Highly recommend this recipe it is absolutely delicious!!!!!
Please share the Marinara recipe with me.
Thanks,
Nicky
Hi Nicky, I don’t have a recipe of my own for marinara sauce yet; it’s on my list of recipes to develop. My favorite store-bought one is Rao’s if you want to give it a try. 🙂
Very good, couldn’t find meatloaf mix so I used beef and sausage. I think at this time I was lucky to find that. Thanks for all of your very good recipes. I have tried many!
I rarely made meatballs, but decided to try this recipe, and I couldn’t believe it was so easy yet tasty. Also, baking the meatballs eliminates a lot of the runoff grease and cleanup was a snap. My family loved it and I will definitely be making this again!
Great recipe made this last night veal was too expensive so I just used equal parts grass fed beef and mild Italian sausage added some pepper flakes and an angry pasta sauce. Thank you for the recipe
Made this tonight and we loved it! I’m so glad you suggested Rao’s marinara sauce. I had to look and see who carried that brand, was more expensive but it’s so worth it! Sweeter tasting, not as acidic as the other brands. Thanks again for a great recipe.
Delicious and so easy. The meatballs were so light and tasty. I used panko, with tons of basil and parsley from our crazy crop victory garden. And Rao’s is always standard in our household so it came together easily.
Thanks, Jenn – another home run. It’s funny how many times your recipes are discussed on zoom calls. Everyone agrees that your recipes are always on target. Thanks.
I’m so flattered that my recipes have been mentioned on your Zoom calls!!! 🙂
Another great recipe! The meatballs are better than anything I’ve had.
One of many recipes I’ve made from your site. Your recipes are simple, with good ingredients and not over thought. I already have about 5 others bookmarked I need to try.
I am Italian and I love and dearly miss my mother’s meatballs. I was always afraid to make meatballs because I knew they would not be “my mom’s”. I trust Jenn and all of her recipes, not one failure ever. So I tried them and OMG they are VERY good. Not mom’s but maybe a new tradition, one I can make my own. Thanks Jenn for another great recipe and taking the fear out of making a great meatball.
-Roselle
So glad you enjoyed them! I hope they brought back good memories. 💗
Everyone…you need to make this! I followed this recipe to a T and it’s just the right amount of everything. Meatballs are sooo tender and full of flavor (I used my fingers to mix until JUST mixed together or they get too dense) I used Rao’s homemade marinara sauce. Every recipe of Jenn’s is 5STAR and I’ve made a ton of them!
Best Meatballs 👍🏼
Tried this recipe today. So easy and so delicious! Used dried herbs as I didn’t have fresh on hand, still it turned out fantastic!!
And oh I used only beef! Next time I might try with just lamb or half beef half lamb. Any meat would work perfectly in my opinion.
Happy Mother’s Day Jenn…….could I use asiago as I do not have enough parmesan?
Thank you
Sure, Debbie – that should still be delicious. 🙂
Hi Jenn
I love all your recipes! My son’s birthday is on Sunday and he loves spaghetti with meatballs, I only have ground beef would that work instead of the mix? Thanks so much
So glad you like the recipes! Yes, all ground beef will work here. Hope your son’s birthday is great! 🙂
Thank you so much for your amazing recipes!! We really enjoy the delicious food. So grateful for your website!
❤️
Made the spaghetti & meatballs for supper tonight without the veal as it was not available at two stores. We do not sell Rao’s Marinara sauce here in my province of Canada. I used a marinara sauce that I feel is pretty darn tasty with a few add ins as you do. Other than that I followed the recipe. It was delicious. Thank you for a fantastic recipe.
Hi Jenn,
another question for you.
Would a flax seed egg work here?
My son cannot have any eggs.
Thank you.
Ivan
Hi Ivana, I’ve never used flax eggs, but I suspect you could get away with it here. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Our local grocery store didn’t have lamb or regular pork sausage. I had to use Mild Italian Sausage and 70/30 hamburger. Also, no Parmigiano Reggiano, so I used imported Parmesan. It still came out AMAZING!! I used your homemade pasta sauce with basil and it was so very delicious. Thank you!!
Absolutely delicious!!!!! Thank you!
Absolutely delicious! I only had dried herbs on hand and plain breadcrumbs. Used 2 tsps of each basil and oregano and the meatballs were well seasoned.
Best meatballs I’ve ever made! I’ve tried many recipes and these were so moist and tasty!! I’ve finally found a meat ball recipe I can return to!! Thank you!
This a favorite with my family. We have been making it weekly. Delish!!
You are the best 👍🏻💞
❤️
Would you please post a marinara recipe when you get a chance? I think Rao’s is great but it’s expensive. I do not like the New York Times’ marinara recipe (much too thin and it comes out orange). Would love your advice.
Sure, Moni, I will add marinara sauce to my list of recipes to potentially develop. 🙂
I agree with Moni…please…I’m sure you will have a great one. I love marinara but I’m always disappointed when I make it at home.
Delicious! Another good one. Thanks Jenn.
Hi Jenn, if I’m making these meatballs using all beef, how lean should I get the beef? Is 90% ok, or should I go for the 85% lean? Thanks so much for all of your great recipes! You are one of my go to places when I’m looking for a recipe that is sure to be a success!
So glad you like the recipes, Hafsa! I’d probably go for the 85% variety of ground beef. Enjoy!
I am making these today and would prefer to freeze them without sauce so I can decide how many to defrost at a time. Would they be ok if I did that?
Yep 🙂
If I use plain breadcrumbs, should I add more herbs? Or should I just buy the Italian breadcrumbs? – Jane
Hi Jane, You can use plain — just add a pinch more salt and a bit more herbs.
Made this the other evening and it turned out great. The meatballs topped it off. I did find rolling them out to golf ball size a bit difficult but found that using a table spoon measure filled the bill nicely. Using that, I got 24 nicely sized meatballs. Used half and froze the others.
I just made this for lunch (now our biggest meal of the day) today and my husband and I both thought the meatballs were delicious. I appreciated the oven time for them as lots of the fat just naturally cooked out of them! I made my own sauce this time but who knows about next time. Options are nice. I did, however, omit the veal and still we thought the meal was so good.
I’m going to make these Kosher using all beef. Do I need to add something since I’m omitting the cheese?
Thanks
Hi Susan, I’d just omit the cheese — they’ll still be good. 🙂
I grew up with my Napolitan grandparents and this looks like a really good, authentic Italian recipe (save for the jarred sauce, lol), but one thing my grandmother did that I never seem to see in recipes is she cooked the meatballs ENTIRELY in the sauce, no browning or baking first, and they always come out delicious, without any browning or skin on them, soft, silky, and delicious. Just offering a little glimpse into Nonna’s technique!
Once again – another superb recipe! We used the meatball recipe and made some quick and easy meatball sliders. Thank you Jenn!!
Even though I was afraid my meatballs would fall apart, they did not, and they were very good.
I used all sirloin because it’s what I had. Really liked the ease of using store bought sauce and thought Rao’s was an excellent choice.
Absolutely delicious and quick and easy-thanks once again for a great recipe!
Made this tonight, and we really enjoyed it. We had the Big Italian salad with it, and also really liked that dressing. Thanks for another great meal!
This is a great recipe and it can be tailored to your own particular taste, for example, type of meat, more or less salt, heat, portions of herbs, etc. We had unexpected guests for dinner at our ranch last weekend and this dish came together quickly and with a small dinner salad,
garlic bread and your apple crisp (which I had made the day before) everyone was happy except for the outcome of the LSU/Texas game.
A couple of slight alterations were 1 TBP Worcestershire, one-fourth teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 Teaspoon red pepper flakes, one fourth finely diced onion and two pounds lean sirloin. I used Rao’s Arrabiata sauce to kick it up. Also put a pan of hot water in the stove to help keep meatballs from breaking up. My wife and the guests thought the dinner was great as did I. Thanks so much for your work and of course I have your book. RW from Rocky Creek Ranch
I bought 1lb each ground beef, veal and pork therefore I doubled the recipe. I loved the flavor of these meatballs. They are good for spaghetti and I’m planning to use some for meatball subs. I used all dried herbs, so I used 75% of the recommended seasoning. I’m sure fresh would elevate the dish. I’ll do that next time.
I made this recipe last night for my boyfriend and myself. I didn’t change a thing in this recipe aside from using the leftover basil in the sauce. The fresh basil really elevated the meatballs and I love how the meatballs are finished in the sauce. My boyfriend couldn’t stop raving about how much he loved this! I will definitely be making an extra batch to freeze next time.
We just went on a vacation to Chicago and this was better than all of the Italian we had there. So good doesn’t even begin to describe.
The whole family loved this recipe – even my daughter who hates tomato based pasta sauces! Thank you Jenn!
My kids requested these meatballs with spaghetti for their birthday dinner this week! To make them ahead of time, I baked them at 350 for 30 minutes, turning once. After cooling completely, I popped them in the freezer to have for later in the week. I also used a mixture of half ground beef and half pork in my batch. I agree with the other reviewers that a bit more salt helped lift these meatballs. Otherwise, it’s a solid recipe.
Dear Jenn,
I have been making meatballs and sauce for many years…my grandfathers recipe! But finding pork ground five times isn’t easy anymore. So, I went looking and, of course, found a delicious meatball recipe on your blog. These meatballs are so tender, my very first requirement and one not easy to find. I might use just a tad fewer herbs, but even so, the best meatball recipe I have had since my Grandpa’s!
These meatballs were delicious and so simple to make! Thank you Jenn! I love that you bake them and not fry them. I think meatballs without a doubt should have sausage in them but unfortunately I did not have any on hand. I followed the recipe using only ground beef and they were really good. This recipe is definitely a keeper