The best spaghetti and meatballs
- Preparation 30 min
- Cooking 1 h
- Servings 4 to 6
- Freezing Absolutely
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🍝 The Italian classic, my way
The best spaghetti and meatballs is exactly what this dish embodies for me: a tomato sauce that simmers gently, juicy meatballs that cook slowly in it, and al dente pasta that coats perfectly at the end. It’s an Italian classic my way with a signature combo: medium-lean ground beef AND mild Italian sausage meat. Italian sausage naturally brings the fennel, fat and depth that no other ground meat mixture can give. Pair that with bread soaked in milk, parmesan reggiano, lemon zest for freshness and you get meatballs that melt in your mouth.
🍅 The two secrets for perfect sauce and meatballs
First secret for the meatballs: DON’T overwork the meat. Mix just enough to incorporate all the ingredients, then stop. Too much kneading compacts the meat and gives you dense, rubbery meatballs. Bread soaked in milk is the key for tender meatballs. It aerates the meat and keeps moisture during cooking. Second secret for the sauce: use whole San Marzano tomatoes and crush them by HAND in the pot. The blender makes the sauce too smooth and loses the authentic Italian rustic texture. And most importantly, simmer the sauce 30 minutes BEFORE adding the meatballs. It allows the flavors of onion, garlic, red wine and herbs to develop properly.
🏡 The comforting dinner for 4 to 6 people
My best spaghetti and meatballs is exactly the kind of recipe for entertaining friends that brings everyone together around the table. Perfect for a Sunday family dinner, a comforting meal on a winter Saturday night, or to impress guests with an Italian classic made from scratch. The sauce simmers while you prepare the meatballs, the meatballs cook in the sauce, the pasta cooks at the same time. In one hour flat, you have an authentic Italian dish that’s completely out of the ordinary. And bonus: the sauce with meatballs freezes beautifully, so double the recipe to have leftovers ready for weeknight dinners when you don’t feel like cooking.
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🥩 Beef + mild Italian sausage combo
The secret of my best spaghetti and meatballs is this combo rather than the classic beef-veal-pork. Mild Italian sausage meat naturally brings the fennel, fat and depth of flavor that no ground meat mixture alone can give. Simply remove the casing from the sausage and use the meat. If you want to push further, get hot Italian sausage for an extra kick.
🍞 Bread soaked in milk, NEVER dry breadcrumbs
The authentic Italian technique for tender meatballs: day-old crusty bread, finely chopped and soaked in milk for 10 minutes. The bread absorbs the milk, swells, and when you incorporate it into the meat, it aerates the mixture and keeps moisture during cooking. Store-bought dry breadcrumbs give dense, flat meatballs in comparison.
🤲 DON’T overwork the meat
Mix just enough to incorporate all ingredients, then stop. Too much kneading compacts the meat and gives you dense, dry, rubbery meatballs. My meatballs are ping-pong ball size. Big enough to stay juicy in the center, small enough to cook evenly in 25 minutes in the sauce.
🍅 San Marzano tomatoes crushed by HAND
San Marzano are the ultimate Italian tomatoes for sauce. Sweet, low acid, meaty. Pour them in a bowl with the juice, then crush by hand to get a rustic texture with chunks. Avoid the blender which makes the sauce too smooth and loses Italian authenticity. If you can’t find them, quality Italian peeled tomatoes work fine.
🍷 Dry red wine in the sauce
Half a cup of dry red wine deglazed before adding tomatoes brings a depth that sauce without alcohol never has. Aim for a wine you’d drink. An Italian Primitivo, Chianti or Côtes du Rhône at $12-15 does the job. Pour the rest in your glass while the sauce simmers.
🍋 Lemon zest: the twist that changes everything
It’s my personal addition that sets my meatballs apart from classic versions. The zest of one lemon finely grated into the meatball mixture brings a subtle freshness that balances the richness of the meat and brings out other flavors. You don’t taste lemon in your mouth, but the absence would be felt.
⏱️ Two-stage simmering: sauce 30 min, then meatballs 25 min
The sauce simmers 30 minutes alone to develop its flavors before the meatballs are added. Then the meatballs cook 25 minutes in the sauce. They absorb the tomato juices, and their slow cooking keeps their center juicy. Turn them halfway through for even cooking.
✅ What to serve with my best spaghetti and meatballs?
My spaghetti and meatballs is a complete meal on its own, but to push the Italian side all the way, serve it with my salade de roquette au balsamique blanc for peppery freshness or my Cheesy garlic bread to mop up the sauce on the plate. For a more copious Italian buffet, add my Panzanella with arugula and fennel or my Burrata, Peach & Tomato Salad with Honey Dressing.
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Meatballs
- 500 g medium-lean ground beef
- 500 g mild Italian sausage meat
- 150 g day-old crusty bread, finely chopped
- ½ cup (125 ml) milk
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup (190 ml) finely grated parmesan reggiano
- ¼ cup (60 ml) fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, grated
- ½ tsp (2.5 ml) ground fennel
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Tomato sauce
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- ½ cup (125 ml) dry red wine
- 1 can (796 ml) whole San Marzano tomatoes, hand-crushed
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) tomato paste
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp (5 ml) dried basil
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp (5 ml) sugar
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
Finishing
- 454 g spaghetti
- 1 cup (250 ml) pasta cooking water (reserved)
- Parmesan reggiano shavings
- Fresh basil leaves
- Olive oil (optional, for serving)
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Preparation
Meatballs
- Place bread in milk, let absorb for 10 minutes, then drain well.
- In a large bowl, mix the meats, drained bread, eggs, parmesan, parsley, garlic, ground fennel and lemon zest. Season generously with salt and pepper. Mix gently, without overworking the meat.
- Form meatballs the size of ping-pong balls. Set aside.
Tomato sauce
- Cook onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring.
- Deglaze with red wine and let reduce by half, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, dried basil, bay leaf and sugar. Season with salt and pepper. Mix and bring to a simmer.
- Let simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
Cooking the meatballs
- Place meatballs in the sauce. Cook over low heat for 25 minutes, turning meatballs halfway through cooking. Remove bay leaf.
Pasta and serving
- Cook spaghetti al dente in a large pot of salted boiling water. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain.
- Remove meatballs from sauce and set aside. Add spaghetti to the sauce and toss to coat well. Add some cooking water if needed.
- Serve pasta, place meatballs on top, garnish with parmesan reggiano shavings and fresh basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil, to taste.
Yes, but the result will be different. Mild Italian sausage meat naturally brings the fennel, fat and depth that other meats don’t have. If you can’t find any, replace with 500 g ground pork and increase ground fennel to 1 tsp to compensate. You can also use hot Italian sausage for an extra kick in your best spaghetti and meatballs.
The golden rule: DON’T overwork the meat. Mix just enough to incorporate all ingredients, then stop. Too much kneading compacts the meat and gives you rubbery meatballs. The other key is bread soaked in milk. It aerates the meat and keeps moisture. Slow cooking in the sauce (not in the oven or pan) also keeps the meatballs juicy in the center.
To get a rustic texture with chunks that recalls authentic Italian sauces. The blender makes the sauce too smooth and homogeneous, which loses the artisanal character of the dish. Pour the tomatoes with juice in a large bowl, then crush with your hands (or a potato masher if you prefer). You get a sauce with personality.
Great question. The sauce with meatballs keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge and freezes beautifully up to 3 months. It’s even better the next day when the flavors have had time to marry. I recommend doubling the recipe to have leftovers ready for weeknight dinners. Reheat gently over low heat in a saucepan with a little water to loosen the sauce.
To push the Italian side all the way, serve my best spaghetti and meatballs with my salade de roquette au balsamique blanc for freshness or my pain à l’ail gratiné for mopping up sauce. For a complete Italian buffet, add my panzanella à la roquette et au fenouil or my salade de burrata, pêches et tomates avec vinaigrette au miel.
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