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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The best spaghetti and meatballs with beef and Italian sausage, San Marzano sauce with red wine. The homemade Italian classic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"the best spaghetti and meatballs","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Spaghetti and Meatballs with San Marzano Sauce Recipe","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"This spaghetti sauce recipe simmers San Marzano tomatoes and red wine with beef and Italian sausage, then tops it with meatballs. A homemade classic.","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"The best spaghetti and meatballs","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"The best spaghetti and meatballs with beef and Italian sausage, San Marzano sauce with red wine. The homemade Italian classic.","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":""},"recipe_category":[171,180,167],"sponsorship":[],"class_list":["post-60203","recipe","type-recipe","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","recipe_category-meat","recipe_category-pastas-noodles","recipe_category-main-dishes"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n