We met back up somewhere on the way home at some tiny restaurant tucked away on a one way street and got some eats.This is where I met spaghetti and meatballs. While it probably wasn’t the best spaghetti and meatballs the world had to offer, to my ignorant and uninitiated taste buds, it was the best thing I had ever eaten. Okay, maybe that’s taking it a little too far, but it was freaking delicious.
Come to think of it, that was the ONLY time I have had spaghetti and meatballs dining out. Somewhere over the years, I came up with a recipe of my own for it and have never needed to find it elsewhere. So here it is.
It’s relatively easy to make and I combined my recipes for Parmesan Meatballs and Sweet Roasted Red Pepper Marinara Sauce together to create the meaty finale. I also altered the portions and measurements in this recipe to make just enough for two, for those that prefer not to cook in bulk and just need a simple dinner. If you’re wondering why I’m even mentioned bulk, go and check out the Parmesan Meatball recipe and you’ll understand why.
My mentality with regards to meatballs is, if you’re going to be elbow deep in ground meat, you may as well make enough to make it worth the while. So I typically churn out anywhere between 50 to 70 meatballs when I get down to it.
But worry not! I won’t make you slave away at the kitchen for this one, we only need 14 or so meatballs, 7 per person. That should be enough, shouldn’t it? If you’re like me though, and want to make it worth the while, pull up your sleeves and go do my one million meatball recipe, set aside 14 for this recipe and freeze the rest!
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Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- 1/4 lb. spaghetti, cooked al dente
- Parmesan cheese
Meatballs (Makes 14 meatballs)
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup dry Parmesan
- Salt and pepper to taste
Marinara Sauce (Makes 2 cups)
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 cup fire roasted chopped tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Meatballs
- Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix them together thoroughly with your hands
- Scoop out about 1 tablespoon worth of meatball mixture and squeeze it several times to pack it tightly
- Roll the mixture between the palms of your hands to form a 1 1/2″ meaball
- Arrange each meatball on a baking sheet
- Bake meatballs at 425 degrees F for 10-12 minutes
- Once cooked remove from oven and place on a cooling rack
- Allow meatballs to cool before moving them
Marinara Sauce
- Over medium high heat, saute onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil until translucent
- Add garlic and saute until aromatic
- Season with pepper and stir to combine
- Crumble beef bouillon cube and stir to mix
- Toss in fire roasted chopped tomatoes and simmer for a minute
- Reduce heat to medium and pour in tomato puree/sauce
- Season with Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, salt and sugar
- Simmer for 5 minutes
Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Toss spaghetti in the marinara sauce and dish
- Coat the meatballs in the remaining sauce and arrange seven meatballs and sauce over each bed of spaghetti
- Top with sprinkled Parmesan cheese and serve hot
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
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