Homemade Meatballs

Spaghetti and meatballs. It's hard to find a more authentic Italian dish than the legendary bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. It's also hard to a comforting family dinner that is easier to make.

Our homemade meatball recipe is easy to prepare, leaving more time in your day to tend to other things. We have stripped a traditional homemade meatball recipe down to its most essential elements. By doing so, we have created a main dish that’s fast and easy enough weeknight family dinner.

We highly recommend making extra homemade meatballs and popping them into the freezer. On the nights that are even more hectic than usually, grab your frozen meatballs. You can quickly thaw them in your microwave or on the stovetop along with a jar of Classic Red tomato sauce.

We like to use a mix of ground beef and ground pork. You can always swap in ground turkey (dark meat please) if that’s what you’ve got on hand.

Roasting your homemade meatballs in the oven in a heavy cast iron skillet is how we do it. Be sure to make larger meatballs as the larger size allows the meat to brown without overcooking.

Using a heavy cast iron skillet reduces cooking time and makes cleanup simple. Often, recipes say they are simple but fail to factor in the mess made while preparing them and the time required to clean up afterwards.

What you will need to make your own homemade meatballs

Meatballs

• 1 egg
• 2 cloves peeled and diced garlic (garlic powder as a substitute)
• 1 small diced onion
• ⅔ lbs ground beef (at least 15% fat)
• ⅔ lbs ground pork
• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup finely chopped Italian parsley
• ¼ cup bread crumb
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For the pasta

• 1 lb spaghetti 
• 1 jar Classic Red Tomato Sauce

To prepare your homemade meatballs, start by preheating the oven to 375.

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients for the meatballs. Using your hands, mix well until all the ingredients are fully combined.

Generously season with salt and pepper. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes. You can take a rest too!

Drizzle a large cast iron skillet with olive oil. Shape the meatballs into balls slightly larger than a golfball and place into pan. It's ok if the meatballs touch.

Bake the meatballs until well-browned underneath which should take about 12 minutes.

Using a stiff metal spatula, pry up and turn over meatballs (they may want to stick a bit). Bake until browned on the second side - another 6 to 8 minutes. Remove the meatballs from the oven and set aside.

While the meatballs are baking in the oven, prepare your spaghetti according to the directions on the box. Once your spaghetti has cook to your liking, say al dente, strain and rinse it in cold water. This process will prevent the spaghetti from sticking together. Set your cooked spaghetti aside.

Grab you go-to pot add one jar of Jar Goods Classic Red tomato sauce. Heat the tomato sauce over a low flame for 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the cooked meatballs into the tomato sauce carefully and warm another few minutes. This allows the meatballs to heat back up a bit while also soaking up some of tomato sauce, lending to their flavor. Mmmmmm... red sauce and meatballs.

Serve these juicy homemade meatballs over top of the spaghetti, top with more tomato sauce, and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. 

To round off your family dinner, add in a loaf of toasted Italian bread and a simple green salad.

There we have it, easy homemade meatballs served up in a delicious red sauce. Enjoy our spaghetti and meatballs recipe, we have many, many times before!