Spaghetti and Meatballs is a classic. Make your own meatballs for even more flavor while still having dinner on the table in 30 minutes.
Jump to RecipeSpaghetti and meatballs is such a simple, classic recipe but it often gets overlooked or forgotten. At least, I know it does in my house. We are always trying to find new foods for dinner, so we don’t think about easy meals.
You could open my pantry on almost any given day and find some pasta noodles in there. Maybe not specifically spaghetti, but possibly fettuccine or linguine. Either way, pasta is almost always an option at my house.
We don’t always have the ingredients to make homemade meatballs, though, so that is a treat when we do it. The boys both ate the meatballs when I told them they were similar to a hamburger rolled into a ball. Kids tend to like silly things like that.
When I first met Justin’s parents, they were in Florida to help him and his brother move into a new condo. Because of moving and all the work that comes with it, his mom was looking for an easy meal. So, she made some spaghetti and meatballs. But not just frozen meatballs, these were homemade!
Before then, I had only ever had frozen meatballs. Even that was rare because we didn’t have meat with our spaghetti growing up. My mom won’t eat anything that comes from a cow. So, this was quite a treat!
While she made them, she also told me her recipe which I wrote down to save for later. You can eat the meatballs fresh, or freeze them for later. If you want to freeze them, cook them all the way, then freeze them individually. Once they are frozen, you can put them in one container. Then, to reheat, either bake again or heat in your spaghetti sauce.
Homemade Meatballs Step by Step
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 onion (chopped)
- 1 egg
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, milk, salt and pepper, onion, and egg. Mix everything together. I find using your hands works best to make sure it is all well incorporated.
Using your hands, grab a small amount of the meat mixture and form into a ball about the size of a golf ball. Place this on a baking sheet and continue with the rest of the meat.
Bake uncovered for about 20-25 minutes until they are cooked through in the middle. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti noodles according to the package and heat the pasta sauce in a small saucepan if you want it warm.
Serve the spaghetti noodles covered with sauce and top with a couple of meatballs. Garnish with shredded parmesan cheese if desired. A side of Cheesy Garlic Bread goes well with spaghetti and meatballs.
Recipe
Originally Published On: November 1, 2018
Last Updated On: September 19, 2022
Spaghetti with Homemade Meatballs
Ingredients
- 8 oz spaghetti noodles
- 1 jar spaghetti sauce
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 onion (chopped)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (shredded)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, milk, salt and pepper, onion, and egg
- Use your hands to thoroughly mix everything
- Grab small bits of the meat mixture and form into meatballs about the size of a golf ball
- Place on an ungreased baking dish and continue with the rest of the meat
- Bake uncovered for about 20 minutes until heated through
- Meanwhile, prepare spaghetti according to directions and warm sauce over medium-low heat
- Serve the spaghetti noodles topped with sauce and a few meatballs
- Garnish with parmesan cheese
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
More Pasta Recipes with Red Sauce
- Chicken Tortellini Skillet Dinner with Pasta Sauce
- Pasta Sauce: Homemade in under 30 minutes
- Simple Tomato Basil Chicken Pasta Recipe with Hidden Carrots
- Meaty Marinara Sauce in the Slow Cooker
- Spaghetti with Homemade Meatballs
- Baked Ziti
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Herbed Tortellini (or Ravioli)
- Easy Chicken Parmesan
- One-Pot Goulash
- Classic Stuffed Shells
Oh my yum!! One of my all time fav meals
It’s such an easy meal, but a one that most people agree on!
I love homemade meatballs but it is totally something I don’t do often. This sounds like the perfect dinner and I am hungry now!
I like making a huge batch of them and freezing for later. Then we have homemade when we want them and I only have to do the prep work once.
My grandmother made the best meatballs. She would make them for Sunday dinners often. This recipe looks similar!
That’s awesome! I love when food can bring back great childhood memories like that.
This is one of my partners fav all time dishes. I think it is such a comfort dish and ideal for these cold evenings too xx
Comfort food is a great way to describe it. When I was growing up we would have spaghetti any time of the year since it’s such a quick meal to put together.
You know, I really should do this more often. My hubby is the only one who makes homemade meatballs in our house right now, and we all LOVE them so much better than the store-bought ones!
They can be batch-cooked, too. You could double the recipe and make the meatballs and freeze them for later.
This sounds delicious. I have never made meatballs before but I’m definitely going to have to try this out.
It’s an easy recipe to throw together and adds so much extra flavor to a regular spaghetti meal.
Delicious!! fast and easy meal.
Such a great, quick meal to make on a busy night.
Spaghetti with meatballs is the perfect meal! Sometimes I put onion and carrot chopped into the meatballs.. I
I usually use onion in mine, but I never thought of adding carrots before!
Spaghetti and meatballs is a staple in my house! It’s the one dish no one complains about. My recipe is similar but with the addition of several spices.
It’s always a win when you find a recipe that no one argues you about! This is one of those meals for me, too.
Spaghetti is one of my favorite food and I really love to try this Spaghetti with Homemade Meatballs it looks yummy <3 I love this!
Making the meatballs at home really brings a regular plate of spaghetti to the next level. I hope you enjoy!
Spaghetti is a favorite in our house! I have actually never baked a meatball before. I usually make them in the crock pot. I am going to have to try baking them in the future.
I’ve tried meatballs in the slow cooker before, too. It was a very different recipe, but both work. The baked ones are a bit drier, which I like for spaghetti.
Thank you so much for linking back to the spaghetti sauce! I was soooo going to the store to pick up some Ragu lol. I really wanted to try making a sauce on my own. Perfect!
Making your own sauce is obviously a bit more work than opening a jar, but it tastes so much better! You can add exactly what you want and everything is fresh.
Love your recipes. Always so simple to make and so delicious to taste. You manage to make it so clear and easy to make even though they are sometimes quite complicated.
Thanks! We try to keep things simple here most of the time. I like sharing recipes that are doable for almost everyone.