This is a recipe I got from my mother years ago --  it's great.

Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

beef

bread crumbs

parsley

Parmesan cheese

black pepper

garlic powder

egg, beaten

onion

garlic,

olive oil

(28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

salt

white sugar

bay leaf

tomato paste

basil

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg.  Mix well and form into 12 balls.  Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed.


In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent.  Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf.  Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes.  Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more.  Serve.


I was leary of making this without first pre-cooking the meatballs, but this is by far the best spaghetti and meatballs I have ever made.  The meatballs ended up a nice brown color, they were not over cooked and I think putting them in before browning allowed some of the meat flavor to seep into the sauce.  I great recipe.

Five star rating is based on the following changes.  Instead of using all ground beef, I opted to use a combination of ground pork and ground beef (12 oz ground beef, 4 oz ground pork) -instead of plain bread crumbs, I used pre-seasoned breadcrumbs, I increased the parmesan cheese to 4 oz. 

With the sauce, instead of using 2 (28 oz) cans of whole tomatoes, I used 1 (28 oz can) of whole tomatoes, and then two smaller cans (14 oz) of crushed tomatoes.  After simmering the sauce, I ran half of it through the blender to make it smoother.  I also added a small can of tomato sauce in addition to the tomato paste, plus for added flavour I added 1 tsp italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp basil, and 1 tsp garlic powder.

YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!

This was absolutly the most wonderful spaghetti. This was my first time making homemade spaghetti. I work long hours and don't have time at night to make a 2 hour meal, so what I did was use my slow cooker. In the morning i sauteed my onion and garlic, combined it with all the ingredience including half a can of tomato sauce for extra liquid since it tends to lose some in a slow cooker. Had my husband turn the cooker on low at his lunch, so the sauce cooked about 6 1/2 hours. one hour before the sauce was done, he put the meat balls in. We did end up adding the extra half a can of sauce just for liquid, but the flavor was amazing. By using the slow cooker for us working cooks, it was nice to come home to a ready made meal and good as this.

This sauce was very easy to make and quite delicious.  I do agree with some reviews that the meatballs were a bit bland, but to each his own, my husband liked them.  I will never use bottled sauce again, that's for sure.  Note:  to others who who mentionned they substituted turkey or other poultry for ground beef  ...  you are never supposed to use breadcrumbs, that type of meat is quite dry, breadcrumbs only makes it worse!

For Celeste, who found the meatballs too dry, may I suggest adding 1/2 cup of water, or milk, or tomato sauce to the meatballs?  The eggs will bind them, but not make them moister - adding liquid makes them exquisitely tender and juicy.  Also, if you want a lighter meatball, substitute oatmeal for the breadcrumbs - measure it first, then run it briefly in the blender so you won't have any big bits in the meatballs.  I added 1.5 tsp oregano and 3 tsp basil; added 1 tsp seasoned salt, 1 medium green pepper.  I was very, very happy with the sauce.  Put it into a 250 degree oven while I cooked other stuff, for about 2 hours,it was wonderful.  :D

Oh wow! These meatballs were phenomenal. I coated them in flour and sauteed them in olive oil first to seal in juices. I rolled them about the size of a silver dollar. This will be something I make often.

This is a great recipe - although I did alter it a bit from the beginning.  Do brown the meat balls first, before adding them to sauce.  I think this adds a little flavor.  I also spiced up the meatballs with some stand-by italian spices (basic, oregano, etc.) and I upped the garlic (to taste).  Also, I used crackers (pounded or processed to crumbs) in place of bread crumbs, and used a little less than called for.  This made a very solid and yummy meatball - for those who have "spongey" meatballs.  For those who used store-bought sauce with the meatballs - nothing compares with this sauce!

I simply loved this recipe as it resembled on of my own.  In the meatballs, I used only 1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb ground sausage; 1/2 cup crushed buttery crackers i.e. Ritz; 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, garlic powder toi taste, 2 Tbsp chopped onion, 1 Tbsp Bell pepper, 1 Tbsp chopped celery and 1/2 pkg hamburger or meatloaf seasoning mix.  I prepared my meatballs and cooked them in the oven on a sheet pan for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.  Then added them to my sauce.  My Sauce included 1/2 stalk chopped celery, 1/4 chopped bell pepper 1 Tbsp sugar and rather than 2 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes, I used 1 ea. 28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes and 1 ea. 28 ounce can Tomato Puree.  This eliminated the lumpy tomato chunks.  I eliminated the tomato paste altogether.  I reduced my cooking time to 30 minutes and then 30 minutes after adding the meatballs.

This recipe shouldn't be "made over" but put together as written, the meatballs and the sauce are just wonderful, unlike the mass produced, thick jarred stuff.  I've read some comments that things were added/deleted, come on, it changes the whole recipe when you do that!  Try it as written and you will not be disappointed, it is the only one we use now.    

The sauce was way too sweet.  It was also a bit bland.  I tried it again without the onion and sugar, and added some oregano and a bay leaf and it was much better.

This classic tomato pasta sauce with meatballs is easy and delicious.

italian spaghetti sauce with meatballs

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Servings: 6

Cost: $12.34 /serving

Author : Jeremy

Ingredients

Instructions

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italian spaghetti sauce with meatballs

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours

Total: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Servings: 6

Cost: $12.34 /serving

Author : Jeremy

Ingredients

Instructions

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