Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs 🍝
Summary
It’s easy, It’s delicious, and It’s a classic. We’ve got the classic spaghetti and meatballs. But don’t let the name fool you, It’s nothing short of spectacular! This dish will for sure always be my favorite classic Italian dish. I’ve been making meatballs my whole life since my mother taught me and have tried so many different ways to perfect them and y’all when I tell you this is the best way I’ve ever made them, I mean it. That’s why I’m posting this delicious meal for my friends to try!
The meatballs I made for this dish were ground beef combined and rolled in with chopped garlic, parsley, basil, eggs, Italian breadcrumbs and more. This make’s for a delicious combination that pairs perfectly with our spaghetti sauce.
The porkchops are ready to be mixed in to the sauce. These give the sauce a delicious addition to the taste and really take your recipe up a notch when making this dish.
Friends, The big reveal is our sauce. Look how delicious this looks it’s jumping out ready to be eaten. The sauce is a perfect crimson color and has a beautiful gradient of color all around. I wish I had more of this dish because every time I make this sauce I dip bread in it before I serve it and oh. my. gosh. It is so delicious and has such a unique and perfect flavor.
You hungry for Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs yet or what? I’m cooking this for dinner after I’m done writing this blog. I hope all of my peeps enjoy this dish as much as I did and let me know how you like it by leaving a review at the bottom of the website! ❤️
🗒 Best served with
- Bread
- Garlic Bread
- Pecorino Romano
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Store the sauce in an airtight container, if you want it to taste better leave your noodles and sauce in different containers and reheat together when you want it again!
👚 Items from Meatball Recipe
All items from the recipe are here!
🤔 Common Questions
Yes, I’d recommend using regular spaghetti noodles, But I prefer what I used which is fusilli col buco #10
This dinner would be good for 6-8 people!
Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs 🍝
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 lbs ground chuck
- 1 lb fusilli col buco #108
- 2 thick cut bone in pork chops
- 2 hunks of stale Italian bread ripped up
- 1/4 – 1/2 cup milk enough to cover bread
- 24 oz jar passata
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 whole bulb garlic chopped & divided
- 2 eggs
- 6 pieces basil ripped up + a handful of ripped up basil, divided
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley save some for garnish
- 2/3 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
- 3 oz grated pecorino romano + 1 oz hunk Pecorino Romano divided
- At least 4-6 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz red wine
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning & 1 tbsp garlic powder or to taste
- Pinch of sugar
- Salt & pepper to taste (layer as you go)
Instructions
- In a bowl add the ripped up stale bread and pour the milk over the bread. Let that sit for about 5 minutes.
- In a separate bowl add the ground chuck, the bread that was soaking in the milk (squeeze the milk out of the bread before adding it to the bowl) half the chopped garlic, parsley, 6 pieces of basil, eggs, Italian bread crumbs, 3 oz grated Pecorino Romano, salt, & pepper. Mix everything together but DON’T OVER MIX IT. Form into meatballs.
- In a pot with olive oil, on medium-high heat fry the pork chops until browned on both sides. Once browned remove them from the pot and set them aside.
- In the SAME pot, add the other half of the chopped garlic, crushed pepper, salt & pepper. Sauté that for a few minutes until fragrant. Then add in the tomato paste and sauté that until browned.
- Add in the red wine, bring the pot to a boil, and let that cook for a few minutes so the alcohol can burn out. Then stir in the whole peeled tomatoes, lower the pot to a simmer, crush up tomatoes with a wooden spoon, and add the Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Give that a stir and let that simmer together for about 20 minutes.
- Then add in the crushed tomatoes, passata, 1/2 cup of water, sugar, the pork chop (with all its juices), the meatballs, and 1 oz hunk Pecorino Romano. Bring the pot to a bowl, then lower it to a simmer, cover the pot halfway with the lid, and let that simmer for about an hour.
- When there is 10 minutes left, add in a handful of ripped up basil, cover the pot halfway with the lid, and let that simmer for the remaining 10 minutes.
- In a separate pot, boil the noodles until al dente, and then serve the meatballs and sauce over the pasta. Enjoy!
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Hi Melissa,
Loving and living your recipes. But this one—am I missing when and how you actually cook the meatballs?
Thank you, much appreciated.
Suzanne
Good evening 🩷 you pop them in the sauce after you’re done building the sauce completely. Then, they simmer in the sauce and cook right in the sauce 🙂 simmer about 1 hour… more if you’d like!
Hi Melissa! Love you and your recipes!!! What kind of red wine? Thank you!
I love to use a moderate priced Cabernet I’d drink! Like Josh or Columbia crest! 🙂
Wow!
We made it w/o the ribs. The meatballs and sauce were amazing!
We made a double batch of the sauce and a double batch of the meatballs.
Next time we make this, we may make a triple batch of the meatballs as I’d like to try them as a meatball sandwich. The sauce was real thick. Next time, I may use a single can of paste to start and maybe even a bit more water.
Loved these 2 recipes. Found you on a Facebook reel I think. Thank you Melissa Jo!!
Hi! What do you do with the bone-in pork chops to serve?
I always serve them on the side, in a little bowl covered in sauce. My family just pops them on a plate and puts some pecorino on it and serves it up!