What’s better than reliving one of your favorite childhood meals? You know the one I’m talking about, SpaghettiOs with meatballs! Well, I’ve recreated my version of Homemade SpaghettiOs with Meatballs for you, and it’s super easy to make.

Making homemade sauce and meatballs takes this dish to a grown-up level that will surprise your guests. I’m also adding a couple of secret ingredients to the meatballs that are going to blow your mind!

Let’s start by making the meatballs and getting them into the oven before working on the sauce.

The first secret ingredient for my meatballs is fresh basil pesto. Normally, I wouldn’t use a store-bought basil pesto; however, in this instance, I’m using it as one of the ingredients for my meatballs. If you’re going to add basil pesto to your meatballs, look for the fresh pesto that’s kept in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, rather than the jarred variety.

In some of my earlier posts, I’ve mentioned using basil pesto in my meatball recipes, and it elevates the flavor. When you think about it, they’re ingredients you would most likely add to your meatball recipe.

The second secret ingredient I’m using is whole milk ricotta cheese. Ricotta doesn’t add any noticeable flavor, but it acts as a tenderizer.

Below are three cookie-dough scoops. The cookie-dough scoop in the middle is equivalent to 1 1/2 tablespoons and perfect for my mini meatballs. Relatively speaking, that’s half the size of a golf ball.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Yields: 8 servings
Equipment: 2 baking sheets, lined with parchment paper, 2 (6-quart) saucepots, cookie-dough scoop, pasta spoon-strainer, 1 wooden spoon, chef’s knife, cutting board

Ingredients For Meatballs: Yields 48 meatballs
2 pounds of ground pork (substitute ground beef, chicken, or turkey)
2 extra-large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup half-and-half, room temperature
1/4 cup water, room temperature
1/4 cup ricotta cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup of fresh store-bought basil pesto
3 cloves of garlic, freshly-grated
5 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly-ground
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 cup of Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1-1 1/2 cups of Italian-style breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper, freshly-ground

Ingredients for the Tomato Sauce:
1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken stock, unsalted
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper, freshly-ground
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, plus extra sprigs of basil for garnish
1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly-ground for the cooked pasta
2 (1-pound) packages of La Molisana pasta

Instructions for the Meatballs:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray them both with non-stick cooking spray. Start by placing all the flavorings for the meatballs into a large mixing bowl. When blending in the breadcrumbs, start with 1 cup, and add 1/2 cup if needed. The finished consistency should look like (and have the texture of) wet sand.

Add the (your choice of ground meat), ground chicken. Using a fork to combine the flavorings and meat, avoid overmixing.

Scoop the meat mixture into your hands, roll it into balls, then place the meatballs on the greased parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Each baking sheet should hold 24 meatballs. For nice golden-brown meatballs, spray the tops of the meatballs with a little non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 45 minutes.

Instructions for the Tomato Sauce:
While the meatballs are in the oven, start the sauce. On medium to high heat, add the olive oil to a heavy-bottom pot. Add in the onions, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until translucent. Add the minced garlic, Kosher salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano, basil, brown sugar, and tomato paste. Cook for 2 minutes. Next, add the chicken stock. Let the stock come up to a bubble and reduce by half. Once the stock has reduced, add in the tomato products. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer until the meat is tender and cooked through.

After the meatballs come out of the oven, add them to the sauce. Simmer the sauce for another 45 minutes.

In a large stockpot of boiling salted water, add the pasta. Cook according to the package directions. In a large serving bowl, add the well-drained cooked pasta. Add 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and toss through. Ladle the sauce with meatballs over the pasta and toss through. Add fresh basil leaves.

Serve tableside in individual porcelain pasta bowls. Garnish each bowl with fresh basil sprigs. Have extra cheese on hand for your guests. There you have it, my Homemade SpaghettiOs with Meatballs.

Notes:
1) This tomato sauce with meatballs recipe works with any style of pasta you choose.

2) Whenever you want to make meatballs, start by adding the flavorings to a large mixing bowl first. You want the flavoring mixture to have the consistency of wet sand. Next, you’ll add your choice of ground meat and combine. I use a fork to mix the wet flavoring mixture with the ground meat. Keep the ground meat as loose as possible; do not over-mix. This will ensure you’ll have super tender meatballs.

3) If the ground meat starts to stick to the ice cream scoop, spray it with a little non-stick cooking spray, and the meat will release more easily.

4) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through the online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.

https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/

https://lindalouhamel.com/2014/01/03/linguine-with-meatballs/