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About the recipe
There are no hidden vegetables in there, no magic tricks. It is what it is: spaghetti and meatballs. It’s a nice traditional recipe, packed with delicious flavours. It uses basic ingredients, it’s budget-friendly and easy to make! I don’t know about you, but the last few weeks have been a bit stressful and put me in a bit of a slump. When I feel that way, I go to foods that comfort me. I wasn’t even going to post this recipe until my boyfriend, and personal expert taste-tester qualified this sauce as “EXCEPTIONAL”. I realized that I might as well share my recipe and spread the love.
Jump to RecipeThe ingredients
This recipe seems pretty traditional, but I use a special ingredient: balsamic vinegar. Balsamic vinegar adds some sweetness to the sauce that still ties in with the acidity of the tomato. I used to add sugar, but I stopped since I tried adding balsamic vinegar instead.
The steps
When shaping my meatballs, I use my trusty cookie scoop. Making sure every meatball is the same size helps with the cooking process.
To cook the meatballs and the sauce, I also use my Dutch oven. It’s made of enameled cast iron, so it will allow the meatballs to brown nicely without sticking.
Speaking of cooking the meatballs, they don’t need to be fully cooked as they will cook more in the sauce. We just want some nice browning here.
You will find yourself with a nice layer of flavours in your Dutch oven after you remove those meatballs. It’s called the fond. Make sure you scrape it when you add your sauce ingredients in. It will give so much flavours to it!
To cover or not to cover, that is the question? I find covering the pot while the sauce is simmering makes it more watery and leaving it uncovered makes the sauce thicker. I like a mix of both, so I will usually let it simmer covered for half the time, and uncovered for the other half.
How to store
Do you know what’s the best next thing? This recipe makes about 20 meatballs, so if you have some leftovers, you can use them the next day to make a delicious meatball sub. This sauce also freezes really well, with or without the meatballs.
The best spaghetti and meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- ¼ onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
For the sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ onion finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ½ cup broth
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (796ml)
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients for the meatballs. Mix with your hands.
- Roll 1-inch meatballs with your hands. You can also use a cookie scoop to make sure they are all the same size.
- Heat 1/2 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
- Add the meatballs to the pot. Make sure there is only one layer and that they are evenly spaced out.
- Allow the meatballs to get a little bit brown on every side. Then, take the meatballs out of the pot (see note 1).
- Add 1/2 Tbsp olive oil to the pot and saute the onion until translucent (see note 2).
- Add the garlic, tomato paste and spices and saute for 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pan with the broth and balsamic vinegar. Add the crushed tomato and bay leaves. Mix and bring to a boil.
- Then, reduce the heat to low, add the meatballs and let simmer for 30 minutes (see note 3).
- Serve with cooked spaghetti, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.
Notes
- The meatballs don’t need to be fully cooked as they will cook more in the sauce. We just want some nice browning here.
- Scrape the browning made from the meatballs. That’s called the fond and will give great flavours to your sauce!
- Cover if you like more of a watery sauce. Leave it uncovered if you like it thicker. I like a mix of both, so I usually cover it for half of the time.
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