Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe (2025)

FAQs

What is the trick to keeping meatballs together? ›

A typical serving of white spaghetti (2 cups) with 8 meatballs (6 ounces), sauce (3/4 cup) and Parmesan cheese (2 tablespoons), garlic bread, and iceberg lettuce salad has, on average, a whopping 1,495 calories, 70 fat grams, and more than a day's worth of sodium, yet it's shy in vitamins, minerals and other good ...

The only way to prevent your meatballs from falling apart is to add some flour in the precooked seasoned ground beef. once you season the ground beef to your taste, you then add some flour, not too much but at least half of a handful.

Dried herbs: Dried oregano, basil, and parsley are all classic Italian herbs that go well in spaghetti sauce. Add 1/2 teaspoon of each to the sauce. Red pepper flakes: If you like a little heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the sauce. This will give the sauce a bit of a kick.

Adding raw meatballs to the sauce and gently simmering till cooked yields ultra-tender results, and infuses the sauce with meaty flavor—a slow cooker gives great results.

A jarred sauce can sometimes lean a bit acidic, so the way to balance that is with richness. A glug of a good quality extra virgin olive oil, a splash of cream or half and half, a dollop of ricotta or mascarpone, or even a few pats of butter stirred in can smooth those rough edges.

How long do meatballs need to simmer in sauce? ›

Bring the sauce to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat back down to a light simmer. Add the meatballs and toss them with the sauce. Cover the pot and simmer for 45 minutes.

If you are making 1-ounce meatballs for a main course you should make 6 meatballs per person. If you have some big eaters at the party I suggest making 6-10 bite sized meatballs per person. As you can see, the number of meatballs you need depends on their size.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Thanks to the iron and protein from the beef, lycopene from the tomato sauce and energy-producing carbs from the pasta, this dish a healthy trifecta. If you stick to modest portions and lean beef, you can enjoy its benefits without overdoing it.

An egg is usually a good start, as that can help with the tenderness and texture, but the king of meatball binders is breadcrumbs soaked in milk (also known as a panade). Soaking the breadcrumbs first makes them pliable and soggy, which allows them to easily and evenly mix into the ground meat.

ANSWER: Usually when meatballs fall apart, it's the binder that is the problem. Most meatball recipes call for using bread crumbs and eggs. But too much bread crumbs make them too loose, and not enough bread crumbs won't help them hold together either.

How to stop meatballs from falling apart. Making them with just meat and seasoning alone can result in the meatball becoming dry or falling apart during cooking. For this reason, many recipes will include a binding ingredient like egg, and a filler like breadcrumbs.

When it comes to adding liquid to meatball mixtures, milk is often used for its versatility, depth of flavor, and richness. Without the use of milk, you may be faced with a plate of dry meatballs. Milk adds a certain level of moisture that helps produce perfectly tender meatballs.