What can be more comforting than spaghetti and meatballs? One thing that can take it to another level is putting it all together and baking it with a layer of cheese. You can’t get a better dinner than homemade Italian Meatballs cooked with homemade Spaghetti Sauce and all baked with pasta and cheese.
Grab the recipe for my Italian Meatballs and Spaghetti Sauce and you it for this recipe or freeze both to have at a later time.
SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
When someone says Italian dinner, the first thing that comes to mind is spaghetti and meatballs. The juicy meatballs, the sauce, the pasta, it is all so perfect together. In this dish, it’s all about the taste of meatballs and the taste of the sauce. That’s why you should always use the best and your favorite recipes for both.
You know the best thing about this dish? The meatballs and the sauce can be made ahead of time and even frozen. I always have spaghetti sauce portioned in the freezer so I can have it for pizzas, meatballs, chicken, pasta nights, and even to dip bread sticks. Meatballs is another great meal to have in the freezer and so easy to make ahead. I actually have a whole post about freezing meatballs if you want to give it a read.
To make this dish from start to finish, will take about two hours because of the sauce. That’s why I highly recommend having sauce cooked ahead or you can use your favorite store-bought sauce. With sauce already made, this dish will only take about 45 minutes.
You can also cut the recipe in half or double for a big family dinner.
HOW TO MAKE SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
Make spaghetti sauce first:
Chop onions and carrots and saute it with olive oil in a preheated pot, over medium heat. Once vegetables start to soften, add smashed garlic and saute until fragrant. Pour in the entire content of the can of crushed tomatoes and add bay leaves, oregano, sugar, and salt.
Stir everything together, cover, and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Stir the sauce from time to time. Add fresh basil and cook, covered, for another 20 minutes. Remember to stir it occasionally.
Once the sauce is cooked, transfer it into the blender or a food processor and blend until smooth.
Make meatballs:
Start making meatballs while the sauce is almost done. Use a large, 12-inch skillet that is also oven-safe. (You can also use a separate 9×13 casserole dish just for baking.)
Combine the ground beef, ground pork, egg, minced onion, pressed garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper in large mixing bowl. Drench a slice of bread in milk, squeeze it out, break it up into crumbs, and add it to the bowl. Mix everything very well. Use a larger cookie scoop to scoop out even amounts of meat mixture and shape the meatballs.
Preheat the skillet over medium heat, add oil, and sear meatballs for a few minutes on each side. Add the sauce, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook meatballs until just done.
Make spaghetti and meatballs bake:
Preheat the oven to 375°.
Cook spaghetti at the same time as the meatballs but make sure to only cook it al dente, don’t overcook. Drain off the water and set it aside.
Take meatballs out of the pan but leave the sauce. Add spaghetti to the pan with sauce and mix well to coat all the pasta with sauce. Nestle meatballs into the spaghetti and top everything off with shredded cheese and a sprinkle of oregano.
Place the skillet into the oven and bake for about 10 minutes.
HOW TO REHEAT SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS BAKE
This dish is easy to reheat in individual portions, in a microwave. Make sure to cover the bowl with a microwave lid or another plate on top.
If you need to reheat a large portion at the same time, use an oven. Preheat oven to 350°, cover the pan with aluminum foil, and reheat until hot in the center. Depending on how much pasta and meatballs you are reheating, it could take 20-30 minutes.
MORE ITALIAN RECIPES TO TRY
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Spaghetti and Meatballs Bake
Ingredients
Spaghetti Sauce:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 Vidalia onion
- 2 carrots
- 1 oz garlic cloves 5-6 cloves
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup minced fresh basil
Meatballs:
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil for cooking
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 thick slice of whole wheat bread soaked in a little milk milk squeezed out
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup yellow onion minced
- 3 garlic cloves pressed
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
- Salt
- Black pepper
Spaghetti and Meatballs Bake:
- 3 1/2 cups spaghetti sauce
- 3/4-1 lb uncooked spaghetti
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 tsp dried oregano
Instructions
Spaghetti sauce:
- Prepare the sauce first. Note that spaghetti sauce can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated until ready to use. If using prepared pasta sauce, this dish will only take about 45 minutes.
- Chop onions and carrots into small pieces so it doesn't take too long to cook through. Preheat a pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Saute veggies for a few minutes.
- Add smashed garlic and saute until fragrant. Pour in the entire can of crushed tomatoes and add bay leaves, oregano, sugar, and salt.
- Stir everything together, cover, and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Stir the sauce from time to time. Add fresh basil and cook, covered, for another 20 minutes. Remember to stir occasionally.
- Remove bay leaves and blend the sauce in a food processor. Set aside.
Meatballs:
- Use a large, 12-inch skillet that is also oven-safe. (Or, you can also use a separate 9×13 casserole dish just for baking.)
- Combine ground beef, ground pork, egg, minced onion, pressed garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper in large mixing bowl.
- Drench a slice of bread in milk, squeeze it out, break it up into crumbs, and add it to the bowl as well. Mix everything very well.
- Use a larger cookie scoop to scoop out even amounts of meat mixture and shape the meatballs.
- Preheat the skillet over medium heat, add oil, and sear meatballs for a few minutes on each side.
- Add the sauce, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook meatballs until just done.
Spaghetti and Meatballs Bake:
- Note: Cook pasta at the same time as cooking the meatballs. Make sure pasta is cooked al dente, don't overcook it. Drain and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 375°.
- Take meatballs out of the pan but leave the sauce. Add spaghetti to the pan with sauce and mix well to coat all the pasta with sauce.
- Nestle meatballs into the spaghetti and top everything off with shredded cheese and a sprinkle of oregano.
- Place the skillet into the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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