Jenn's Out Of This World Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onion until lightly brown. Mix in 2 cloves garlic, and cook 1 minute. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar, 1/2 the oregano, and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer while preparing meatballs.
In a bowl, mix the ground round, bread crumbs, remaining oregano, remaining garlic, parsley, eggs, and cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Roll into 1 inch balls, and drop into the sauce. Cook 40 minutes in the sauce, or until internal temperature of meatballs reaches a minimum of 160 degrees F (72 degrees C).
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, and stir in the spaghetti. Cook 8 to 10 minutes, until al dente, and drain. Serve the meatballs and sauce over the cooked spaghetti.

Reviews (551)

588

Yoshiyum

Apr. 15, 2008

"There are MANY reviews/suggestions of this sauce...I read ALL of them...here they are summed up for easy viewing: 1. Omit 3 cans tomato paste for 1 can tomato paste and 1 can tomato sauce (I used 15oz..." See more can). 2. Omit 1/2 cup of sugar for 1/4 cup sugar if you like it a little sweet, or just 2 TBSP sugar if you cant tolerate much. 3. Omit 1 cup of water and add 2 cups of water instead. Some modifications that I personally made, which doesnt reflect what other reviewers have said, is using this Hot n' Spicy seasoning salt I found in my pantry...found the original recipe a little bland...this salt kicks it up a little (cajun seasoning should work just as well). I also read the reviews of how the meat, when baked directly in the sauce, can make it oily...I went ahead and bought meat that contained 7% fat (the already packaged stuff) and the sauce turned out perfect."

338

summer_lover

Feb. 22, 2008

"This rating is for the meatballs only. I used oatmeal instead of crumbs, but that is just preference. I can't believe how tender these come out when cooked in the sauce. Ingenious! Here's a tip I ..." See morelearned about meatballs... instead of rolling out each tedious one, try rolling a handfull of meat into a 1" thick rope and then cutting the rope into 1/2-1" lengths. Much faster!"

158

Mare

Jul. 28, 2007

"I decided to give this recipe a try today, and I'm very glad I did. I followed the recipe, except for these changes based on the other reviews I read...I used only 3 tablespoons sugar, added an addito..." See morenl cup water (my family likes a more gravy like sauce, not too thick) and browned the meatballs in a bit of oil a bit...I also added a good chunk of pepperoni stick (old trick by my mom) and a half pound of beef stew chunks, browned as well, and simmered the whole thing for about 6 hours...Other than those changes, I follwed the recipe...:) The gravy came out phenomenal, and the whole family is looking forward to having it tomorrow as well (italian food is better the day after) So thank you Jenn, for a great recipe that can be easily tweaked to personal preference! Edited to add: I've now used this recipe a half dozen times to great success and reviews...I now double the batch and freeze half, and it keeps VERY well in the deep freeze for up to two months. All in all now my gold standard recipe to use for sauce and meatballs, NEVER again will I buy premade stuff!"

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