Yes I know you make them at home, or buy them already seasoned, and shaped ready to throw it into a ready-made sauce… I’m sure it is delicious, but I promise you that these meatballs are fantastic, full of flavor, tender and not fried at all. I use about a pound of ground beef, and the same amount of ground pork, you may ask yourself why?? because ground pork gives its tenderness. As many recipes call to use milk to soften the meatballs I prefer not to. When you use chicken stock it gives it not only more flavor, but for me I find it that once you add the meatballs to your tomato sauce the flavors are enhanced. Now about the Tomato sauce or maybe depending where you are from it’ll be called “gravy” I’ll respect that. I prepare my sauce with*Pomi chopped tomatoes along with tomato paste, and I have been using this recipe for years. Another great reason for the wonderful recipe, is that what better meal to serve your family, I have also used the gluten-free Pasta when making it, and no one can tell the difference, the whole recipe can be made Gluten free as long as you use Gluten free bread crumbs. When these meatballs top the spaghetti and are smothered in my homemade sauce my family is delighted as they savor the perfect combination of comfort. Please don’t limit yourself to only having these meatballs on just spaghetti. They are fabulous served as a meatball Parmigiana hero. Now you can double the recipe as you can always have some to pull from my freezer.
Baked Italian Meatballs with Marinara Sauce
March 29, 2019
: 8-10
: 30 min
: 1 hr
: 1 hr 30 min
: Easy
A Family Favorite, less guilt with no frying!!
Ingredients
- Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus more for garnish
- 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade or low-sodium store-bought
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped or Grated as I do for those finicky eaters
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs more for when forming meatballs
- Sauce
- 3/4 cup chopped onion
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 26.4 ounces of Pomi* Chopped tomatoes containers
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 Cup Chicken broth
- 3/4 teaspoon dried Basil
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound thin spaghetti
- Salt
Directions
- Step 1 For the meatballs:
- Step 2 Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Step 3 In a large bowl, using your hands mix together the beef, pork, Parmesan, parsley, bread crumbs, stock, salt, cayenne, eggs, garlic and onions until evenly combined. Be careful not to overwork the mixture
- Step 4 you don’t want to compact the meat too much or the meatballs will be tough.
- Step 5 Place the remaining 1/4 cup of bread crumbs into a small bowl. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds, roll in the bread crumbs and place the meatballs in individual, place in a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Step 6 For the Sauce:
- Step 7 In a small bowl take the Tomato paste and mix with the cup of chicken broth until no lumps. In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 2 minutes. Add the bay leaves and cook until fragrant around 1 minute, add the tomato paste mix, Add the tomatoes, chicken stock and thyme, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer very gently, partially covered, until thick and significantly reduced, about 30 minutes.
- Step 8 Carefully add the meatballs, a few at a time, and simmer, stirring very gently now and then, until cooked through, 40 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Add most of the basil and stir, reserving a little to sprinkle over the top for serving.
- Step 9 Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a pot of salted boiling water until al dente, about 8 minutes.
- Step 10 To serve, put the pasta into a large serving bowl. Immediately ladle sauce on top and then the meatballs. Garnish with chopped fresh basil and freshly grated Parmesan. Plate the remaining sauce and meatballs in a separate bowl.
