Spaghetti and meatballs
Yakir Havin
•
June 3, 2026
Every time I'm about to make spaghetti and meatballs on a weeknight, I remember that when done well, this dish can easily take 1.5 hours. There are a lot of steps involved, and even if you skip some (like browning the meatballs), you might be better off doing this one on a weekend.
It does, however, produce one of the best home-cooked dinners going around, and I surprise myself each time I eat it that ground beef, tomato sauce, and some pasta can taste this good.
Ingredients (18)
Ingredients (18)
Meatballs
Tomato sauce
Instructions
Finely dice the onion (1), mince the garlic (5 cloves), and chop the parsley (30 g)
Mix the meatball ingredients together in a bowl (but avoid overmixing), then roll into balls, whatever size you prefer.
Brown the meatballs in a Dutch oven with olive oil (3 Tbsp), but don't worry if they're not perfectly brown all over. Focus on getting one side nice and brown, and then flipping to get the other side. Remove from pan.
Alternatively, bake the meatballs on a sheet pan for 20 minutes at 450-475F. This is a better option if you have lots of meatballs and would need to brown them in a pan in batches, which would take a long time. You can save time by not browning the meatballs at all, but you will compromise on some flavour.
In the same pot, sweat the onion (1) and garlic (5 cloves) for a few minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper. Use the liquid that releases from the onion to scrape up the brown bits from the pot.
If you want to save time but use an extra dish, you can make the tomato sauce in a separate pot while the meatballs are browning. If you go with that option, brown the meatballs in a frying pan and make the sauce in a Dutch oven, and deglaze the brown bits from the meatball pan and add it into the sauce.
Add red pepper flakes (pinch) and tomato paste (1 Tbsp) and cook for a couple minutes to deepen the tomato flavour.
Add the canned tomatoes (794 g), crushing them if they are not already, and get the sauce up to a simmer. Once again, use the liquid from the canned tomatoes to scrape up brown bits from the pot.
If using basic canned tomatoes, a bit of sugar can help sweeten the sauce. Always taste and adjust to your liking.
Nestle the meatballs into the sauce and simmer covered for at least 15 minutes, but up to 45 for more tender meatballs and a richer sauce. For the final 10-15 minutes of cooking, throw in a few sprigs of basil.
Meanwhile, in a separate pot, cook the spaghetti in salted water to a minute under package instructions, reserve some pasta water, and drain.
Start the spaghetti when you have 10-15 minutes left on your meatballs.
Remove the meatballs from the pot, discard the basil sprigs, and mix the spaghetti into the sauce, finishing its cooking, and adding some pasta water if needed for the consistency.
Serve the spaghetti with meatballs on top, and garnish with a few leaves of basil. Finish with extra virgin olive oil and fresh cracked black pepper.
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