Spaghetti and Meatballs
My family loves this spaghetti and meatballs recipe! Fresh garlic, Italian seasonings and Parmesan cheese make these meatballs so flavorful. Ready in 35 minutes!
I can’t think of a more crowd-pleasing dish than tender beef meatballs served with pasta and marinara sauce. I like to make a big Italian salad and a batch of homemade garlic bread to round out the meal.
Spaghetti and Meatballs: A Family Favorite
This spaghetti and meatballs is a staple in our meal rotation. It’s quick, easy, and the whole family loves it!
In this recipe, I use a slightly adapted version of my classic meatball recipe. The main difference is that I swapped the fresh onion for onion powder. My kids would always complain about the bits of onion in their meatballs, and honestly, I’m happy to skip chopping up fresh onion for this recipe.
This spaghetti and meatballs is good, old fashioned comfort food at its best. My family always goes back for seconds! I think you’ll love it, too.
Ingredients
- Ground Beef: 80% or 85% lean ground beef is best for meatballs. A little fat in the meat makes the meatballs moist, tender and flavorful.
- Panko Bread Crumbs: The bread crumbs help to bind the meatballs together. I like using panko because the larger crumb pieces trap more moisture in the meatballs, making them juicier.
- Grated Parmesan: Adds a lot of flavor.
- Egg: Helps to bind the meatballs together.
- Ketchup: Adds moisture and flavor.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is a must for flavor.
- Seasonings: You’ll need Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Spaghetti: I’ve found that 12 ounces of spaghetti is the perfect amount of pasta to serve with the meatballs and sauce. I usually cook the whole 16 ounce box of pasta and leave some without sauce for my plain pasta-loving kids, then mix the rest into the sauce.
- Marinara Sauce: Using a jar of store-bought marinara sauce saves time without sacrificing flavor, since there are so many great store-bought sauces available these days.
How to Make Spaghetti and Meatballs
Make the meatballs. Combine the panko bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, egg, ketchup, garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix. Then use your hands to mix the ground beef into the meatball mixture last. This ensures that you don’t overwork the meat when you mix everything together.
Shape meatballs. Use your hands to shape the meat mixture into 1 ½-inch meatballs and place them on a greased baking sheet.
Bake meatballs at 425° F for 13-15 minutes, until cooked through.
Cook the spaghetti while the meatballs bake. Salt the pasta cooking water to season the spaghetti as it cooks.
Put it all together. Simmer the sauce and baked meatballs in a large saucepan on the stove for 5-10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meatballs to a clean serving bowl. Stir the cooked spaghetti into the sauce.
Serve the meatballs over the spaghetti and sauce, garnished with fresh basil or parsley and grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Recipe Variations
- Use another type of pasta. I’ve also served this with other pasta shapes, such as penne, leaving the meatballs in the pot with the sauce to serve over the pasta.
- Instead of ground beef, make Turkey Meatballs or Chicken Meatballs.
- Swap the meatballs for Italian sausage. Bake Italian sausages for about 30 minutes at 400° F, or until cooked through. Then slice and stir into the sauce as it simmers on the stove.
- Cook the meatballs in the air fryer using my Air Fryer Meatballs recipe.
Make Ahead Instructions
Bake the meatballs up to 2 days ahead of time and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to serve them, warm the meatballs in the marinara sauce in a covered pot on the stove over medium-low heat until hot throughout. While the meatballs simmer, boil the pasta.
You can also freeze the baked meatballs in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then warm by simmering in marinara sauce on the stove, as described above.
Serving Ideas
I like to serve spaghetti and meatballs with:
- Salad: Green Salad or Kale Salad
- Bread: Sliced sourdough, Garlic Knots or Focaccia Bread
- Vegetables: Roasted Broccoli or Sautéed Zucchini
More Favorite Pasta Recipes
Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
- canola or avocado oil, for greasing the baking sheet
- ¼ cup Panko bread crumbs
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound ground beef, 80 or 85% lean is best
- 12 ounces spaghetti
- 24 ounce jar marinara sauce
- For serving, chopped fresh basil or parsley and grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Make the meatballs: Preheat oven to 425° F. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with canola oil or avocado oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the panko bread crumbs, grated Parmesan, egg, ketchup, garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined. Add the ground beef and use your hands to mix until just combined. Try not to over-mix or the meatballs may turn out tough.
- Use your hands to shape the meat mixture into 1 ½-inch meatballs and place on the greased baking sheet. I usually end up with 16-18 meatballs.
- Bake meatballs 13-15 minutes, until they are cooked through. Meatballs should register at least 160° F on an instant read thermometer.
- While the meatballs bake, cook the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions. Drain pasta (do not rinse).
- Warm the sauce: Put the marinara sauce in a large saucepan. Add the baked meatballs to the pot, cover, and simmer over low/medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the meatballs to a clean serving bowl. Stir the cooked spaghetti into the sauce.
- Serve the meatballs over the spaghetti and sauce, garnished with fresh basil or parsley and grated Parmesan cheese, if desired.
