Spaghetti & meatballs

Spaghetti & meatballs

By Sarah Cook
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(95 ratings)
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Prep: 30 mins Cook: 30 mins

Easy

Makes about 10 servings
Get everyone to help rolling meatballs and you'll soon have one supper on the table and another in the freezer

Nutrition and extra info

  • Sauce and meatballs can be frozen

Nutrition: per serving

  • kcal870
  • fat37g
  • saturates13g
  • carbs95g
  • sugars13g
  • fibre5g
  • protein46g
  • salt1.34g
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Ingredients

  • 8 good-quality pork sausages
  • 1kg beef mince
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
    Onion

    Onion

    un-yun

    Onions are endlessly versatile and an essential ingredient in countless recipes. Native to Asia…

  • ½ a large bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
    Parsley

    Parsley

    par-slee

    One of the most ubiquitous herbs in British cookery, parsley is also popular in European and…

  • 85g parmesan, grated, plus extra to serve if you like
    Parmesan

    Parmesan

    parm-ee-zan

    Parmesan is a straw-coloured hard cheese with a natural yellow rind and rich, fruity flavour. It…

  • 100g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs, beaten with a fork
    Eggs

    Egg

    egg

    The ultimate convenience food, eggs are powerhouses of nutrition, packed with protein and a…

  • olive oil, for roasting
    olive oil

    Olive oil

    ol-iv oyl

    Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…

  • spaghetti, to serve (you'll need about 100g per portion)

For the sauce

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
    olive oil

    Olive oil

    ol-iv oyl

    Probably the most widely-used oil in cooking, olive oil is pressed from fresh olives. It's…

  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 4 x 400g cans chopped tomato
  • 125ml red wine (optional)
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar
  • ½ a large bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
    Parsley

    Parsley

    par-slee

    One of the most ubiquitous herbs in British cookery, parsley is also popular in European and…

  • few basil leaves (optional)

Method

  1. First make the meatballs. Split the sausage skins and squeeze out the meat into your largest mixing bowl. Add the mince, onion, parsley, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, beaten eggs and lots of seasoning. Get your hands in and mix together really well – the more you squeeze and mash the mince, the more tender the meatballs will be.

  2. Heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Roll the mince mixture into about 50 golf-ball-size meatballs. Set aside any meatballs for freezing, allowing about 5 per portion, then spread the rest out in a large roasting tin – the meatballs will brown better if spaced out a bit. Drizzle with a little oil (about 1 tsp per portion), shake to coat, then roast for 20-30 mins until browned.

  3. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Heat the oil in your largest pan. Add the garlic and sizzle for 1 min. Stir in the tomatoes, wine, if using, sugar, parsley and seasoning. Simmer for 15-20 mins until slightly thickened. Stir in the basil leaves, if using, spoon out any portions for freezing, then add the cooked meatballs to the pan to keep warm while you boil the spaghetti. Spoon the sauce and meatballs over spaghetti, or stir them all together and serve with extra Parmesan and a few basil leaves, if you like.

  • Recipe Tip

    Freezing together

    To freeze together, mix the roasted meatballs into sauce and freeze in portions. Defrost thoroughly overnight in the fridge, then heat in a covered pan until the sauce and meatballs are piping hot.

  • Recipe Tip

    Freezing separately

    To freeze separately, put sauce in freezer bags, but open-freeze the uncooked meatballs on a tray, then wrap in cling film once hard. To cook, defrost meatballs and cook as above, or roast from frozen at 180C/160C fan/gas 4 for 30 mins, then shake and increase oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7 for 10 mins more. Defrost sauce and bring to a simmer in a pan before serving.

  • Recipe Tip

    Variation: Spanish-style meatballs

    Swap the Parmesan for 1 tbsp smoked paprika in the mince mixture, sizzle 140g finely diced chorizo in with the garlic for the sauce and leave out the basil. Serve with some roast potatoes and salad.

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Comments, questions and tips

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Jude P 1961
13th Jun, 2017
I love this recipe. It is really easy to do and full of flavour and I now weigh the meatballs so that they cook evenly in the oven. I make the full amount and freeze what I don't use and they still taste great when they're defrosted
joannalucy72
14th May, 2017
5.05
Love these! I use a packet of 6 good quality pork sausages and make sure the beef is not a 20% fat but more like 12% or less. I always fry the onions a little first and I add 2 teaspoons of fennelseeds which I think raise these to another level. After baking in the oven I add a little red wine or water to the roasting/baking tray and heat it gently until all the caramelized meaty bits come off the bottom and then I add all that to the tomato sauce. I usually use 1.5tbsp sugar. I tend to use 4/5 meatballs for an adult portion and 2/3 for kids which means that if you package them up carefully you can freeze two sets for future dinners - no brainer!
R knight
28th Oct, 2016
3.8
Good food, used pork mince instead of sausages. Really enjoyed!
GenneCook
29th Sep, 2016
This is for how many people? 4 to 8?
Crystalkat
2nd Oct, 2016
Makes 10 portions so 5 meatballs per person
Mr Moaner
29th Apr, 2016
I have always enjoyed rich meatballs but have never found quite the right accompaniment. Believe me, 'spaghetti' was the perfect partner. I am tempted to now try 'spaghetti' with other dishes as a result.
disillusioned
9th Mar, 2016
5.05
No need for breadcrumbs if you need gluten free. Baking the meatballs is a quicker and cleaner way of cooking them in one batch. I used rapeseed oil instead of olive oil, just as good and supports British farmers.
hazelsimpson
24th Jan, 2016
3.8
What a great way to cook the meatballs, instead of frying them in batches which takes forever. Ours look nice and crisp. Had to pour quite a bit of oil off them so might use less next time. Also didn't make quite enough sauce, but will freeze some of the meatballs for another time.
lizleicester
14th Nov, 2015
5.05
Delicious and easy. I used Cumberland sausages and the resulting meatballs were lovely.
bluesnicket
29th Oct, 2015
Lovely recipe. Changes I made: 6 pork and 2 toulouse sausages (because that's what I had), no oil when baking the meatballs and I added mascarpone to the tomato sauce because it's too acidic for me otherwise. I made 47 meatballs with my meatballer scoop, I'll probably make them a little smaller next time. The sauce was very good but there's not enough for the amount of meatballs.

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Crystalkat
2nd Oct, 2016
How long can you freeze for?
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
13th Oct, 2016
Thanks for your question. You can freeze these for up to 2 - 3 months. More freezing information is in the tip above.
amarsha4
18th Mar, 2015
Is that nutritional information correct? I've cooked a lot of things from this site and never come across anything this unhealthy!
goodfoodteam's picture
goodfoodteam
23rd Mar, 2015
Hi amarsha4, many thanks for taking the time to get in touch and give your feedback. Sorry to hear you're not tempted by this recipe, we try to offer a balance of different cooking styles and methods. We do have a number of meatball recipes available that are lower in calories such as this one made with turkey mince http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/spicy-meatballs-chilli-black-beans and this version, with fennel is delicious http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2892667/sausage-and-fennel-meatballs-with-lentils  Hope this helps and thanks again for getting in touch. 
jadey1793
1st Aug, 2013
It is still mentioned, under the Shopping section- you have to press the arrows to see all the tips. But for conviniences sake: Variation: Spanish-style meatballs Swap the Parmesan for 1 tbsp smoked paprika in the mince mixture, sizzle 140g finely diced chorizo in with the garlic for the sauce and leave out the basil. Serve with some roast potatoes and salad.