“Will you bring your homemade spaghetti meatballs?”

The Academy Award of home cooks everywhere. I get this all the time because this recipe is that good. People assume I make it from scratch and I don’t correct them. The meatballs are from scratch; the sauce is not, but it’s close. Here’s the recipe along with a few tips.

Versatile, the recipe can be made with spaghetti squash or pasta; cooks choice. Pasta is faster (unless you make your own pasta, than it’s not.) And you can make lots of mistakes and still end with a great dinner.

A great way to  sneak vegetables into a meat eaters diet. You will see why.

The Meatball Secret

It’s the size. Most people make meatballs to large. The trick is get the perfect size to sauce ratio. Chefs like Gordon Ramsey and Emeril Lagasse say this over and over and yet those huge meatballs set in front of us by Olive Garden remain the benchmark.

Meatballs should be simple and small.

I have nothing against Olive Garden, I eat there often. The truth is, it is time consuming to make small meatballs and they must keep costs under a certain a margin.

Meatballs should be small enough to fit on a spoon or in the cup of your palm. 

You can use ground beef and ground pork, ground beef and ground turkey or chicken or ground pork and ground turkey. If you use group beef and a poultry meat try to get the better ground beef chunk (no less than 20% fat.) If you get the leaner stuff the meatballs will be dry and have less flavor. Use equal portions of both meats one fatter and one leaner.

The better the meat, the better the meatball, so I buy mine from a butcher shop when I can.

These meatballs freeze well so double the ingredients and use 2 pounds ground beef and 2 pounds ground turkey and make two meals at once. The pan’s dirty, you’re dirty; why not? The sauce and squash also freeze well.

I like to mix everything together and freeze it in single helping portions.

The Parsley Secret

Use Italian or flat leaf parsley. It is the key to a good meatballs and a great sauce. Do not use the curly leaf parsley; it is a decoration. Italian Parsley looks a lot like Cilantro so be sure you have the right stuff. Taste it if not sure. It’s the only way to know. I’ve seen them mislabeled at farmers markets. You do not want to use Cilantro. It is not the same thing or even close.

The Squash Secret

You can use any squash to make this, but spaghetti squash looks the most like spaghetti. Most recipes will tell you to cut the squash in half, clean the seeds out and place it cut side down on a foil covered baking sheet with a little water.

The squash is easier to cut and clean after it’s baked; and we all like less work, bake it whole. Use a medium to large spaghetti squash, poke a hole in it with a knife, place on baking sheet with or without foil, it’s up to you, and bake at 425 degrees for an hour to an hour and a half. Let it cool, cut and clean. Scrape out with a fork.

Equipment

It is possible to use one pot and one pan to make this; I did it once. Usually, I use three pots, one colander, 5 prep bowls and a million spoons, but I’m a slob.

Use thick bottom pots. Pots sold at stores like Meijer and Walmart in sets generally are not thick bottom pots. Pots sold individually for a bit more, usually are thick bottomed. I use Faberware pots with the name stamped on the bottom. The pot should be bottom heavy, it is hard to put it on it’s side. I ordered mine on Amazon.

A food processor is helpful but not necessary. You can use a chopper or chopping knife. A wooden spoon is helpful, but not necessary. It’s okay if it’s chunkier.

Adjustments and Mistakes

If there is something in this recipe you don’t like, like mushrooms, leave it out. If you like meat in your sauce, add it. You can use any cheese that will melt or any kind of bread crumbs. If you’re cutting down on sodium, don’t put it in. If you want more veggies in your diet, add them. This is a very forgiving dish.

I have made many mistakes making this dish; the first time I made it, I filled the 28 ounce puree cans with water and added it to the sauce. That was 56 ounces of tomato puree and 56 ounces of water. It turned out fine. If this should happen,  add a 6 ounce can of tomato paste and allow the sauce to cook down by simmering on low for about an hour. 

I have forgotten cheese, eggs, parsley, used plain breadcrumbs, used potato chips instead of breadcrumbs, used Panko, accidentally used cilantro, and it still can out good. 

The one thing that will ruin this recipe is burning the tomato sauce. If this should happen, do not scrape it off the bottom of the pot. Check the heat down and stir carefully or transfer to another pot.

You can avoid burning the sauce by using a thick bottom pot, keeping the heat low and stirring occasionally.

What do you think? Let me know in comments below.