Mrs. Clay’s Spaghetti & Meatballs
There are plenty of nights when opening a jar of good pasta sauce is exactly the right answer.
And then there are the days when I want to make the whole thing.
This is that spaghetti and meatballs.
The sauce starts with onion cooked slowly until it practically disappears, tomato paste cooked until its flavor deepens, plenty of garlic, good tomatoes and a Parmigiano-Reggiano rind tucked into the pot while everything slowly simmers.
The meatballs get their own little bit of attention too. Beef and pork, ricotta, Parmesan and a milk-soaked panko panade keep them tender, and browning them before they finish in the sauce adds another layer of flavor that I think is absolutely worth the extra skillet.
This isn’t the quickest spaghetti dinner I make.
But when I have the time and want the kind of spaghetti and meatballs that makes everyone notice dinner, this is the one.
Originally served as part of: Mrs. Clay’s Spaghetti & Meatballs Dinner with Cheesy Garlic Parmesan Breadsticks & Parmesan Iceberg Salad
Mrs. Clay’s Spaghetti & Meatballs
Yield: About 8–10 servings
Ingredients
For the Tomato Sauce
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, very finely minced or grated
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 6 cloves fresh garlic, pressed or very finely minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cans (28 ounces each) Cento Certified San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 can (about 28 ounces) Mutti crushed tomatoes
- ½ cup water
- 1 Parmigiano-Reggiano rind
- 1 to 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 6 to 10 fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons butter
- Sugar, only if needed after tasting
For the Meatballs
- 1 cup plain panko breadcrumbs
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- ⅓ cup whole-milk ricotta
- 2 eggs
- 3 ounces finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- ¼ cup very finely grated onion
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, pressed
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- Olive oil, for browning
For the Spaghetti
- 2 pounds spaghetti
- Prepared tomato sauce
- Prepared meatballs
- Reserved pasta cooking water
- Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, for serving
- Fresh basil, for serving
Instructions
1. Start the Tomato Sauce
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-low heat.
Add the finely minced or grated onion with a small pinch of salt.
Cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is very soft, translucent and almost melting into the oil. We aren’t looking for aggressive browning here.
Add the tomato paste.
Cook for another 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the tomato paste darkens slightly and becomes a deeper brick-red color.
Add the garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and black pepper.
Cook for 30–45 seconds, just until the garlic becomes fragrant.
2. Add the Tomatoes
Add the whole tomatoes with all their juices, the crushed tomatoes and ½ cup water.
For a smooth sauce, blend directly in the pot with an immersion blender until it reaches the consistency you like.
Add the Parmigiano-Reggiano rind and 1 to 1½ teaspoons kosher salt.
Bring the sauce just to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to low.
Simmer uncovered or with the lid slightly ajar for approximately 2 hours before adding the meatballs.
Stir every 20–30 minutes, making sure nothing is catching on the bottom of the pot.
3. Make the Panade
While the sauce simmers, place the panko and milk in a large bowl.
Stir and let the mixture stand for about 10 minutes.
The breadcrumbs should absorb the milk and become very soft.
This panade is one of the things that helps keep the finished meatballs tender instead of dense.
4. Season the Meatball Mixture
To the panade, add the ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, grated onion, garlic, parsley, salt, black pepper, oregano, garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce.
Mix thoroughly.
Add the ground beef and pork last.
Using your fingers, gently lift and fold the meat into the other ingredients just until everything is evenly combined.
Don’t knead or aggressively mash the mixture together. The gentler you are here, the more tender the meatballs will be.
5. Cook a Tiny Test Meatball
Before shaping the whole bowl, pinch off about a teaspoon of the meat mixture.
Cook it in a small skillet until done.
Taste it.
This is your chance to decide whether the mixture needs another pinch of salt, pepper or seasoning before you’ve committed to 30 meatballs.
Adjust if necessary.
6. Shape & Chill the Meatballs
Gently shape the mixture into approximately 26–30 meatballs, about 1¾ to 2 inches each.
Try to keep them uniform, but don’t pack them tightly.
Place the formed meatballs on a tray and refrigerate for approximately 20 minutes.
This little rest helps them hold together when they hit the skillet.
7. Brown the Meatballs
Heat enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Working in batches, add the meatballs without crowding the pan.
Brown them on several sides.
They do not need to cook completely through at this point. The goal is to develop that flavorful browned exterior before they finish gently cooking in the sauce.
Transfer the browned meatballs to a plate as you work.
8. Finish the Meatballs in the Sauce
If you’d like some meatless sauce for serving, divide the sauce between two pots before adding the meatballs.
Carefully lower the browned meatballs into the remaining sauce.
Keep the heat low and allow them to simmer gently until completely cooked through and tender.
Avoid aggressively stirring the pot. A gentle shake or careful spoon is much kinder to the meatballs while they’re finishing.
Continue simmering the sauce gently until you’re ready to serve.
9. Finish the Sauce
Taste the sauce.
Adjust the salt if necessary.
If the tomatoes still taste genuinely too acidic, add about ½ teaspoon sugar and taste again. Don’t automatically add sugar—the sauce may not need it at all.
Remove the Parmigiano-Reggiano rind.
Turn off the heat.
Stir in the butter and fresh basil.
If you divided the sauce into two pots, divide the butter and basil between them.
10. Cook the Spaghetti
Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a vigorous boil.
Cook the spaghetti until al dente.
Before draining, reserve about 2 cups of the starchy pasta cooking water.
Drain the spaghetti.
Do not rinse it.
11. Finish the Spaghetti in the Sauce
Return the spaghetti to the pot.
Add enough of the meatless tomato sauce to lightly coat the noodles.
Add a splash of reserved pasta water.
Toss over low heat for about 60–90 seconds, adding additional pasta water if necessary, until the sauce clings to the spaghetti instead of simply sitting on top of it.
12. Serve
Divide the spaghetti among plates or shallow bowls.
Spoon additional tomato sauce over the pasta and add meatballs.
Finish generously with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and fresh basil.
Serve hot.
A Couple of Helpful Kitchen Things
Sharing the meals we make and the things that work in my kitchen is one of my favorite parts of Mrs. Clay. If you happen to need one of the items I’ve mentioned below, please consider using my link. It never costs you anything extra, but I may earn a small commission, and those little bits truly help me keep this little corner of the internet going. I’m so grateful you’re here.
Braun MultiQuick Hand Blender — Blending the tomatoes right in the pot makes getting this sauce beautifully smooth much easier and saves transferring hot sauce back and forth to a countertop blender. My immersion blender is ancient, so this isn’t the exact one sitting in my kitchen, but if I were replacing mine today, Braun’s MultiQuick line is one I would seriously consider.
OXO Good Grips Large Cookie Scoop — A scoop isn’t necessary for making meatballs, but it can make portioning a big batch much faster and more consistent before you gently finish shaping them by hand. The OXO large scoop is a size 20 portioner designed for consistent portions, and OXO specifically notes that its scoops can also be used for foods like meatballs.
