Quick, delicious and very child friendly these Easy Homemade Meatballs with Tomato Sauce are perfect served with spaghetti for an easy peasy midweek meal.
Spaghetti and meatballs – my kids’ favourite!
Mmm meatballs in a rich tomato sauce served tumbled over spaghetti and sprinkled with cheese – pure comfort food, but also a great crowd-pleaser… especially with the little people!
I am pretty lucky – my kids are generally not too fussy and will generally put up with me endlessly testing ‘my latest recipe’ on them (but believe me, they don’t hold back on the critique!).
But ask them what they’d really like to eat for dinner and the list is pretty short and rather predictable… pizza, fish fingers and chips, noodles (mostly my daughter), baked beans (my son, who would happily eat his own bodyweight in them if I let him)… and spaghetti and meatballs!!
My kids can’t get enough of spaghetti and meatballs… but here’s the thing. I am not massively keen on buying ready-made meatballs from the shop. I like to know exactly what goes in my food – I prefer to cook from scratch… and well, I kind of have this thing about long lists of ingredients (especially ones I can’t pronounce!)
Making homemade meatballs is easier than you think!
Now I know what you are thinking… spaghetti and meatballs is one of those ‘throw it together in 30 mins, easy peasy, no need to think too hard’ kind of dinners – why mess with that?
But honestly making your own meatballs is not that much extra work (10 mins extra tops), it’s actually kind of fun – and you can even rope your kids into making them with/for you (depending on age)… thereby occupying them with something positive and feeding them more healthily to boot. WIN WIN in my book!
All you need to do is tip some fresh beef and/or pork mince, a couple of cloves of garlic, a little onion and a teaspoon or two of herbs into a bowl, mix together with your fingers and shape into balls. And then you are at the stage you would be if you’d bought the meatballs.
While the meatballs are baking in the oven (far easier than frying, less mess – and healthier), you can get on with making the simple tomato sauce and cooking the spaghetti.
Once the meatballs are cooked, it’s just a case of popping them in the sauce for a few minutes and then serving it all on top of the spaghetti and sprinkling with cheese.
100% cooked from scratch in just 35 minutes – and much tastier and healthier than the shop bought version.
Can you reheat Meatballs with Tomato Sauce?
Absolutely! If you have any meatballs and sauce leftover, simply put in a plastic lidded container and place in the fridge. The meatballs and sauce will keep for up to 3 days.
To reheat, simply place in a saucepan and gently simmer until piping hot all the way through (you may need to add a little more water if the sauce starts to get dry).
Make extra meatballs for the freezer!
Since making twice as many meatballs is hardly any extra effort, I highly recommend making a double quantity of these delicious meatballs. Use half today and freeze the other half ready to use on a super busy day when you need good food fast!
You can either freeze the meatballs after they’ve cooked in the oven (but before you’ve put them in the sauce) OR you can make a double quantity of the sauce too and freeze the meatballs in the sauce.
To reheat version 1 (just the meatballs), simply make the sauce as per the instructions below. Then plop the defrosted meatballs in the sauce and cook until the meatballs are piping hot all the way through.
To reheat version 2 (meatballs in sauce), first defrost, then put the meatballs and sauce in a saucepan and reheat until piping hot all the way through (you may need to add a little more water if the sauce starts to get dry).
Make these meatballs your own – adaptations to try
I like to make these meatballs with a mix of beef and pork as I think it gives the nicest flavour, but you can make these meatballs with just beef or just pork if you prefer. If you want to try something different, you could also make these with lamb, or even turkey mince instead.
I’ve gone for classic Italian flavours of garlic, oregano and parmesan in my meatballs – but if you prefer you could switch the herbs – try a mix of thyme and rosemary, add a little chilli for heat and/or smoked paprika for smokiness… or turn these a bit Middle Eastern by adding a teaspoon of cumin and some chopped fresh mint (and lose the parmesan!).
What to serve with meatballs?
My favourite way to serve these Easy Homemade Meatballs with Tomato Sauce (and my kids’ favourite way too!) is on top of a pile of spaghetti and sprinkled with parmesan.
But you could serve them with any type of pasta you like – for example linguine, penne, fusilli… You can serve the meatballs mixed into the pasta rather than on top, and you could swap the parmesan for mozzarella or good ol’ cheddar.
But there are also lots of different things you can serve with these delicious little meatballs to mix it up a little. They go brilliantly with rice, couscous, bulgur wheat – even mashed potato…
Or, if you want to jazz things up, why not try one of these accompaniments?
What to drink with spaghetti and meatballs?
With this kind of meal, I feel drawn to Italian wine… and it’s definitely more of a red wine meal than white IMHO! I would go for a simple Chianti or a Montepulciano d’Abruzzo.
If you like my Easy Homemade Meatballs with Tomato Sauce…
…you might also like:
- Turkey Tikka Masala Meatballs with Bombay New Potatoes
- Lamb Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
- Spicy Persian-Style Lamb Meatballs
- Easy Homemade Swedish Meatballs (IKEA Copycat)
Lamb Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Easy Homemade Meatballs with Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
Easy Homemade Meatballs
- 250 g beef mince
- 250 g pork mince
- ½ onion grated
- 1 clove garlic grated
- 25 g parmesan cheese grated
- Salt and pepper to taste
Easy Tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ onion diced
- 1 clove garlic crushed or grated
- 250 ml passata (or chopped tinned tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil ripped or chopped roughly
- Salt and pepper to taste
To serve
- Spaghetti (or your favourite pasta shape)
- Parmesan cheese grated (or mozzarella, or cheddar)
- Basil leaves
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F.
- Place all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix together thoroughly with your hands (you can do this with a wooden spoon, if you prefer, but it’s much better done with your hands!)
- Roll mixture into balls of roughly 25g (1 oz). This should make approximately 44 balls. (Tip – there’s no need to weigh every single meatball! Simply weigh out the first one, then try to make all the other balls roughly the same size by eye.)
- Place the balls on a baking tray lined with lightly greased foil and cook in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. There’s no need to turn them.
- While the meatballs are baking in the oven, make the tomato sauce. Place the oil and diced onion in a wide saucepan or a deep frying pan (a sauté pan is ideal) and cook over a low heat with the lid on for 3 minutes, or until softened but not browned. Add the garlic and fry gently for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the passata, basil, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down again and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the oven-baked meatballs to the sauce and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
- Serve over spaghetti and with a sprinkling of parmesan and a scatter of basil leaves.
Notes
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Corina Blum says
My kids love homemade meatballs too and these look delicious! I’ve also been reminded that it’s quite a while since we had meatballs so I really should make some again soon! x
Eb Gargano says
Haha – yes, they are super popular in this house too – my kids saw me sharing this post yesterday and begged me to make them again soon! Great to have a meal like this you just KNOW they will love. Eb x
Jo Allison / Jo's Kitchen Larder says
I was having a little giggle as I was reading about your kids’ culinary preferences as they could so high five my two with spaghetti and meatballs being definitely very high up their food choices pyramid lol. Your meatballs look delicious – perfect family meal loved by all! x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Jo! Haha – glad it’s not just my kids!! Eb x
Donna says
Meatballs are one of the few things that all our kids eat. I must confess though, I hardly ever make my own! Must give this a try! #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Yes – meatballs are a great crowdpleaser! Never any complaints in our house when I make these. You should definitely give making your own a go – these ones are so simple, and you can get the kids involved too! Eb x
Louise Carruthers says
We make our own meatballs too; there’s something a little special about tucking into them when you’ve made your own! These sound great; I’ve popped them onto the meal planner for next week as it’s been a while since we last made them 🙂 x
Eb Gargano says
Oh there definitely is! Thanks Louise – happy to have inspired you 😀 Eb x
Helen - Cooking with my kids says
My son shares a love of baked beans. One of his favourite sayings at the dinner table is “i’m only going to eat the beans”. We’ve made our own meatballs a few times, my daughter loves them (making and eating), you’ve inspired me to add them to the dinner menu again! #cookblogshare
Eb Gargano says
Haha – what is it about baked beans? My son would eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner if I let him, and ALWAYS has seconds! Happy that I have inspired you to make meatballs again! Eb x
Monika Dabrowski says
This is my children’s favourite meal too! I think all children love meatballs. Your recipe sounds easy and delicious, which is a great pairing especially in family recipes. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare.
Eb Gargano says
Not sure I’ve met a child yet that doesn’t like meatballs! Haha – thanks Monika… as you know, I’m ALL about easy and delicious 😀 Eb x
Hannah says
These look absolutely delicious – I love that you bake them and that they’re freezer-friendly!
Eb Gargano says
Thank you! Making them makes them so much easier and a little healthier too – WIN WIN!! It also means it’s very easy to make a massive batch of them for the freezer 😀 Eb x
Rebecca - Glutarama says
Haha, I think the general consensus is YAY FOR MEATBALLS! Another show of hands here. I make mine rather large – American style maybe, not sure? but I love the idea of making them smaller as you have here. Going to make these this weekend, my son Lewis will love you for it 😉
Eb Gargano says
Haha – yes, I think you are right! Yes I’ve seen larger meatballs, but I have to say I much prefer smaller ones – quicker to cook and it kind of feels like you are getting more – haha!! Aw, really hope Lewis (and the rest of you!) enjoys them 😀 Eb x
Vickie says
We made this tonight. Thank you! It was super easy and quick. The kids loved it! They wanted seconds and my daughter, who is going through a fussy phase, was pretty impressed. I would add Worcestershire sauce for a bit more body in the sauce. Will definitely make this again.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks for this lovely feedback. I am so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed this so much. Love the idea of adding Worcestershire sauce! Eb 🙂
Andrea says
Hi Eb. Have made these a few times now. Second time I just made the meatballs and bought a jar of sauce – never again – hubby not happy with that at all! Just made them again at the weekend and made double the amount as it works out cheaper to buy the mince in 500g packs. Have frozen nearly half them – had to smack ‘someones’ hand when he stole one from the stash cooling for the freezer. That’s one less for him next time!!