Our family loves Italian food, especially when I make my homemade Spaghetti Sauce and Mighty Meatballs. The sauce cooks long and slow and fills the kitchen with such a delightful aroma it makes everyone hungry.
Spicy Meatballs aka Mighty Meatballs
As a girl, I remember seeing a television commercial with an old man at a table with his wife serving him a plate of spaghetti and huge meatballs. It went something like “Mama Mia, that’s a Spicy Meatball.“
When telling my grandchildren about this, it somehow got mixed in translation to be “Mama Mia, that’s a Mighty Meatball!” And the name stuck. Now, when I make this dish, my grandkids always ask if they can help make Mighty Meatballs. And I respond, “Of course!”
This is a wonderful recipe to make with kids, who can help crush the tomatoes and make the huge, yummy meatballs.
See more Meatball Recipes. Browse Italian Food, or Cooking with Kids Recipes.
A Combination of Recipes
This recipe for Spaghetti Sauce and Mighty Meatballs is actually a combination of two other Spaghetti Recipes that I have on this site. I like each of them equally well. One uses fresh garden tomatoes (which only happens in late summer), and the other is for a slow cooker.
More often than not, I end up with a combination of the two–which is what you have here. I consider it to be the Best of the Best, because you can make it any time of the year! Here’s how we do it!
Ingredients for Spaghetti Sauce and Mighty Meatballs
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Instructions For Making This Recipe
To begin, gather all the ingredients so you have everything close at hand on the counter or table. I like to use small prep bowls when I have so many ingredients that I’m working with to keep everything straight in my head.
Prepare the Ingredients
Using a Chef’s knife and cutting board, dice the sweet onion. Peel and mince the garlic. If desired, slice and chop the mushrooms. Grate the fresh parmesan with a fine-edged grater.
If using fresh herbs, chop the fresh parsley and basil.
When converting dried herbs to fresh herbs the formula is 1 teaspoon of dried herbs = 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs. So, in this instance, one tablespoon of dried parsley would equal 3 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley.
Place whole tomatoes in a large bowl and crush them with your hands until there are no longer any large pieces. (My grandchildren love to help with this part.)
I use two large cans of tomatoes for this sauce. One is whole plum tomatoes that we crush with our hands. (Or you may use petite diced tomatoes in place of the plum tomatoes.) The second is crushed tomatoes. The combination of the two types gives the sauce more texture, which breaks down during the long cooking time.
A Note About Tomatoes
When possible, I encourage you to use San Marzano tomatoes, which are a deep red, plum-type of tomato grown in San Marzano Italy. They are said to be the finest tomato for making red sauce, and I agree.
Cento makes both types listed in this recipe.
Make the Sauce
In a large saucepan, sauté the prepared onions, garlic, and mushrooms, if using, in butter and extra virgin olive oil until tender.
Add in the diced and crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir to combine.
Next add in the granulated sugar, bay leaf, dried parsley, basil, and dried oregano. Stir in the dry red wine, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to combine.
Bring the sauce to a boil, and then cover and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
The longer this sauce simmers, the better. There is nothing better than stepping into the kitchen and getting a whiff of the delicious aroma of this sauce. Taste-testing is even better, and I always make sure to let everyone have a taste!
Toward the end of the cooking time, I will often use an immersion blender in the sauce to create a silky smooth texture. Be sure to remove the bay leaf before blending.
Prepare the Meatballs
While the sauce is cooking, prepare the Mighty Meatballs! Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork sausage, Italian-seasoned bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, large egg, dried minced onion, and Italian herb seasoning. Mix well.
I usually start out with a wooden spoon and then move to mixing it all together with my hands, ensuring all of the ingredients have been mixed in well. Again, kids love getting their hands messy, so be sure to involve them in this part!
Roll the mixture into balls about the size of a tennis ball or baseball. I can usually get around 10-12 meatballs from this recipe. Place the meatballs in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until done.
A large muffin scoop works well for this measurement so that all the meatballs are the same size. I use a Vollrath Green Scoop, Size 12 (2-2/3 oz).
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Finish the Sauce and Cook the Spaghetti
Once the meatballs have cooked through, carefully spoon the meatballs into the red sauce and allow to simmer for 20-30 minutes to infuse the flavors. Be sure to include any oils or fond that may linger in the dish.
While the sauce finishes, prepare your favorite dried spaghetti according to package instructions or double my Homemade Pasta Recipe Here.
If you opt not to make fresh pasta for this recipe, I recommend De Cecco Spaghetti #12. I like to keep a few packages of it in my pantry and can purchase it at Walmart or online at Amazon. For this recipe, you’ll need 24-32 oz.
Serve Spaghetti and Meatballs Family-Style
When ready to serve, transfer meatballs to a plate or bowl. Using a pasta fork, remove the pasta from the water and into the sauce. Carefully mix together until the pasta is coated with sauce.
At this point, you may opt to serve the Spaghetti and Meatballs family-style in one big bowl, or in separate bowls (one for the pasta and one for the meatballs), or on individual plates.
Serve meatballs over the spaghetti sauce and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I like to prepare a green salad and either Soft Breadsticks, or Cheesy Bread Sticks to go with this meal. This recipe will serve 8-10 people.
Wine Suggestion
If desired, serve Spaghetti Sauce with Mighty Meatballs with a nice Chianti, such as Lucignano Conte Lodovico Gvicciardini, or a Bordeaux Red Blend such as Aia Vecchia Lagone Toscana, from Tuscany, Italy. Or if you prefer a California wine, it’s hard to go wrong with Francis Ford Coppola Diamond Collection Claret.
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Spaghetti Sauce and Mighty Meatballs
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Ingredients
Red Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup sweet onion (diced)
- 2 tablespoons garlic (minced)
- 1/2 cup mushrooms (chopped (optional))
- 28 oz. whole or petite diced tomatoes (crushed by hand)
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 whole bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley (or 3 tablespoons fresh)
- 1 tablespoon basil (or 3 tablespoons fresh)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- fresh basil and fresh parsley
Meatballs
- 1 pound lean ground beef (80/20)
- 1 pound ground pork sausage
- 1/3 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (grated )
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
- 1.5 pounds dried spaghetti (See my Homemade Pasta Recipe Here)
Instructions
- To begin, gather all your ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table. I like to use small prep bowls when I have so many ingredients that I'm working with, to keep everything straight in my head.
Prepare the Ingredients
- Using a Chef's knife and cutting board, dice the sweet onion. Peel and mince the garlic. If desired, slice and chop the mushrooms.
- Grate the fresh parmesan cheese with a fine-edge grater.
- If using fresh herbs, chop the fresh parsley and basil.
- Place whole or diced tomatoes in a large bowl and crush them with your hands until there are no longer any large pieces. (My grandchildren love to help with this part.)
Make the Sauce
- In a large saucepan, sauté the prepared sweet onions, garlic, and mushrooms in butter and olive oil until tender.
- Add in crushed tomatoes, granulated sugar, bay leaf, dried parsley, basil, and oregano.
- Next add in the dry red wine, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Stir together to combine. Bring the sauce to a boil, and then cover and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer for 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- Toward the end of the cooking time, I sometimes use an immersion blender in the sauce to create a smooth sauce. Be sure to remove the bay leaf before blending.
Make the Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 375℉. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, ground pork sausage, Italian-seasoned bread crumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, large egg, dried minced onion, and Italian herb seasoning. Mix well. (I usually start out with a wooden spoon and then move to mixing it all together with my hands. Again, kids love this part, so be sure to involve them in this part!)
- Roll the mixture into balls about the size of a tennis balls or baseballs. A muffin scoop works well for this measurement. I can usually get around 10-12 meatballs from this recipe.
- Place meatballs in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake uncovered in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until done.
- Carefully spoon the meatballs into the red sauce and allow to simmer for 30 minutes together to infuse the flavors. Be sure to include the oils and fond for added flavor.
- While the sauce finishes, prepare your favorite dried spaghetti according to package instructions or double my Homemade Pasta Recipe Here.
To Serve
- When ready to serve, transfer meatballs to a plate or bowl. Using a pasta fork, remove the pasta from the water and into the sauce. Carefully mix together until the pasta is coated with sauce.
- At this point, you may opt to serve family-style in one big bowl, or in separate bowls (one for the pasta and one for the meatballs), or on individual plates.
- Serve meatballs over the spaghetti sauce and pasta and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and fresh parsley or basil. Serves 8-10.
