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This is an Italian-style pasta sauce with homemade meatballs that’s cooked slowly over low heat for an intense tomato flavor. It’s easy to make the spaghetti sauce ahead of time; gently reheat and add meatballs 30 minutes before you’re ready to serve with your favorite pasta.
Whether you're looking for a spaghetti sauce with meatballs for your next spaghetti night, a meatball sub, or any other Italian recipe, you have just found the best recipe on the internet. This simple recipe shows you how to make homemade meatballs with a delicious and fresh tomato sauce.
We promise you will never go back to store-bought meatballs or spaghetti sauce ever again! We recommend getting a big pot ready because you'll want to double (or triple) this recipe.
How to Make Spaghetti Sauce With Meatballs
You'll find the full step-by-step recipe below, but here's what you can expect from this easy recipe:
Make the Meatballs
Combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, black pepper, garlic powder, and egg in a bowl. Form into meatballs. Store, covered, in the refrigerator until ready to use.
While we love this method, some reviewers like to brown the meatballs before adding them to the sauce to lock in the flavor.
Make the Sauce
In a large saucepan, combine garlic, onion, tomatoes, salt, sugar, and a bay leaf. Simmer those ingredients for 90 minutes.
Add the Meatballs
Add tomato paste, basil, pepper, and the meatballs to the sauce. Simmer for an additional 30 minutes (or until meatballs are cooked).
How to Use Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs
This recipe makes the perfect, versatile sauce for any Italian-inspired dish. You can serve it over your favorite pasta for an easy dinner. Or you can try one of these mouthwatering recipes.
Meatball SandwichMeatball Sub CasseroleSpaghetti Bread
How to Store Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs
Store this spaghetti sauce with meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for three to five days.
Can you Freeze Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs?
Absolutely, and it's actually a great idea! You'll want to brown the meatballs first before freezing them, however.
If you make a big batch of sauce, add a few meatballs to zip-top freezer bags and top with sauce. Label the bags and freeze them flat. Sauce will remain fresh for up to three months.
You can also freeze the sauce and meatballs separately. Simply ladle the sauce in zip-top freezer bags and freeze them flat.
To freeze meatballs, first brown them, then place them on a baking sheet. Freeze the baking sheet for a few hours (or overnight), until the meatballs are solid. Transfer the frozen meatballs to a zip-top freezer bag.
Sauce and meatballs will remain fresh for up to three months.
Cookdap Community Tips and Praise
“Great recipe and always well received by the family! I quickly pan fry the meatballs just enough to get the outsides brown, but not cooked all the way through. It adds firmness and nice color. I have also made this successfully in the crackpot and let it simmer for hours,” says BigHungryBrownBear.
“My boyfriend is Italian and this is as close to home as he’s ever felt since his move to Minnesota to be with me. He loved this recipe but he did insist that I bake the meatballs prior to adding them to the sauce. I use this recipe at least 3 times a month,” according to holliollie83.
“Great recipe. I made this just as it stated and it turned out wonderful. I added a little bit more parmesan cheese but besides that it was great on its own. I was worried about not cooking the meatballs first but they cooked perfectly in the sauce. I will make these again for sure. No need to buy premade meatballs when these are so easy,” raves Jackie Applegate.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup fresh bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 egg, beaten
Sauce
- ¾ cup chopped onion
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- ¾ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Step 1
Gather all ingredients.
Step 2
In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into 12 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed.
Step 3
In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent.
Step 4
Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes.
Step 5
Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more.
Step 6
Serve hot and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 6 | |
| Calories 347 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat21g | 27% |
| Saturated Fat6g | 30% |
| Cholesterol77mg | 26% |
| Sodium1493mg | 65% |
| Total Carbohydrate23g | 8% |
| Dietary Fiber5g | 16% |
| Total Sugars11g | |
| Protein19g | |
| Vitamin C33mg | 164% |
| Calcium140mg | 11% |
| Iron6mg | 31% |
| Potassium1023mg | 22% |
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient.If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.
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source by allrecipe
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I didn’t use the sauce recipe but the meatballs are simply to die for!
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Best meatballs that I have ever ate! Thanks for sharing this recipe, Jeremy!!
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I altered the recipe a little, but either way I am sure that it would have been fantastic. Authentic Italian Restaurant caliber!
I made the meatballs after the sauce, then browned them in a little in olive oil and onion. -
Love the meatballs! Love the sauce! And the sauce is especially great if you make it separately and refrigerate or freeze. This allows all the flavors to mingle most deliciously.
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This is the best receipe for spaghetti and meatballs I’ve tried so far, I did use half italian sausage and 1/2 ground beef though. I thought there wasn’t enough sause though. That is easy to fix though by adding more tomatoes..thanks for an excellent receipe, michelle
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The meatballs were good (I used half italian sausage and half ground beef)
but the sauce was wonderful! It was kinda thick but I like that because I don’t like
a runny spaghetti sauce. I will definitely make this again. -
AWESOME!! Oh, this is so good! I cannot say enough good things about this recipe. I did use ground turkey in place of the hambuger and Ritz cracker crumbs instead of the bread crumbs…easily the BEST meatballs I have ever eaten. For the sauce I follwed very closely..after the first 90 minutes, I did use a potato masher on the chunks of tomato (I was afraid my 5 year old won’t like it with *lumps*!) I was also a bit leary of adding the meatballs raw, but they cook up moist and just perfect in the 30 minutes of simmering. This is WELL worth the prep time!!!
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AWESOME!! Oh, this is so good! I cannot say enough good things about this recipe. I did use ground turkey in place of the hambuger and Ritz cracker crumbs instead of the bread crumbs…easily the BEST meatballs I have ever eaten. For the sauce I follwed very closely..after the first 90 minutes, I did use a potato masher on the chunks of tomato (I was afraid my 5 year old won’t like it with *lumps*!) I was also a bit leary of adding the meatballs raw, but they cook up moist and just perfect in the 30 minutes of simmering. This is WELL worth the prep time!!!
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I thought this was very good. I also had to mush tomatoes at the end for my kid’s sake and they liked it to. Will make again. Thank you!
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I have been looking for a great homemade spaghettie sauce recipe and this is it! We tried it with ground turkey and we wouldn’t recommend it. My husband likened it to eating cardboard balls. Next time I will use hamburger meat or sausage for sure!
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I have been looking for a great homemade spaghettie sauce recipe and this is it! We tried it with ground turkey and we wouldn’t recommend it. My husband likened it to eating cardboard balls. Next time I will use hamburger meat or sausage for sure!
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Great Recipe! The best meatball recipe ever!
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Great Recipe! The best meatball recipe ever!
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Sorry, I’ll eat just about anything but I think this is really bad. I’m not sure what all the raves were about. It’s partly my fault though for using ground turkey. Even with beef, I think it would be too “doughy” as 1 cup of breadcrumbs is way too much! Also, it was almost tasteless, except for the breadcrumb taste. Fortunately my reliable Prego spaghetti sauce savaged the meal.
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I made a double batch for a dinner party, and everyone loved it! I used the leftover sauce to make lasgna the next day, and it was delicious.
I will definitely be making this sauce again. -
Everything was perfect except i would suggest using less olive oil. Yummy
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Everything was perfect except i would suggest using less olive oil. Yummy
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I didn’t use the sauce, only the meatballs, but delicious!!
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The meatballs were very moist and tasty, probably because they don’t need to be browned. There were visible pieces of white bread in them – don’t know if I should have broken them up smaller or actually toasted the crumbs. The sauce was nice and thick, very good, but I added a lot more sugar and some red cooking wine. Found this quite easy to make and one of the better sauces I’ve found.
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The meatballs were very moist and tasty, probably because they don’t need to be browned. There were visible pieces of white bread in them – don’t know if I should have broken them up smaller or actually toasted the crumbs. The sauce was nice and thick, very good, but I added a lot more sugar and some red cooking wine. Found this quite easy to make and one of the better sauces I’ve found.
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I prepared this recipe exactly as directed, but the meat was still raw inside. I then cooked it for an hour longer on medium and the meatballs were still pink inside. Of course, by this time we were starving so I took the meatballs out of the sauce and microwaved them. If I fix this recipe again I’ll start cooking it right after breakfast so that it may be done in time for dinner.
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This is great recipe. I would suggest maybe adding some spice to the meatballs though. I used pre-made bread crumbs… no problem – worked like a charm. Very good recipe. Kudos.
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This is great recipe. I would suggest maybe adding some spice to the meatballs though. I used pre-made bread crumbs… no problem – worked like a charm. Very good recipe. Kudos.
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This is my first time making spaghetti & meat balls, and I found this recipie delicious. Used 1/4# turkey Italian sausage w/ 3/4# lean ground beef. Think I’d cut down on the olive oil a little next time.
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Since I was in a hurry, I only made the meatballs. I also hurried this recipe along by putting the meatballs in an iron skillet and baking them at 350 degrees while the spaghetti was cooking. The meatballs were great and not too spicy for my 20 month old.
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I finally made a spaghetti sauce that I like! It reminded me of something you’d order at an Italian restaurant! I had never cooked meatballs in the sauce before, but I’ll do it that way from now on!
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I finally made a spaghetti sauce that I like! It reminded me of something you’d order at an Italian restaurant! I had never cooked meatballs in the sauce before, but I’ll do it that way from now on!
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We really enjoyed this recipe. I usually just fix run-of-the-mill meat sauce with spaghetti, so this was a nice change. I do think that a cup of breadcrumbs was a little too much, and next time I think I’ll use Italian breadcrumbs instead of plain. They needed a little more kick. I also had to use jar spaghetti sauce, because I didn’t have everything I needed to make the sauce. I will try it next time. Really good!
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We really enjoyed this recipe. I usually just fix run-of-the-mill meat sauce with spaghetti, so this was a nice change. I do think that a cup of breadcrumbs was a little too much, and next time I think I’ll use Italian breadcrumbs instead of plain. They needed a little more kick. I also had to use jar spaghetti sauce, because I didn’t have everything I needed to make the sauce. I will try it next time. Really good!
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Excellent recipe, I did brown the meatballs before putting them into the sauce though, they were quite good.
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Excellent recipe, I did brown the meatballs before putting them into the sauce though, they were quite good.
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I have to admit I cheated and just used a jar of sauce; but I did make the meatballs…WOW! I spruced them up a bit with garlic, onions, and some extra cheese. They were great!! I took about half the meatballs and made a gravy for them with beef consume and a bit of flour and water to make a brown sauce as I don’t eat tomatoes. It too was great. I’ll definitely make them again. These could also be used as an appetizer or on a buffet.
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The meatballs could use some more spice, but the sauce is wonderful. -LNP
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The meatballs could use some more spice, but the sauce is wonderful. -LNP
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Excellent recipe!!! My husband loved it! Reading the other reviews I decided also to lightly pan cook the meatballs. I also chose to use 50/50 hamburger & sausage for the meatballs. It gave them excellent flavor. I will make this dish again.
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Excellent recipe!!! My husband loved it! Reading the other reviews I decided also to lightly pan cook the meatballs. I also chose to use 50/50 hamburger & sausage for the meatballs. It gave them excellent flavor. I will make this dish again.
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BRAVO! This was absolutely great! My American boyfriend had been longing for this dish, so I went ahead and did it. First time- excellent, but with a few changes it was even better!
I cut down on the breadcrumbs and doubled the parmesan and (FRESH!!! Use ONLY fresh herbs and double the amount!) parsley for the meatballs. To the sauce, I added a couple of tablespoons of cooking cream which added immensly to the flavor and texture.
Penne pasta, those tender meatballs in the velvety, creamy tomatoe-sauce… it’s a dish to die for!!!!Try it. It takes some time, but it’s worth every second. And make sure to have some fresh, warm garlic-bread to suck up the sauce with!
Tina from Uppsala, Sweden
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This is the best meatball recipe I have found yet! My family loves it…I have experimented with this recipe a lot. I cooked the meatballs in regular store bought spagetti sauce, which was good… and I have even tried making the meatballs with ground turkey and cooked them in a cranberry sauce, which was also delicious.
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This is the best meatball recipe I have found yet! My family loves it…I have experimented with this recipe a lot. I cooked the meatballs in regular store bought spagetti sauce, which was good… and I have even tried making the meatballs with ground turkey and cooked them in a cranberry sauce, which was also delicious.
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This is a great recipe – although I did alter it a bit from the beginning. Do brown the meat balls first, before adding them to sauce. I think this adds a little flavor. I also spiced up the meatballs with some stand-by italian spices (basic, oregano, etc.) and I upped the garlic (to taste). Also, I used crackers (pounded or processed to crumbs) in place of bread crumbs, and used a little less than called for. This made a very solid and yummy meatball – for those who have “spongey” meatballs. For those who used store-bought sauce with the meatballs – nothing compares with this sauce!
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OMIGOSH!! This is the BEST sauce I’ve ever tasted. There will be no more store-bought sauce for me again!!
I love the ease of this recipe, plus the fact that it simmers for a long time—that hmust be the key to its wonderful flavor. My grandkids are nuts for it and it’s become a “Saturday night special” for us. Thank you Jeremy for sharing this recipe.
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This is a great recipe. I’ve made it twice… the first time, I thought the sauce was a little thin and I could have used more of it, so the second time I cut down on the olive oil, added more tomato paste, and made a batch and a half. Delicious! Also, I made the meatballs smaller than called for (I’m not sure they would cook in 30 minutes if bigger), divided them into single-serving sizes with sauce, and froze them. They were even more delicious a month later than they were the frist night, and so easy to just defrost in the microwave after work.
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This is a great recipe. I’ve made it twice… the first time, I thought the sauce was a little thin and I could have used more of it, so the second time I cut down on the olive oil, added more tomato paste, and made a batch and a half. Delicious! Also, I made the meatballs smaller than called for (I’m not sure they would cook in 30 minutes if bigger), divided them into single-serving sizes with sauce, and froze them. They were even more delicious a month later than they were the frist night, and so easy to just defrost in the microwave after work.
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This sauce turned out rather salty for my taste. Also I used my immersion blender to puree all the sauce ingredients to make a smoother sauce. OK but will add no salt next time.
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This sauce turned out rather salty for my taste. Also I used my immersion blender to puree all the sauce ingredients to make a smoother sauce. OK but will add no salt next time.
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I simply loved this recipe as it resembled on of my own. In the meatballs, I used only 1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb ground sausage; 1/2 cup crushed buttery crackers i.e. Ritz; 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, garlic powder toi taste, 2 Tbsp chopped onion, 1 Tbsp Bell pepper, 1 Tbsp chopped celery and 1/2 pkg hamburger or meatloaf seasoning mix. I prepared my meatballs and cooked them in the oven on a sheet pan for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Then added them to my sauce. My Sauce included 1/2 stalk chopped celery, 1/4 chopped bell pepper 1 Tbsp sugar and rather than 2 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes, I used 1 ea. 28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes and 1 ea. 28 ounce can Tomato Puree. This eliminated the lumpy tomato chunks. I eliminated the tomato paste altogether. I reduced my cooking time to 30 minutes and then 30 minutes after adding the meatballs.
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The sauce was really good. It was even better the second day when I added hot Italian sausage to it.
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The sauce was really good. It was even better the second day when I added hot Italian sausage to it.
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I made this for friends and they were sneaking back to the table to continue munching….especially the meatballs. Smells like my grandmas kitchen. Just fabulous. Thanks for sharing this.
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I made this for friends and they were sneaking back to the table to continue munching….especially the meatballs. Smells like my grandmas kitchen. Just fabulous. Thanks for sharing this.
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Yum, yum, yum! I like my sauce marinara-style, so this was perfect. I also browned the meatballs before adding them to the sauce. I make alot of it for Sunday night family dinners. My husband loves to take a meatball parmesan sub for lunch the next day, if there’s any leftovers! This is a winner.
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wow! excellent- we made the meat balls smaller though and used a little extra sugar!
Thanks for sharing your recipe :?) -
This was a great dish for my family. Very simple to make and very satisfying. Would be great on a cold winter night. My husband loved the meatballs…said they were better than his mom’s!
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This was a great dish for my family. Very simple to make and very satisfying. Would be great on a cold winter night. My husband loved the meatballs…said they were better than his mom’s!
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Jeremy…this was awesome. I did use fresh basil and added italian parsley and a lot of extra garlic. The meatballs were to die for. I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for a long time and I’m glad I found this one.
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Jeremy…this was awesome. I did use fresh basil and added italian parsley and a lot of extra garlic. The meatballs were to die for. I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for a long time and I’m glad I found this one.
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This recipe is wonderful!
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This recipe is wonderful!
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Yes, a keeper recipe! The sauce turned excellent! Very thick and tasty! Loved it!
the meatballs however, different story, they all feel apart..but I have only made them a few times, so Im sure it was me, not the recipe. -
Yes, a keeper recipe! The sauce turned excellent! Very thick and tasty! Loved it!
the meatballs however, different story, they all feel apart..but I have only made them a few times, so Im sure it was me, not the recipe. -
The meatballs and sauce came out delicious!!! The seasoning the recipe called for was just perfect. I followed the recipe exactly and everything came out great!
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You’re right, it is great! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I have finally found an easy, yet delicious recipe for meatballs and gravy.
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You’re right, it is great! Thank you for sharing your recipe. I have finally found an easy, yet delicious recipe for meatballs and gravy.
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The meatballs are easy to make and delicious…great in a sandwich too!
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The meatballs are easy to make and delicious…great in a sandwich too!
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this tasted great…but there are quicker marinara sauces that taste just as good. if you have plenty of time, go for it because the taste is wonderful.
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this was ok I know this was supposed to taste like marinara but i didn’t relize how strong the taste was and I didn’t like the texture of the meatballs I probably won’t add cheese the next time although my husband liked it and cleared his plate so this is just my opinon don’t take my word for it you have to try it you might like it.
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this was ok I know this was supposed to taste like marinara but i didn’t relize how strong the taste was and I didn’t like the texture of the meatballs I probably won’t add cheese the next time although my husband liked it and cleared his plate so this is just my opinon don’t take my word for it you have to try it you might like it.
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This very tasty and easy. Using pantry basics made it inexpensive and quick to throw together. My picky 2yr old ate the meatballs for two days! Thanks for this one, it’s a keeper.
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This very tasty and easy. Using pantry basics made it inexpensive and quick to throw together. My picky 2yr old ate the meatballs for two days! Thanks for this one, it’s a keeper.
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I thought this was an outstanding recipe. My husband said that he could “drink” the sauce it is so good. Like another person, I added tons more garlic. I used a head of garlic. I disagree with the other person who claimed it was not as good as other marinaras. I have made many other marinaras and this one was not only easy, it had complex flavors due to the longer simmering time. Thanks Jeremy for this recipe. I will make no other spaghetti and meatballs but yours.
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I thought this was an outstanding recipe. My husband said that he could “drink” the sauce it is so good. Like another person, I added tons more garlic. I used a head of garlic. I disagree with the other person who claimed it was not as good as other marinaras. I have made many other marinaras and this one was not only easy, it had complex flavors due to the longer simmering time. Thanks Jeremy for this recipe. I will make no other spaghetti and meatballs but yours.
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This dish was very, very good. I added italian sausage pieces to the sauce as well, to add a little bit more flavor.
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Oh wow! These meatballs were phenomenal. I coated them in flour and sauteed them in olive oil first to seal in juices. I rolled them about the size of a silver dollar. This will be something I make often.
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The sauce was okay, the meatballs in my family’s opinion was not great at all, way too dry.I followed the directions completely. Asked hubby to try the recipe again and he declined.
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The sauce was okay, the meatballs in my family’s opinion was not great at all, way too dry.I followed the directions completely. Asked hubby to try the recipe again and he declined.
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This recipe was fabulous! I don’t normally write reviews, just read them. But I had to this time. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out perfectly. Hubby loved it and bragged to everyone about my spaghetti and meatballs. He also said it was better than restaurant quality. I can’t wait to use the leftover sauce in the fridge. You have to try this!
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This was my first time making sauce, and it was delicious. However, it got quite thick and chunky by the time I needed to add the meatballs, so I added some water and some tomato sauce. Excellent recipe! Thanks, Jeremy!!
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Did not make the sauce, but did make the meatballs. Added Bob Evens sausage as part of the meat, Italian flavored bread crumbs, onion powder. I also browned mine. They really were very good. I’m not a meatball fan so I’m giving you my hubby’s review. He loved them in the sauce, ate them a few days later as a sub, and I have a small portion frozen for either a quick dinner or another sub lunch. I will review the sauce also when I have a chance to make it. Delicious recipe and basic so it’s easy to adjust it to taste.
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I used to have my ‘own’ recipe for spaghetti sauce until I tried this one, it is great!!! I would say to find a different recipe for meatballs, as this one was not very appealing to my family or myself.
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This sauce was very heavy tasting. Way too much olive oil– I would half it down to 1/8 of a cup. The funny thing was that our picky eater son was the only one in the family who liked it!
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Maybe I’m not a good judge of meatballs, but I don’t know what the people who didn’t like this are talking about. I even made it with ground white turkey and I still thought they were good. I took some of the suggestions to roll them in flour and brown them in olive oil before cooking them in the sauce. I also added a little red wine and 1/4 t. of crushed red pepper flakes for some kick. I love it! My guest loved it! It was even better reheated the next day (and I’m not a lover of leftovers). Will make this again and again.
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Maybe I’m not a good judge of meatballs, but I don’t know what the people who didn’t like this are talking about. I even made it with ground white turkey and I still thought they were good. I took some of the suggestions to roll them in flour and brown them in olive oil before cooking them in the sauce. I also added a little red wine and 1/4 t. of crushed red pepper flakes for some kick. I love it! My guest loved it! It was even better reheated the next day (and I’m not a lover of leftovers). Will make this again and again.
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I thought this recipe was pretty good, adding more garlic is definitly a must, I used crushed cheese and garlic croutons because I didn’t have any bread crumbs and it really added to the meat balls. I also pureed the sauce cause my kids don’t like tomato chunks.
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I thought this recipe was pretty good, adding more garlic is definitly a must, I used crushed cheese and garlic croutons because I didn’t have any bread crumbs and it really added to the meat balls. I also pureed the sauce cause my kids don’t like tomato chunks.
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Excellent!!!! I pureed the tomatoes first. My italian husband and son thought it was my mother- in-laws sauce. A definite keeper!!
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I only used the meatball part of this recipe. My son wanted homemade meatballs and spaghetti for his 5th birthday. These were a huge hit! I cooked them in the microwave before adding to my own homemade sauce. This one is a keeper!
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I only used the meatball part of this recipe. My son wanted homemade meatballs and spaghetti for his 5th birthday. These were a huge hit! I cooked them in the microwave before adding to my own homemade sauce. This one is a keeper!
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thanks jeremy, and thank your mother too! i think i would make this every other day if my boyfriend would tolerate it. it’s worth the wait for the sauce!
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Good, fairly easy! I quartered the tomatoes instead of leaving whole.
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Tomatoes did not break down to become smooth. Sauce was too chunky. Maybe I’ll try using diced tomatoes rather than whole tomatoes next time…
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Delicious recipe! I did use diced rather than whole tomatoes. I did not experience any dryness in the meatballs as previously posted. The meatballs were delicious.
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I only used the meatball part of this recipe. They were pretty good, but not as flavorful as I as hoping. I would make them again but would add some more spices.
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My boyfriend says these are the best meatballs ever! I used 1 lb of ground beef and six ounces of hot sausage. I forgot to add the cheese, so I rolled the meatballs in parmesan cheese and then browned in olive oil before adding to my own sauce. I did not get a chance to try the sauce, but i will rate it as soon as i do. Great recipe. We enjoyed them so much we had them two nights in a row! Thanks-
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My boyfriend says these are the best meatballs ever! I used 1 lb of ground beef and six ounces of hot sausage. I forgot to add the cheese, so I rolled the meatballs in parmesan cheese and then browned in olive oil before adding to my own sauce. I did not get a chance to try the sauce, but i will rate it as soon as i do. Great recipe. We enjoyed them so much we had them two nights in a row! Thanks-
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I was surprised at how light and yummy the sauce was. It was almost as if I had used fresh tomatoes. I used basil and oregano instead of dried parsley in the meatballs and diced tomatoes instead of whole. I will definitely keep this as an easy weeknight sauce.
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I found this recipe to be very bland. I’ll try it again some time, but will definitely try to spice it up.
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This recipe got rave reviews from my family. I used fresh herbs rather than dried, and cooked the sauce in the slow cooker all day. I then browned the meatballs and added them for the last 45 minutes or so before serving. We will definitely have this again!
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This recipe got rave reviews from my family. I used fresh herbs rather than dried, and cooked the sauce in the slow cooker all day. I then browned the meatballs and added them for the last 45 minutes or so before serving. We will definitely have this again!
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I used ground turkey. We nice sauce that is not overpowering in it’s flavor. Freezes and reheats well. Tasted good on french bread. I’ll probably make this again.
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I used ground turkey. We nice sauce that is not overpowering in it’s flavor. Freezes and reheats well. Tasted good on french bread. I’ll probably make this again.
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I only made the meatballs. Nice texture, but BLAND, BLAND, BLAND! Next time I will try the sauce recipe, but find a different meatball recipe.
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I only made the meatballs. Nice texture, but BLAND, BLAND, BLAND! Next time I will try the sauce recipe, but find a different meatball recipe.
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I only made the meatballs and it was great! I added two chopped shallots to the meat mixture, garlic powder, onion salt, seasoning salt and a dash of worchestire sauce. I suggest you oil your hands, that way when you roll them into balls, it’s not sticky. Instead of adding the meat raw to the spaghetti sauce, I browned them first in a pan so it wouldn’t fall apart in the sauce (just in case, if it did). Tastes great, thanks!
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I only made the meatballs and it was great! I added two chopped shallots to the meat mixture, garlic powder, onion salt, seasoning salt and a dash of worchestire sauce. I suggest you oil your hands, that way when you roll them into balls, it’s not sticky. Instead of adding the meat raw to the spaghetti sauce, I browned them first in a pan so it wouldn’t fall apart in the sauce (just in case, if it did). Tastes great, thanks!
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Great recipe! I use whole garlic(minced) in the meatballs also I put the whole tomatos in blender and pulse them.everyone loves them
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Meatballs hold a great shape and are very tasty!
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This went over great with my fiance, 5 year old, and the guest we had over(only made the sauce). I did not care for it. I do tend to be picky, and this was just too chunky for me. Also, it seemed rather thin, didn’t stick to the noodles all that well. I might try this again, maybe just using tomato sauce instead of whole peeled tomatoes, but I worry that will make the sauce even thinner.
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This went over great with my fiance, 5 year old, and the guest we had over(only made the sauce). I did not care for it. I do tend to be picky, and this was just too chunky for me. Also, it seemed rather thin, didn’t stick to the noodles all that well. I might try this again, maybe just using tomato sauce instead of whole peeled tomatoes, but I worry that will make the sauce even thinner.
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This was very good. I did have to add liquid to the meatball mixture, about a cup of water. I could tell when I was mixing it that they were going to be too dry. They turned out delicious!
As far as the sauce goes it was really good but next time I will just use jar sauce and doctor it up like I always do. I used to make my own sauce years ago but jar sauce has spoiled me. All in all this recipe is very good especially the meatballs. -
This was very good. I did have to add liquid to the meatball mixture, about a cup of water. I could tell when I was mixing it that they were going to be too dry. They turned out delicious!
As far as the sauce goes it was really good but next time I will just use jar sauce and doctor it up like I always do. I used to make my own sauce years ago but jar sauce has spoiled me. All in all this recipe is very good especially the meatballs. -
Jeremy, this is excellent. I didn’t make the meatballs, because we don’t eat meat that much, but the sauce is excellent. I tripled the amounts to freeze some for later. It freezes well, and next time My spaghetti wasn’t time consuming at all. My son hates everything, tomatoes, onions etc..He ate this and had seconds. He asked me to give you 10 stars, so here goes! **********. Thanks.
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Jeremy, this is excellent. I didn’t make the meatballs, because we don’t eat meat that much, but the sauce is excellent. I tripled the amounts to freeze some for later. It freezes well, and next time My spaghetti wasn’t time consuming at all. My son hates everything, tomatoes, onions etc..He ate this and had seconds. He asked me to give you 10 stars, so here goes! **********. Thanks.
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This is the best spaghetti sauce ever! I will never buy (unless I absolutely have to) another jar of spaghetti sauce again! The sauce is very tasty and has just the right seasoning. Very easy to make.
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This is the best spaghetti sauce ever! I will never buy (unless I absolutely have to) another jar of spaghetti sauce again! The sauce is very tasty and has just the right seasoning. Very easy to make.
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I’ve made the meatballs twice now and they were great. I usually add spices by my taste, so I don’t know how much I changed it, if at all. I’ll be making them again tonight and this time, I’ll make the sauce and follow others’ suggestions by browning the meatballs before dropping them into the sauce because the onions on the edge of the meatballs seem to fall off when I add them to the sauce. Regardless, these were fantastic. Thanks Jeremy.
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This is wonderful! DH said the sauce was even better than his! The only change I made to the meatballs is I added a large spoonful of the spaghetti sauce to the mixture. They came out nice and moist. Great recipe! Thanks Jeremy!
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This is my new favorite saucemeatball recipe. I used 1/2 venison 1/2 Italian sausage for my meatballs, added some onion and Italian Herb seasoning even forgot the bread crumbs and they were great. I rolled the meatballs in four and browned them first as others had suggested. The sauce was really good too. I will make this again and again.
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This is my new favorite saucemeatball recipe. I used 1/2 venison 1/2 Italian sausage for my meatballs, added some onion and Italian Herb seasoning even forgot the bread crumbs and they were great. I rolled the meatballs in four and browned them first as others had suggested. The sauce was really good too. I will make this again and again.
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This recipe is great, and it is now my permanent recipe for spaghetti sauce and meatballs. I added two tbs. of milk to the meatballs, which made them a little moister but firm.
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I had a special occassion that I was asked to make the meatballs, the reviews were very helpful. I was happy to hear everyone rave about the meatballs at my event. Everyone said they were delicious. When it was time to clean up there was not one meatball left. I made enough for 50 servings. We had 5 main courses from ham to sweet and sour chicken. everyone else had food left to devide or get rid of. Someone asked what happened to all the meatballs I want to take some home. You will not be disappointed with this recipe. It was a hit
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What a great recipe! I broke up the whole tomatoes periodically when I stirred the sauce, so it would not be too chunky. Also, I browned the meatballs before adding them for that last half hour. It turned out perfectly!
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Excellent sauce recipe…I have sworn off jarred sauce forever!! I made this ahead and it froze very well. It thawed in the fridge while I was at work and I heated it while the pasta was boiling. I also make my meatballs ahead and freeze them. I cook them under the broiler in the oven and then put them in a freezer bag. I can use as few or as many as I need.
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Excellent sauce recipe…I have sworn off jarred sauce forever!! I made this ahead and it froze very well. It thawed in the fridge while I was at work and I heated it while the pasta was boiling. I also make my meatballs ahead and freeze them. I cook them under the broiler in the oven and then put them in a freezer bag. I can use as few or as many as I need.
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I really enjoyed this recipe. In the past I have always browned my meatballs and didn’t realize they could just be thrown in with the sauce. They tasted just as good, and it was much easier. I also like the sauce recipe, although I wasn’t able to let it simmer for the full amount of time. I thought it would be a disaster, but it still turned out great. 🙂
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I really enjoyed this recipe. In the past I have always browned my meatballs and didn’t realize they could just be thrown in with the sauce. They tasted just as good, and it was much easier. I also like the sauce recipe, although I wasn’t able to let it simmer for the full amount of time. I thought it would be a disaster, but it still turned out great. 🙂
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Very good. Not amazingly original.. but is a good staple recipe that i will keep around. Thanks!
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Very good. Not amazingly original.. but is a good staple recipe that i will keep around. Thanks!
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all i can say is everyone said “YUM”
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Great recipe! My husband hated meatballs before this recipe and now he requests them! Thanks!
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Great recipe! My husband hated meatballs before this recipe and now he requests them! Thanks!
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This is a wonderful recipe and freezes great!!
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This is a wonderful recipe and freezes great!!
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This was the first time I have made homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs, and I thought this recipe was 10 times better than opening a jar of spaghetti sauce. I used diced tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes and added Itailian seasoning to the meatballs and the sauce. I will defintly make this recipe again in the future!!!
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This was the first time I have made homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs, and I thought this recipe was 10 times better than opening a jar of spaghetti sauce. I used diced tomatoes instead of whole tomatoes and added Itailian seasoning to the meatballs and the sauce. I will defintly make this recipe again in the future!!!
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Loved this! Very tasty traditional tomato sauce. Nothing fancy at all but it is just what you want for a classic Italian taste…tomatoey, cheesy and not too much else. The meatballs pick up tons of flavour from the sauce. Had some pockets of breadcumbs in the cooked balls, need to mix a lot to avoid that. Very good texture though, and nice flavour both meatballs and sauce. Followed recipe exactly. Made maybe 14 meatballs, 12 would be BIG meatballs.
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Loved this! Very tasty traditional tomato sauce. Nothing fancy at all but it is just what you want for a classic Italian taste…tomatoey, cheesy and not too much else. The meatballs pick up tons of flavour from the sauce. Had some pockets of breadcumbs in the cooked balls, need to mix a lot to avoid that. Very good texture though, and nice flavour both meatballs and sauce. Followed recipe exactly. Made maybe 14 meatballs, 12 would be BIG meatballs.
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Pleasantly surprised! Never cooked meatballs in the sauce before. I added ground pork along with the ground beef. I also added green peppers, and celery, for a little texture. Meatballs were not dry at all. This one is a keeper! Thanks.
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Excellent! Can’t be improved.
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Excellent! Can’t be improved.
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This recipe is wonderful. I use wheat germ in place of bread crumbs in my meatballs because I’m a health food freak. The texture was perfect. I will try diced tomatoes next time for a little smoother sauce. I served with some sauteed string beans and wheat pasta, it was great!
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This recipe is wonderful. I use wheat germ in place of bread crumbs in my meatballs because I’m a health food freak. The texture was perfect. I will try diced tomatoes next time for a little smoother sauce. I served with some sauteed string beans and wheat pasta, it was great!
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This rocked!
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This was AWESOME! I added an extra pinch of sugar to even out the tone. I would also like to add that you might want to consider cutting up the tomatoes before putting them in. I don’t know if that’s just so obvious that I should have already known, but it’s hard to cut them up once they’re already in the pan with the other ingredients. But the recipe was great!!!
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This was AWESOME! I added an extra pinch of sugar to even out the tone. I would also like to add that you might want to consider cutting up the tomatoes before putting them in. I don’t know if that’s just so obvious that I should have already known, but it’s hard to cut them up once they’re already in the pan with the other ingredients. But the recipe was great!!!
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I thought this was very good, although I did make a few changes. I took ANDREA-LEE’s suggestion to use the wheat germ (thanks, btw!) and I also added some milk to the meatballs to help keep them moist. After forming the balls, I lightly browned them in some olive oil before adding them to the sauce.
I also omitted the sugar from my sauce — never understood adding that. Yuck!But, overall it was a great meal. We served it over spaghetti squash instead of pasta for an even healthier meal. 🙂
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I thought this was very good, although I did make a few changes. I took ANDREA-LEE’s suggestion to use the wheat germ (thanks, btw!) and I also added some milk to the meatballs to help keep them moist. After forming the balls, I lightly browned them in some olive oil before adding them to the sauce.
I also omitted the sugar from my sauce — never understood adding that. Yuck!But, overall it was a great meal. We served it over spaghetti squash instead of pasta for an even healthier meal. 🙂
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These were easy to make, but absolutely tasteless. I would have cut down on breadcrumbs and increased the spices had I taken the time to think about the combination of ingredients. I had to add water to the mixture to make it moist enough to work with. I’m certain there are recipes for better tasting meatballs out there. Don’t bother with this one.
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These were easy to make, but absolutely tasteless. I would have cut down on breadcrumbs and increased the spices had I taken the time to think about the combination of ingredients. I had to add water to the mixture to make it moist enough to work with. I’m certain there are recipes for better tasting meatballs out there. Don’t bother with this one.
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Great! I followed the recipe and cooked the meatballs in the sauce; they turned out very soft (unlike the ones fried). To give the sauce an extra flavor, I substituted the dried basil for 2t of homemade pesto sauce. Everybody loved the meatballs and the sauce. I will definitely do it again. Thank you!!
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Great! I followed the recipe and cooked the meatballs in the sauce; they turned out very soft (unlike the ones fried). To give the sauce an extra flavor, I substituted the dried basil for 2t of homemade pesto sauce. Everybody loved the meatballs and the sauce. I will definitely do it again. Thank you!!
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I scaled this for 90 servings and made it for our church potluck and got many positive comments! My hospitality team got together and made the meatballs (about 300 of them)a day ahead of time and they kept very well in the refrigerator until I was ready to use them. They smelled great and had a nice texture and flavor, and held together very well while cooking. It was great not having to brown them first. I took other people’s advice and used diced tomatoes instead of whole ones. It was a good decision. The only suggestion I have is that if you scale it to make a large quantity, use your judgement on the amount of olive oil to use when you saute your onion and garlic. I used what it called for and it was too much – made the sauce a little too oily. I made sure to use ground beef for the meatballs and not ground chuck or ground sirloin. I think that makes a big difference in the outcome and I made sure to use soft, fresh bread crumbs – we made them in a small food processor. All in all it was a great recipe and I will definately make it again.
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