Spaghetti and meatballs
Tender oven-browned meatballs finished in a garlicky tomato sauce and piled over spaghetti, the Sunday dinner you can make on a weeknight.
- 60 min total
- 40 min hands-on
- A little more hands-on
- Serves 4
- About $3.01 a serving
- 790 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ⅓ cup milk
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup grated parmesan, divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 12 oz spaghetti
- ¼ cup fresh basil, torn (optional)
From your pantry
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1½ tbsp salt, divided
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
Each serving has about 790 calories, 42 g protein, 87 g carbs and 31 g fat, and costs about $3.01 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No spaghetti? Fettuccine works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 400°F, line a with foil, and brush it with 1 tablespoon oil. Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon salt, and set it on high to boil.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
High heat
Stir the panko into the milk in a large bowl and let it soak 5 minutes.
Timer: 5 min
Add the beef, egg, ¼ cup parmesan, half the garlic, the Italian seasoning, pepper and ¾ teaspoon salt, and mix gently with your hands.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Roll into 1½-inch balls, set them on the pan, and 15 minutes, until browned. They’ll finish in the sauce.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Timer: 15 min
Dolly’s tip: Wet your hands with cold water every few meatballs and nothing sticks.While they bake, heat the remaining oil in a large, deep over medium and cook the rest of the garlic, with the pepper flakes if you like, 1 minute, .
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Fragrant. Fragrant means cooking until you can clearly smell it, usually garlic or spices, often in about 30 seconds. That’s the moment the flavor is ready, just before it can burn.
How you’ll know: You can smell it from a step back, and garlic is pale gold, not brown.
Medium heat
Pour in the crushed tomatoes and ½ teaspoon salt, and bring to a gentle bubble.
Medium heat
Add the meatballs, cover, turn the heat to low, and 10 minutes, until they read 160°F in the middle.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 10 min
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
While the meatballs , cook the spaghetti until . Scoop out a mug of , then .
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Al dente. Al dente is Italian for “to the tooth”: pasta cooked until tender but with a slight firm bite in the center. It holds up in sauce and keeps softening a little after you drain it.
How you’ll know: Bite a piece a minute before the package time: tender, with a slight firm bite in the middle and no crunch.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heat
Dolly’s tip: Start tasting a minute before the package time. You want a little bite in the middle.the spaghetti with a few spoonfuls of the sauce and of the until glossy.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Splash. A splash is a small, quick pour, about a teaspoon to a tablespoon. It’s there to loosen or brighten a dish, so the exact amount doesn’t matter.
How you’ll know: The dish looks a little looser or tastes a little brighter, not soupy.
Reserve pasta water. It means scooping out a cup of the starchy cooking water before you drain the pasta. A splash helps the sauce cling and turn silky, and it’s the step everyone forgets.
How you’ll know: A mug of cloudy water is sitting by the stove before the pasta goes into the colander.
Pile it into bowls, top with the meatballs and more sauce, and finish with the rest of the parmesan and the basil.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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