The Best Spaghetti and Meatballs, a rich spaghetti sauce loaded with homemade tender meatballs. With stovetop and oven directions!

Spaghetti and Meatballs is a classic dish almost everyone enjoys. I even think a majority of the population would say this is one of their all-time favorite meals.

A rich tomato based sauce is simmered for hours with homemade meatballs, serve with any type of pasta noodle and dinner will be devoured!

In all honesty, this recipe is the best I’ve ever had. I have perfected it over the years and I’m so happy to share it with you finally!

We make this so often as it is one of our favorite dishes that I’m really hoping that you will love it just as much as we do around here! The flavor is just so amazing.

Some of our other favorite pasta dishes we have on our site include Taco Pasta, One Pot Ranch Chicken Pasta and Bacon Pesto Pasta.

Why this recipe works:

Everything is homemade, so that comfort really shines through.
This can be made on the stovetop or in the oven.
This makes a healthy serving but can be doubled to serve more people.

You can leave out the meat in the recipe and have a fantastic marinara sauce but I’ve got to say that the meatballs (and sausage! optional) really give the sauce its pop!

Yes, I put Italian sausage and meatballs in my sauce and simmer it for hours. This just adds dimension to the overall flavors of the sauce, and well… it’s just plain delicious!

You can leave out the sausage and just make the meatballs but growing up this is just what we did and I’ve stuck to it. It’s never let us down!

This is one of those recipes that looks like there are a million ingredients and steps to it. Be patient, this is a very simple recipe overall and it’s worth all the effort you put in!

I do have to warn you, this recipe might seem a little odd. Trust me, this is tried and true; I have made it literally 100 times, this is how I do it!

How to make Spaghetti and Meatballs:

Sauce:

In a large pot or dutch oven* over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and the sausages. Brown sausages on all sides, they do not have to be cooked through. Take out sausages and set aside.
Add the tomato paste, oregano, and onion powder to the pot. Stir constantly into the oil to “fry” and release the aromatics, 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and roasted garlic. Tear the basil leaves into the sauce. Add the cheese and sugar. Mix to combine. Add the sausages back to the pot making sure they are covered in sauce. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer.

Meatballs:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together loosely. Roll into 2 tablespoons sized balls, and place on a sheet tray so they are not touching. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Place meatballs into sauce. There will be excess oil and bits of meat left on the sheet tray. DO NOT THROW OUT. Place oven broiler setting on high. Broil sheet tray with the bits until everything is golden brown, about 3 minutes. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL and take sheet tray out of the oven, immediately deglaze the pan with the red wine from the sauce ingredients. Scraping the bits off the bottom.
Pour everything into the sauce**, cover and let simmer for 4 hours stirring occasionally.*** Serve with pasta of your choice and more cheese.

How to make in the oven:

We love making these Spaghetti and Meatballs in the oven as well, I do this all the time if I am busy and can’t stir it as much as needed.

Just make the sauce in a large pot that is oven safe, like a dutch oven. Make sure it has an oven safe top as well.

Follow the directions, but at the step where you let it simmer for four hours, instead just pop it into a 250-degree oven to slow cook.

Easy peasy! Now, I suggest just stirring once every hour or so just so everything gets stirred up nicely and the flavors are able to combine!

How to make roasted garlic:

This recipe calls for one head of roasted garlic. It is very simple to make!

You can make it ahead of time or roast it while the sauce is simmering and just add it in whenever it is ready, no worries!

Take one head of garlic and cut off about 3/4 of an inch off the top, exposing all the cloves.
Place it cut side up into a piece of tin foil that is big enough to wrap the head of garlic in.
Drizzle one teaspoon of olive oil on top, sprinkle with a pinch of kosher salt and 1 crack of fresh pepper.
Wrap in the foil, place into a preheated 375-degree oven. Bake for 35 minutes to an hour, until a toothpick inserted into a clove meets no resistance. It will be slightly golden brown.
Let cool to the touch, then squeeze garlic from the base and all the cloves will pop out.

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Tools used for this recipe:

Dutch oven or large pot
Sheet tray for cooking the meatballs
Large bowl

How to store:

The sauce itself needs to be stored in the refrigerator to prolong it’s life. Place in a large ziptop bag or Tupperware container and it should keep for up to one week.

This can also be frozen for later use. To do this, cook everything as directed, place any leftovers in a freezer bag and seal and it should keep for up to 8 months.

To reheat just place back in pot or defrost/heat in microwave until it has come to temperature, we like to let it sit out for a little bit on the counter to defrost slightly so we can add it to a pan then reheat it that way.

Tips and Tricks:

This recipe can be made on the stove or in the oven, see my directions above.
You can swap out your meat for all ground beef if you like but we like to use sausage in our sauce, or you can leave the meat out completely.
The meatballs need to be pre-baked before going into the sauce.
This recipe can be frozen, see my tips again above on how to do that.
Make sure if you are baking this dish you use a dutch oven or oven proof dish.
This can easily be doubled for larger batches or to freeze some for later use.

If you want a flavorful weeknight dish that is really easy and feeds the whole family then you need to whip up this Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe ASAP!

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If you’ve tried this SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!

Why this recipe works: