Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs

Bake the Meatballs instead of frying

Melanie - January 3, 2007 02:02:25 PM PST

I make meatballs ALOT for my family the recipe is similar, i have found it is much easier and less fattening if you place the meatballs on a cookie sheet and bake them at 350 for about 15 minutes (just keep and eye on them im not exactly sure of the time), I take them out of the oven when they are all brown, if they are a little raw in the middle that will cook through the rest of the way while the sauce is simmering

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Lower fat recipe....

louislippsjr - January 3, 2007 02:01:04 PM PST

No way it has 111 grams of fat per serving -- obvious typo. But you don't have to fry the meatballs in all that oil to have them cook up well. My grandmother's authentic Italian recipe actually calls or BAKING the meatballs at about 375 degrees for 25 minutes - 10 on each side -- on a lightly greased (olive or other vegetable oil) cookie sheet. It cuts out some of that fat if you're making an effort to reduce fat content. But the ingridients for the meatballs are right on. My grandmother and mom never used buttermilk (they just sprinkled some water on the bread to hep break it down) but that's probably a good addition.

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Watch out for the typo.

agajpc - January 2, 2007 04:46:34 PM PST

You would need 1/4 cup oil for pan frying, not 1 1/4 cups. This is why the calorie count is absurdly high. Don't let this keep you from making it-- it sounds very tasty.

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No oil please

CallieCoCat - January 3, 2007 01:58:30 PM PST

You don't need ANY oil to fry meatballs. I've made meatballs for over 30 years and never have I used oil. It adds way too many calories and is completely unnecessary.

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FATTY or what??

mangomiata - January 3, 2007 12:26:47 PM PST

Is there truly 111g of fat in this recipe? or is this a misprint like I suspect??

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Fantastic

kjajss - January 3, 2007 02:45:36 PM PST

Having used this Cook's recipe for about 4 years now I can tell you that people LOVE it! There are close to 40 reviews and I am the only one who has actually tried it. Who cares if it isn't the national dish of Italy,who cares if the fat count is to high low or whatever. This dish on a cold night with some crusty bread, simple salad and bottle of red is FANTASTIC!!!!!

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Italians love it!

Dan - January 16, 2007 03:26:22 AM PST

I made this recipe for a friend who's family is full-blooded Italian they work for an Italian food distributer and have owned their own restaurants. He said my meatballs were as good as grandma's. The buttermilk and bread is one reason for this. Give it a try. Oh yes, I bake my meatballs as well.

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another way

mditsme - January 3, 2007 02:45:27 PM PST

I make my meatballs with simular ingredients ( I make them with ground turkey now adays, parm cheese, bread crumbs sauted onion garlic in a little olive oil salt, egg, parsley), but I just drop the raw meatballs into the hot sauce and let them simmer for about 30-40 minutes ( low heat ) works great and the ground turkey is only about 7% fat. Both impart good flavors to eachother the meatballs hold together fine if you don't stir them for the first few minutes of cooking.

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not a typeing problem!

RindaSan - January 3, 2007 03:45:08 PM PST

it was neither a 1/4 cup or 1 1/4 cup ,it IS 1/4 inch ,better get your eyes checked,thank's

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italian chef

stansrd1 - January 3, 2007 02:09:29 PM PST

I have made meetballs for many years for my familly and never fried meetballs but rather cook them in tomato sause. Once cooked all meetballs start to float, and you are done.

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Step 1: Cook the meatballs. Step 2: Write review.

Vera - January 3, 2007 10:06:28 PM PST

This is for reviewing the recipe after you tried it. You try it, it tastes bad that's when you give it 1 star. But don't rate it on semantics and calorie count! Come on people, grow up! Please?

I tried it and it was pretty good, but instead I boiled the meatballs instead of frying.

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Can y'all read?

roszettal - January 3, 2007 04:00:41 PM PST

No wonder alot of these recipes don't get full stars....because people can't even read the recipe correctly. First of all it doesn't say it's classic italian. It says classic spaghetti and meatballs. Classic in the sense we grew up eating spaghetti and meatballs. Here. In America. It's a classic dish. Secondly, as it has been pointed out, the total calorie count is for 4 servings not one.
It's really a wonderful recipe.

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just me?

lexcoupe96 - July 30, 2007 02:48:57 PM PST

I dont bake or fry my meatballs in oil.....maybe I'm crazy but, I cook them in a nice thick layer of spaghetti sauce on top of the stove in a frying pan....I just keep rotating them until they are cooked on all sides

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Don

Tunafish - June 27, 2007 04:07:45 AM PST

Put Your Meatballs Right In Your Sauce Raw And Let Cook For A Few Hours. No Need To Bake Or Fry Them.They Will Hold Up Fine And Be Moist As Can Be. You Can Also Do This With Sausage And Will Give Your Sauce Even More Flavor. P.S.....It Is Sauce, Not Gravy.

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excellent !

sharon - March 26, 2007 11:03:45 AM PST

I used a whole pound of sausage, because I had a pound in the freezer that I wanted to use. Great flavor. I used fresh basil and oregano, but added those at the end. I did add some dried in the beginning. Also used 3 cloves fresh garlic, and some dried onion. I used two larger cans of tomato sauce (14 oz?) instead of the smaller ones and one can was no-salt-added. This sauce was still a little too salty for me, probably because of the evaporated liquid during the long simmer. The long simmer is essential though (I did a little over an hour) to develop that great thick texture and great flavor. Mine got a little too thick, so I added a splash of water at the end. Served over whole-wheat spaghetti.

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Baking meatballs

Lori A - February 12, 2007 12:40:20 PM PST

Great recipe, but try baking the meatballs in a mini muffin tin..the meatballs keep their shape if you make them just a bit larger than the holes in the tin, (so that they rest on the edge) and the fat drips off into the bottom!

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Oil, and no onions?

thebobcatreturns - January 3, 2007 03:04:28 PM PST

1. it isn't necessary to oil the pan to fry meatballs, but if you must, you can use even a tablespoon or two of EVOO to do the job. The meatballs will render soon enough.

2. where the heck are the onions? I don't even like onions that much, but they're essential for good meatballs and a good marinara. Try mincing or finely chopping half an onion into the meatball mixture and another half into a sautee pan with some garlic to be added to the sauce later. By the time your sauce has cooked, you won't even notice them in there, but you will pick up the flavor.

3. When considering this meal for calories and such, consider that you're not going to eat a full quarter of the sauce per plate. 4 oz. cooked pasta is a full dinner plate, and with a couple of meatballs and some sauce and cheese, you may break 1000 calories, but probably not by much. And you definitely will come in below 111 grams of fat.

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Listen folks....

Fast - January 3, 2007 02:42:18 PM PST

Stop freaking out about the fat content.... its for the WHOLE recipe, not a serving. Divide the number by 4 to get the per serving specs. And for all those who say these aren't "real" Italian, remember, this is America, and there are a lot of "Italian" traditions that come from those Italians who have emigrated here and work with American ingredients. Jeez.... no need to be snobs about it!

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A HEALTHIER TWIST

Jennifer G - July 21, 2008 01:46:09 PM PST

My mom makes the most delicious meatballs, freezes them and gives them to me to use as needed. One of the tips I have is to definitely bake the meatballs and then when you use them, cook them in a crockpot all day with the sauce (that way the sauce ends up absorbing the flavors of the meatballs.

In addition I've started buying lower calorie/fat sauce and then adding my own ingredients. For instance, I'll saute garlic and onions in basil, fresh ground pepper, kosher salt, and oregano first and then add it to the sauce with 1 diced green pepper, a bag of frozen peas, 1/2 a diced eggplant, perhaps a diced zucchini. You are doubling your veggies and adding some great flavor at the same time.

Enjoy!

Jennifer, www.lost100.com, read about my quest to lose 100 pounds (already at minus 90 and counting!)

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FAT ASSES!

nicholassciarrone - July 15, 2008 02:33:49 PM PST

Oil, calories, fat it's all delicious. Stop complaining, and please...Please, stop requesting low fat recipes.

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COOKING MEATBALLS

mikef711 - April 24, 2008 01:00:28 PM PST

TRY COOKING MEATBALLS ON OUTSIDE GRILL

IN SUMMER TIME NO NEED TO USE OVEN

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no onion?

mitzi2 - September 22, 2007 06:45:21 AM PST

I cannot imagine meatballs with no onion nor sauce with no onion.
also,if you don't care about browning the meatballs but do care about the fat you can microwave them just enough to hold them together to cook in the sauce.the microwaving renders a huge amount of fat and once they are cooked in the sauce it is unnoticable to anyone they haven't been browned.
also, i agree with the person who said you need no oil to fry them.
for my taste i would triple the garlic if not more.

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Slightly less fat

wolfdix - January 3, 2007 02:52:02 PM PST

You don't need to fry the meat balls. (I don't even bake them) I use milk instead of buttermilk to soak the bread (the fluffier the bread the better) and a whole egg. Once the meatballs are shaped, I just drop them in the pot where the tomato sauce is cooking and then cook them for about 30 min. (I make small meatballs, so they get tastier by absorbing the tomato sauce flavor).
The only oil I use is to add to the spaghetti water so they don't stick together, and a tbsp of olive oil to sautee the garlic.
I don't use ground pork either. I add a dash of garlic powder to the ground meat and about a teaspoon of salt.
They come up tender, juicy and tasty.

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Meatballs

wsfig - September 22, 2007 06:10:27 AM PST

For you gringo's out there.True Italian meatballs consist of ground beef,veal

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MMMMMMmmm!!

Ghada A - September 26, 2008 05:59:33 PM PST

It was so easy to make

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Broil the meatballs

Diane J - September 13, 2008 08:52:11 AM PST

I make several types of meatballs for different family gatherings. Whether it is Swedish, BBQ'd, or in pasta, I always broil them. If you put them on a broiler pan, the fat goes to the pan underneath eliminating 90% of the grease. I don't think that by broiling them, it loses flavor. In fact, the meat is still moist and you can really taste the herbs and spices that flavor the meat without it tasting greasy.

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Been using this receipe for at least 12 years!

rickylmahan - August 28, 2008 10:41:58 PM PST

I lightly brown the meatballs in a small amount of oil. Thansfer to a baking dish then add enough beef broth to cover 1/3rd of the meatballs. Bake at 350 until done. The beef broth adds an extra richness to this already award winning recipe.

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Yummers!!!

Rebecca M - July 28, 2008 04:01:03 PM PST

This recipe is delish. I substituted the ground pork for sweet turkey sausage and it tasted great! I will definitely make it again. Maybe next time I'll use whole wheat pasta to make it more healthy.

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111 grams of fat?!?!?!?

johnraleydesign - July 21, 2008 04:09:44 PM PST

I know pork and chuck is high in fat, but thats absurd! 1500 calories when the avaerage adult should be eating 2500 a day or shere is something odd with this.o is equally stupid! there is something odd with this.

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I regret nothing

dgoffilm - July 21, 2008 03:21:00 PM PST

I made this for my dog the other bight and I have to say he really loved it! I love the recipe for the sauce! I put more basil and a little more garlic then the recipe asked for. My dog wanted more cheese so like a sorry sack I am I gave in.
You can't go wrong!

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