Braised Meatballs in a Hearty Marinara Sauce
These braised meatballs are cooked in a hearty marinara sauce and served on top of spaghetti or other long pasta. They’re an ultimate in comfort food and a recipe your family will ask for again and again.
From starting the sauce to finishing the braised meatballs, this recipe will take about 60 to 90 minutes. That range depends on how quickly you chop and how many things you can pay attention to at once. Please see the notes for ways to make sure it doesn’t take longer.
Like most of my meatball recipes, you can turn this into a quick meal by using a store-bought marinara sauce. The weeknight alternative would be to make the tomato sauce ahead of time. It freezes well, or you could can it, if you do that sort of thing.
These braised meatballs would be great for a beginner cook who wants to make a classic meal. I just probably wouldn’t recommend it for a date unless you plan to get all Lady and the Tramp.
Why braise meatballs?
Braising is a cooking method that classically involves searing meat (frying it in a thin layer of oil until browned on the exterior) before cooking it slowly in a covered pan in a small amount of liquid or sauce. I’m here to say that the searing step is not always required.
Braised meatballs are soft and tender, and braising makes it harder to overcook your meatballs. If you prefer a crusty meatball, saute them in a little oil or bake your meatballs before braising them in the tomato sauce.
You can braise meatballs in any sort of liquid or sauce. Check out these braised BBQ chicken meatballs!
Tips and tricks
Before you do anything else, toast the pine nuts for the meatballs, and start to heat the pasta water. My cooktop takes forever so I turn it on high when I start making the sauce. Once it boils, add your salt and keep it at a simmer until it’s time to cook the pasta.
You can toast nuts in the oven or on the stove top. If you have the oven on already, check them at 5 minutes. If you’re starting with a cold oven, check them at 10 minutes. Toasted nuts should smell nutty and not burnt.
Making the hearty marinara sauce
To make the tomato sauce, start by cooking chopped onions and then the garlic and spices. Add the tomatoes and wine and simmer.
One strong recommendation is to use whole canned tomatoes when you have the time. Another lifetime ago, I did a cooking class with Diane Seed in Rome. She shared with me that cans of chopped and pureed tomatoes often use less than perfect tomatoes. Words of wisdom I now share with you.
Also, I’m sure you’ve heard that you should never cook with anything labelled “cooking wine.” Any wine that goes into food should be wine that you’re willing to drink. If I’m not opening a bottle for dinner, I’ll just use vermouth, because it stays stable in the fridge for longer.
Making the meatballs
Making meatballs isn’t tricky at all. Start by soaking your breadcrumbs in the milk or buttermilk. Then chop and add the rest of the ingredients one by one.
Mix the meatball mixture together with your hands to avoid overmixing it. You don’t need to knead meatballs or burgers, or they’ll become tough.
Portion out golf ball-sized meatballs and lay them on a lined baking sheet. You can use a large cookie scoop to get equal size meatballs if you like. You can make medium size meatballs if you prefer, but you’ll need to reduce the cooking time by a few minutes.
Braising the meatballs
When you are ready to braise your meatballs, place them in the tomato sauce so they are not touching and cover the pan. Let them braise in the marinara until the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees Fahrenheit, turning the meatballs over once or twice in the sauce.
About halfway through, turn up the heat on your pasta pot and add the pasta. If your sauce is thinner than you prefer, you can thicken this marinara sauce by partially uncovering the pan as it cooks.
Tip from the wise quacker: one additional thing to give your pasta more flavor and to prevent it from sticking is to boil it only to al dente and then finish it off with some of the tomato sauce.
Serve immediately with the braised meatballs on top of the pasta and grated Parmesan on the side.
What to serve with spaghetti and meatballs
- A side salad with a creamy pesto dressing
- This semolina bread loaf
- For drink, go Italian, of course. Pick a red table wine or an Aperol Negroni.
- Turn leftover Italian meatballs into a wrap with the marinara, mozzarella, and parsley!
Variations and substitutions
- Sub in a combination of ground beef and ground pork.
- Sub in another long pasta shape like linguine.
FAQs
If you’re comfortable in the kitchen, you can vary this in all sorts of ways. If I wanted to add vegetables, I’d think mushrooms or roasted red peppers, for example.
You can absolutely freeze leftover meatballs along with the tomato sauce. But frozen spaghetti will be mushy when reheated, so I would avoid that if possible. Shorter, thicker pasta shapes like penne or ziti will hold up better to freezing.
Related recipes:
Check other uglyducklingbakery pasta recipes like this fig bacon jam pasta, one pot pasta with ricotta and lemon, or a sausage ragù.
Do you love meatballs? Check out more options for meatballs and what to serve with meatballs for dinner.
Braised Meatballs in a Hearty Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
Tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium onion, chopped fine
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons vermouth, white or red wine
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon parsley, chopped
Meatballs
- ½ cup panko
- ¼ cup milk or buttermilk
- ½ ounce parmesan cheese, grated plus extra for serving
- 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted and chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 pound ground beef or mix of ground beef, pork or veal
- 1 pound spaghetti or other long pasta
Instructions
Tomato sauce
- Make the tomato sauce. In a large pan with a lid, saute the onion in the olive oil over medium low heat for 5 to 7 minutes until soft.1 tablespoon olive oil, ½ medium onion, chopped fine
- Add the garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes, and saute for one minute.1 clove garlic, minced, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- Add the tomatoes and wine and raise the temperature until it starts to bubble vigorously. Reduce the temp to a slow simmer and partially cover. Cook on low, stirring intermittently to break up the tomatoes, while you make the meatballs. Before adding the meatballs, add the sugar and parsley and then salt and pepper to taste.1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes, 2 tablespoons vermouth, white or red wine, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 2 teaspoon parsley, chopped
Braised meatballs
- To make the meatballs, combine the panko and milk or buttermilk in a large bowl and let soak for 10 minutes.¼ cup milk or buttermilk, ½ cup panko
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and gently mix with your hands.½ ounce parmesan cheese, grated, 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 tablespoon pine nuts, toasted and chopped, 1 egg, 1 pound ground beef
- Using a large scoop (about ¼ cup), form meatballs into large rounds and place on a plate or clean cutting board while you form all the meatballs. This should make 10 to 12 large meatballs.
- Place the meatballs gently into the tomato sauce, cover the pan, and keep at a slow simmer for 30 minutes. Once or twice, gently turn the meatballs so they are covered in sauce, and scrape the pan bottom. The meatballs should have an internal temperature of >165°F when done.
- Counting backwards from the end of the 30 minutes, cook your spaghetti or other pasta per directions. That is, if your spaghetti is supposed to take 12 minutes to cook, have the pasta water boiling so that you can put the spaghetti in the pot after the meatballs have been cooking for 18 minutes.
Notes
- Don’t forget to start heating the pasta water. My cooktop takes forever so I turn it on high when I start making the sauce. Once it boils, I keep it at a simmer until it’s time to cook the pasta.
- It also helps to toast the pine nuts at the start of cooking so they cool down before chopping. You can toast nuts in the oven or on the stove top. If I have the oven on already, I check them at 5 minutes. If I’m starting with a cold oven, I check them at 10 minutes. Toasted nuts should smell nutty and not burnt.
- Make smaller meatballs to cook in less time.
- If your sauce is thinner than you prefer, you can thicken this marinara sauce by partially uncovering the pan as it cooks.
- One additional thing to give pasta more flavor and to prevent it from sticking is to boil it only to al dente and then finish it off with some of the tomato sauce.
Nutrition
What’s next
If you make this recipe for spaghetti and braised meatballs in tomato sauce, please leave a comment here. Pretty please.
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