When it comes to hearty comfort food, nothing beats a Meatball Marinara. The combination of tender meatballs, rich tomato sauce, and a generous serving of spaghetti is just perfect. This recipe is a delightful twist on the classic, using a blend of beef and pork for extra flavour, while the homemade marinara sauce delivers a tangy, aromatic punch. The meatballs are baked to perfection under the grill before being simmered in the sauce, allowing them to soak up all the delicious flavours. Whether served for a cosy weeknight dinner or as a weekend treat, this dish is bound to satisfy your taste buds and leave you craving more.
Table of Contents
- Ingredient Breakdown
- Making the Meatballs
- Making the Marinara Sauce
- Choosing the Right Pasta
- Serving Suggestions
- More Pasta Recipes
Ingredient Breakdown
- Beef mince: A lean, flavourful meat that forms the base of the meatballs, offering a rich, savoury taste.
- Pork sausagemeat: Adds tenderness and moisture to the meatballs, balancing the texture and flavour of the beef.
- Fresh breadcrumbs: Used to bind the meatball mixture, ensuring the meatballs remain light and fluffy.
- Milk: Soaks the breadcrumbs, providing moisture and helping to keep the meatballs soft.
- Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano: These hard cheeses give the meatballs a salty, umami flavour that complements the other ingredients.
- Fresh flat-leaf parsley and basil: Herbs that infuse the meatballs with fresh, aromatic notes.
- Egg: Binds the ingredients together and adds richness to the meatballs.
- Garlic: Adds depth of flavour, both to the meatballs and the sauce.
- Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper: Season the meatball mixture, enhancing the natural flavours of the meat and herbs.
- Olive oil: Used for both grilling the meatballs and sautéing the onions and garlic in the marinara sauce.
- Onion: Provides a subtle sweetness to the sauce, balancing the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Tomato purée: Deepens the flavour of the marinara sauce, offering a rich base.
- White wine: Adds acidity to the sauce, helping to balance the sweetness of the tomatoes.
- Whole peeled plum tomatoes: The heart of the marinara sauce, offering natural sweetness and a fresh, vibrant taste.
- Chicken stock: Adds richness and depth to the sauce, ensuring a silky texture.
- Sugar (optional): A small amount of sugar can balance the acidity of the tomatoes and round out the flavours.
- Spaghetti: A classic base to serve the meatballs and sauce, providing the perfect vehicle for all the rich, savoury flavours.
Making the Meatballs
The key to making great meatballs lies in a few simple but crucial steps. The first step is ensuring the right balance of meats. For the Meatball Marinara, a combination of beef mince and pork sausagemeat results in tender, juicy meatballs with plenty of flavour. The breadcrumbs and milk serve as a binder, keeping the meatballs soft and light, while the egg holds everything together.
When it comes to seasoning the meatballs, fresh herbs like parsley and basil infuse them with a burst of freshness. You’ll also want to make sure that the garlic is finely chopped or grated, allowing it to melt into the mixture without overwhelming the flavour. It’s important not to overwork the meatball mixture. Mixing just enough to combine the ingredients is all it takes. Overmixing can make the meatballs dense and tough.
Once the meatballs are rolled into bite-sized portions, they are grilled to perfection. This step creates a beautiful, golden crust, while the inside remains tender. Grilling the meatballs under the oven grill ensures they are cooked through without becoming too dry, which is essential for the final texture.
Making the Marinara Sauce
The marinara sauce is the perfect complement to these tender meatballs, offering a rich, tangy base that enhances the flavour of the meat. It all starts with sautéing finely chopped onions in olive oil until soft and translucent, allowing their natural sweetness to develop. Adding garlic and dried Italian herbs infuses the sauce with depth and aroma.
Then add the Tomato purée, cooking it for a few minutes to deepen its flavour. The addition of white wine adds brightness and cuts through the richness of the sauce. Once most of the wine has evaporated, the crushed tomatoes and chicken stock are added, providing a smooth, full-bodied texture. Add a bit of sugar if the tomatoes are too acidic, but remember that this is optional. Taste the sauce as you go and adjust accordingly.
The final step involves simmering the meatballs in the sauce. The simmering process allows the meatballs to absorb all the flavours from the sauce, making them even more delicious. The result is a thick, flavour-packed sauce that clings to each meatball, making every bite of Meatball Marinara irresistible.
Choosing the Right Pasta
Traditionally, you serve Meatball Marinara with spaghetti, but you can choose any pasta that suits your preference. The long, thin strands of spaghetti are ideal for wrapping around the meatballs and soaking up the sauce. However, other types of pasta like fettuccine, rigatoni, or even penne can work well, too. The key is to choose a pasta that holds the sauce, so you get a good mix of meatball, sauce, and pasta in each bite.
Don’t forget to cook the pasta al dente. It should have a slight bite, providing a nice contrast to the tender meatballs and the silky tomato sauce. Once cooked, toss the pasta with a little olive oil or butter before adding the meatballs and sauce. This ensures that the pasta doesn’t stick together and has a glossy finish.
Serving Suggestions
Once the meatballs are simmered in the sauce and the pasta is ready, it’s time to plate up. Serve the meatballs over the pasta, ensuring each portion gets plenty of sauce. For added flavour, garnish with extra fresh basil and parsley, and don’t forget a generous sprinkle of grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano. A side of crusty bread is also a welcome addition to soak up any leftover sauce, making it the perfect meal for any occasion.
The Meatball Marinara is a classic comfort food that never disappoints. The combination of tender, flavourful meatballs and a rich, aromatic sauce is sure to become a family favourite. Whether you’re making it for a weeknight dinner or a special gathering, this dish is guaranteed to please. Enjoy the heartiness of this dish with a side of pasta or a chunk of crusty bread, and savour every bite.
More Pasta Recipes
We all love pasta, there’s no denying it. So if you’re looking for more recipes just like this Meatball Marinara, then here you go:
- Creamy Red Pepper Pasta: It’s amazing how a little onion, garlic, tomato purée, peppers and cream can come together in mere minutes to make a delicious, deeply-flavoured sauce.
- Creamy Tomato and Harissa Pasta: This tasty pasta number is the perfect balance of flavours. It’s creamy and bright, with just a hint of spice from the harissa.
- Tomato & Red Pepper Gnocchi: A dish that brings together pillowy gnocchi and a hearty, flavour-packed sauce made from fresh, vibrant ingredients. This quick and easy vegan recipe is perfect for a weeknight dinner. It takes just 30 minutes to prepare!
- Cheesy Gnocchi Bake: This recipe combines soft, pillowy gnocchi with a rich tomato sauce and a generous layer of melted cheese, creating a meal that’s both hearty and indulgent.
- Burnt Aubergine Rigatoni: Charring aubergines over an open flame or under a hot grill intensifies their taste, creating a velvety, umami-rich sauce that clings beautifully to rigatoni.
See how I make all these recipes and more over on my Instagram!
Meatball Marinara
Beef and pork meatballs, seared under the grill then cooked in a delicious, homemade tomato sauce. The meatballs are fluffy, tender and full of flavour. It’s hands down one of my favourite recipes! Toss with spaghetti and serve – enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Meat
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 65 g fresh breadcrumbs
- 4 tbsps milk
- 2 large garlic cloves, grated or very finely chopped
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 30 g grated parmigiano reggiano or grana padano
- 15 g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- 15 g fresh basil, finely chopped
- ¾ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
- 500 g beef mince (10% fat)
- 450 g good-quality pork sausagemeat
For the marinara (tomato sauce):
- extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
- 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 2 tbsps double concentrated tomato purée
- 200 ml white wine
- 2 x 400 g tins of good-quality whole peeled plum tomatoes, hand-crushed
- 200 ml good-quality chicken stock
- 1 small handful fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 1 small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 2 tsps sugar, optional
To serve:
- spaghetti
Instructions
Making the meatballs:
- Heat your oven grill to high. Line a large baking tray with foil; lightly grease the foil with olive oil.
- In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, milk, garlic, egg, parmigiano reggiano, parsley, basil, salt and pepper and mix well to combine. You want all the ingredients to be evenly spread out and well-incorporated.
- Add the beef mince and pork sausagemeat. Using your hands, combine the meats with the other ingredients until well-incorporated. Be careful not to overmix though; overmixing makes for tougher, denser meatballs.
- Roll the mixture into 1 heaped tablespoon-sized meatballs. It helps to lightly oil your hands when doing this. This recipe makes about 26 meatballs.
- Arrange the meatballs in a single layer on the foil-lined baking tray. Grill for 7 to 10 minutes, until browned on top. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Making the sauce:
- Heat your oven to 150℃. Heat a good glug of extra-virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the sweet onion and season with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic and dried Italian herbs and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the tomato purée and cook, stirring almost constantly, until it begins to darken, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high. Add the white wine and cook, stirring occasionally, most of the liquid has evaporates.
- Add the crushed tinned tomatoes and chicken stock and season generously with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
- Carefully add the meatballs to the sauce and stir to combine. Bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Cover and place the pot in the oven. Bake for 1 hour at 150℃. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can make this in a large saucepan: simmer on low (the lowest possible setting) for 1 hour.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. Stir in the fresh basil and parsley. Taste and season with extra sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, if necessary, as well as the sugar (if using). Toss with spaghetti and enjoy!
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