| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 slice white bread, cut into cubes
- 1 pound 80 percent lean ground beef
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 sticks mozzarella string cheese, cut into small cubes or 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion diced
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
- 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 (16-ounce) box spaghetti
Instructions
- For Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a large bowl combine the milk and bread. Let the bread absorb the milk. Add remaining meatball ingredients except the cheese. Using your hands, gently combine all the ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed. Take about 3 tablespoons of the meat mixture and roll into a ball and press into a patty. Place a mozzarella cube or 1 tablespoon shredded cheese onto the patty and bring up the sides around the cheese and roll between hands to form a ball. Place onto a nonstick baking sheet or a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Repeat process with remaining meat and cheese. Place the meatballs into the oven and cook for 12 minutes. Remove baking sheet from the oven and set aside.
- For Sauce:
- In a medium pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and saute for 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes. Gently stir in the meatballs and any pan drippings from baking sheet and simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Spaghetti:
- Cook the spaghetti in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain and place the pasta on a large serving platter. Place the meatballs over the spaghetti, pour the sauce on top and serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 986 |
| Total Fat | 42 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Carbohydrates | 107 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 9 g |
| Sugar | 11 g |
| Protein | 43 g |
| Cholesterol | 132 mg |
| Sodium | 1228 mg |
Reviews
I only made the meatballs, and liked them a lot! I would make them again. They weren’t fabulous, so I didn’t give them all 5 stars, but they were great.
The meatballs were awesome! I used dried herbs instead of fresh just b/c that’s what I had. Trying to save money and use up what I have before I buy more. : The sauce was okay, it wasn’t bad, just not stellar like the meatballs.
OK i LOVE these meatballs. I decided not to do the sauce also because it sounds like salsa but i have made this with store-bought spaghetti sauce. i have also served it with homemade alfredo sauce…that was a huge hit!!! I have even used the meat recipe to stuff shells with… covered with cheese, alfredo, and marinara… throw in a good salad or even a soup and you have a great comforting meal… No matter how you spin it these meatballs are great.. they are better than anything you can buy in a grocery store… and you can edit the recipe around to create different tastes whether it be with seasoning or sauces..whether you plan to serve them as part of a main course or even just as an appetizer..
The meatballs were extremely moist and very tasty. My family loved them. I put a small fresh mozzarella ball in each one rather than the string cheese. Good!
I tried the recipe for the meatballs for dinner tonight. They were good & I love the idea of the cheese inside. It was a nice surprise for my kids. I do agree that maybe a little more seasoning is in order. I did not make the sauce.
This was a super easy meal to make! I used store bought spaghetti sauce because we don’t like chunky tomatoes in our sauce and I had a couple cans of sauce I needed to use. The meatballs were DELICIOUS! I was going to make the round 2 recipe with the leftovers but I ended up eating the meatballs by themselves the next day! I have a baby and so I made the meatballs during her naptime and then simmered them in the sauce right before we ate to heat them up and this worked very well. The cheese wasn’t very melted nor was it a significant amount based on the size of the meatball. Next time I’ll prob. use the shredded cheese and use more than the recipe says. Overall this was quick and easy and very good!
I must admit I am not a fan of Sandra Lee, but this recipe was pretty good and simple. I made my own adjustments, like I added 1/4 cup chicken broth to the meat, more seasoning and used 1 can sauce and 1 can diced tomatoes. Everyone at my house was happy and I am sure using this recipe, your family will be too.
This was really easy for me as someone who doesn’t like to cook and fast. So the end results was YUMMY! I loved it. And I would agree it needs more sauce or volume so that is what I did, just added some store bought spaghetti sauce and still was tasty! Thanks Sandra, need more simple, in-expensive meals.
The FDA strongly recommends not to preserve garlic in oil at home due to high botulism risk. Should store in fridge & use in 1 week or so. Still risky.
This is my first time making the meatballs with spaghetti. I made the recipe exact(only added 2 shredded carrots for the added veggies :)), and the one thing I would change is the sauce. I see that alot of people did not like the amount of sauce or the thickness. My husband does not like chunks of tomatoes, so I pureed the sauce after it was cooked, it tured out ok. This also made it easier for my 18 month old to eat it. But, I do agree that it did not have a lot of body to it. I would do another can of tomatoes, or just the jar of sauce from the store. I did like that I made this in only 30 min, and it was easy. I will make the meatballs again, just needed more cook time, due to the sheer size of the suckers :).
Good job Sandra! I love your show!
Good job Sandra! I love your show!