Is spaghetti night a dinner favorite at your house? It’s one of the few dinners everyone at our house will eat (even the picky eater). This easy spaghetti and meatballs is quick to make on the busy weeknights.
This spaghetti and meatball recipe saves time with premade ingredients like your favorite jar sauce and frozen meatballs. It’s also a versatile recipe. Depending on your family tastes, you can also add more veggies like Julieanne carrots, chopped zucchini or mushrooms.
Classic Spaghetti and Meatball recipe, a family favorite
- 1 pound ground beef – if you prefer you can use ground turkey or pork
- 1 bag of frozen meatballs
- 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 1 medium chopped onion
- 1 medium chopped green pepper
- Spices - garlic oregano, basil to taste
- 6 cups of water
- Salt to taste
- 1 - 1 pound package spaghetti
- In a large saucepan, brown the ground beef. While the meat is browning, add the green peppers and onions. Cook until the meat is fully cooked.
Add the jar of spaghetti sauce to the browned ground beef, onions, and green peppers. Add seasoning like garlic, oregano, and basil to taste. Add the frozen meatballs. Bring to a simmer and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes stirring every 5 minutes.
- While the sauce is simmering, bring the 6 cups of water to a boil in an 8-quart pot. Add the spaghetti. Cook to "al dente" or just tender. Do not overcook the spaghetti.
Drain the spaghetti. Place a serving of spaghetti on each plate. Top the spaghetti with the sauce. Finish the plate off by putting two meatballs in the center of the noodles. Add a side salad or steamed veggie if desired.
Serve with a side salad or steamed veggies.
Chef tips to save time:
- Chop onions and peppers the night before or chop when purchased and freeze for later use (works better with peppers than onions).
- Using prepared sauce and frozen meatballs saves time.
- Start water to boil when you start browning the meat to keep everything cooking together.
Spaghetti and meatballs is a classic dinner and family favorite. It’s quick and easy to make on busy weeknights.
I’ve started mixing half whole grain pasta with the regular. It still tastes great and is healthier (sometimes using all whole grain is a little tough to get used to).
I’ve started mixing half whole grain pasta with the regular. It still tastes great and is healthier (sometimes using all whole grain is a little tough to get used to).