Go Back

Spaghetti with meatballs

Spaghetti with meatballs is a classic, hearty Italian-American comfort food dish consisting of spaghetti pasta topped with a rich tomato sauce and flavorful ground-meat meatballs. It is a beloved family meal, known for its satisfying and nostalgic appeal. 
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 4
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 cans peeled plum tomatoes
  • 4 persons spaghetti
  • 1 package chipolata sausages
Herbs
  • fresh basil, rosemary, sage, thyme
  • salt & pepper

Method
 

Sauce
  1. Remove the leaves from the rosemary and thyme and grind them
  2. Peel and dice the onions and peel and chop the cloves of garlic. Fry the onions and garlic in olive oil until glazed.
  3. Add the rosemary and thyme and fry for a further two minutes
  4. Squeeze the tomatoes to pulp with the herbs and bring to a boil
  5. Shred the sage in the sauce with half of the basil leaves
  6. Season with salt & pepper
  7. Add some water if needed to the right consistency
Meatballs
  1. Squeeze the meat from the sausages and roll them into small meatballs
  2. Fry the meatballs in a cooking pan
Spaghetti
  1. Cook the spaghetti as per instructions on the package.
  2. Portion the spaghetti per plate, add the sauce, the meatballs and decorate with fresh basil leaves
Serving suggestion
  1. Serve with garlic bread

Notes

           
Origin: Contrary to popular belief, this specific combination is an Italian-American creation, developed by Italian immigrants in New York City in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They adapted traditional Italian meatball (polpette) and pasta dishes to American abundance, where meat and canned tomatoes were inexpensive and readily available.