Jumbo Meatballs and Spaghetti

My recipe for Jumbo Meatballs and Spaghetti will be a favorite with your family! Treat your family and friends to a delicious and fun dinner!

I know what you’re thinking. Why “jumbo” meatballs? Why not just make regular size meatballs? No real reason! Just because it’s fun, that’s why!

This is a great family dinner recipe. Kids just love the novelty of one huge meatball with their spaghetti.

Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you off. My Jumbo Meatballs and Spaghetti is a very easy recipe. You pretty much dump everything in a bowl and mix it together. Takes very little time to do and the meatballs themselves….delicious!

I know a recipe is really good when BeeBop specifically comments on it. His usual response to a tasty recipe is “that’s pretty good.” So when he said “Man, these meatballs are good!” I knew this was a winner!

My recipe for Jumbo Meatballs and Spaghetti will be a favorite with your family! Treat your family and friends to a delicious and fun dinner! Click To Tweet

How to Make Jumbo Meatballs and Spaghetti

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cubed Italian style bread and milk. Set side for 2-3 minutes until the bread is softened. Using your fingers, a fork, or a potato masher, mix the bread and milk until thoroughly combined.

Add all the remaining ingredients for the meatballs. Mix until combined.

I use my hands for this. Just take off your rings and get right in there. However, you can actually use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment on low speed to mix the ingredients together.

Turn the mixture out on a board and divide into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a large meatball. They’ll be about the size of a baseball!

Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

While the meatballs are baking, prepare the sauce. In a large pan (large enough to hold the sauce and meatballs) heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one additional minute. I use my deep chicken fryer skillet for this.

Add the passata (or tomatoes), oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the meatballs have finished browning.

Transfer the browned meatballs into the pan with the tomato sauce. I also add the juices from the baking pan into the sauce, but that’s optional. Spoon the tomato sauce over the meatballs, turn the heat down to a steady simmer and cover the pan.

Cook 30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through (they should register 160 internal temperature on an instant read thermometer).

While the meatballs and sauce are simmering, cook the pasta according to its package directions.

Serve one meatball per person along with some of the sauce over a serving of pasta. Top with shaved Parmesan or Romano cheese if desired.

Enjoy!

More Pasta Recipes on Never Enough Thyme:

• Bow Tie Pasta Salad with Tomatoes and Grapes
• Pasta d’Arrabiata
• Bolognese Sauce
• Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato (BLT) Pasta

Meatball Recipes from Other Bloggers:

• Chipotle Meatballs from Simply Recipes
• Baked Salmon Meatballs with Creamy Avocado Sauce from Cookin’ Canuck
• Bacon Cheeseburger Meatballs from I Breathe I’m Hungry
• Sophia Loren’s Meatballs from Manger
• Swedish Meatballs from Food Wishes

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Jumbo Meatballs and Spaghetti

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

My recipe for Jumbo Meatballs and Spaghetti will be a favorite with your family! Treat your family and friends to a delicious and fun dinner!

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Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• Olive oil
• 3 cups white Italian style bread, cut in 1” dice
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 1/4 lb. ground beef
• 1 lb. mild Italian sausage
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 4 tblsp. dried parsley flakes (or 1/2 cup finely minced fresh parsley)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 3 oz. finely grated Romano cheese
• 1 cup whole milk Ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

For the sauce:

• 4 tblsp. olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 24 oz. passata (or 2 15 oz. cans roma tomatoes)
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 4-5 large basil leaves, cut in chiffonade
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 lb. spaghetti

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cubed Italian style bread and milk. Set side for 2-3 minutes until bread is softened. Using your fingers or a potato masher, mix the bread and milk until thoroughly combined. Add all remaining ingredients for meatballs. Mix until combined. Turn out on a board and divide into 8 equal pieces. Shape into large meatballs.
3. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
4. While the meatballs are baking, prepare the sauce. In a large pan (large enough to hold the sauce and meatballs) heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for one additional minute. Add the passata (or tomatoes), oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until you remove the meatballs from the oven.
5. Transfer the browned meatballs to the pan with the tomato sauce. Spoon tomato sauce over the meatballs, turn the heat down to a steady simmer and cover the pan. Cook 30 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through (they’ll register 160 internal temperature on an instant read thermometer).
6. While the meatballs and sauce are simmering, cook the pasta according to its package directions.
7. Serve one meatball per person along with some of the sauce over a serving of pasta. Top with shaved Parmesan or Romano cheese if desired.

Notes

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 718 Total Fat: 46g Saturated Fat: 17g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 28g Cholesterol: 149mg Sodium: 1346mg Carbohydrates: 32g Net Carbohydrates: 0g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 5g Sugar Alcohols: 0g Protein: 43g

Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritonix and may not always be perfectly accurate. Use your own judgment.

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