Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs
Fantastic homemade spaghetti sauce with homemade meatballs. This recipe makes a very thick sauce and can be easily made in the crockpot or on top of the stove.
Ingredients
SPAGHETTI SAUCE:
- 29 oz. can tomato puree
- 29 oz. can diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 12-oz. cans tomato paste
- 1 large onion sliced and separated into rings
- 8 oz. can sliced mushrooms drained
- 2-3 cloves garlic sliced or minced (I use 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic from a jar)
- 1 heaping tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 heaping teaspoon dried basil
- 2 heaping tablespoons sugar
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 3 shakes red pepper flakes if desired
- 2-3 whole bay leaves
MEATBALLS:
- 1 lb. 96% lean ground beef or sirloin (better to use meat with less fat and get 96% lean especially if you want to add raw meatballs to crockpot)
- 2 tbsp. dry onion flakes minced
- 2 tbsp. dried parsley
- 1/2-1 tsp. sea salt
- 1/4-1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 stick unsalted butter melted (1/2 cup)
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups Italian style bread crumbs or Gluten Free Italian Bread Crumbs
Instructions
SPAGHETTI SAUCE:
- Put all in a crockpot that has been sprayed with cooking spray and let simmer on high for about 3 to 4 hours or low 5-6 hours.
- Add meatballs, if desired.
- Or cook on stove top about an hour on a low-medium heat.
- Remove bay leaves before serving.
MEATBALLS:
- Melt butter in microwave.
- Add enough crumbs that mixture is not wet, but not so dry you can’t stir it either.
- Put in large mixing bowl with other ingredients.
- Mix well with hands until well mixed.
- Spray large cookie sheet with cooking spray (one with an edge).
- Heat oven to 350°.
- Shape mixture into small meatballs trying to make sure there are no cracks in your meatballs.
- Place on sprayed cookie sheet. Bake about 20-30 minutes or so until well browned (not burned!).
- Remove from cookie sheets onto paper towels to absorb any excess grease.
- Add to spaghetti sauce and serve with spaghetti.
Notes
NOTE: This makes a thick spaghetti sauce which we prefer over thin sauces. NOTE: If you like bell pepper in your tomato sauce, add 1 bell pepper, diced, or cut in strips. NOTE: The original recipe called for the meatballs to be fried in butter. But I found that method caused them to get too burned, and they are softer – melt-in-your-mouth when you bake them rather than fry them. NOTE: You can also add raw meatballs to sauce and cook in crockpot for 4-6 hours. But you must use 96% lean beef for that to work or you will end up with too much grease in your sauce. NOTE: I usually cook on high about 3 hours and low 4-6 hours in the crockpot. NOTE: If you're trying to make this recipe gluten free, I use 4C brand gluten free Italian-style breadcrumbs for the meatballs and Ronzoni gluten free spaghetti. I purchase both of them at Wal-Mart.
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