Homemade Spaghetti Sauce & Meatballs

This was my first attempt at making spaghetti sauce from scratch ... and, if I do say so myself, it was amazing. I pulled the meatball and sauce recipe from HERE, but I tweaked it a little bit. Mostly, I just substituted fresh herbs and tomatoes for dried/canned. I'll give you my recipe below.



Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs

Meatballs

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 cup Italian bread crumbs
• 3 Tbsp fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1 egg, beaten

Sauce

• 3/4 C chopped onion
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 5 tomatoes, diced
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 6 oz tomato paste (1 can)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh basil, shredded
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder and beaten egg. Mix well and form into approximately 20 balls. Store, covered, in refrigerator until needed.


In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Stir in tomatoes, salt, sugar and bay leaf. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 90 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, basil, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and meatballs and simmer 30 minutes more. Serve over 1 lb cooked whole wheat spaghetti noodles.


We were having company the night I made this ... and I didn't quite have time to let it simmer the full 90 minutes. I let it simmer about 30, then I added the meatballs and let it simmer another 30. It still turned out great! 

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 341 g

Amount Per Serving

Calories 642 Calories from Fat 162

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 18.0g 28%

Saturated Fat 3.8g 19%

Trans Fat 0.0g

Cholesterol 99mg 33%

Sodium 1210mg 50%

Total Carbohydrates 81.8g 27%

Dietary Fiber 10.2g 41%

Sugars 11.6g

Protein 38.7g

Vitamin A 30% • Vitamin C 40% Calcium 11% • Iron 42%

Nutrition Grade B

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet