The Best Homemade Italian Meatballs

Sundays are sacred in our house. It is the one day of the week when the schedule clears out, and my family can actually breathe. There is nothing better than opening a bottle of decent Italian red wine, turning the football game on in the background, and cooking spaghetti and homemade Italian meatballs in the kitchen with my wife. We take our time with any red sauce because it is not about rushing to get dinner on the table. It is letting the sauce simmer on the stove for hours until the whole house smells fantastic.

You know you have a winner when the kids actually cheer for dinner. I am not exaggerating when I say my kids scream with joy when they find out it is spaghetti and meatball night. Usually, it is a struggle to get them to finish a plate, but with this recipe, they are asking for seconds before I even sit down. They easily polish off two bowls apiece. Seeing them eat that well makes every minute of prep work worth it. The best part is that doubling or tripling the meatball recipe for large dinner parties doesn’t add much time.

The real key here is patience to keep the meatballs moist. Nobody wants a dry, dense meatball. These come out tender and juicy every single time because the meatballs are browned first, then finish cooking in that rich tomato bath. For the best results, I recommend using San Marzano tomatoes in your spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti with meatballs is the ultimate comfort food, and it tastes just as good the next day as leftovers. Grab a glass of wine and let’s cook these homemade Italian meatballs!