Simple and delicious pork meatball pasta recipe with easy, homemade meatballs baked in the oven and then cooked in hearty but not too heavy tomato sauce. With flavors of basil, oregano, and a sweet, cinnamon aftertaste!
This easy spaghetti and meatballs recipe is the ideal weeknight dinner. Since it's easy, filling, and delicious. The flavor is similar to Greek Bolognese, though the taste of the pork meatballs is somewhat similar to that of Greek sausage. The highlight flavor for me is that hint of cinnamon at the end, which enhances the sweetness of the tomato sauce.
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How To Make Meatball Pasta
To make this pasta with meatballs recipe you cook both the pasta and the meatballs separately before mixing them into the sauce. The pros of this are that for one the meatballs release most of their fat before you mix them into the sauce, resulting in less greasy and lighter sauce.
Second, you can skip the pasta altogether, and serve the pork meatballs with sauce and some Greek fries. Thirdly, you can make the meatballs and sauce ahead of time, reheat, and mix in the pasta when ready to serve. So here's how to cook spaghetti with meatballs in a few easy steps:
- Prepare the meatball mixture. You can leave it to marinate in the fridge for 1 hour or overnight.
- Cook the pasta and set aside.
- Bake the meatballs in a parchment paper-lined baking pan or sheet pan.
- Make the tomato sauce on the stovetop while the meatballs are in the oven.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook until the sauce thickens.
- Mix in the pasta and serve!
NOTE: You can use the fat of the baked meatballs that collects on the pan, to make homemade croutons. You can then serve this dish with crumbled croutons on top (a classic Italian way of serving pasta).
Other Types Of Pasta To Use:
Types of pasta that go best with meatballs in sauce are Fussili, Bow-tie pasta, Penne, Macaroni, and Linguini are all great alternatives to spaghetti. You can even make meatballs with Orzo pasta by adding the uncooked orzo together with the meatballs and 1 extra cup of water or stock (=3 cups overall).
For all the above pasta alternatives add the same amount of pasta which is 200 grams.
Other Easy Recipes With Meatballs You May Like:
- Easy Cabbage Meatball Soup
- Greek Meatballs In Yogurt Sauce
- Meatball Soup With Rice Egg & Lemon
- Keftedakia - Greek Fried Meatballs
Freezing Meatballs
You can make a batch or more of these pork meatballs and toss them in the freezer for later use. To do this shape the meatballs and then lay them on a baking sheet (keep them from touching each other). Once frozen solid, transfer to freezer bags. They will keep for 1-2 months.
Before cooking thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
Making Ahead Of Time
You can prepare the meatballs and sauce for up to 2 days ahead and keep them in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, reheat over low heat with a splash of water. Boil spaghetti or another type of pasta from the ones mentioned above, and toss and mix into the sauce.
Recipe
Easy Pork Meatballs Pasta With Sauce
Ingredients
For The Meatballs:
- 500 grams (1.1 pounds) ground pork
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 40 grams (¼ cup) leek minced
- 40 grams (¼ cup) onion minced
- 1 tablespoon parsley minced
- 1 large garlic clove minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 2-3 basil leaves minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ⅕ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅓ teaspoon ground pepper
For The Tomato Sauce:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 40 grams (¼ cup) onion minced
- 40 grams (¼ cup) green bell pepper minced
- 400 grams (14 oz) tin of peeled whole tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2-3 large basil leaves finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon parsley finely chopped
- OPTIONAL: 2 cups vegetable, chicken, or beef stock
- coarse sea salt
- 200 grams (7 oz) dried spaghetti
- Parmesan, Pecorino, grated Mizithra, or finely crumbled Feta cheese to serve with
Instructions
Prepare The Meatballs:
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a frying pan.
- Saute onion and leek over moderate heat for 2 minutes then add a splash of water and cook until water drains completely.
- Mix the ground pork in a bowl together with the cooked leeks and onions, as well as all of the remaining ingredients for the meatballs.
- Optional: Refrigerate for an hour or up to overnight to marinate.
Cook The Pasta:
- Boil pasta 1 minute less than what's stated on the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Cook The Meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 200°C 400°F.
- Shape into small round meatballs (weighing about 40 grams/ 1.4 ounces each).
- Add the meatballs to a parchment paper-lined pan.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until meatballs get a nice color on top. Meanwhile, start to prepare the sauce.
Make The Tomato Sauce:
- Add the tin of tomatoes to a small food processor or a blender and pulse until smooth.
- Heat olive oil in a saute pan over high heat.
- Add onion and drop the heat to medium, saute until softened.
- Add the bell pepper, and cook for a minute.
- Add the pulsed tomatoes and raise the heat to medium-high. Season with coarse sea salt.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes stirring occasionally until the tomatoes start to drain.
- Add 2 cups of hot water or stock (500ml) and the oregano and bring to a boil.
- Add the meatballs and drop the heat to low. Simmer covered for 15 minutes.
- Add the basil and parsley and raise the heat to medium.
- Cook partly covered until the sauce thickens.
- Mix in the pasta and take off the heat.
- Serve with hard, grated cheese, grated Mizithra cheese, or finely crumbled feta cheese.
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