My family owned an Italian (American) restaurant when I was born. So it’s no surprise my comfort foods include spaghetti, red sauce, and of course meatballs. Everyone has their own take on the classic. In this recipe, we’ll avoid heating up the kitchen by browning and braising on the stove. Salt will come from cooking the pasta, but add your own special touch. I usually season by eye and add breadcrumbs and ketchup by feel.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 Lbs ground beef or pork mix
- 1 Egg
- 1 Teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Teaspoon onion powder
- 1 Teaspoon chili flake (optional)
- 1/2 Teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 2 Teaspoons Italian herb blend
- 2-3 Cloves garlic, minced or microplaned
- 1-2 Tablespoons low/no salt ketchup
- 1/2 Cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 2 Cups of favorite low sodium spaghetti sauce, plus more to serve
- 8 Ounces pasta, your choice
Optional Toppings:
- Chopped fresh parsley
- Shaved or grated parmesan cheese
- Dollop of ricotta or mascarpone cheese
Directions
- In a medium bowl, add ground beef, egg, seasonings, garlic and one tablespoon of ketchup. Mix together with a large spoon, or ideally your hand.
- Once blended (don’t over mix), add in the breadcrumbs. Continuing mixing until well blended. The breadcrumbs should be moist and the mixture resembling a giant meatball. You can adjust here by adding either more ketchup for liquid or breadcrumbs if too wet. OPTION: take a small amount of mixture and either cook on the stove or in the microwave to taste and adjust seasoning.
- Divide mixture into eighths and form into tight balls, rolling between your two hands and set on a plate to rest and set aside.
- Bring a dutch oven or cast iron pan over medium low heat on the stove. Add olive oil or another neutral oil.
- When the oil is heated, add the meatballs and brown for approximately five to seven minutes. Flip and brown the other side.
- After both sides are browned, add sauce. Reduce heat to the lowest setting, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through, stirring once or twice to ensure they’re not sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- While the meatballs simmer, bring a large pot of water to boil for your pasta. Spaghetti is classic. Add salt to water before adding the pasta and cook based on package instructions for al dente.
- Once pasta is ready, drain and plate. Add meatballs and sauce from pan. Finish with freshly grated parmesan cheese, ground pepper, or fresh Italian parsley.
Options:
- You can make the meatballs as big or as small as you’d like. Smaller will need less time to cook through, larger will need more time.
- The egg can be optional, if allergic. It serves as a binder, so adjust your wet ingredients as needed.
- BBQ sauce can be used instead of ketchup, but try to avoid mesquite flavored sauces.
- If the oven is preferred, brown as directed and add sauce, covering and placing in a preheated 350F degree oven for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
- Add ricotta to the sauce at the end to introduce richness and create a tomato cream sauce.
- Meatballs are great as leftovers, future meal preps, or even as a homemade meatball sandwich.
Salt Swaps:
- We’re salting the water verses the sauce, which is more classically Italian and eliminates the need to use a heavily salted sauce.
- You can make your own low sodium marinara or red sauce by using cans of no salt tomato sauce or puree. I make my own red sauce annually and freeze for just such recipes.
- Breadcrumbs can be sneaky sources of sodium. Panko generally has less salt than traditional Italian seasoned breadcrumbs. You can also make your own breadcrumbs by cutting up stale bread and lightly toasting on a sheet pan in the oven on low for 10 to 15 minutes. Pull and once cooled, turn into breadcrumbs in a food processor adding Italian herb blend to taste. Store in an air tight container for up to a month in the refrigerator.
