Today on Theresa’s Reviews, you can learn about one of my family’s favorite meals, spaghetti and meatballs. With the most authentic Italian ingredients that are available in the store, our traditional Sunday meatball recipe is kid friendly and tastes delicious. Since my Ancestry DNA results showed that I’m 35% Southern European (Sicilian), I enjoy making a meal that was traditional for my ancestors to eat too.

Our Family’s Traditional Sunday Meatball Recipe

Every week, we indulge in a meal of spaghetti and meatballs. This comfort food brings us together not only as we eat it, but also in the process of making it. My children enjoy adding the ingredients to the bowl, cracking the eggs, mixing and shaping the meatballs with me.

Making meatballs with my family reminds me of my grandfather’s meatballs from when I was a child. When we came together for a holiday, meatballs and spaghetti were always on the table. This made me happy because there was at least one food I knew I would love.

When I learned to make meatballs and tomato sauce with my mother, I realized that the meal should be made with love. Since this is a family dish, invite others to taste test and give feedback. Share the experience of making these with others.

As you cook, you are constantly making adjustments. The recipe might call for a certain amount, but you should become so used to making them that you can see when the recipe is dry or needs more breadcrumbs. You should feel that the texture is correct when the meat is raw. Constantly keep an eye on the meatballs as they cook, and add ingredients to the sauce as needed. This meal requires your dedicated attention to be fantastic.

In my recipe, I have written down my family’s traditional Sunday meatball recipe because these are ingredients that work the best for us, but you may adjust it to make your family happy.

To make a traditional Sunday meatball recipe, give plenty of time and attention to the dish as you prepare it.

Theresa’s Meatball Recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of freshly chopped parsley

2 pounds of 93% lean beef

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

Salt

Pepper

3/4 cup grated fresh parmesan (imported from Parma, Italy) plus 1/4 cup for the top

2 cups breadcrumbs

Crushed red pepper

3/4 cup milk

Directions

Grate the fresh parmesan and set aside. Rinse and chop the fresh parsley.

Mix together the beef, parsley, eggs, garlic, salt, pepper, parmesan, bread crumbs, milk, and crushed red pepper.

Shape into meatballs about the size of the palms of your hands. Set aside on a plate.

Heat oil in the pan. When the oil is warm, add the meatballs. As they brown on one side, gently rotate until the entire meatball is brown and cooked inside. Make sure not to leave them cooking too long on one side or they will burn. Turn the heat low until they are cooked all the way through.

Transfer to a paper towel.

Sauce and Noodles

Although you can make a box of crushed tomatoes taste fantastic by adding the right ingredients, I prefer to buy high quality sauce in a jar. Rao’s tastes amazing because it has no added sugar and is made with tomatoes imported from Italy.

To prepare the sauce, sauté vegetables. I prefer mine with 1/2 chopped onion and sliced portobello mushrooms.

Cook the onions until brown and fragrant. Then add the mushrooms until they are brown too. When the vegetables are cooked, add the pasta sauce. Raise the heat until it bubbles, and then lower to a simmer. Cover, and add water if it begins to look dry.

Put a pot of water on the stove until it comes to a rolling boil. Add pasta noodles and cook the recommended time. I like the De Cecco brand, which is imported from Italy, because it holds the sauce well.

Drain the noodles. Mix with the sauce, and add the meatballs on top. Serve with freshly grated parmesan on top, and enjoy!

Pin this image for later! Click the Pin button to return and make these meatballs another time. This recipe uses fresh parsley, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and naturally delicious sauce with tomatoes imported from Italy as the main ingredient.

What is your favorite Italian dish? Share in the comments!

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