Name: Meatballs in Spicy Marinara Sauce
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Ingredients: 1 Pound Ground chuck; 1 Pound Ground pork; 1/2 Pound Ground veal; 1 Onion, grated; 2 Garlic cloves, minced; 2 Eggs; 1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs, plain; 1/4 Cup Freshly grated Parmesan cheese; 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce; 2 Teaspoons Salt; 1 Teaspoon Pepper; Handful of freshly chopped parsley; 1 Tablespoon Crushed red pepper flakes; 1 1/2 Cups Extra Virgin Olive Oil; 2 Onions, diced; 6 Garlic cloves, minced; 3 28 oz cans San Marzano, Peeled Tomatoes (not drained); 1 Tablespoon Salt (more or less to taste); 2 Pounds Penne pasta, cooked according to package directions.

Meatballs in Spicy Marinara are made with ground chuck, pork and veal creating soft and flavorful meatballs. They are then cooked in the Spicy Marinara sauce creating another depth of flavor.

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Meatballs in Spicy Marinara sauce on a plate

The combination of the ground meats along with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese mixed with a few other ingredients you will want to double this recipe and freeze for later! Cooking the meatballs in the Spicy Marinara Sauce infuses the sauce with their flavor making an insanely flavorful sauce.

INGREDIENTS FOR MEATBALLS WITH SPICY MARINARA

1 lb. Ground chuck
1 lb. Ground pork
1/2 lb. Ground veal
2 Eggs
2 Garlic cloves, minced
1 Tblsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Onion, grated
1/2 Cup, Plain breadcrumbs
1/4 Cup, Grated Parmesan cheese (LOCATELLI is recommended)
2 Tsp. Salt
1 Tsp. Pepper
Handful of chopped parsley

INGREDIENTS FOR SPICY MARINARA

1 Tblsp. Crushed red pepper flakes (SONORAN SPICE COMPANY is recommended for those who want a serious level of heat. Otherwise, McCormick’s crushed red pepper flakes are perfect!)
1 1/2 C. Good Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Onions, diced
6 Garlic cloves, minced
3 28oz. Cans, Peeled Plum Tomatoes (CENTO brand is recommended)
2 lbs. Dried Pasta (DECECCO brand is recommended)

My family has an obsession with pasta. And when you throw in meatballs to the mix,”forget about it”! We have this tradition in our house. When my dad comes to visit us we make this for him. Meatballs in Spicy Marinara (Extra, extra spicy marinara sauce). We don’t dare change anything! And I mean it. Aside from the Meatballs in Spicy Marinara, the pasta has to be penne and the Parmesan cheese. Well the cheese has to be Locatelli, his absolute favorite. A big chunk of it to be exact.

And to top off this dinner, a side of garlic bread is an absolute. Oh, preferably on an oven baked French baguette slathered with garlic butter. I’m telling you we are very serious over here when it comes to this dish! Aright, enough of this story. Let’s get to making this.

HOW TO MAKE MEATBALLS IN SPICY MARINARA

In a large bowl add in the ground chuck, pork and veal. Next, add your eggs, minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, grated onion, breadcrumbs and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Using your hands, combine all the ingredients until incorporated. On a side not, do not over mix. Over mixing will cause the meat to become tough and that’s not what you want. I did forget to add the parsley to this batch. Here is where you would.

Ground meats in a bowl for Meatball in Spicy Marinara sauce

Rolling…Rolling…Rolling All the Meatballs

I like to get a large baking sheet and cover with parchment paper for easy clean up. Then, grab about a palmful of the meatball mixture and gently roll it into a ball. Place on the parchment paper. Continue to do this until all the meatball mixture is gone.

You should yield about 24 meatballs (About 1.6 ounces each). Cover lightly with foil and place aside until sauce is ready.

Rolled out meatballs for Meatballs in Spicy Marinara

HOW TO MAKE SPICY MARINARA

Start by heating up your Extra Virgin Olive Oil on LOW heat. This step is crucial because if the oil becomes too hot, your pepper flakes will burn and trust me you don’t want that. Sprinkle the crushed red pepper flakes into the oil and let them infuse the oil for about 5 minutes on LOW heat. Next add in your diced onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. You may need to turn the heat up a bit so the onions start cooking a bit more, just make sure you stir frequently so the peppers do not burn. Now add in the garlic and sauté for a minute.

crushed red pepper flakes infusing olive oil

Onions and crushed red pepper flakes in oil

Pour the canned tomatoes, with their juices, into the pot and season with salt and pepper.

Plum tomatoes added to onions and crushed red pepper flakes

Seasoned tomatoes for Meatballs in Spicy Marinara

Bring to a boil then a gentle simmer. Put a lid on it (sorry, I don’t mean to sound rude) and cook for 30 minutes. By covering the tomatoes, they get a chance to plump up and in turn make them softer for mashing. Stir a couple of times during cooking to make sure the heat isn’t too high.

When the sauce is ready, remove the lid and take a potato masher and carefully break down the tomatoes. Add in some freshly chopped parsley for color. Now it’s time to bathe the meatballs.

COOKING MEATBALLS IN SPICY MARINARA

So this is where my recipe differs from most out there. I believe that by cooking the meatballs directly in the sauce really adds a depth of flavor that you wouldn’t otherwise get if you baked them and then added them to the sauce.

With that being said, I cook the meatballs in 2 batches. It also depends on the size pot you have. You can place as many meatballs in the pot, just make sure they are mostly submerged in the sauce and not jammed packed.

Each batch should take about 30 minutes to fully cook. You want the internal temperature of the meatballs to be 165ºF. If you have an instant read thermometer it will come in handy. Otherwise, you will have to sacrifice a meatball and make that your guinea pig.

Place cooked meatballs in a camouflaged bowl. I am serious. If your house is anything like mine, by the time you are ready to serve the Meatballs in Spicy Marinara, there might be some of these beauties missing.

HOW TO SERVE MEATBALLS IN SPICY MARINARA

While you are cooking the last batch, get a large pot, fill with water and add a handful of kosher salt. Cook the penne pasta, or your favorite kind of pasta, following the cooking directions and drain.

Because this marinara sauce is very, very spicy, I like to put the cooked pasta on a plate and let my family add as much or as little spicy marinara sauce as they desire, top with some meatballs and for the grande finale…Make it rain with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. This dinner is always something to look forward to, well, so is the company. If you want to check out a much lighter, not so spicy pasta dish check out my LIGHT ARTICHOKE TOMATO SAUCE. Enjoy~Christina

HOW TO MAKE GARLIC SPREAD

I start by heating my oven to 325ºF for a freshly baked baguette. If using a Take and Bake follow the instructions to heat.

Soften one stick of butter per baguette and add a couple tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley (or dried), 2 garlic cloves, grated and a teaspoon of salt. Mix until incorporated.

I warm the baguette for about 10 minutes. Once removed and slightly cool enough to handle I cut the baguette lengthwise and slather the garlic spread on. Tear or cut into pieces.

HOW TO FREEZE MEATBALLS

Freezing meatballs is super easy. I recommend using a vacuum sealer (see equipment below) to guarantee zero freezer burn on the meatballs, but if you don’t have one, have no fear!

Take as many uncooked meatballs as you want and wrap them with Saran Wrap. You can put them in groups of fours or so. Then, wrap them with tinfoil and place them in Ziploc freezer bag. They should last up to 3 months in the freezer.

IDEAS FOR LEFTOVER MEATBALLS

Listen, I am not here to judge you IF you have uneaten or frozen leftover meatballs. I have found some other ways to use them instead of with pasta.

You can make meatball sandwiches. Get yourself a nice roll, some mozzarella or provolone and build your sandwich.

You can also take the leftover meatballs and make a meat sauce for a baked ziti. Unfortunately I haven’t made baked ziti in awhile, but when I do I will post!