I love spaghetti and meatballs. It makes me feel so Italian to eat it and I’m not Italian. Visions of that cute scene in “Lady and the Tramp” come to mind with the two dogs’ little doggie lips meeting over a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. But the idea of making meatballs, what with the different kinds of meat, bread crumbs, egg, herbs, frying, etc., it just intimidates me.

Recently though, my son asked if I could make spaghetti and meatballs sometime. Visions of the entire process, which I had tried once, came flooding back and I immediately felt weary. But then I thought of a way to simplify things, gave it a go and the whole family raved.

Easiest Spaghetti and Meatballs Ever  

Serves 6

4-5 links of spicy or mild Italian sausage
1-2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce, any variety
1 tsp. dried basil or spoonful of pesto sauce * to taste
1 tsp. dried oregano to taste
Spaghetti or any other pasta shape you like

Step 1: Get a pot of water boiling. Remove the sausage from the casings by squeezing it out of one end, in small globs, about the size of a large marble. Let them fall onto a cutting board. When done, quickly and lightly roll each one into more of an actual round ball shape. If they are feeling too soft, put them in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before rolling.

Step 2: In a large, non-stick skillet, preheated on medium-high, brown the meatballs, turning them only when they release from the pan. They don’t have to be cooked through at this point, just browned.

Step 3: Transfer the meatballs to a pot with high sides that is large enough to hold the sauce. Pour in one jar of sauce and eye-ball it to see if you feel you need to add some or all of another jar. You want the sauce to be thin enough to ladle over the pasta but still meaty with the meatballs. Let the sauce simmer over medium heat while the pasta boils.

Step 4: Taste the sauce to see if the seasonings from the sausage and the jarred sauce have given you the flavor you want. If not, add the seasonings to taste. Also, if you feel it’s just a little too acidic, add 1 tsp. sugar which will round it out nicely.
* When you don’t have basil or just want extra-wonderful basil flavor, a teaspoon of pesto sauce works beautifully, especially since it also has pinon nuts, Parmesan cheese and olive oil built in. It’s a good little trick to remember for sauces and soups.

Step 5: Drain the pasta and ladle sauce and meatballs over it, topping with a few shakes or Parmesan Cheese if desired.

Watch the video to see the making of The Worlds Easiest Spaghetti and Meatballs in action:

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