Spaghetti and chicken meatballs recipe with step-by-step pictures. A delicious whole meal with juicy meatballs, exquisite sauce served over Al dente spaghetti pasta and a lavish sprinkle of parmesan! This meal is to die for, your guests will keep coming for more!
Hey!
“It is so dark,” I thought, lying awake at around 1 in the morning, a couple of nights ago. It’s been raining intermittently which was followed by irregular power cuts. But that night, it was a blackout! Power wasn’t back until after 3 AM. It was very dark considering how there is usually some light coming through windows or from the AC.
Luckily the fans were working through the inverter, which is all we ever need to continue sleeping through the blackout. When I was a kid, I remember the countless number of times there were power cuts and how we used to cope.
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I had a superpower back then, I used to wake up just as the fans went off. I used to fuss and fuss until I managed to go back to sleep, while my mom was using a fan to keep me cool! How did the moms do it? Waking up in the middle of the night, losing sleep? Thanks to them and thanks to the availability of inverter! After being grateful and thankful and all, I planned to make this spaghetti and chicken meatballs the next day, you’re gonna love it (and me)!
Spaghetti and meatballs:
This dish is so special to me because I just love it. Spaghetti and meatballs has always been around me, well not literally, through the world of TV. So many cartoons, so many TV shows later, I actually got to taste this a decade ago in a fancy Italian restaurant. I fell in love, I mean I really fell deep!
Unlike many people, I don’t like pizza sauce, it is quite raw-ish. I like tomatoes well cooked, and this dish has exactly that and the wonderful flavor of Italian cuisine. Though this dish has origins in Italy, it was actually invented in America by immigrant Italians.
There’s no such thing as spaghetti meatballs in Italy, so this dish is anything but authentic Italian. You can read more about its history here. But who cares? Do we even bother if the chicken came first right?
Is spaghetti and meatballs healthy?
Well I’d say it depends on the diet you’re in. The calories per serving of spaghetti and chicken meatballs comes to approximately 500 kcal. It has cheese, meat, a bit of oil, fat from meat, tomatoes and a lot of carbs from the pasta. If done right and consumed moderately, spaghetti and chicken meatballs dish is as healthy as any other healthy dish, that is if you’re all about eating everything in moderation.
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What to serve with spaghetti meatballs?
This dish itself is a whole meal. It has chicken meat for protein, sauce for flavor and pasta for carbohydrates. If you wish you can serve toasted garlic bread alongside it.
I suggest you just dive into it and forget about everything!
Can kids have spaghetti and chicken meatballs?
Absolutely! And kids love it. I first served this spaghetti and chicken meatballs to my daughter when she was 10 months old. She loved it so much that she ate two meatballs once for lunch. Of course, these days she is more into the spaghetti rather than the meatballs, toddlers! She calls it “noo noo” as in noodles.
Many of my friends ask me what goes into spaghetti and chicken meatballs? Well, it is basically three things that come together to make this dish. The chicken meatballs are made and cooked separately. The spaghetti sauce is simmered and slow-cooked. And then the meatballs are added and cooked till it absorbs the gorgeous sauce. Finally, all three elements are mixed together.
Let me break it down to you in two sections!
1. How to make Italian meatballs for spaghetti?
This is a recipe for making chicken meatballs the Italian way with just one little addition of chilli for extra heat.
If you have ground chicken meat, use it directly. If you couldn’t find or live in a place where you don’t easily find ground meat, fret not it is just an additional step, a really simple process.
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Ground meat or not, buy chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are the juiciest, the most flavorful meat in a Chicken. It also has little fat and it adds more texture to our meatballs.
For the breadcrumbs, roughly chop the bread slices, grind it in a food processor to fine crumbs. Using fresh bread load is mandatory to get soft juicy Italian chicken meatballs. Transfer to a bowl.
Should you choose to use whole Chicken Thighs, buy Boneless Chicken Thighs and cut into dices. Add to the same food processor used for making crumbs (as in no need to wash it) and grind till you see no visible bits.
SLIDE TO VIEW THE STEPS IN PICTURES:
STEPS to make this chicken meatballs:
- Transfer the processed chicken meat from the food processor to a mixing bowl.
- Add the egg and mix until thoroughly combined. (I have not mixed it in the pictures above for representation, please mix ok?)
- Add the breadcrumbs.
- Add the finely minced green chilli.
- Next, add the chopped parsley leaves.
- The parmesan cheese goes in.
- Finally, salt and pepper.
- Preheat oven at 200c for 10 minutes. Oil a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. Splitting the bake time into 10 minutes in bake mode and 10 minutes in broil mode.
Tada! Meatballs are ready to go into the spaghetti sauce and absorb some sauce and become Spaghetti and chicken meatballs!
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Next comes the making of spaghetti sauce. Stay with me now, it is very simple I promise!
2. How to make spaghetti sauce?
As promised, this Spaghetti sauce will be done in no time. Well, not no time, it takes about 2 hours. WAIT, don’t run away, the prep work is nothing. It just has to simmer on low heat for 2 hours to bring out the amazing flavor.
Actually, if you have a slow cooker, you can use it. If you are in a hurry, you always cook this in a pressure cooker or instant pot, but trust me and go with slow cooking this sauce will ya?
STEPS to make this spaghetti sauce:
- Heat a heavy-bottomed pan with 2-3 tbsp of Olive Oil and 2 tbsp of butter.
- Once the butter is melted, add the chopped onions of 1 medium. It comes approximately to 120g. More than this would be too much onions.
- Saute until it turns translucent. Add the garlic.
- Wait till the garlic is cooked, about 30 seconds.
- Pour in the tomato puree.
- Add the pasta seasoning. chopped parsley.
- Add the tomato ketchup. This is completely optional, you can choose to use 1 tsp of sugar instead.
- Add salt.
- Pour the 1 liter of water in. Mix and let it simmer for 1.5 hours or until it reduces to half.
- Add the parmesan cheese. Simmer for another 30 minutes. The cheese melts during this time. Check the consistency and add water if needed.
- Gently drop the meatballs into the sauce. Bring it to a boil on high heat for 15 minutes.
- Yay! Spaghetti and Chicken Meatballs is ready!
Let’s not forget the pasta…
Bring enough water to a boil in a deep saucepan. Add salt and the spaghetti and cook for 15-20 minutes until softened. If you like al dente, remove from heat after 15 minutes. Drain in a colander and run it through cold water.
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Serve the spaghetti and chicken meatballs in individual pasta bowls or plates. Spoon the sauce and meatballs over it. Alternatively, you can choose to mix the pasta with the sauce and then serve!
Recipe Source: Adapted and slightly modified from here.
Notes:
- Can spaghetti meatballs be frozen? The best part about this dish is you can make this sauce and freeze it ahead of a dinner or party night. Even the chicken balls can be made ahead. Freeze them separately or mix them and freeze them. It will be perfectly fine! Thaw and heat before you serve, duh lol!
- You can also make this spaghetti and meatballs in Pressure Cooker, instant pot or slow cooker. But trust me on this one and let it simmer.
- Chicken Thighs – Buy ground chicken thigh meat if available. If not, get boneless chicken thighs, chop it into medium-sized bits. Transfer the chopped chicken thighs into a food processor and grind it till you see no visible bits of chicken. Use this in the recipe as is.
- Bread crumbs – Ensure you use slices from a Fresh loaf of Bread. However, if the slices are large, you can add just 1 slice. The freshness of bread adds to the softness of the meatballs.
More notes:
- Softer meatballs – If you want an even softer meatball (honestly though this recipe gives the perfect meatballs) dice the bread slices instead of making them into crumbs; soak in milk for about 5 minutes. After it has been soaked, blend using a hand blender.
- Green chillies – One single green chilli adds a little heat for those tastebuds that crave spiciness. You can even add up to 2 green chillies. Authentic Italian recipes just go with black pepper.
- Storage: You can freeze these meatballs as it is (i.e. without adding it to spaghetti sauce) for 1 week. Thaw and add it to the spaghetti sauce, boil it for 10 minutes.
- Tomatoes – If you find it hard to source pureed tomatoes, puree 8-10 tomatoes and strain through a fine-mesh strainer to remove the seeds and skin. Measure afterward using a weighing scale. If you don’t have a scale, use a measuring cup. Use Roma tomatoes or San Marzano tomatoes for best results.
- Consistency – The consistency of the sauce should be between scoopable consistency and pourable consistency.
- Take note that the meatballs will absorb a little bit of sauce while simmering.
- Check every now and then to avoid scorching.
- You can also use Whole wheat spaghetti to make this healthier.
- On a side note, you can, of course, make this with any meat like Beef or Pork or Turkey!
- You can easily multiply or diminish this recipe for any number of servings by entering the number of people in the recipe card.
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Italian Chicken Meatballs
Equipment
- Oven (OR)
- a non-stick frying pan
- Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 500 g Chicken thighs , (ground meat or whole – see notes)*
- 1 medium Egg
- 2 medium Bread Slices*
- 1 small Green Chilli , chopped (optional)*
- 2 tbsp Fresh Parsley , chopped
- 3 tbsp Parmesan Cheese , Grated
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper Powder
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add the ground chicken and the egg. Mix it until thoroughly combined.
- Add the fresh bread slices to a food processor and pulverize to a coarse powder.
- Add the powdered bread crumbs, chopped green chilli, parsley, parmesan cheese, salt, and black pepper to the chicken meat. Mix everything together.
- Make 25 even sized balls from it.
- Oil a baking pan. Preheat oven at 200 C for 10 minutes.
- Place the meatballs on the baking tray. Bake for 10 minutes and then turn to broil mode for another 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set it aside until needed.
Notes
- Chicken Thighs – Buy ground chicken thigh meat if available. If not, get boneless chicken thighs, chop it into medium sized bits. Transfer the chopped chicken thighs into a food processor and grind it till you see no visible bits of chicken. Use this in the recipe as is.
- Bread crumbs – Ensure you use slices from a Fresh loaf of Bread. If the slices are large, you can add just 1 slice. The freshness of bread add to the softness of the meatballs.
- Softer meatballs – If you want an even softer meatball (honestly though this recipe give the perfect meatballs) dice the bread slices instead of making them into crumbs; soak in milk for about 5 minutes. After its been soaked, blend using a hand blender.
- Green chillies – One single green chilli add a little heat for those tastebuds that crave spiciness. You can even add up to 2 green chillies. Authentic Italian recipes just go with black pepper.
- Storage: You can freeze these meatballs as it is (i.e. without adding it to spaghetti sauce) for 1 week. Thaw and add it to the spaghetti sauce, boil it for 10 minutes.
- You can easily multiply or diminish this recipe for any number of servings by entering the number of people in the recipe card.
Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Spaghetti Pasta
Equipment
- Heavy Bottomed Pan
Ingredients
For Spaghetti Sauce:
- 800 g Pureed Tomatoes*
- 1 medium Onion , (approx 120 g)
- 3 big Garlic Cloves , (25 g)
- 1 tbsp Mixed Pasta Seasoning
- 1 tbsp Regular Tomato ketchup , (optional)
- 4 tsp Fresh Parsley Leaves , minced
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 liter Water
- 3 tbsp Parmesan Cheese plus extra for serving Grated
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 2 tbsp Butter
For the Spaghetti:
- 250 g Spaghetti
- Water for cooking
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
Spaghetti Sauce:
- Heat a heavy-bottomed pan with Olive oil and Butter.
- Once the butter is melted, add the onions and saute till translucent.
- Next, add the garlic and saute for a minute.
- Pour in the Tomato puree. Add the pasta seasoning, salt, ketchup, and parsley. Stir to mix.
- Add the water, reduce heat to the lowest and let it simmer for 1.5 hours uncovered.
- After 1.5 hours, add the parmesan and simmer for another 30 minutes. (Add water if needed to get the desired consistency*)
- After 2 hours of simmering, bring the heat up. Add the meatballs, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Spaghetti Sauce and Meatballs is ready to be served over pasta!
Spaghetti Pasta:
- Bring a saucepan full of water to a gentle boil.
- Add the salt and the spaghetti. Let it cook for 15-20 minutes on high heat.
- Strain through a colander. Pass room temperature or cold water over it to stop the cooking.
- Serve the spaghetti into individual pasta bowls, top it with spaghetti sauce and meatballs! You can also add all of the spaghetti to the sauce, mix and serve!
Notes
- Tomatoes – If you find it hard to source pureed tomatoes, puree 8-10 tomatoes and strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds and skin. Measure afterwards using a weighing scale. If you dont have a scale, use a measuring cup.
- Consistency – The consistency of the sauce should be between scoopable consitency and pourable consistency.
- Take note that the meatballs will absorb little bit of sauce while simmering.
- Check every now and then to avoid scorching.
- The pasta and the spaghetti sauce serves 4-5 people.
- You can also use Whole wheat spaghetti to make this healthier.
- You can easily multiply or diminish this recipe for any number of servings by entering the number of people in the recipe card.
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