Homemade flavorful Classic Italian Meatballs in a delicious red sauce with a secret ingredient will make your mouth dance. I promise – it’s not too good to be true.
You need proper hot food to keep your body and soul warm on days like these – and this Classic Italian Meatballs and Best Tomato Sauce bowl is just the thing. The hot sticky spaghetti noodles, the fresh herbs and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. There’s a lot to love about this meal.
The tomato sauce on its own is a killer! All because there is a secret ingredient in it – anchovies. Yes. These tiny cured fish pack a wallop of flavor in tiny amounts, and because of that, chefs like to add them to everything from salad dressings to stews to spike up the flavors. They deliver umami taste, inducing flavor with multiple layers. But the trick is that you can’t taste anchovies at all! Trust me, no fishy smell and no one will ever know you have added it. I’ve shared the recipe for this tomato sauce before while making this homemade pizza.
The meatballs are really soft and moist. And there is a secret to it too – bread. Not breadcrumbs. It’s just plain sandwich bread. The bread is soaked in milk first to soften, and it literally disintegrates when mixed with the ground meat. And while cooking, it sort of separates the meat particles, almost creating little air pockets in the meatballs. This makes for a moister meatball, and the milk actually helps keep them tender.
I hope you make this Classic Italian Meatballs and Best Tomato Sauce soon as it’s a true crowd pleaser!
- Meatballs
- 2 pieces of white bread, soaked in milk
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 large onion, grated
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil for frying
- Tomato Sauce
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 6 anchovy fillets
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 (24 oz) cans of San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper, or to taste
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- To Serve
- Pasta of choice
- Parmesan cheese
- Squeeze the milk out of the milk soaked bread with your hands. Use the bread and discard the milk.
- Combine the bread with the rest of the meatballs ingredients and use you hands to mix well.
- Measure out approximately a tablespoon of the mixture and roll lightly to form a ball. Repeat with the remaining mixture.
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or a large non stick fry pan over medium high heat.
- Add the meatballs in batches to the pan and cook until brown. Gently shake the pan to move meatballs around and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
- Carefully transfer them onto a plate.
- In a medium sauce pan heat the olive oil over medium heat and add anchovy fillets.
- Once the fillets start simmering add garlic and sauté for a few minutes.
- Add the dried herbs and red pepper flakes.
- Pour in the tomatoes and bring to a boil.
- Season with salt, sugar and pepper.
- Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30-45 minutes stirring occasionally.
- At the end add baking soda, mix and turn off the heat. The addition of baking soda will help neutralize and balance the acidity of the sauce. (Note 1)
- Carefully transfer the meatballs and any juices that have pooled on the plate into the sauce.
- Cook the meatballs for 10 minutes, turning and stirring occasionally.
- While the meatballs are cooking, cook your pasta of choice.
- Serve the meatballs and sauce on pasta, garnished with extra parmesan cheese.
Anchovies?! I never would have thought to use them in my pasta sauce! And, I will definitely be trying the soaked bread in my meatballs. I love learning to tips and tricks to amp the our meals. Your photo’s make me want to make it right now!
Thank you Maureen! I hope you give these meatballs as well as anchovy as a secret ingredient in your sauce a try!
Even at 9:00 am this is making my mouth water ;). Great tip using bread to make the meatballs moist too!
Thanks Ann! Appreciated!
Wow anchovies, who knew? I love the secret ingredient! I use anchovy paste in my caesar salad dressing all the time, but have never worked with fillets themselves. Do you think i could sub in paste for the same effect? Either way, I cannot wait to try this recipe!
Thanks Gabby! Yes, for sure if you have the paste, use it! 1 anchovy fillet = 1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste.
I am sure your tomato sauce must be bursting with flavour with your secret ingredient , anchovies in it. Your pictures look great too. Are the San Marzano tomatoes different in flavour from the regular ones?
Thank you Fouzia! Yes indeed, San Marzano tomatoes have sweet flavor and low acidity. They are famous for their firm pulp, deep red color, easy to remove skin and low seed count, which makes them ideal to use in tomato sauces.
Sorry not for do a polemic … but … in Italy and in all Italian cousine ( regional and original ) u can’t eat spaghetti with meatball … this is a invention of American cousine ( like alfredo souce or pasta alla bolognese ) !! .. probably a wrong interpretation of pasta al sugo or spaghetti ( tagliatelle or regional variant of pasta ) al ragu . by the way if this is a interpration of chef ok , all can be permited … but if u try to do a original italian recipe u need to delete anchovy ( is not present ragu or pasta al sugo ) and backing soda and dont do a meetball but cook meet grounded .
Saluti da Roma ! 😉
Hi there! I appreciate your comment. Spaghetti is not part of the recipe and is used for presentation purposes. Anchovies are used in the tomato sauce recipe, not in the meatballs. Cheers!