This is one of those recipes that my whole family absolutely loves. 
Let’s face it…meatballs are a crowd pleaser. My youngest daughter even likes cold leftover meatballs in her lunch on occasion. These would also be good on toothpicks as an appetizer at a party or a tailgate, or you could mix them together with some warm noodles and sauce like the picture. You could also double the recipe and freeze the leftover meatballs (when they are either raw or cooked) for a quick meal on a busy day. No matter what you decide to do I promise you will not be disappointed. This recipe has been one of our family’s favorite “go-to” meals for years!
Whole-Wheat Spaghetti and Meatballs
Serves: 4-5
Ingredients
- 1 lb whole-wheat noodles
- Red pasta sauce
- 1 lb ground beef, grass-fed
- 1 egg, beaten
- ⅓ cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
- ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup carrot bits (you can grind them in a food processor, grate then dice them, or mince them)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 ½ teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Crushed red pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Boil pasta noodles according to package directions.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Mix together ground beef and next 10 ingredients. I find it easiest to use my hands.
- Generously grease a baking sheet with olive oil.
- Roll the beef mixture into meatballs the size of golf balls. Place them in rows onto the greased baking sheet.
- Bake for 9 – 11 minutes or until brown all the way through.
- Serve meatballs on top of cooked noodles and warm pasta sauce. Garnish with extra Parmesan cheese if desired.
I made these for the first time tonight. They came together really quickly and were delicious. I started the meal when we all got home from work/daycare, and dinner was on the table within the hour. My only regret is that I didn’t make a double batch. There is just enough left for my lunch tomorrow. Great recipe!
You should call these make out meatballs. They were so good people should want to make out with them.
I put them on some wheat toast with your homemade red sauce recipe & fresh sliced mozzarella and put it in the toaster oven. I love the red pepper flakes kick they have.
Yum! Yum!
These really are the most amazing meatballs! I have been trying all kinds of meatball recipes, but this is the recipe I will use from now on. It’s a winner!
[...] Example meals – Slow Cooker Pot Roast, Baked Chicken with Pomegranate Glaze, and Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Meatballs [...]
Do you think these would be good as chicken meatballs?
Hi Amy. I have not tried them with chicken, but, you could certainly give it a try. Jill
Hi,
I made this tonight. I was going to make spaghetti anyway so decided to try your recipe. I usually just make a meat sauce but wanted to put more into our supper. It was delicious!
Jan
These are fabulous!!! And really not that hard to make, considering all of the ingredients!
Sounds delish! As an alternative to soy sauce try bragg’s liquid aminos. Still great taste without all the sodium
I made these tonight my first ever attempt at beef meatballs. They were great! And so quick to put together – we actually ate super early since I thought I would need a bunch of time to get this together and I defintely didn’t. My kids loved them! I used fresh herbs instead of Italian seasoning because I had just done a huge trip to our farmers market and had a bunch of stuff on hand. We also used quinoa pasta which was great. Thanks for a great recipe!
So delicious, made it today. Also wished I had made a double batch. YUM!
These are delicious! Will no doubt become a staple for us…Do you have culinary training or did you just figure these recipes out “on the fly”?
I have no culinary training…but lots of experience!
Great recipe! My 3 toddlers loved them and its always hard to find something that pleases them and my husband and this was definitely a winner. I didn’t have soy and used tamari instead and it still worked great. Thanks so much for all your great recipes!
Thank you for this recipe! The meatballs my husband makes are dry and yukky. I made these and the whole family was happy! Keep up the great work because a lot of us are depending on you for such wonderful recipes!
I made these tonight and they were delicious! This was the first time I had attempted meatballs and they were so easy to make. Thank you for the recipe and for inspiring my husband and I to get processed food our of our diet! Keep up the good work!
Made these tonight. LOVE! I loved how easy they were (and my 3 yr old son loved helping). My very very picky husband even liked them.
hi – i’m making these tonight – what is dried italian seasoning?
Hi Jane. You can find dried Italian seasoning with other dried herbs in the seasoning section at any grocery store. It’s usually a combination of oregano, basil, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, etc. Enjoy. ~Amy
[...] Whole Wheat Spaghetti and Meatballs with homemade sauce and green salad with homemade dressing and roasted cauliflower(cut cauliflower into pieces mix with real salt, olive oil, a bit of lemon juice, and pepper, and roast for 30 minutes @ 400 [...]
made these tonight for the 2nd time. last time we found the garlic too strong and the carrots too crunchy (although we still gobbled them up and so did one of our kids). tonight i lighted sauteed the garlic and carrots, waited for it to cool, then added it as well as some fresh parsley. TO DIE FOR. thanks so much, this one’s a keeper!
I made these last night with ground turkey. They were a HIT! Keep up the great work!