Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs
January 24, 2025
Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs: A Family-Friendly Meal for 10 month old baby & up
This Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe is one of my favorite on the blog and with good reason! It is a nutritious dinner idea that the whole family can enjoy together with their babies and toddlers. This comforting, warm dish is made with clean, healthy ingredients. Everything homemade, nothing processed from the soft, tender meatballs all the way to the yummy tomato sauce. It’s a dish that appeals to kids and adults alike, making it perfect for family dinners.
Why Homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs for Kids?
- Comforting and Familiar:
Kids are naturally drawn to the soft, twirlable spaghetti and bite-sized meatballs. The familiarity of these textures and flavors makes it an easy dish to introduce, even to picky eaters. It’s a cozy, warm, nutritious meal that hits all the right spots! - Customizable for All Ages:
This dish can be tailored to suit everyone’s preferences and dietary needs. From whole-grain or gluten-free pasta to gluten-free meatballs made with shredded potato, it’s a versatile option that can accommodate any family. For younger kids I like to cut up the spaghetti and meatballs so it is easier for babies and toddlers to enjoy. - Balanced Meal:
This meal is 100% made with clean, simple, healthy ingredients. Everything is homemade! With protein from the meatballs, fiber from the pasta and vitamins from the tomato sauce, spaghetti and meatballs offers a balanced combination of essential nutrients.
Tips for Serving
- For Babies & Toddlers: Cut the spaghetti into smaller pieces and offer the meatballs halved or crumbled to make eating easier.
- For Older Kids: Let them sprinkle their plate with Parmesan or shredded mozzarella for an extra cheesy touch, but it’s just as good without it!
- For Adults: Serve as is!
Tips for Success:
- I recommend prepping everything beforehand for a smoother cooking process. Cut up the onion and garlic and set to the side. Make the meatball mixture before hand and prepare all the meatballs.
- How to make the meatballs for spaghetti? For the meatball mixture you are going to grate 1 potato, I prefer using gold, add the egg along with seasonings and combine everything together very well. This step is very important and will ensure a soft, tender meatball. I work my meat for up to 2 minutes breaking everything down and mixing everything together. In this recipe, make smaller meatballs, about 1/2 tbsp each. Make sure to make them smaller!
- When prepping the sauce add your seasonings and taste it before adding the meatballs. Depending on how much salt you and your family prefer add what you like. I do add more salt in this recipe because you want the pasta to have enough flavor.
- Throughout meatballs cooking, check and see if you need to add more water. You need a good amount for the sauce. The sauce will thicken once ready, let it sit for 20 minutes before serving, the more it cools the more it will thicken.
Ingredients & Substitutions:
Lean Ground Beef- I use 85% lean ground beef for this recipe. The beef can be substituted with turkey or you can add lamb to the mixture if preferred.
Potato- The shredded potato gives the meatball a soft texture while holding it perfectly together. I used a medium size gold potato, but you can use a smaller russet or Idaho potato as well. This can be replaced with bread crumbs if preferred.
Egg- For an egg-free meatball, add breadcrumbs, along with a larger potato and add some oil. Make sure to work the mixture really well together.
Onion & Garlic- I don’t recommend omitting these ingredients, the onion and garlic add a lot of flavor and yumminess to the dish.
Tomato Paste- This is what makes the sauce, you can add crushed tomatoes if preferred.
Spaghetti- I use 100% organic semolina thin spaghetti pasta, this can be substituted with a gluten-free pasta, chickpea pasta, brown rice pasta, whichever you prefer.
What you need:
Grater for potato
If you enjoyed this family-friendly dinner idea, here are a few more you should check out:
Ingredients
Adjust Servings
| For meatballs- | |
| 1 lb. lean ground beef | |
| 1 medium size gold potato | |
| 1 egg | |
| 1/2 tsp salt | |
| 1/2 tsp paprika | |
| 1/2 tsp cumin | |
| pinch of black pepper | |
| For sauce: | |
| avocado oil for cooking | |
| 1 onion | |
| 4 garlic cloves | |
| 5 tbsp tomato paste | |
| salt to your liking | |
| 1/2 tsp cumin | |
| 1 tsp paprika | |
| pinch of black pepper | |
| 4 cups water | |
| .7 lb spaghetti (I used a little more than 1/2 a pack of pasta) |
Directions
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This was a wonderful recipe and very family friendly, thank you!