Hello, friend!

A classic dinner of spaghetti and meatballs is a family favourite, and for good reason! Everyone loves a big bowl of the perfect ‘twirling’ pasta; especially little ones and the pickiest of eaters. Every home tends to have ‘their’ go-to way of serving up the good stuff, which makes it fun going to a friend or family members house and seeing how they serve theirs! You can enjoy that same ‘newness’ right at home, by trying out a new recipe once in awhile.

As a recipe creator for my favourite pasta brand, Kaslo Sourdough, I have to admit, I don’t have a specific way I make spaghetti and meatballs every time we have the craving (except that I always reach for Kaslo’s new Spaghetti!). I love exploring new ways to savour pasta, which is a good thing as it’s part of my job as a blogger!

When chatting with Kaslo’s manager, Heidi, to decide on our last recipe of the year, I knew I wanted it to be a hearty red sauced based recipe; something that would pair just as well with a glass of B.C. red wine as it would with making family memories during the holiday season. As we had yet to add a spaghetti and meatball recipe to my personal repertoire, it was a no-brainer that this is what I wanted to do! Am I ever glad we did, as this recipe became an instant hit in my house, and I know it will in yours, too.

I enlisted the help of my sweet husband Tristan, as he is a man that LOVES to get heavy-handed in the spice department, and I wanted the meatballs to be a flavourful and savoury, ‘melt in your mouth’ moment. He not only stepped up to the challenge, but exceeded it, with these chicken meatballs stuffed with a plethora of herbs and spices, and a healthy dose of crispy bacon! The result is a homemade meatball that far beats storebought. You can even make these meatballs for different pasta recipes, like alfredo linguini and rosé penne.

I hope you enjoy this recipe, and be sure to check out Kaslo Sourdough’s award winning pasta today – you will love it!

Est. prep time: 15 minutes
Est. cook time: 30 minutes
Est. calories per serving: 650
Makes 6 servings (1/6th of the pasta with sauce, 3 meatballs, and 1 tbsp. parmesan cheese topping)

INGREDIENTS

1 package Kaslo Sourdough Spaghetti

MEATBALLS:

1 package ground chicken (you may sub minced turkey or ground beef, if preferred)
6-8 strips low-sodium bacon 
1 Large egg
1/2c. Plain breadcrumbs 
1/2c. Chopped white onion
2 cloves Minced fresh garlic
1/4c. Chopped fresh parsley 
1/4c. Chopped green onion
1tsp. Dried parsley 
1tbsp. Italian seasoning
1tbsp. Onion powder 
1tbsp. Garlic powder
S&P to taste

*Makes 12 meatballs

SAUCE:

1 Can preferred tomato sauce (I like Hunt’s Onion, Herbs & Spices tomato sauce!)
1 Can tomato paste
1 Can diced herb and spice tomatoes
1/2c. Chopped white onion
2 cloves minced fresh garlic
2tbsp. Olive oil
1tbsp. Dried parsley 
1tbsp. Italian seasoning
1tbsp. Onion powder 
1tbsp. Garlic powder
2 Bay leaves
Parmesan rind (if you don’t have one, add 2 tbsp. grated parmesan)
S&P to taste

Have you tried adding a parmesan rind to your sauce while cooking? It’s like the bay leaf of the cheese world!

GARNISH:

Fresh parmesan 
Dried parsley
Fresh parsley 
Freshly cracked black pepper

METHOD

Bring a large pot of water to boil, and cook spaghetti according to package instructions, about 8-12 minutes. Strain, (don’t rinse!) and replace in pot. Cover.

In a medium sized pot, combine all sauce ingredients, including the whole parmesan rind, and stir well. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, and once bubbling, reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer, covered, while you prepare your meatballs.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat, and lay strips of bacon evenly throughout pan. Cook bacon 5-7 minutes, until edges are crispy and crackling. Remove from pan, and allow to rest on a paper towel-lined plate. Turn the heat for the pan down (or off, if it is spitting), cover, and reserve bacon grease. Once the bacon is cool enough to handle, chop roughly into bits and add to a medium mixing bowl.

Add all meatball ingredients to the bowl, and mix generously (you can use freshly washed hands, or a metal or plastic mixing spoon).

Once the meatball mixture is well-combined, form into balls, and re-add to the pan with the bacon grease. You should have enough for 10-12 balls.

Let’s face it – decadent spaghetti and meatballs done right isn’t trying to be low-cal! Enjoy this meal to the fullest, by cooking those babies in the bacon grease for even more flavourful meatballs!

Bring the heat back up to medium, and cook meatballs 12-15 minutes, turning gently every 3-4 minutes to brown each side. Your meatballs are done when all sides are browned, centre is no longer pink, and they are still juicy and spring back when pressed with a fork.

Remove parmesan rind and bay leaves from sauce pot, and add meatballs and sauce to spaghetti pot. Stir to coat meatballs and pasta evenly, and serve immediately, with grated parmesan, parsley, and pepper. Enjoy!

Guaranteed to satisfy even the pickiest of eaters.

Thank you for checking out this new and delicious recipe! Please give Kaslo and I a follow on IG to keep up with all of our new recipes, pasta sales, and more. We have many more recipes to explore on each of our blogs as well, simply search ‘Kaslo’ or ‘pasta’ on my blog, or check out Kaslo’s blog for all of their contributor recipes!

Drop a comment if you think we should create more recipes featuring different meatball varieties, or let us know if there’s a specific recipe you’d like to see us create for you in the future. If you’d like to order your pasta online, here’s a delicious discount to help stretch your budget even further. Enjoy 10% off of your Kaslo orders using my exclusive code, JAMIEPASTA.

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful day, dear pasta-lovers!

xo, Jamie