Pueblo-Style Spaghetti and Meatballs
A generational family-style spaghetti and meatball dinner rooted in Pueblo's historic Italian-American steelworker community.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 90 min
- Total
- 120 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 610 kcal
Equipment
- •Large pot
- •Skillet
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 610 kcal
- fat
- 28
- carbs
- 58
- protein
- 30
- calories
- 610
Instructions
- 1
Put ground beef, ground pork, breadcrumbs, parmesan, eggs, half the garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix gently.
- 2
Shape the mixture into large meatballs. Make them about the size of a golf ball.
- 3
Heat olive oil in a large pot. Brown the meatballs on all sides in batches, then set them aside.
- 4
Cook the remaining garlic in the same pot briefly until it smells fragrant.
- 5
Add crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and oregano. Stir everything together to combine.
- 6
Return the meatballs to the sauce and cover. Simmer gently on low heat for 1 to 1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.
- 7
Cook spaghetti in salted boiling water until al dente (tender but still firm), then drain.
- 8
Stir fresh basil into the sauce right before serving.
- 9
Serve meatballs and sauce over the spaghetti with extra parmesan on top.
Chef's tips
Browning the meatballs before simmering builds rich flavor and keeps them from falling apart. A long, slow simmer gives this Pueblo-style sauce its deep flavor.
Storage
Refrigerate sauce and meatballs together up to 4 days, or freeze up to 3 months.
Reheating
Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat, adding a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Boiling the sauce too hard, which can break apart the meatballs.
- •Skipping the browning step, losing depth of flavor.
Serving suggestions
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