The iconic spaghetti and meatballs – what could have been better to wrap up this amazing year 2018! Baked chicken meatballs with spaghetti marinara; all good things compiled in a single dish!
Yes, I had saved the best for the last! The last day of the year must be celebrated with something super special and this spaghetti and meatballs fits the bill way too perfectly!
You may already be thinking about your favorite spaghetti and meatballs which you freak out on and might be wondering what extra I will be offering today; I am sure you have had fantastic spaghetti and meatballs till date but I do have something more to offer!
I have got baked chicken meatballs for you served over luscious spaghetti marinara! Don’t shy away from chicken meatballs; trust me these baked chicken meatballs can give traditional meatball a run for its money!
These chicken meatballs are insanely soft and juicy inside and you won’t even need to sweat over a stovetop to make them! Just shove them off the oven and relax!
Spaghetti and meatballs is a classic Italian-American recipe which combines the best of both worlds – You get the delicious spaghetti marinara which is topped with addictive meatballs.
And if you make your marinara sauce at home too, then no restaurant can beat your version of spaghetti and meatballs – that’s a guarantee from me!
I have two recipes of marinara sauce in my blog – one basic tomato sauce from fresh San Marzano tomatoes and one marinara sauce from regular tomatoes; both the recipes are well-loved by my readers.
Do check them out in case you are looking for one! If you take this extra step of making your own marinara sauce, your spaghetti and meatballs will elevate to a different level all together!
This year has been fantastic with respect to our blog and life behind it! After a lot of apprehension, we could move in to our own dream home and that is one milestone which we will be cherishing for the rest of our life.
Our dream home enabled us to set up our studio in a more efficient way so that we can shoot more amazing photos for you – my lovely readers! We do have a long way to go but I must admit that it has been a good and promising start!
I too got enough opportunities to explore and cook new recipes and tried to upscale myself as much as I could; the successful ones featured here in our blog for you to try your hands on.
I strongly believe that learning is a continuous process and am still trying to learn as much as I can to excel my culinary skill.
This journey is what is enjoy the most as I am not sure if it really has or even need any destination at all! But I do not mind it whatsoever!
This spaghetti and meatballs is a part of this beautiful journey and what a handsome part it is! I could have made the traditional meatballs on a stove top using lamb; but I decided to take a different path.
Thankfully these baked chicken meatballs turned out to be more than perfect and I am sure I would be opting it more than lamb meatballs – partly because it’s much lighter as well as cheaper than red meat and majorly because they are insanely tasty and addictive.
My hub loves spaghetti more than me which is why I primarily made this spaghetti and meatballs; but after having this scrumptious goodness, I am totally hooked to it!
From now on, I won’t ever shy away from admitting that I found my new favorite pasta dish in this spaghetti and meatballs!
Try these baked chicken meatballs with spaghetti marinara in the new year and see your life changing for the best of it! Enjoy!
Looking for more spaghetti recipes? Try these!
Spaghetti E Olio
Pesto Shrimp Spaghetti
Chicken Spaghetti with Classic Homemade Red Sauce
- Spaghetti – 250 gms
- Olive oil – 3 tbsp
- Onion – 1, small, finely chopped
- Garlic – 6 to 8 cloves, minced
- Homemade marinara sauce – 2 cups
- Fresh basil leaves – 1 cup + handful to garnish
- Italian seasoning – 2 tsp
- Parmesan cheese – 1 cup, grated
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Chicken mince – 500 gms
- Onion – 1, small, grated
- Garlic – 6 to 8 cloves, minced
- Dried basil – 2 tsp
- Panko breadcrumbs – ½ cup
- Parmesan cheese – ⅓ cup, grated
- Egg – 1
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Take a large bowl and add all the ingredients listed under chicken meatball into the bowl. Mix them well to make a homogeneous mixture. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it chill in refrigerator for an hour.
- Preheat your oven to 180 C / 350 F. Place a grilling rack on top of a baking tray and brush the rack with olive oil to avoid the meatballs from sticking to it.
- Smear some oil on your palms, take about a heaped tablespoon of meatball mixture and roll it into a ball. Place on the greased rack. You should get approximately 25 to 30 meatballs.
- Once all the meatballs are rolled out and placed on the rack, brush or spray each of them with some oil; this will ensure even browning.
- Place the grilling rack along with baking tray at the center of the preheated oven and bake the meatballs for about 30 minutes or until they turn golden brown on all side.
- Cook spaghetti in a large pot of heavily salted boiling water according to packet instructions until al-dente. Reserve a cup of pasta boiling water and drain the rest. Set it aside while you make the sauce.
- Heat a large skillet and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to it. Add the minced garlic and sauté on medium for 1 minute making sure the garlic doesn’t burn.
- Next add the chopped onion and sauté them on medium for 5 minutes until it becomes soft and translucent. You won’t need to brown them.
- Now add the marinara sauce, fresh basil leaves, Italian seasoning, grated parmesan, salt and pepper to taste. Give them a good stir and sauté on medium for 5 minutes to let all the flavors mingle together.
- Finally add the cooked spaghetti and toss them in the sauce to coat each strand with the sauce. If the sauce seems to be too thick, drizzle some of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up while keeping the skillet on medium heat.
- Drop in the baked chicken meat balls and give one final stir to coat the meatballs with the marinara sauce.
- Serve the delicious spaghetti and meatballs garnished with fresh basil, parmesan shavings and a good drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!
Liked the recipe? Let us know!