Skip to main content
Main

Mozzarella Meat Balls and Spaghetti

A dish of mozzarella-filled meatballs simmered in tomato sauce served over spaghetti.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Garlic and onion match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Mozzarella Meat Balls and Spaghetti

4 plates

Ingredients

Directions

Make the meatballs

  1. Put the beef, breadcrumbs, garlic, half the parsley, salt & pepper into a bowl.

  2. Add the egg and mix well.

  3. Cut the mozzarella cheese into 16 small cubes.

  4. Make a heaped teaspoonful of beef mixture and form it into a ball around each cube of cheese.

Cook the sauce

  1. Heat the oil in a large covered pan, add the meatballs to the pan, cover and cook until brown on all sides.

  2. Add the onion to the pan, cook for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the tomatoes and juice.

  3. Bring up to a simmering point, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

  4. Uncover the pan and cook for a further 10 minutes to allow the sauce to reduce and thicken slightly.

Serve

  1. While the meatballs are cooking, cook the spaghetti in boiling water until done to your preference.

  2. Drain well and divide among 4 warmed plates.

  3. Divide the sauce among the plates of spaghetti and then sprinkle with the remaining parsley.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1284Calories
62 gProtein
43 gFat
157 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 12 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Pasta1 cup cooked (140g)220
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Mozzarella Cheese1 oz (28g)85
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Parsley + peppertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together34,122 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  3. Garlic + parsleytop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together9,308 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Clove + parsleytop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,768 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Lean ground beef
Forms the body of the meatballs and gives them a savoury, meaty flavour when browned.
Fresh white breadcrumbs
Absorb moisture and keep the meatballs tender rather than dense.
Egg
Binds the beef and breadcrumbs so the meatballs hold their shape.
Mozzarella cheese
Melts into a soft, stretchy centre inside each meatball.
Onion
Adds sweetness and aromatic depth to the tomato sauce as it softens.
Tomatoes
Form the acidic, moist base of the sauce, which reduces and thickens as it cooks.

The step that matters

Brown the meatballs on all sides before adding the tomatoes. Browning builds savoury flavour through the Maillard reaction and helps the meatballs hold their shape, so they are less likely to break apart in the simmering sauce.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, garlic, parsley, pepper, egg, mozzarella cheese, onion):

  1. Thymefits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Basilfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, garlic, parsley, pepper, egg, mozzarella cheese, onion. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Tomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesRoast BeefRoast Beef211 recipesBeef LoafBeef Loaf175 recipesCream of Tomato SoupCream of Tomato Soup107 recipes