Bring a Taste of Italy to Your Table with Lidia Bastianich’s Spaghetti and Meatballs

Chances are, you’re already familiar with longtime chef, author, TV presenter, and restaurateur Lidia Bastianich. As the host of Lidia’s Italy, Lidia’s Italy in America, and Lidia’s Kitchen, she’s made a meal of teaching essential Italian cooking. Now, Bastianich is bringing us a cookbook that encapsulates one of her fundamental areas of expertise — Lidia’s The Art of Pasta explains the ins and outs of preparing delicious noodles coated in luscious sauces. And we’re especially excited about her spaghetti and meatballs (that’s “spaghetti con polpette,” if you want to work on your language skills).

“I bake the meatballs here, which is easy and uses no extra oil, but you can also lightly flour and fry them in some olive oil, turning them until they’re crisp on all sides,” Bastianich writes. “Then drain them on a paper towel and add them to the sauce. The flour will make them a bit denser.”

Not in the mood to fry? Bastianich has another suggestion: “Or you can gently add them raw to the simmering sauce, give them some time (about 5 minutes) to firm up, then gently move them around with a wooden spoon to coat them with sauce and cook through.” No matter how you cook your meatballs, you’ll fall for this timeless classic from an Italian icon.

Lidia Bastianich’s Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

Spaghetti con Polpette

Serves 6

Plus extra sauce and meatballs

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Ingredients

For the meatballs

• 1 small carrot, coarsely chopped
• 1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
• 1 small onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled 
• 1 pound ground beef 
• 1 pound ground pork 
• 2 large eggs, beaten 
• ½ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Sicilian oregano on the branch
• Kosher salt
• 1 ¼ cups fine, dry breadcrumbs

For the sauce

• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 medium onion, chopped 
• 2 fresh bay leaves, or 3 dried ½ teaspoon peperoncino flakes
• Two 28-ounce cans whole San Marzano tomatoes, crushed by hand 
• Kosher salt

To serve

• Kosher salt
• 1 pound spaghetti
• 1 cup freshly grated Grana Padano or Parmigiano Reggiano

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees with racks in the upper and lower thirds, and line two baking sheets with parchment.
2. To make the meatballs, put the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic in a food processor, and pulse to make a paste or pestata. Scrape the pestata into a large bowl. Add the beef, pork, eggs, parsley, oregano, and 2 teaspoons salt. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top. Mix well with your hands until everything is thoroughly combined. Roll the mixture into balls about the size of golf balls, and arrange them on the baking sheets (you should get about twenty-four to thirty meatballs). Bake, rotating the pans from top to bottom halfway through, until the meatballs are nicely brown, 18 to 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, to make the sauce, heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat, and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the bay leaves and peperoncino, let everything sizzle for 30 seconds or so, then add the tomatoes, 3 cups water, and 2 teaspoons salt. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and cook until it begins to thicken slightly, about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, gently add the baked meatballs, and continue to simmer until the sauce is thick and flavorful and the meatballs are tender, 30 to 40 minutes more (stir occasionally, to make sure the meatballs are not sticking, but try not to break them up).
4. When you are ready to serve, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Transfer 2½ to 3 cups of the sauce to a large skillet over medium-low heat. Keep the remaining sauce and the meatballs simmering.
5. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water, and cook until it’s al dente. Transfer it with tongs to the simmering sauce. Toss to coat the pasta with the sauce, adding a little pasta-cooking water if it seems dry. Remove the skillet from the heat, and sprinkle everything with the grated cheese. Remove the bay leaves, and toss well. Serve the pasta on its own. Spoon about half of the meatballs into a shallow serving bowl, and spoon another cup or so of sauce over the top. Serve immediately, passing the pasta and meatballs separately.
6. Let the remaining meatballs cool in the sauce, then pack them into containers and freeze them.

Note: This makes enough sauce and meatballs for 2 pounds of pasta. I give directions for cooking half here, so freeze the rest for another time, or just make it all, with 2 pounds of pasta, for a big gathering.

From Lidia’s The Art of Pasta © 2025 by Tutti a Tavola, LLC. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.