Spaghetti & Meatballs
Our mini meatballs have a tender, melt-in-the-mouth texture, which is perfect for little ones who are learning to chew. These flavour-packed meatballs are served on short spaghetti, so they're easy to eat, with a tasty tomato sauce.
Prep time
25 mins
Cook time
55mins
Serves
4 toddler /
4 adults
Difficulty
Medium
For the tomato & veg sauce:
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- A pinch of ground bay leaf
- A pinch of black pepper
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 150 g carrot, peeled and chopped into 1 cm dice
- 300 g finely chopped tomatoes
- 250 ml low salt vegetable stock
- 1 tsp yeast extract
- 15 g fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp cornflour
For the spaghetti:
- 200 g spaghetti, broken into short pieces about 1 inch long
For the meatballs:
- 200 g minced beef
- 30 g finely chopped onion
- 60 g fresh breadcrumbs
- A pinch of paprika
- A large pinch of dried mixed herbs (basil, oregano)
- 30 g finely chopped onion
- A pinch of black pepper
- A pinch of garlic powder
- ½ tbsp water
- 1 tbsp rapeseed oil, to fry
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Begin by making the meatballs. Blend all the ingredients (except the rapeseed oil) together for a few minutes in a food processer until evenly mixed. Form into 20 balls and place the meatballs on a tray or plate and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. Alternatively, you can buy pre-made meatballs.
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Meanwhile, to make the sauce, heat the oil in a pan then add the diced onion and cook over a medium heat until the onion is softened and translucent.
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Add the garlic, ground bay, oregano, black pepper and tomato puree and cook for 2-3 minutes.
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Add the carrot, chopped tomatoes, beef stock and yeast extract. Cook for around 15 minutes until the carrots are soft enough to blend. Remove the sauce from the heat and blend to form a sauce which still has some texture.
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Put the sauce back into the pan. Mix the cornflour with some water and add to the sauce. Stir well and bring up to a simmer for 1 minute to allow the sauce to thicken. Add the chopped basil and set aside.
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Meanwhile, bring a pan of water to the boil and add the spaghetti. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the spaghetti is cooked. Drain.
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Heat the remaining rapeseed oil in a pan then add the meatballs, frying until they are evenly browned on all sides and cooked through.
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Mix the meatballs, spaghetti and sauce and serve.
The remaining pasta and meatballs can be cooled and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen and kept for up to 1 month.
Have you tried?
Our mini meatballs are made with only the finest beef mince and have a tender texture, which is perfect for little ones who are learning to chew. These flavour-packed meatballs are served on short spaghetti, so they're easy to eat, with a tasty tomato sauce. This is Hillary's eldest son Monty's absolute favourite meal. He has been known to demolish a plateful in minutes and was very specific about the recipe!
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