This authentic Italian Sunday sauce and meatballs recipe delivers deep, slow-simmered flavor in about 90 minutes. Built in the classic Italian American tradition, the sauce develops richness through proper browning, concentrated tomato depth, and a layered blend of high-quality canned tomato products chosen strategically for balance and texture. The result is a thick, vibrant red sauce that tastes like it cooked all day. The meatballs are tender, flavorful, and pan-seared before finishing in the sauce, creating a hearty, restaurant-quality Sunday dinner perfect for pasta night, family gatherings, or holiday meals.
INGREDIENTS
Meatballs
Yield: About 30–35 large meatballs
• 2 pounds ground beef (80/20)
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 pound ground veal
• 2 cups seasoned panko breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese
• 4 large eggs
• 3 garlic cloves, finely grated
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ½ cup olive oil, for frying
Tomato Sauce
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 pounds Italian sausage links
• 1 medium onion, small dice
• 1 medium carrot, finely shredded
• 8–10 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
• 3 (28-ounce) cans tomato sauce
• ½–1 cup water (to rinse tomato cans)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves (about 20–30 leaves), thinly sliced
#sundaysauce #italianmeatballs
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13 Comments
Delicious! I love meatballs, but never thought to have them with sausages. Very original.
Hey, we had Sunday Sauce on Tuesday. LoL
I always just used a mix of ground beef, one more lean and one with a slightly higher fat content (Mom said so and you don't argue with Mom).
I tried veal in banana peppers. It was a little tough but mixed in with the other meats, maybe hubby won't notice. 😊
I never put sweet sausage in my sauce but I have put hot sausage in it. Oh! My! Goodness! It was amazing. Hubby doesn't like hot and even he liked it.
My Dad used to add a big hunk of beef, like a roast to the sauce. Again, fabulous.
I bet the leftovers, if you have any, taste even better the next day.
And since I have meatballs and sauce, I'm going to go feast.
Thanks for sharing your Nono's recipe. ❤
Wow, what a recipe!! I can smell it thru the screen. 🤣 Great job, bro!! 🔥🇮🇹
First ? Your garlic is close to the size of elephant? Organic garlic in Ct is soooooo small.
Nice blend of meat for the meatballs. I'll defiantly give them a try.
Hamburg patties. I started mixing 1to1 ground pork with ground beef. Delicious.
Basil. I grow lots of plants to keep pests away from my tomato plants. Dried basil is very strong. This sauce looks perfect. Close to my own recipe. Yum.
Dude, putting raw garlic in your mix is nasty, it is way too strong. I just made a batch with the same meats and ratios and I only grated 1 clove of garlic and it was way too strong, totally uneatable. I will never do that again. I call it mafia Italian when that much garlic is used.
If you cook meat in it, it's called gravy, not sauce.
where are you from?
Oh boy! That looks absolutely delicious!
I can't wait to make this! I really like what you did with the breadcrumbs and milk – genius! Looks amazing.
If you are using dried basil from the grocery store it only needs to cook 15 to 20 minutes at the most. Just put it in the last 20 minutes of simmering.
This is why I subscribe to your channel. Can’t wait to make this.
I love cooking, especially Italian (my wife is Italian), but I'm nowhere near the same solar system as you cook in. This looks amazing! Thank you so much, and I can't wait to make this for my wife. Thank you for sharing!
Chef, Your words there @16:42? Epic truth! 😅🎉