I’ve found spaghetti and meatballs to be a welcome go-to meal this fall. Usually that means making them in the slow cooker. My favorite recipe is absolutely delicious and uses ingredients I (luckily) always have on hand. As good as that is, I’ve made it enough times now that I might have been burning out on it. Time for something a bit different. Same great flavors, but more fanciful. These spaghetti and meatball nests are crazy easy to make and mighty fun to eat! And I love the little crust on the pasta!
Not Complicated But Oh So Good
The original recipe for these spaghetti and meatball nests called for Italian sausage, which would also be fantastic. I happened to stock up on frozen pre-made meatballs just before access to the grocery store became more limited, so that’s what I used! Smoked sausage would be great too, or you can go meatless and use something like a good mushroom spaghetti sauce. Yum!
I highly recommend that you hand grate or shred your cheeses in anything you make. It really makes a huge difference in taste and texture. And the hand-done stuff melts better, too!
This recipe was based on a recipe from Johnsonville.
Spaghetti and Meatball Nests
Ingredients
- 12 meatballs frozen prepared, thawed
- 1 ¾ cup marinara sauce divided
- ½ pound spaghetti broken in half
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- ¼ cup Mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 teaspoon dried basil or Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Place meatballs in a small medium saucepan with 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, while preparing the rest of the dish. You want to heat the meatballs thoroughly.
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray a large muffin pan with non-stick spray. Use a pan that holds 12 muffins. You can get by with a 9-muffin pan and enjoy the remaining meatballs on the side (or just heat 9!).
- Cook the halved spaghetti according to the package directions. Rinse and drain well.
- In a bowl, stir together the egg, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, remaining 1/4 cup of the marinara sauce and spaghetti. Make sure the spaghetti is well coated.
- Divide the spaghetti mixture into 12 of the muffin pan cups. Using your finger, make an indentation in the middle of each cup to create a nest.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the spaghetti is set. You don't want it to get crunchy, so check it after 13 or so minutes.
- Transfer spaghetti nests to a platter. I used a spatula and tongs to both support the nests on the bottoms and sides. Be careful, some may want to fall apart on you. It won't be the end of the earth if they do!
- Add a meatball to each nest then divide the sauce over the tops.
- Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese and a little dried basil and Italian seasoning and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
