Uploaded April 2016 | Updated September 2026, 20 hours ago
My heritage is Italian. I grew up eating spaghetti and meatballs once a week. But my weight ballooned. 16 years ago, I went on a low carb diet. But my craving for spaghetti and meatballs remains. I stumbled on this recipe the other day that looked enticing. It might help assuage my perpetual persistent pasta passion. See the recipes and music credits below.
The easy sauce recipe:
2 TBS of olive oil
4 or 5 cloves of garlic (peeled)
1 29 oz. can of tomato sauce (Hunts recommended)
4 oz. of red wine
1 TBS (heaping) of basil pesto from a jar
½ large onion, chopped (8 oz.)
½ teaspoon of oregano
½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning
Directions for sauce:
Add the olive oil to a medium sauce pan.
On medium heat, toast the garlic cloves until they are light brown. Don’t burn them.
Discard the cloves, or reserve them for another use.
Add the large can of tomato sauce to the sauce pan with flavored olive oil.
Pour wine into the empty sauce can, swirl around, then pour into the sauce.
Add the basil pesto, chopped onion, oregano, pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning.
Place a lid over the pot, but tilt it some to allow the steam to escape and the sauce to reduce.
Let the sauce simmer gently on low heat for 3 to 4 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.
The easy meatball recipe:
1 LB of ground chuck
2 eggs
⅓ cup of almond flour (I used low-carb breadcrumbs)
⅓ cup of parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon of salt (little is needed as the parmesan is salty)
½ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon of jarred basil pesto
Vegetable oil to a depth in a large skillet of about ⅓ inch (use olive oil if you can afford to)
Make sure your hands are moist. In a large mixing bowl blend with your hands the ground chuck and the next six ingredients until all ingredients are evenly incorporated. Shape the meat into round balls of about an inch to 1½ inches in diameter, as you prefer. Place on a clean dish. Recipe makes from 14 to 18 meatballs.
Heat the skillet with oil to medium high. Place the meatballs into the oil and brown them until outside is thoroughly browned. With tongs, forks, or (as a last resort) your fingers, continually turn each meatball around as they fry to brown them as evenly as possible. When finished remove meatballs to paper towels and allow oil to drain.
Spaghetti Squash recipe:
Inspired by the recipe found here: iowagirleats.com/2012/10/18/low-carb-spaghetti-squash-meatballs
Ingredients
2 medium-sized spaghetti squash (I used only one)
olive oil
salt & pepper
Marinara sauce (I made my own)
1 Lb prepared meatballs (I made my own)
1 cup or more of shredded mozzarella cheese (I used a 6 cheese blend of Italian cheeses)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the center of the spaghetti squash several times on all sides with a small, sharp knife then microwave for 3 minutes, flipping once. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise with a very sharp knife, then remove seeds with a spoon. Lay halves cut side up on a foil-lined, non-stick sprayed baking sheet then brush with oil and season liberally with salt & pepper. Roast for 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the thickest part of the squash meets no resistance. Let cool for 10 minutes.
While squash is roasting, prepare and bake meatballs.
When squash is cool enough to handle, scrape flesh every which way with a fork to loosen and fluff strands. Top each squash half with 4 meatballs, sauce, and shredded mozzarella cheese, then broil until cheese is golden brown and bubbly. (I let the cheese melt naturally in the warm oven)
The background music was “Romantic Comedy Italian” full mix. It was purchased from jewelbeat.com.
My heritage is Italian. I grew up eating spaghetti and meatballs once a week. But my weight ballooned. 16 years ago, I went on a low carb diet. But my craving for spaghetti and meatballs remains. I stumbled on this recipe the other day that looked enticing. It might help assuage my perpetual persistent pasta passion. See the recipes and music credits below.
The easy sauce recipe:
2 TBS of olive oil
4 or 5 cloves of garlic (peeled)
1 29 oz. can of tomato sauce (Hunts recommended)
4 oz. of red wine
1 TBS (heaping) of basil pesto from a jar
½ large onion, chopped (8 oz.)
½ teaspoon of oregano
½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon of Italian seasoning
Directions for sauce:
Add the olive oil to a medium sauce pan.
On medium heat, toast the garlic cloves until they are light brown. Don’t burn them.
Discard the cloves, or reserve them for another use.
Add the large can of tomato sauce to the sauce pan with flavored olive oil.
Pour wine into the empty sauce can, swirl around, then pour into the sauce.
Add the basil pesto, chopped onion, oregano, pepper flakes, and Italian seasoning.
Place a lid over the pot, but tilt it some to allow the steam to escape and the sauce to reduce.
Let the sauce simmer gently on low heat for 3 to 4 hours, stirring every 15 minutes.
The easy meatball recipe:
1 LB of ground chuck
2 eggs
⅓ cup of almond flour (I used low-carb breadcrumbs)
⅓ cup of parmesan cheese
¼ teaspoon of salt (little is needed as the parmesan is salty)
½ teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon of jarred basil pesto
Vegetable oil to a depth in a large skillet of about ⅓ inch (use olive oil if you can afford to)
Make sure your hands are moist. In a large mixing bowl blend with your hands the ground chuck and the next six ingredients until all ingredients are evenly incorporated. Shape the meat into round balls of about an inch to 1½ inches in diameter, as you prefer. Place on a clean dish. Recipe makes from 14 to 18 meatballs.
Heat the skillet with oil to medium high. Place the meatballs into the oil and brown them until outside is thoroughly browned. With tongs, forks, or (as a last resort) your fingers, continually turn each meatball around as they fry to brown them as evenly as possible. When finished remove meatballs to paper towels and allow oil to drain.
Spaghetti Squash recipe:
Inspired by the recipe found here: iowagirleats.com/2012/10/18/low-carb-spaghetti-squash-meatballs
Ingredients
2 medium-sized spaghetti squash (I used only one)
olive oil
salt & pepper
Marinara sauce (I made my own)
1 Lb prepared meatballs (I made my own)
1 cup or more of shredded mozzarella cheese (I used a 6 cheese blend of Italian cheeses)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pierce the center of the spaghetti squash several times on all sides with a small, sharp knife then microwave for 3 minutes, flipping once. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise with a very sharp knife, then remove seeds with a spoon. Lay halves cut side up on a foil-lined, non-stick sprayed baking sheet then brush with oil and season liberally with salt & pepper. Roast for 50-60 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the thickest part of the squash meets no resistance. Let cool for 10 minutes.
While squash is roasting, prepare and bake meatballs.
When squash is cool enough to handle, scrape flesh every which way with a fork to loosen and fluff strands. Top each squash half with 4 meatballs, sauce, and shredded mozzarella cheese, then broil until cheese is golden brown and bubbly. (I let the cheese melt naturally in the warm oven)
The background music was “Romantic Comedy Italian” full mix. It was purchased from jewelbeat.com.
