Name: Giant Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Italian/American
Ingredients: 6 slices Texas Toast ripped up; 1 cup Whole Milk; 1 pound Ground Pork; 1 pound Ground Beef; 1 pound Italian Sausage; 2 cup Shredded Parmesan + more for serving; 1 tablespoon Fresh Parsley minced, + more for garnish; 5 Garlic cloves grated; 1 lg Onion finely diced; Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper; 2, 28 oz jars Store-Bought Marinara Rao’s, Victoria, or comparable; 1.5 lb Pasta bucatini, spaghetti, or rigatoni

Jump to Recipe

I had been craving REALLY GOOD Italian food for a while when I added this recipe to my weekly meal plan. All I could think if was a GIANT meatball, so I HAD to make one. Perfectly tender, superbly seasoned, and the sauce simmered to delicious greatness, these meatballs are a little extra effort, but totally worth it!

Giant Meatballs in Tomato Sauce served over Rigatoni Pasta and topped with parmesan and parsley.

What you need:

A short and humble ingredient list provides the most tender and delicious Giant Meatballs I have ever made. I have experimented with quite a few varieties and I am convinced this style that starts with soaked bread yields the best result.

Ingredients needed to make Giant Meatballs.

This recipe starts with the soaking of white bread in milk. This will keep the meatballs perfectly tender, and moist. Tear the bread and let it soak in the milk for 10 minutes.

Then crumble in all the meats and add in all the remaining seasonings and ingredients. Mix it all together by hand for the most even distribution.

Soaked bread, ground pork, beef, and italian sausage in a bowl.

Meatball ingredients ready to be mixed in a large bowl.

Once you have your mixture all put together, use a scale to portion the meatballs out into 9, 9-ounce meatballs. Or evenly separate them out.

Place the meatballs on a sheet pan and roast them in the oven until they brown slightly on the outside. Then place them in a pot with the tomato sauce and cover them with some of it. Simmer until cooked through and a thermometer inserted in the middle reads 150˚F.

Roasted Giant Meatballs in tomato sauce.

Before you finish cooking the meatballs in the sauce, you can cool them after roasting and freeze them for later use. Be sure to thaw them fully before finishing cooking in the sauce. Follow the finishing directions for frozen meatballs.

After the Giant Meatballs finish cooking in the sauce, boil some pasta and serve them over it with a healthy spoonful of sauce.

More Italian Favorites

I love to make a handful of Italian dishes, if you love them too take a look at my recipes for:
Quick and Classic Homemade Lasagna,
Eggplant Parmesan Rollatini,
and Homemade Sausage Manicotti Recipe.
These a some of my very favorite comfort foods and warm up a winter day and give you a full belly.

📖 Recipe

6 Servings

Giant Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

I created this recipe after having a hankering for a giant meatball during Covid-19 times. Something about a big ol' meatball just is so fun and brings back childhood memories of a certain song.

Ingredients

6 slices Texas Toast ripped up
1 cup Whole Milk
1 pound Ground Pork
1 pound Ground Beef
1 pound Italian Sausage
2 cup Shredded Parmesan + more for serving
1 tablespoon Fresh Parsley minced, + more for garnish
5 Garlic cloves grated
1 lg Onion finely diced
Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper
2, 28 oz jars Store-Bought Marinara Rao’s, Victoria, or comparable
1.5 lb Pasta bucatini, spaghetti, or rigatoni

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
In a large bowl, stir together the ripped up toast and milk and let it sit for 10 minutes.
Crumble the pork, beef, and sausage into the bowl. Add the parmesan, parsley, garlic, onion, and some salt and pepper to the bowl. Use your hands to work the mixture together, and break up the bread while you mix everything together.
Form the mixture into 9 - 9 oz balls. Place the meatballs onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until a crust forms on the outside of the meatball.
Gently place the meatballs into a large dutch oven and cover them with the tomato sauce and a little water from rinsing out the jars. Bring the mixture to a simmer and continue cooking the meatballs, covered for 30 minutes longer.
Cook your pasta while the meatballs are finishing cooking. They are done when a thermometer inserted in the middle reads 150 degrees.
Serve meatballs over the past with a generous spoon of sauce. Top with parmesan and parsley and enjoy.

Notes

After the first bake of the meatballs, you can cut the recipe down by half and only finish half the meatballs in 1 jar of sauce and serve with 1 lb of pasta. Freeze the remaining meatballs and thaw completely before finishing in sauce and serving with more pasta.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 931Total Fat: 47gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 27gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 1862mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 7gSugar: 15gProtein: 56g

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