My Italian Meatballs with Sunday Sauce recipe is a tried and true family favorite. Made with pork, beef, garlic, egg, and breadcrumbs, the meatballs are baked then simmered in tomato sauce for a few hours. Serve with pasta for the quintessential Italian American Sunday dinner!
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The meal I enjoyed most as a kid
Every Sunday my grandma would wake at the crack of dawn to start her Sunday sauce (she called it gravy), and most of the time it would include Italian meatballs and other assorted meat, like beef braciole, Italian sausages, and pork chops.
I cannot think of a better smell to wake up to and it took a ton of willpower for me to not sneak a taste every hour or so.
The way she made meatballs and Sunday sauce is the way my mom makes it, the way I make it, and the way I hope my kids will make it after I’m long gone. It’s an honor to think my family legacy may grace some of your dinner tables as well!
Whenever I make Italian meatballs, I serve it with a pound of pasta, a green like garlicky spinach, escarole, or broccoli rabe, a loaf of Italian bread, and plenty of cheese for grating. Tara always likes to serve a bowl of ricotta at the table too!
Featured Comment
One reader, Janie, commented: “I cannot tell you what an absolute hit this was. I made the Sunday sauce and the meatballs. It was not a hard recipe to make, just needed attention. No problem. My family were oooing and ahhhing with every bite. So good and such tender flavorful meatballs! ★★★★★”
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Meat. I prefer to use a combination of ground pork and ground beef (I use chuck because it has a higher fat content, giving the meatballs a better taste and texture). Feel free to use any combination you’d like of beef, pork, or veal. You can also use ground turkey to make turkey meatballs or bulk sausage to make sausage meatballs.
- Breadcrumbs. I like to start with plain breadcrumbs and season myself by adding parsley, a garlic paste, Parmigiano Reggiano, and salt and pepper.
- Tomatoes. While you can start with crushed tomatoes, I do prefer to start with canned whole plum tomatoes for Sunday sauce and either hand-crush (for more texture), or blender-pulse. I also use a can of tomato paste for extra body.
- Onion. I originally published this recipe back in 2019 and at the time didn’t add garlic to my Sunday sauce – just onion. Now that I’m updating this post, I’m still just using onion, but would like to point out that you can most definitely use garlic! I do find there is enough garlic in the meatballs that the sauce doesn’t need it, but please do what you like!
- No dried herbs? I’m addressing this here because some folks may wonder why I don’t use dried herbs in my Sunday sauce. My recipe is light on the spice rack herbs for good reason – the high quality tomatoes and the meatballs are the stars of this dish. Dried herbs can often be overpowering and are simply not needed. You may find other Sunday sauce recipes on the internet that use a ton of dried herbs labeled “Italian Seasoning”; I don’t use anything labeled as Italian seasoning, ever! And I encourage you not to either. If you absolutely feel the need to add a dried herb to your Sunday sauce, a touch of dried oregano wouldn’t hurt.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
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How to make Italian Meatballs with Sunday Sauce
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Coat the bottom of a large heavy pot with 1/2 cup of olive oil and saute the onions on medium-low heat until translucent, 5-7 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for another 5 minutes, spreading the paste around with a wooden spoon. Add a splash of water if the paste starts to burn.
- Add the hand-crushed (or blender-pulsed) tomatoes, salt, and pepper and stir until incorporated. Cook on a very low simmer with the lid slightly ajar taking care to stir the sauce every so often to avoid sticking. The sauce should cook on low heat for at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours, but the longer the better. After taste testing, add the optional sugar if needed. Note: Most of the time sugar is not needed but sometimes a particular batch of tomatoes can be too acidic. If you hate the idea of adding sugar, a carrot will work too.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. While the sauce simmers, add the beef and ground pork to a large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper. To the meat, add the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, parsley, and garlic paste. Pour 2 beaten eggs into the meat and gently mix everything together, but don’t overmix. If the mixture seems too dry, add one more egg to the mix. If the mixture seems too wet, add a little more breadcrumbs.
- With wet hands, roll the meatballs to 2-inches in diameter. Bake the meatballs in the oven on a sheetpan with a wire rack for 15 minutes, then increase the temperature to 475°F and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until browned.
- Alternatively, you can shallow-fry the meatballs in olive oil in a frying pan until browned.
- If frying, allow the meatballs to drain on a paper towel-lined dish. Pictured below are the baked meatballs and fried meatballs. You can see the fried are slightly more browned.
- Place the browned meatballs in the Sunday sauce and cook for a minimum of 1 hour on low heat to allow the meatballs to absorb the flavor and braise in the sauce. When the meatballs are done cooking, move to a separate bowl to serve and add additional sauce to pasta, if desired. Serve with grated cheese and Italian bread.
Top tips
- Don’t overmix. Overmixing the meatballs can cause them to be tough. Mix just until they come together and can be rolled into balls without any cracks.
- Baking vs. frying vs just dropping them in. It comes down to personal preference whether you bake or fry. Baking will give you a slightly softer meatball, while frying will give you a browner meatball that’s slightly crispy on the outside (like my pan-fried meatballs). I wanted to show you the two main ways to make meatballs for Sunday sauce, but there is a third way and that is to simply drop the raw meatballs into the sauce and allow them to braise the whole time.
- Thickening the sauce. If you prefer your Sunday sauce (or Sunday gravy) on the thicker side, you can open the lid to the pot a little wider to allow for more evaporation. If you find the sauce is too thick, you can add a touch of water.
- Add wine. I don’t add wine with this recipe, but every now and then I change up my Sunday sauce and add a cup of red wine. It adds another dimension of flavor to the sauce!
- Add some more meat. For even more flavor, drop in some sweet and hot Italian sausages and a few pork chops. Serve both the sausage and pork with the meatballs.
- Serving. There will be a lot of sauce after removing the meatballs. As mentioned, I always serve my meatballs and Sunday sauce with a pound of pasta (we love rigatoni and tortiglioni), but you can also use the sauce for stuffed shells, lasagna, baked ziti, and more!
More nostalgic Italian American favorites
If you love authentic Italian American Sunday sauce with meatballs, give these other recipes a try!
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Italian Meatballs And Sunday Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 4 28-ounce cans plum tomatoes hand crushed or blender pulsed
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1/2 cup (120g) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion finely diced
- 1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar optional, depends on sweetness of the sauce
For the Meatballs
- 1 pound (454g) ground chuck
- 1 pound (454g) ground pork
- 1 cup (100g) plain breadcrumbs plus more as needed
- 3/4 cup (68g) grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 3 cloves garlic paste
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
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Instructions
For The Sauce
- Coat the bottom of a large heavy pot with a 1/2 cup of olive oil and saute the onions on medium-low heat until translucent (about 5-7 minutes).
- Add the tomato paste to the onions and cook for 5 minutes, spreading the paste around with a wooden spoon. Add a splash of water if the paste starts to burn.
- Add in all of the hand crushed tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Stir the sauce until incorporated and cook on a low simmer with the lid left slightly ajar. Stir the sauce every so often (very important!) to avoid sticking. The sauce should cook on low heat for at least 2.5 to 3 hours but longer will be better. Add optional sugar after taste testing, if required.
For The Meatballs
- Add the beef and ground pork to a large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- To the meat, add the breadcrumbs, grated cheese, parsley and garlic paste. Pour 2 beaten eggs in and gently mix everything together. If the mixture is too dry, add one more egg to the mix.
- With wet hands roll approximately 2" diameter meatballs. The meatballs can be shallow fried in neutral oil until brown on all sides or baked on a sheet pan with wire rack at 400°F for 15 minutes the and additional 5 minutes at 475°F.
- Place the browned meatballs in the sauce and cook for a minimum of 1 hour on low heat to allow the meatballs to absorb the flavor and braise in the sauce.
- When the meatballs are finished, serve with choice of pasta, grated cheese and Italian bread. Enjoy!
Notes
- Calories. The calorie info reflects the addition of 1 pound of pasta.
- Meat. Chuck, which has a large amount of fat and flavor, and ground pork are a great combo for juicy tender meatballs. Avoid using really lean meats if at all possible.
- Mixing the meatballs. It’s crucial to not over-mix a meatball and to not form them too tightly. Use wet hands and roll the meatballs by hand until there are no cracks.
- Breadcrumb amount. The amount this recipe calls for is a fair compromise in the meat to breadcrumb ratio. If the meatballs are too wet after mixing in the initial 1 cup of breadcrumbs, add a bit more until a meatball will form that holds its shape.
- Eggs. 2 eggs is a good starting point, but don’t be shy about using an extra one if the mix is too dry. The eggs are the binder and ensure the meatballs can be formed properly.
- Let the meatballs slowly cook. Leave them in the sauce (minimum 1 hour) on very low heat to slowly braise and absorb the flavors of the homemade Sunday sauce.
- How to make the sauce thicker. With or without paste the sauce can be thickened by simply opening the lid to allow quicker evaporation. Conversely, to slow the thickening process keep the sauce pot fully covered or add a touch of water.
- Leftovers. The meatballs and sauce can be stored in the fridge for 3 days and can be reheated on the stove-top. If the sauce is a little too thick, just add a touch of water to loosen it up. Or if needed, just toss in another can of crushed plum tomatoes to increase the amount of sauce and let it cook for 30 minutes to incorporate into the existing sauce.
- Freezing. The sauce and meatballs can be frozen. Reuse them by thawing in the fridge, then cooking on the stove-top over moderate heat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on July 12, 2019. It was completely updated on April 28, 2025.
Fantastic. Directions so simple. Started making my sauce on a Sunday morning. Sunday dinner was a hit. Love all around. Many thanks for sharing.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Peg!
Perfection! My Sicilian mother made this sauce for me and my seven siblings growing up in Southern California. Spaghetti and meatball supper was her masterpiece. She used a 🥕 to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. It was the only time a French load of ‘white’ bread was allowed so we could dip the bread in the Sunday sauce while it was simmering on the stove.
So happy you enjoyed the recipe, Trish!
James, love your recip, I will be making those meatballs in the sauce. Thank you
We hope you enjoy the meatballs!
I’d love to know how many meatballs the recipe, as written, makes.
Hi Barbara, 12-16 depending on how large/small you roll them.
This is an awesome sauce paisan! I remember seeing a sauce you made years ago with wine on youtube and I can’t remember how much wine you used. I think it was 3/4 of a cup. Anyway this sauce is definitely old-school Italian. Im talking Dean Martin playing in the back round early Sunday Morning, Grandpa’s Avanti cigar scent lingering in the air, fresh Italian bread on the table just waiting to be a vessels for the sauce as a taste test. It took me back my man. Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Excellent. I wanted to add garlic because I have never made a Sunday sauce not using it. Did not use garlic and the San Marzano DOP tomatoes were the star. No need to add sugar. Finished sauce with a cup of fresh basil. In addition to meatball, I added one pound of hot Italian sausage and two small bone in pork chops. Cooked meatballs and sausage for an hour and removed from sauce. Added portions back in last twenty minutes. Cooked sauce on very low simmer for four hours.
So glad you enjoyed, Anthony!
This is THE best tomato sauce I have ever made !
We’re so glad you enjoyed, Valerie!
I have made so many of your amazingly delicious recipes, and I feel so much at home making and eating them and sharing them, I am from Brooklyn and have relatives on Long Island. Thank you so much for all you do. Spaghetti and meatballs is my favorite meal. I was wondering if you can make this in the oven for several hours on low temperature. I am making it this weekend.
Hi Sara, we’re so happy you’re enjoying the recipes. Yes, you can definitely make this in the oven instead of on the stovetop. In fact, the oven will work better to prevent sticking. Keep in the oven at 275-300 in a covered Dutch oven.
I so enjoy your recipes
I’m a Connecticut transplant, now in South Carolina, where the plantation mentality still reigns.
I was brought up on the same recipes you show on your utube channel.
Your son reminds me of both of mine when they were that age. I miss a good deli sandwich
We’re so happy you’re enjoying the recipes, Maura!
Hi Jim and Tara
I use a ton of your recipes. As you say, this is how I ate growing up and how I cook. Thank you for taking this culture so seriously. I love all your notes and tips and ideas in this recipe. I haven’t done a Sunday sauce in years but you’ve inspired me to make it this weekend.
Also, one of your recipes suggested making meatballs in an oval shape. I’ve never seen this in a recipe, but this is always how my family shapes meatballs. I remember my grandmother handing all the grandchildren an oval meatball on a fork out the back door before she put them in the sauce!
Thanks again
We’re so happy our recipes resonate with you, Donna, and appreciate the comment! Enjoy the Sunday sauce!
Every recipe from you that I have tried is fantastic! Next I will try the Italian Meatballs in Sunday sause. I know from past experiences that it will be wonderful! Thank you.
We’re so glad to hear that, Karin!
Jim, we grew up in my grandparents’ house, where Sunday afternoon was always spent with our extended family and a dinner that began with pasta and gravy, followed by the second course of a roasted meat of various types and salad dressed with oil & vinegar. You never got a fresh plate for that second course. If any part of the pasta course wasn’t consumed, you were expected to use a piece of Italian bread to sweep the leftover red gravy to the side of your plate to make a clean space for the roasted meat.
Your posted recipe made me smile as it reminded me of the people and traditions long since passed. Funny how you and I seem to share similar experiences. Sometimes I think Italian immigrants were given a book of traditions to follow when arriving in the New World. All the other Italians I know also grew up enjoying Sunday pasta & gravy. (don’t you dare call it sauce)
Thanks for the great comment, Mark, and we’re happy to hear the recipe post resonated with you!
Very similar to my grandmother’s (emigrated from Caserta, near Naples) recipe, which I use today. We also call it gravy. Sauce is just one ingredient—tomato, which is the foundation. But gravy is a conglomeration that is simmered for hours.
This Looks so great and delicious to me. I can just almost see your little grandmama up before dawn to start her Sunday gravy. Something she’s done for many years or watched her Mama. Or grandma do it. They are all happy and know just what each one is to do.They chop vegetables and meat, get spices fixed for flavors just perfect..This is a dream I have and wish it was true. It seems like such fun and learning too.Seeing all your relatives. Think when l wake up I will be HUNGRY and ready to eat meatballs and spaghetti right away!!!