Fresh herbs from the garden, basil, parsley, oregano, freshly grown bulb garlic, the only thing missing now, Grandma, her memory of food lives on forever.
This is a meatless sauce if you want to serve meat.
Fry the meatballs or sausage, pour some sauce over them. Do not add meat to the sauce that is the authentic way.
My Dad made the best sauce too, Grandma taught him well.
My dad was able to almost duplicate her sauce but Grandma still holds the trophy of excellence.
Here is as close as it gets to her perfection! Simplicity, nothing unusual, just what she had to work with.
Grandma always made things from simple ingredients
Back in the 1900s, grandma came from Rome, Italy when she was 17 years old.
My dad was born in 1912. Grandma and Grandpa were from the depression era.
We grew up eating inexpensive meals like this one often.
Today they are gourmet and a delicacy to make it authentic.
I am extremely proud to cook in her memory, everything to us is a banquet of love.
Ingredients You Will Need:
- Roma (plum) tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped ( Tip; place whole tomatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes. Add to ice water the skins will fall off)
- finely chopped fresh basil
- fresh garlic cloves minced,
- chopped fresh parsley
- sea or kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- red pepper flakes
- extra-virgin olive oil
- white wine
Even if you never attempted homemade sauce, you are seriously missing out.
Grandma's Marinara, Spaghetti, and Meatballs Recipe is by far my favorite spaghetti and meatballs I ever had.
It's an easy tomato sauce to make with very few ingredients, all fresh, healthy and simplified.
If you love Italian food, this marinara sauce is a great start on making a fresh tomato sauce.
Remember just fry the meatballs and they can be a side dish for the meat lovers out there.
Pour the sauce over the meatballs with grated cheese and enjoy!

Grandma's Marinara, with Spaghetti
Yield: 6
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 50 Min
This is an old fashioned homemade marinara sauce my grandma made in the 1960s. The sauce is made with all fresh herbs and tomatoes and not a meat sauce. The meatballs never go in the sauce, they are fried sauce is just poured on top.
Ingredients:
- 10 Roma (plum) tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped ( Tip; place whole tomatoes in boiling water for 15 minutes. Add to ice water the skins will fall off)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
- 3 fresh garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon sea or kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine
Instructions:
- I use a food processor for the tomatoes. (If you prefer to remove the skins, place tomatoes in boiling water for ten minutes, remove and immediately put into iced water.)
- Peel the skins with a sharp knife, you can also squeeze out the seeds.) Saute garlic in extra virgin olive oil, add seasonings, tomatoes, simmer in the pot for 15 minutes add wine parsley, and basil.
- Cook for 15 more minutes.
- Serve over your favorite pasta.
- We use angel hair, spaghetti or vermicelli cooked to package instructions.
- Note: If you would like meatballs on the side, make my meatball recipe. They can be baked, air fry, or stovetop fried and serve with a scoop of sauce on top, these do not go into the saucepot.
Funny how mum grandma used to make angel's hair for me too! It was her favourite type of pasta. Shame that she used to overcook it!
ReplyDeleteLove this with meatballs. A tasty one!
Ok, I've been reading your blog to long. Last night I made Angel Hair pasta with a meatless sauce, took some of the sauce and poured it over some meatballs. Great minds must think alike.
ReplyDeleteLooks so good! This is definitely one of my favorite comfort foods!
ReplyDeleteOooh this looks delicious!! This is just pure comfort food. There is nothing like spaghetti and meatballs to feed the soul!
ReplyDeleteSpaghetti and meatballs...my favorite comfort food of all time!
ReplyDeleteMmmmm...this is comfort food at its best! And a family recipe makes it even better! Enjoy your weekend, Claudia!
ReplyDeleteSince the sauce and meatballs each sound delicious, I can imagine how good this meal was.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you reshared this! My daughter prefers a meatless sauce so I'll have to make yours ASAP!
ReplyDelete