Rao's Meatballs With Marinara Sauce Recipe (2024)

Please please don’t buy veal ~ It is an unbearably cruel existence for these calves. Using a high fat ground beef (86%) will taste just as good and cost less.

Yes, Mary. My nonni also made them with day old bread soaked in water and squeezed out. She would never use breadcrumbs and there wasn't any need for additional water. The soaked bread gives a silkier texture than soaked breadcrumbs.
We use at least 1/4 cup of finely chopped parsley. We've found that putting the uncooked meatballs in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 lets them set up and keep their round shape better than cooking them immediately after making them.

My husband's family is 100% Sicilian. This recipe is almost exactly like the one used for generations. Don't over think Italian food. It is meant to be simple. The amount of water is determined by the consistency. You want to be able to roll it so it holds together, but not so tight as to be dry in the center. The amount of fat in the meat will affect it as well. Make sure you use good cheese, and tomatoes. No Kraft in a can! Quality ingredients only. It should be delicious not bland.

My grandmother browned the meatballs but finished the cooking in the sauce. In fact, started the sauce in the pan used to brown the meatballs. She'd fry (gently) garlic and tomato paste in the oil used to brown the meatballs. Took about 10-15 minutes until paste began to separate. There's a cooking term for this technique but don't remember it. Adds great flavor to the sauce.

Please cook the meatballs in the sauce for a few hours to blend all the flavored. And I don't get the two cups of water. My recipe is similar but four eggs and no water no I've been Sicilian all my life !!!

Instead of salt pork which can be challenging to find for the sauce, I used Italian pancetta already diced from Trader Joe's, and their Cento San Marzano tomatoes - so easy! Instead of discarding, drain and save and use with a salad wedge for ex, perfect texture and size. My very picky in-house audience finally agreed to stop purchasing overpriced fresh marinara from the local pasta shop we have been patronizing for over 20 years - it's that good.

We use 4 eggs to 2lbs of meat which would eliminate the water. We also use day old Italian bread that's been quickly soaked in water and squeezed out, instead of bread crumbs. Whatever recipe you use, try combining the eggs, garlic, parsley s/p and cheese first, then add the meat. Makes for a much more even distribution of deliciousness. My family still fries them, but I bake on a cookie sheet with parchment paper at 425, flipping them after 10 min then cooking another 10.

Close to my grandmother's recipe but not exactly it. Proportions of meat, cheese, bread are a little different. Grandma used day-old Italian bread slices (5 slices) soaked in water then squeezed out. Could also soak in milk. Use your hands to combine the ingredients--then you can easily tell when the mixture is moist enough. Never had meatballs as good as my grandmother made! :-)

Instead of adding water use milk, much better! After all cheese has milk in it.

how long do you bake them? do you turn them over half way?

Second time I've made these. First time I only had parmigiana, and meatballs were pretty good tasting, with a great texture. This time used the pecorino Romano and they are delicious. Remind me of the meatballs I ate growing up in North Jersey, made by my friends' Italian grandmothers.

Both the sauce and meatball recipes were similar to what I've made for years. I do use pancetta instead of salt pork and I use 4 cloves garlic for 2 cans tomatoes. I generally soak some day old bread in milk. When I make meatballs as an appetizer (instead of going into a sauce), I sometimes roll the raw meatballs in crumbs (or panko) to fry them (this technique does not work well if you bake the meatballs). In terms of salt, be careful. 1 cup Pecorino brings a lot of salt with it.

Wow, raisins in meatballs was the way my Italian grandmother made them. Absolutely delicious! When the subject of meatballs comes up, I mention this, and my friends look at me like I'm nuts. It's nice to read that my family wasn't the only people making meatballs this way.

Why do so many people want to eliminate the water? It may sound like a strange thing to add, but it really is the key to making RAO’s meatballs with their soft texture. If you don’t want Rao’s, make your nonna’s recipe, or your great Aunt Marcella’s.

Delicious meatballs but the sauce was not enough for the number of meatballs if your planning on serving this over pasta. I would up the sauce by 1/3 next time but will def be making again. Put a serving for two aside in the freezer for a lazy nite.

Made these last night. As others recommended, I made with fresh bread crumbs moistened in about 1/2 cup of milk. Browned in the skillet then tucked into the sauce for about 15-20 min. Really delicious. I keep a chunk of guanciale in the freezer so sliced off a few pieces to start the sauce off.

10/10, delicious tender meatballs with a nice fresh, acidic sauce. I couldn’t find veal so I substituted pork.

Never had the dish at Rao’s so can’t speak to how accurate it is in that way. The recipe does make a runnier less bold version of the marinara they sell in the store though so there’s that.Some tweaks I did in subsequent cooks to improve:- pancetta instead of salted pork- pan fried the meatballs halfway then finished them in the sauce- added the herbs earlier in the cook (not sure why they only want you to add the oregano right before you finish)- more garlic- added fennel seeds

I did everything as described but increased pork and didn't use veal. Not sure why but some of the meatballs fell apart while frying. I've definitely had better meatballs......but still quite tasty

Used Schar gluten free breadcrumbs and added 1 1/2 cups of water for perfectly moist meatballs

Made this during the week, and already had bought fresh meatballs from the Italian meat shop, so used those. This was a big hit. I used pancetta, as I didn't have salt pork. Just put the pancetta in the sauce. Cooked the meatballs as instructed, then put them into the sauce for 1/2 hour, to increase the flavour. Delicious! Thank goodness there was enough for leftovers for tomorrow's lunch for both of us!

Made as written with beef & pork. Used a little over 1c water, meatballs were very tender and moist. I baked in the oven to avoid mess and work, the meatballs were so soft they started to fall apart in the sauce. Still tasted great but I imagine pan frying would lend structural integrity (not to mention flavour). Delicious. Next time I’ll add some fennel seed as a previous reviewer recommended.

Polpettes w/o sauce in Italy

Used three eggs and soaked breadcrumbs in milk

Didn’t use veal. As per another suggestion bought highly fatted beef mince. Strangely not enough flavour. My first time making meatballs. Hmmmm. Used one C of water. Texture seemed OK. LOTS of raw meatballs left over so will experiment with salt and pepper. As it stands now, would not make again without tinkering.

This is still my favorite meatball recipe, I don’t always find veal so I’ll do a 50/50 beef/pork. I never use water I always use whole milk and will soak half the bread crumbs in some of the milk the. The other half goes in dry. Always finish the meatballs in the sauce and I put as much moisture to the meatballs as they will take.

3 eggs, 1/1/2 cups of bread crumbs, maybe 1/4 cup water, left out cheese, bake at 425 degrees ten minutes each side. Pretty perfect

Delicious and a picky kid favorite. We make the whole batch. I brown quickly but then bake. That garlic oil is magic. Serve some the night of and have plenty to freeze on a sheet pan (cooked), then bag, and then into the freezer is an easy night’s dinner only a defrost away. Hands down our family favorite meatball. And—such an easy and fast recipe (especially if you just cheat and buy the jarred Rao’s Marinara!).

Tasty meatballs, but I decided halfway through browning them in a pan to bake them in the oven instead. Checked other recipes for timing and temperature and they turned out great!

Wow! Those carbs and calories are insane. Anyway to make these healthier?