Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs for a Crowd

A big-batch, crowd-pleasing spaghetti and meatballs with tender baked meatballs and a rich tomato-wine sauce. Finish with basil, parsley, and Parmesan for serving.

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Step 1

If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute 1 cup of plain yogurt thinned with ½ cup of milk. Grate the onion on the large holes of a box grater. You can cook the pasta in two separate pots if you do not have a pot huge enough to cook all of the pasta together. The ingredients in this recipe can be reduced by two thirds to serve four.

Step 2

FOR THE MEATBALLS: Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and upper-middle positions and heat oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil, set wire racks in baking sheets, and spray racks with vegetable oil spray.

Step 3

Combine bread crumbs and buttermilk in large bowl and let sit, mashing occasionally with fork, until smooth paste forms, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over water in small bowl and allow to soften for 5 minutes.

Step 4

Mix ground beef, ground pork, prosciutto, eggs, Parmesan, parsley, garlic, salt, pepper, and gelatin mixture into bread-crumb mixture using hands. Pinch off and roll mixture into 2-inch meatballs (about 40 meatballs total) and arrange on prepared racks. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets halfway through baking.

Step 5

FOR THE SAUCE: While meatballs bake, heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in garlic, oregano, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato juice, wine, 1½ teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper, bring to simmer, and cook until thickened slightly, about 15 minutes.

Step 6

Remove meatballs from oven and reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Gently nestle meatballs into sauce. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until meatballs are firm and sauce has thickened, about 1 hour. (Sauce and meatballs can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 2 days. To reheat, drizzle ½ cup water over sauce, without stirring, and reheat on lower-middle rack of 325-degree oven for 1 hour.)

Step 7

Meanwhile, bring 10 quarts water to boil in 12-quart pot. Add pasta and salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot.

Step 8

Gently stir basil and parsley into sauce and season with sugar, salt, and pepper to taste. Add 2 cups sauce (without meatballs) to pasta and toss to combine. Add reserved cooking water as needed to adjust consistency. Serve, topping individual portions with more tomato sauce and several meatballs and passing Parmesan separately.