Meatballs and Penne in Creamy Marinara Sauce

These Meatballs and Penne in a Creamy Marinara Sauce is a quick and easy weeknight meal that tastes like a date night meal!

My oldest daughter has been begging for me to make spaghetti and meatballs.  You see she was over at her best friends house a while back and her mom makes spaghetti and meatballs.

So, my daughter came home asking me why I don’t do that.  I really don’t know why.  Mostly because I thought it would just take way to long and too many dishes to have to clean up.

But the begging just wouldn’t cease.

Every time we ate spaghetti she would put on her sad face and in her sad voice say I really wanted it to be spaghetti and meatballs.

What’s a mom suppose to do??

So, it became my mission to create a one pot pasta and meatball combo.  I browned the meatballs in a large pot or you could use a dutch oven, then removed them to add in the other ingredients.  Nestled the meatballs back into the pasta, covered and simmered to perfection!

This meal turned out full of flavor and made my daughter very happy even though I used penne instead of spaghetti.

The pictures don’t really give justice to how scrumptious this dish really tastes.  (I am still working on photoing pasta, it’s harder than a person thinks! 🙂 )

Why I even think this would be wonderful to serve for a date night at home!  Pair it with a Caesar salad, some crusty bread, a wonderful bottle of wine and this decadent Chocolate Turtle Cake for dessert.

Meatballs and Penne in Creamy Marinara Sauce

Course: Main Dish, Pasta

These Meatballs and Penne in Creamy Marinara Sauce is a quick one pot weeknight meal that tastes more like a date night meal!!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 24 minutes minutes

Total Time: 34 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Author: Countryside Cravings

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Ingredients

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 cup dry fine bread crumbs
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 tablespoon milk
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 1/2 cups uncooked penne
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 24 oz jar marinara sauce
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup white or red wine
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

• In a large bowl combine the ground beef, garlic, bread crumbs, egg, parsley, milk, salt and pepper. Shape into 14 balls. Fry in a large pot or dutch oven over medium to medium low heat with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil until lightly browned. About 5-7 minutes.
• Remove from pan and set aside. Add in remaining ingredients EXCEPT for shredded mozzarella. Stir to combine and nestle meatballs back into the pot. Cover and simmer on low for 15-17 minutes or until pasta is tender and the meatballs are cooked through. ( you may need to gently stir on occasion)
• Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and cover until cheese has melted.