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Spaghetti and meatballs is a classic for a reason. But as a date-night dinner? Unless you’re Lady and the Tramp, spaghetti can be one of the worst foods to eat when you’re trying to impress someone. Long, slippery noodles, thick sauce and the possibility of wearing your dinner are not exactly ideal.

That’s where these spaghetti-stuffed meatballs come in. They take everything you love about spaghetti and meatballs and hide it inside one giant, cheesy meatball. Cut one open and there’s a bundle of spaghetti waiting inside.

The recipe is clever, surprisingly easy and genuinely fun to serve. It works beautifully for a date when you want to surprise someone, but it’s just as entertaining for a family dinner or movie night.

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How do you make a giant, spaghetti-stuffed meatball?

I admit, it sounds like it might be tricky. The recipe was created by Chef Chrysta Wilson and originally featured on her YouTube show Dishing on Movies as a meal to enjoy while watching Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.

The technique is surprisingly simple once you know the trick. First, form the cooked spaghetti into tight bundles using chopsticks, following Chrysta’s directions. Then freeze the bundles. Don’t skip the freezing step. The frozen spaghetti is much easier to wrap in the meat mixture.

Next, form the seasoned ground beef into patties. Place a frozen spaghetti bundle in the center of each patty, add plenty of mozzarella and shape the meat around the filling to form a giant meatball.

Bake the meatballs, then serve them with warm marinara sauce and grated Parmesan. You can make your own marinara or use your favorite store-bought sauce.

Why this works for a date night

When I first saw this recipe, I wasn’t sure how a dish inspired by Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was going to fit on an aphrodisiac foods website. Then I started looking at the ingredients.

Garlic has a long history as an aphrodisiac food, and tomato paste provides lycopene, a nutrient that has been associated with sexual health. Parmesan and parsley bring their own romantic food lore to the plate, too.

But I’m not putting this recipe on Eat Something Sexy because I think garlic and tomatoes are going to magically turn dinner into seduction.

I’m putting it here because food and sex don’t always have to be serious. Sometimes the best date-night food is something that makes you laugh, gives you something to talk about and turns an ordinary dinner into a memorable one.

These meatballs do exactly that. Cut one open and there’s spaghetti inside. It’s unexpected, it’s funny and it gives you a great excuse to serve something a little ridiculous to someone you like.

Chrysta’s Spaghetti-Stuffed Meatballs

Print Recipe

Chef Chrysta Wilson shares this clever presentation idea for stuffing homemade, giant meatballs with spaghetti for a fun and memorable, (not to mention mess-free) dish. Enjoy!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian American

Ingredient ground beef, spaghetti

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 30

Freezing time 15

Total Time 1 30

Servings

Calories 499

Author Chrysta Wilson

Ingredients

1/4 lb thin spaghetti
3 oz Mozzerella cheese sliced into 8 rounds
1/5 lbs ground beef 15% fat
1 tsp crushed garlic
2 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic powder
1 medium shallot minced
1/4 cup Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1 egg optional
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup marinara sauce homemade or use your favorite brand
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

US Customary - Metric

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Instructions

Cook spaghetti according to package instructions to al dente texture. Drain.
Put the beef into a large mixing bowl. Mix in the crushed garlic, salt, garlic powder, shallot and parsley.
If you like your meatballs moist, crack the egg into a small bowl, scramble lightly and add to the seasoned meat.
Combine milk and bread crumbs in a small bowl. Add to the ground meat mixture. Let mixture stand at room temperature while you prep the spaghetti.
Using a pair of chopsticks, swirl the spaghetti into 8 small mounds.
Freeze the noodle balls for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Press a slice of Mozzerella onto the top of each noodle mound.
To make the meatballs: form the ground meat into patties. Place a noodle mound at the center of each patty and wrap the meat around the noodle and cheese parcel to thoroughly enclose.
Cook for approx. 30 minutes, until golden.
Warm the marinara sauce while the meatballs bake.
To serve, top with warm marinara and grated Parmesan.

Notes

Be careful not to overcook the spaghetti before you put it in the meatballs. Cook it only to al dente or it will get overcooked when the meatballs are baking.

Do not forget that you will need 15 minutes to freeze the spaghetti mounds before you make the meatballs. (Do this while the meatball mixture rests and the oven preheats.) This is an important step.

A note on the provided nutrition information

The nutrition information provided has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Nutrition

Get Chrysta’s cookbook, Kiss My Bundt: recipes from the award-winning bakery

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Amy Reiley

Eat Something Sexy's Creator & Editor-in-Chief Amy Reiley is the award-winning author of five aphrodisiac cookbooks. She has her Master of Arts in Gastronomy, awarded by Le Cordon Bleu and The University of Adelaide. She is also a Certified Nutrition Coach awarded by the International Sports Sciences Association and she is a California Certified Massage Therapist.

Amy is considered a leading authority on aphrodisiacs. Her work in aphrodisiacs is quoted in publications including National Geographic, The New York Times, Epicurious, Wine Enthusiast, Health and Playboy magazines. She speaks internationally on aphrodisiac foods and has brought her knowledge of aphrodisiac history and science to national television shows including The Today Show and CBS Early Show. She is a frequent guest on relationship and lifestyle radio and podcast shows and has been interviewed by BBC and NPR radio, Cosmopolitan radio and popular podcasts including My Dad Wrote a Porno.

Amy is also a freelance food, wine and health researcher and writer as well as a wine competition judge. Her work has appeared in publications ranging from Variety to The Daily Meal. She is an MSN content provider. And she is also a former wine editor for Gayot.com and wine & spirits editor of Las Vegas magazine.

Fun fact: Amy was the creator of the first ever comprehensive food and wine apps, Amy Reiley's Pocket Gourmet and Amy Reiley's Pocket Vineyard for Palm.

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