Spaghetti & Lil Butcher Shoppe Meatballs
September 25, 2026
It’s homemade spaghetti and meatballs with most of the homemade part already handled for you.
Spaghetti and meatballs from scratch is a Sunday project. Mixing, rolling, browning in batches, a sauce that simmers for an hour. It is worth it when you have the afternoon. On a Friday, you do not.
So we made the meatballs and we made the sauce: Ma’s Homestyle Spaghetti Meat Sauce, sold by the quart in our freezer. What is left is boiling water, baking a sheet pan and letting the two meet in a pot. Thirty minutes, and it still tastes like somebody stood at the stove all day. Somebody did. It just was not you.
Bake First, Then Simmer
The recipe bakes the meatballs before they go into the sauce, and that order does two jobs at once.
Baking browns the meatballs on every side without standing over a skillet turning each one with tongs. Browning is flavor. A meatball dropped raw into sauce comes out soft and pale, with a texture closer to a dumpling. A meatball that has been in a hot oven first has a firm, seasoned crust that holds its shape in the pot.
Then the simmer finishes the trade. The sauce soaks into the outside of the meatballs, and the meatballs give some of their fat and seasoning back to the sauce. Ten minutes covered in the pot is what makes it taste like one dish instead of meatballs sitting in sauce.
The sauce comes frozen and the label says to reheat it thoroughly to 165°F, which the simmer takes care of. The meatballs need their own check. Ground meat is done at 160°F in the center, per the USDA safe temperature chart. Red sauce makes it hard to judge color by eye, so cut the biggest meatball in half or use a thermometer before serving.
Simmer, Don’t Boil
“Simmer over medium-low heat” is doing a lot of work in this recipe. Here is why it matters.
Meat proteins tighten as they heat. Held at a gentle simmer, just a few lazy bubbles breaking the surface, a meatball warms through and stays tender. Put it at a hard, rolling boil and the proteins clench, squeeze out their juice and turn the meatball bouncy and dry. The sauce does not care much either way. The meatballs do.
A rolling boil also breaks meatballs apart as they tumble against each other and the sides of the pot. Low heat, a lid, and stir gently from the bottom with a wooden spoon.
If your sauce starts spitting, the heat is too high. Turn it down until it barely moves.
Spaghetti & Lil Butcher Shoppe Meatballs
Prep: 5 minutes · Cook: 25 minutes · Serves: 4 to 6
You’ll Need
- Lil Butcher Shoppe house-made meatballs
- Lil Butcher Shoppe house-made spaghetti sauce
- 1 box spaghetti noodles
- Parmesan cheese
- Garlic bread, optional
Let’s Cook
- Bake the meatballs according to package instructions.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.
- Meanwhile, pour the Lil Butcher Shoppe spaghetti sauce into a large saucepan. Add the house-made meatballs once they’re done baking, cover, and simmer over medium-low heat until the sauce begins to simmer.
- Drain the pasta and either toss it directly into the sauce or divide it between plates and spoon the meatballs and sauce over the top.
- Finish with parmesan and serve with garlic bread.
It’s homemade spaghetti and meatballs with most of the homemade part already handled for you.
Homemade Cooking from Our Kitchen
The meatballs and sauce come out of the same kitchen as the rest of our homemade cooking, all built to go from our case to your oven:
- House-made meatballs and Ma’s Homestyle Spaghetti Meat Sauce — this recipe, most of the way there. The sauce is a frozen quart, so plan to thaw it.
- Meatloaf — shaped and ready to bake.
- Mardi Gras Pasta Sauce — the other pasta night.
- Stuffed potatoes, stuffed bell peppers and stuffed pork chops — oven-ready.
- Chicken pot pies, crawfish pies and gumbo — heat and eat.
Tips from Behind the Counter
Thaw the sauce the night before. Ma’s Homestyle comes frozen. Move it to the fridge Thursday night and it is ready to pour Friday. In a pinch, set the sealed quart in a bowl of cold water for an hour.
Salt the pasta water like you mean it. About a tablespoon per gallon. It is the only chance the noodles get to be seasoned from the inside.
Save a cup of pasta water. The starch in it loosens a sauce that has thickened in the pot and helps it cling to the noodles.
Drain, don’t rinse. Rinsing washes off the starch that makes sauce stick. The noodles should go into the sauce still a little wet.
Bake the meatballs on parchment. They release cleanly and the browned bottoms stay on the meatball, not the pan.
Grate the parmesan yourself. A block grated at the table melts into the sauce. The shaker can does not.
Leftovers are better tomorrow. Store the meatballs and sauce separately from the pasta so the noodles do not soak it all up overnight.
Ways to Change It Up
- Make meatball subs with the leftovers, a hoagie roll and melted provolone.
- Swap spaghetti for rigatoni or penne, which trap more sauce.
- Bake it: pasta, sauce and meatballs in a dish, mozzarella on top, 375°F until bubbling.
- Add a pinch of crushed red pepper to the sauce while it simmers.
- Serve the meatballs over creamy polenta or grits instead of pasta.
One Stop for Friday Dinner in Hattiesburg
Family owned and operated in Hattiesburg since 1991. Hours: Monday–Tuesday and Thursday–Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Closed Wednesday and Sunday. Phone: 601-261-2765. Address: 1910 Broadway Drive, Hattiesburg, MS 39401. Smoked sausage ships nationwide; also on shelves across Mississippi and the Gulf South.
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