Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti & Meatballs
with Scallions & Lemon
- Milk
- Wheat
Spaghetti with cream sauce is one of those simple pleasures. Is there anyone who’d turn down a big bowl of rich, velvety noodles? Surely not, although adding meatballs and a kick of heat and lemon certainly makes it that much more crave-able. Which is exactly what we’re doing: taking a tried-and-true Italian American classic and swapping in a scalliony, peppery, lemon cream sauce topped with tender, savory meatballs. Now that’s amore!
Ingredients
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
4 ounce
Cream Sauce Base
(Contains: Milk)
1 unit
Lemon
1 clove
Garlic
1 unit
Ketchup
10 ounce
Ground Beef
¼ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
2 unit
Scallions
1 tablespoon
Tuscan Heat Spice
6 ounce
Spaghetti
(Contains: Wheat)
Not included in your delivery
2 teaspoon (tsp)
Cooking Oil
2 tablespoon (tbsp)
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Wash and dry produce. • Thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens; mince whites. Zest and quarter lemon. Peel and mince or grate garlic.
• In a medium bowl, combine beef*, panko, half the scallion greens, half the ketchup, 1 TBSP water, juice from one lemon wedge, salt (we used ½ tsp; 1 tsp for 4 servings), and pepper. (For 4, use all the ketchup, 2 TBSP water, and juice from two lemon wedges.) • Form into 8-10 1-inch meatballs (16- 20 meatballs for 4). Place meatballs on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
• Roast meatballs on top rack until browned and cooked through, 14-16 minutes.
• Once water is boiling, add spaghetti to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, 9-11 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, scallion whites, and half the lemon zest; cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. • Stir in cream sauce base, stock concentrate, half the Tuscan Heat Spice (all for 4 servings), and ¼ cup reserved cooking water (½ cup for 4). Bring to a simmer, then remove pan from heat. Add 2 TBSP butter (3 TBSP for 4); taste and season with salt and pepper.
• Add drained spaghetti and meatballs to pan with sauce; toss to coat. (For 4 servings, if your pan isn’t large enough, carefully transfer everything back to the empty pasta pot.) TIP: If needed, stir in more reserved pasta cooking water a splash at a time until everything is coated in a creamy sauce. • Divide pasta between bowls and season with pepper. Top with remaining scallion greens and remaining lemon zest to taste. Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Ground Beef is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 160°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Apr 2026- Flavor: Many loved the unique lemon-cream combination, though some found it bland and needed extra seasoning or Parmesan.
- Ease of prep: Simple and quick to make, though some wished it could be a one-pan dish instead of using the oven.
- Suggestions: Add extra pasta water for creamier sauce; many recommend mixing Tuscan spice into meatballs for better flavor.
- Leftovers: Tastes even better the next day as flavors develop; reheats well though sauce may need thinning.
- Sauce: Could use more sauce overall; some found it too thin while others wanted it thicker and creamier.
- Meatballs: Many found them bland and dry; adding egg helps binding, and some prefer browning the beef loose instead.
Reviews from our home cooks
The amount of lemon in the recipe was perfect. It didn't need any additional added after plating. The Tuscan Heat Spice was wonderful! Would love to know what is in that. Meatballs were delicious right out of the oven, but went really well mixed into the sauce, as well. Excellent meal!
Really good flavor and easy to make. Love the lemon flavor and Tuscan spice. Could have used a step before forming the meatballs to oil the baking sheet. Mostly on me for not reading ahead but would have preferred not to need to wash my hands in between mixing and placing on the sheet.
This was very tasty and not a typical flavor combination for me (meatballs in a cream sauce??) plus I normally do not enjoy cream sauces, but I decided to try this one since I love lemon. Enjoyed this a lot and will definitely order it again. Three minor recommendations - 1) I would add a small packet of parmagiano reggiano - I added it which put it over the top; 2) add some toasted breadcrumbs for the top for texture. The meatballs were delicious but not at all crispy, so having a little crunch here would make it next level; and 3) recommendation on the recipe card to add a squeeze of lemon on the top along with a drizzle of fresh olive oil.
Meatballs were perfect. Browned on the outside, tender on the inside. Good flavor. Very impressed with how the sauce coated the noodles. Sauce was good, too. It was weird the recipe only called for half the ketchup and Tuscan spices -- it would be nice if you didn't have to throw half out, or if the recipe clearly said to discard the other half.
This was a little heavy with both cream AND butter but we enjoyed our meal. The meatballs were very tasty and they cooked quickly! I think if I made this again, I'd leave the scallions out of the sauce and add more lemon. Not our favorite but we wouldn't mind having it again.
This was hands down our favorite meal in this box! The flavors were delicious and I learned a new cooking technique - cooking lemon zest as a base for a sauce, and also the technique of cooking the meatballs in the oven on high for a short amount of time on the highest shelf lead to delicious caramelization and easy clean up.
This was regrettably my first experience with hello fresh, and I say regrettably because this was really, really good. It was easy to make, everything was better than I expected, and they're probably not going to offer it again. I've cooked professionally for over 20 years, and this is one of those recipes where I was making it and didn't feel the need to change anything, which is really rare. But it worked out extremely well. A creamy, lemony, scallion dish is not something I've had before, but now I want it all the time.
Received my box today and made the Creamy Tuscan Spaghetti and Meatballs. It was delicious. I appreciate the servings being about right for one person as I like to overeat, this keeps me from doing that as much and I am learning to be a better cook.
Fun dish...easy...very filling with leftovers! Fresh taste with the scallions and lemon. When you don't have the time to put together a time consuming Tuscan meal, this is definitely a go to and would be perfect for a family or friend gathering.
The lemon added a good balance to the cream sauce. Meatballs could have had a tiny bit more flavor
