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Ministry of Education New Zealand
Spaghetti and meatballs
Spaghetti and meatballs in a bowl

Ingredients#

Directions#

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Celsius. 

  2. Bring a large pot of water to the boil (for pasta). 

  3.  Dice onion. Heat oil in a pot and cook onion and garlic until tender.

  4. Add tomatoes, salt, sugar, Italian herbs, beef stock powder, and Worcestershire sauce. 

  5. Mix and gently simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

  6.  Place meatballs on an oven tray and cook for 10 minutes.

  7. Cook pasta following packet instructions. 

  8. Serve out pasta, top with meatballs and sauce and sprinkle with cheese. 

Tip

Weigh out reference plates of spaghetti for each meal size to guide portioning. 

To serve, first plate spaghetti then lay meatballs on top, pour over sauce and sprinkle grated cheese on top.

  • Years 0 to 3: 3 meatballs, approximately ¼ cup of sauce, a tablespoon of grated cheese.
  • Years 4 to 8: 4 meatballs, approximately ⅓ cup of sauce, a tablespoon of grated cheese.
  • Years 9 and above: approximately 5 meatballs, ½ cup of sauce, a tablespoon of grated cheese.

Special diet substitution ideas#

  • Vegetarian: vegetable stock and plant-based meatballs.
  • Vegan: plant-based meatballs and cheese.
  • Replace beef stock and Worcestershire sauce with vegetable stock.
  • Gluten-free: GF pasta and ensure all other ingredients are also gluten-free.
  • Dairy-free: dairy-free cheese.
  • Halal: Halal-certified meatballs and stock powder.
Tip

  • There are about 63 premium school meatballs per kilogram of product.
  • Replace spaghetti with a short pasta for easier handling.
  • Save money by buying whole vegetables and using a food processor to grate and chop.
  • Toss a little oil though spaghetti to avoid noodles sticking.

Gilmours product information#

Products and pricing are valid as at 19 February 2026 and are subject to change.

Product descriptionPack size
Value canola oil3 litres
Brown Gilmours onions tag110kg
Gilmours garlic crushed in oil1kg
Gilmours tomatoes crushed2.5kg
Pams salt iodised2kg
Pams sugar white500g
Gilmours Italian herbs250g
Gilmours stock bouillon beef2.6kg
Gilmours Worcestershire sauce 2 litres
Turkman pasta spaghetti5kg
Leader premium school meatballs beef6kg
Alpine cheese edam grated5kg

 

Nutrition standards summary#