Meatball Soup
This Meatball Soup combines tender meatballs, pasta and vegetables in a hearty broth with parmesan cheese, resulting in the perfect satisfying comfort food on a chilly day.
Soup weather is here, and you can never have enough good soup recipes, so I’m here to share one more with you.
Soup recipes are the best of comfort foods, especially in the winter months. I never get tired of trying new soup recipes, from thin brothy soups like my Chicken Noodle Feel Better Soup when I’m feeling under the weather, to thick and creamy soups, like Broccoli Cheese Soup.
This Meatball Soup is brothy and also quite filling with all those tender meatballs. I love serving it with crusty bread and dipping the bread in the soup broth. I also like to grate more fresh parmesan over the soup when serving it. Yum!
How To Make Meatball Soup
Make the meatballs…
In a large mixing bowl, combine together the ground beef, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, egg, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Crumble up the beef and keep lightly mixing everything together with your fingers. Don’t press the mixture together too much. Over working the beef will make it tough.
Using a small cookie scoop, scoop up scant scoopfuls of the mixture and transfer to a cookie sheet. Once you’re finished, go back and roll each meatball into a neat ball. You should have around 30 meatballs.
Heat a 12 inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter or canola oil to the skillet and let it get hot. Add the meatballs to the skillet, placing them side by side. Cook the meatballs for about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer them to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
Saute the vegetables
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter or canola oil to a dutch oven or heavy pot, over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery, and saute for about 10 to 11 minutes until the carrots are almost tender. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 additional minute.
Finish the soup…
Add the chicken or beef broth, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, meatballs, remaining 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, salt & pepper, oregano, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce to medium low and allow the soup to simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaf.
Cook the pasta: Meantime add the pasta to a small pan of water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cook the pasta for 10 minutes and drain. Remove the soup from the heat and mix in the pasta. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of parsley and the basil. The soup will slightly thicken as it sets.
Tips for this recipe
- Use fresh parsley and basil in this recipe. It makes a big difference in the flavor of the soup.
- Use a bar of parmesan and grate it yourself. Don’t use the stuff in a can.
- Cook the pasta separately, drain it and add it to the soup. This way the pasta won’t absorb and suck up all of your soup broth. If you cook the pasta in the soup, it will absorb a lot of the soup broth. If you reheat the soup the next day, you’ll find you don’t have much broth but lots of mushy pasta.
- Use a small pasta for this recipe such as Ditalini or something similiar, and make sure to follow package directions. Don’t overcook it. Cook it for 10 minutes. It will actually cook a little bit more once added to the hot soup. We don’t want mushy pasta in this soup.
- Feel free to adjust the seasonings if you prefer for your own taste.
- Serve this soup with a sandwich or pieces of crusty bread for dipping.
Can I freeze this soup?
Yes you can. Freeze for up to three months. Freeze the cooled soup in a freeze safe container. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat in individual servings in the microwave or over medium heat on a stove top. Grate some fresh parmesan over each serving.
Can I bake the meatballs?
Certainly. Simply preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Place the meatballs in a single layer on a cookie sheet, and bake them until browned and cooked through, about 12 to 15 minutes.
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Meatball Soup
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: American
Description
This Meatball Soup combines tender meatballs, pasta and vegetables in a hearty broth with parmesan cheese, resulting in the perfect satisfying comfort food on a chilly day.
Ingredients
MEATBALLS
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup panko plain bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup freshly shredded or grated parmesan cheese, from a bar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 6 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, divided
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter or canola oil, divided
SOUP
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 3/4 cup diced or thinly sliced carrots
- 3/4 cup diced or thinly sliced celery
- 1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic from a jar, or about 4 cloves
- 3 (14.5 oz) cans chicken or beef broth
- 1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup dry Ditalini pasta
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Make the meatballs: In a large mixing bowl, combine together the ground beef, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, egg, Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, 1 teaspoon of the Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Crumble up the beef and keep lightly mixing everything together with your fingers. Don’t press the mixture together too much. Over working the beef will make it tough.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop up scant scoopfuls of the mixture and transfer to a cookie sheet. Once you’re finished, go back and roll each meatball into a neat ball. You should have around 30 meatballs.
- Heat a 12 inch non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter or canola oil to the skillet and let it get hot. Add the meatballs to the skillet, placing them side by side. Cook the meatballs for about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer them to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.
- Saute vegetables: Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter or canola oil to a dutch oven or heavy pot, over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery, and saute for about 10 to 11 minutes until the carrots are almost tender. Add the garlic and saute for 1 additional minute.
- Finish Soup: Add the chicken or beef broth, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, meatballs, remaining 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning, salt & pepper, oregano, and bay leaf. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce to medium low and allow the soup to simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and remove the bay leaf.
- Cook the pasta: Meantime add the pasta to a small pan of water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Cook the pasta for 10 minutes and drain. Remove the soup from the heat and mix in the pasta. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons of parsley and the basil. The soup will slightly thicken as it sets.
- Top each serving with more freshly shredded parmesan cheese.
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days. If your soup has absorbed some of the broth the following day, add a little more chicken or beef broth.
Notes
- This soup freezes well. Thaw overnight in the refrigerate and reheat individual servings in the microwave. Sprinkle with fresh parmesan when serving.
- If you prefer to bake the meatballs instead of frying them, preheat an oven to 400 degrees, and bake them in a single layer on a cookie sheet until browned through, about 12 to 15 minutes.