Have you ever attempted to make meatballs? Only to have them fall apart on you while frying them? Keep reading to learn how to make easy and flavorful Italian Meatball Soup, full of flavor and comfort.
Confession time. I have been struggling with making meatballs for a while, to the point that I started simply buying them in the frozen section of the grocery store. Although it is quite handy to have the frozen counterpart handy in a crunch, they are usually pretty bland. I've since discovered the baking method and my life has changed for the better! Follow this recipe to make meatballs in under 20 minutes, and making the soup in just as much time!
Ingredients
Ingredients in for the Italian Meatball Soup are in two parts. First, you'll want to combine the ingredients to make the meatballs. While they are cooking, prepare the ingredients for the soup base.
For the meatballs;
- Egg
- Panko Crumbs (or bread crumbs)
- Parmesan Cheese
- Garlic
- Oregano
- Ketchup
- Ground Beef
For the soup;
- Garlic
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrot
- Parsley
- Vegetable Broth
- Crushed Tomatoes
- Tomato Paste
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Make the Italian Meatball Soup in two parts. Start with making the meatballs. While they are cooking in the oven, start cooking your soup. Here are a few highlights of the steps to make this amazing soup.
Combine all ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl and mix with your hands until smooth.
Afterwards, form the meatballs into ½ inch to ¾ balls. This recipe should make 24 of them. The more regular they are, the more even the baking will be.
While the meatballs are in the oven, start cooking your soup base in a large Dutch oven. Firstly, cook your vegetables.
When the vegetables are cooked, add the spices, beef broth, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste. Bring to a boil.
When the soup comes to a boil, add the raw pasta. Turn the heat down to low and simmer until the pasta is "al dente".
Place the cooked meatballs into the soup and bring back to a simmer before serving.
Serve the soup with freshly grated parmesan, chopped parsley, and enjoy!
Substitutions
Tailor this recipe with what you already have in your pantry.
- Pasta - Use any kind of "short" pasta (farfalle, fusilli, gemelli, macaroni, rigatoni)
- Meat - Make the meatballs with a beef/pork meat blend or even ground turkey.
- Broth - Substitute the vegetable broth with beef broth.
- Vegetarian - Use premade vegetarian "meatballs", bypassing the ones in the recipe.
For this recipe we used Conchiglie pasta but as long as you use a shorter pasta it will work great! Make this recipe your own by adding any extra vegetable or your preferred blend of herbs.
Top tip
When adding the pasta to the soup, make sure to stir more frequently at first, so that the pasta does not get stuck on the bottom of the Dutch oven.
Recipe
Italian Meatball Soup
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 2 cloves Garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon Dried Oregano
- 1 large Egg
- ½ cup Grated Parmesan
- 1 cup Panko Crumbs
- ¼ cup Ketchup
Soup
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 stalks Celery , thinly sliced
- 2 large Carrots , thinly sliced
- ½ Red Onion , small diced
- 2 cloves Garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon Italian Herbs
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 6 Cups Vegetable Broth
- 796 ml Crushed Tomatoes
- 156 ml Tomato Paste
- 1 ½ Cup Conchiglie
- ½ Cup Parmesan , to serve
- ¼ Cup Chopped Fresh Parsley , to serve
Instructions
Making the Meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 375F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs and mix with your hands until smooth. Make ¾ inch balls and place them on the prepared tray, should make 24 meatballs.
- Place in the preheated oven and cook for 15 minutes or until fully cooked.
Making the Soup
- In a large Dutch oven, on medium-high heat drizzle a tablespoon of olive olive. When hot, add in the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes or until the carrots have softened and onions are translucent.
- Add the salt and Italian herbs to the vegetables. Then add the vegetable broth and and crushed tomatoes to the Dutch oven.
- Bring the soup to a boil and add in the raw pasta. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook until the pasta is "al dente". Make sure to stir the soup every few minutes so that the paste doesn't stick to the bottom.
- When the pasta is cooked, add the cooked meat balls to the soup.
- Serve the soup hot with freshly grated parmesan and fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Peter Paley says
Hello French Kiss Cook,
I love your recipes!
frenchkisscook says
Thank you for your support!