Meatball Soup

The Best Meatball Soup Recipe

Succulent, tender Italian-style meatballs bathe in a fragrant tomato-rich broth with perfectly cooked ditalini pasta noodles and hearty vegetables! This complete meal is perfect for weeknight cooking and only gets better as it sits in the fridge (although we can’t promise it’ll last long!) While you may have heard of Mexican meatball soup, Swedish meatball soup, or Dutch meatball soup, or Chicken Meatball and Vegetable Soup, this recipe relies on its little pasta, savory broth, and juicy meatballs to appease all tastes! Think Sunday supper Spaghetti and Meatballs, but in soup form… a genuine crowdpleaser. If you love this, you should try our favorite Italian Wedding Soup.

What Do I Need for Meatball Soup?

You might have everything on hand for this hearty meatball soup, but don’t fret if you don’t! Your local grocery store will have all the simple items you’ll need! Additionally, you can always swap some of the produce for whatever root veggies you have in the back of the fridge. For example, if we have a handful of kale, we’ll toss that in at the end for extra veggies. This is an empty-the-fridge-friendly recipe!

We’ve broken it down into meatball ingredients and soup ingredients to keep it manageable. Feel free to make it your own and use frozen meatballs or swap in Vegetarian Meatballs. If your family and friends are similar to ours, you’ll know how much we enjoy making meatballs, so we’ve pulled together some of the Best Meatballs Recipes for you to try your hand at as well. We cover meatball recipes from A-Z, including Meatball Shakshuka and Porcupine Meatballs.

For this tender meatball soup recipe, you’ll need the following:

For the meatballs:

• Ground Beef

• Eggs

• Worcestershire sauce

• Breadcrumbs

• Flat-leaf parsley

• Grated Parmesan

• Garlic cloves

• Italian seasoning

• Garlic powder

• Onion powder

• Sea salt

For the soup:

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• Yellow onion

• Celery

• Carrots

• Red bell pepper

• Tomato paste

• Chicken stock – if you want to make your own, try Instant Pot Chicken Stock

• Beef stock

• Fire roasted tomatoes

• Paprika

• Freshly cracked black pepper

• Small pasta (we like mini farfalle or ditalini)

Meatballs 101

We’re here to answer all your questions about making the perfect meatballs, including how do you keep meatballs from falling apart,how do you keep meatballs from being dense, and our favorite question, is it better to bake or boil meatballs? These tips and tricks will ensure a juicy, moist, held-together meatball for soup.

• To keep your meatballs from falling apart, use a binder! In our recipe for meatball soup, we use a lightly beaten egg and a small amount of breadcrumbs! Other recipes for meatball soup recipes may use a combination of milk and breadcrumbs.

• To keep your meatballs from being dense, we use 80/20 ground beef which adds the right amount of fat. Compact or overmixed meatballs can also make them heavy and dense, so only mix until combined.

• How to cook meatballs: Bake or Broil? For our Italian-style meatballs, we broil our meatballs for 8-10 minutes to brown the outsides; then, we finish them off in the tomato broth to keep the meatballs juicy.

What To Serve With Meatball Soup

While this Italian-style meatball soup recipe is chock full of veggies enough to be a complete weeknight meal, we always like to pair it with something to soak up all that delicious broth. Our go-to's are Garlic Bread, Herby Rhodes Rolls, and crusty Sourdough or, when we’re feeling a little extra indulgent, the Perfect Grilled Cheese. When having a comforting cup for lunch, we add a crunchy salad for added oomph, like an Italian Chopped Salad, a classic Caesar Salad, or THE Kale Salad. After dinner, we like to finish the meal off with Easy Tiramisu or a Classic Fudgy Brownie.

How To Make Meatball Soup

Follow these simple step-by-step instructions for how to cook meatball soup:

1. Make the meatballs! Combine all meatball ingredients in a bowl. Pro Tip: do not overmix or smoosh the meatballs together too much! We are looking for about 35 golf-ball size, light, juicy meatballs! Broil for 8-10 minutes until golden brown. They won’t be cooked all the way through, as we will finish them off in the meatball soup.

2. Prep the soup base! We are looking for a flavorful, rich beefy tomato broth for the meatballs to finish simmering. Start with the mirepoix – also known as a combination of onions, carrots, celery, and in this case, red bell pepper — and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes until fragrant, followed by the tomato paste. Next up, add your stocks, additional water, and the remaining ingredients! Bring to a boil!

3. Combine the meatballs and the soup base! Once it’s boiling, carefully add in the meatballs and pasta, and reduce until a simmer. Cook until pasta is to your liking (al-dente or tender!), and the meatballs are cooked throughout, about 15 minutes.

4. Garnish and enjoy! Top with curls of parmesan cheese and a sprinkling of fresh parsley. Bon Appetit!

Tools You’ll Need For Easy Meatball Soup

• Rimmed sheet pan

• Large bowls

• Large pot or Dutch oven

• Sharp knives or vegetable chopper

• Wood spoon or spatula for mixing

• Microplane or cheese grater

• Ladle for serving

Our Favorite Meals Under 45 Minutes

Homemade is better, but deciding what to make can be challenging! So we’ve pulled together some of our fun, straightforward, crowd-pleasing recipes that come together in less than 45 minutes so you can plan your week! Try:

• Start the week off strong with Egg Cups – protein-packed, veggie-packed, and easy to make!

• Grilled Sausages and Vegetables – it doesn’t get easier than throwing everything on the grill (or in the pan!) and letting it do all the work for you.

• Green Chicken Enchiladas are a one-pan meal that is comforting and satisfying - cheese and chicken wrapped into soft tortillas!

Hearty, Cozy Tender Meatball Soup for All

A warm, long hug in a bowl! This recipe for meatball soup will impress and satisfy your family and friends! Did you make it? We want to know how it turned out! Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!