This meatball soup recipe has homemade meatballs that are simmered in a hearty tomato vegetable soup, making for a delicious dinner in one bowl that the whole family will love. If you are in a pinch for time, you can also use frozen meatballs as well with the same delicious results.
Pair this soup with homemade Texas toast or garlic bread, or even make a side salad to go with it!
Meatball Soup
Meatballs don’t just belong in a plate of tomato-y pasta or in a submarine sandwich – they also lend a considerable amount of fatty richness to soups. This recipe combines the juicy richness of meatballs with a comforting and warming tomato soup base to make something that will leave you feeling full all evening.
You can also substitute the beef in the meatballs for any type of meat or meat substitute you prefer. You could probably even make it with tofu if you wanted!
Ingredients for Meatball Soup
Meatball Ingredients
- Beef
- Eggs
- Saltine crackers
- Parmesan
- Parsley
- Garlic
- Salt
- Oregano
- Black pepper
Soup
- Butter
- White onion
- Garlic
- Italian seasoning
- Can of tomatoes
- Beef broth
- Worcestershire sauce
- Frozen vegetables (whatever types you like)
- Pasta – for the pasta, make sure you go for something smaller, like a ditalini, as you don’t want this to turn into a pasta recipe!
How to Make Meatball Soup
This recipe is basically a two-step process; you first need to make your homemade meatballs if you are using them, and then you need to make the soup base.
Making the Meatballs
- Mix together all of your meatball ingredients in a large bowl until well incorporated.
- Roll mixture into balls and bake for 15 minutes until browned.
Making the Soup
- Fry onions in a large pot with butter until soft and translucent.
- Add the garlic, cook until fragrant, followed by the seasoning.
- Add all your liquid ingredients, stir to combine, and then add your meatballs, vegetables, and pasta.
- Cook for 8 minutes until everything is tender, season to taste, and enjoy!
How to Use Frozen Meatballs in the Soup
If you don’t want to have to make your own meatballs, you can also just use a bag of frozen meatballs. The kind sold at Italian delicatessens, or even a standard grocery, works well here.
If you do use frozen meatballs, then simmer them for about 10 minutes in the broth before you add your vegetables and pasta, to give it enough time to come to temperature and defrost.
How to Store & Reheat Your Meatball Soup
This recipe is so filling that you will end up with loads leftover, so make sure you store it properly.
You can store this recipe in the fridge in a fridge-safe container with a lid, or just put it in the freezer to have next week.
When reheating it, make sure you defrost it in the fridge thoroughly before cooking it. If you try and reheat it when it is still frozen, you will overcook the pasta and end up with a soggy, mushy mess of a soup. As long as you take it out of the freezer the day before you want to eat it and re-heat it slowly over medium-low heat, you should be fine.
Tips & Tricks for Meatball Soup
- When mixing the meatballs together, you want to make sure you mix it only as much as it needs to get everything incorporated. If you start to over mix it, the meatballs’ texture might end up feeling a little like sausage meat, which isn’t ideal in a soup.
- Stir it well but stop once you are sure that all the ingredients are mixed together.
- When it comes to seasoning, you might find that this soup needs a little extra touch of Worcestershire sauce, or maybe even some hot sauce, but that’s up to you.
Happy cooking! I hope that you guys curl up with a hot bowl of this soup and get ready for the cold weather coming our way!
Love,
Karlynn
Meatball Soup
Ingredients
Homemade Meatballs
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup crushed saltine crackers
- 1/4 cup powdered parmesan
- 1 1/4 tablespoons dried parsley
- 2 whole fresh garlic cloves minced finely
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Soup Base
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 cup white onion finely diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1-2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- one 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 6-7 cups beef broth
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cups frozen vegetables
- 3/4 cup ditalini pasta or other short pasta
Topping
- salt and pepper to taste
- freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Homemade Meatballs
- Preheat your oven to 400 °F. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
- Put all the ingredients for the meatballs in large bowl. Mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
- Once the meat is well mixed take a small amount and roll into a ball that’s around 1/2 inch to an inch in diameter. (depends what size of meatballs you want in the soup) Place on the baking sheet. Repeat until you have used all of the meat mixture.
- Place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes until browned all over and have reached an internal temperature of 165 °F.
- Remove and place on a plate lined with paper towel to drain them on until you add into the soup.
Soup Base
- Melt the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add in the onions, and fry until softened and translucent.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, until browned and fragrant. Add in the Italian seasoning and heat for 30 seconds. Taste and add more seasoning if desired.
- Add the canned tomatoes, 6 cups of beef broth, Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine, then add in the cooked meatballs, frozen vegetables and uncooked pasta to the pot. Bring to a low simmer, then reduce the heat and cover.
- Cook for 8-9 minutes or until the pasta and vegetables are tender. Add more broth at this point if the soup is too thick for your liking.
- Taste and add salt and pepper as desired.
- Serve with grated Parmesan cheese on top.
Notes
- If you would like to use frozen meatballs, simmer them for 10 minutes in the broth, THEN add in the vegetables and pasta!
- Add more seasonings to taste, I find that I always like more Worcestershire sauce personally.
Nutrition
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Cindy Lou says
Soup is my FAVORITE food group and meatballs are my second 😋 I am making this tonight, and cannot wait to try it!!
Dotty Himmer says
I made this meatball soup and it is Delicious! It is definitely a keeper and I will make again. Used the frozen meatballs and followed the recipe and we loved it. So easy to make as well.
Thank you.
Chuck Stout says
I made this delicious recipe using a bag of frozen meatballs instead of home-made ones, but otherwise followed the directions as written. Even with that shortcut, this soup was one of the easiest, most hearty, best-tasting soups I’ve ever made. I had leftovers which I served in two subsequent meals, and this soup proves that leftover soup just gets better and better. Just to show how good this soup is, I actually looked forward to the leftovers, something I’ve rarely done in the past! And, Karlynn, I agree with you–more Worcestershire sauce makes the soup better.
Allen Smalling says
Delicious meatball soup!! We didn’t have ditalini so used small elbows instead.
~ Al Smalling, Chicago, Illinois
10 November 2020
Karlynn Johnston says
So glad to hear it Allen!
Kathleen Rauh says
Delicious! Made this soup for guests last night. They raved about it! It was hearty and still light enough to have room for desert, which was the pumpkin bread pudding. Another hit. I made the recipes as directed except for one addition. I have basil that needs harvesting, so added a large sprig to the boiling pot and then removed before serving. Wonderful recipe!
Karlynn Johnston says
Awesome to hear that you loved both recipes!!! Thanks for letting me know! <3
Rebecca Karstetter says
So good! Warm, and comforting on a cold, winter evening. We served it with crusty, French Bread. Total keeper!
Karlynn Johnston says
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, it’s a new family favorite for us!