Vegetable Meatball Soup

5 from 1 vote

This cozy Vegetable Meatball Soup recipe is full of mini meatballs, pasta and veggies. It's a bowl of soup that will fill you up and eats like a meal! Homemade meatballs browned and cooked to perfection add so much to chunky vegetable soup. The whole family will love this recipe!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Lorie Yarro

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

1 lb ground beef (about 85% lean)
⅓ c parmesan cheese
½ c breadcrumbs
2 tsp Italian seasoning
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
1 lightly beaten egg
1 T fresh parsley chopped
2-3 garlic cloves minced
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp cracked pepper

For the Soup:

4 carrots chopped
3-4 celery chopped
1 yellow onion diced
3 cans tomatoes (approx. 15 oz. each) (I use 2 diced, 1 crushed)
1 parmesan rind
8 c chicken or beef broth low sodium
2-3 garlic cloves minced
1 T Italian seasoning
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp pepper
1 c ditalini pasta uncooked
2 cups fresh baby spinach
3 T tomato paste

Instructions

Prepare the meatballs: start out by adding all the meatball ingredients into a medium bowl. Use clean hands to combine the the ingredients until fully combined.Roll the meatball mixture into small balls (approximately 3/4 inch in size is ideal). You will likely get about 50-60 meatballs depending on the size you make them.
Cook the meatballs stovetop: heat a large skillet to medium-high heat. Add a drizzle of olive oil and when glistening, add the meatballs in batches to brown the outsides, turning once or twice for about 3-4 minutes. The meatballs do not have to be fully cooked as they can cook the rest of the way in the soup. Remove and set aside.
To broil: Line the meatballs on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. Broil on high for about 5-7 minutes or until the outside of the meatballs are browned, but not cooked through just yet. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Prepare the Soup: While the meatballs cook, add a drizzle of olive oil to a heated stock pot or dutch oven pot. Add carrots, onion and celery and sauté for about 3-4 minutes or until the onions become translucent.
Add the broth, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper and parmesan rind. Set heat to medium and simmer until the carrots have softened and the broth comes to a low boil. Adjust the heat as needed to medium or medium-high to keep a low boil.
Add in the meatballs, spinach and ditalini pasta. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Remove from heat, stir in the tomato paste and allow to cool several minutes before serving. Remove the parmesan rind before serving.

Notes

Do not overcook the pasta. The pasta can become mushy and fall apart if it overcooks. The pasta tends to cook a little longer after the soup is removed from the heat, so it is safe to pull it off the stove when the pasta is just barely al dente to keep it from cooking too much.

Use gluten free breadcrumbs and pasta if needed. Make sure to use your favorite gluten free breadcrumbs or panko and gluten free pasta to make this veggie meatball soup fully free of gluten.

You can air fry the meatballs if desired. You will likely have to work in batches, but you can air fry your meatballs as well for about 4-6 minutes at 350°F until the outsides are golden.

Nutrition