The BEST Meatball Soup | Everything Cooks In One Pot

This meatball soup recipe is the ultimate comfort food soup. It combines savory meatballs with a rich tomato broth, perfectly cooked pasta, and, of course, plenty of cheese. Plus, it's an absolute breeze to make. In fact, just 10 minutes of prep work is all that's required to make it and everything comes together in only 5 simple steps.

The Best Meatball Soup

Homemade soup recipes just hit different when it's cold outside, and, honestly, this easy meatball soup recipe might just become your new favorite to make during the winter months.

It's basically like spaghetti and meatballs just in soup form.

How great does that sound?

Pretty great, right?!

Anyway, this recipe consists of tender homemade meatballs, al dente pasta, tons of cheese, and an ultra-flavorful tomato broth you just won't be able to stop slurping on. My mouth is just water thinking about all of that deliciousness - it's seriously just one of the most satisfying soup recipes there is.  

Plus, the process of making it is super simple too. You basically just have to make the meatballs and cook them, then make the broth, cook the noodles, and top the whole thing with cheese. Yup, it's that easy.

Oh, and everything for this meatball soup recipe cooks in just one pot, so clean-up is a breeze too.

By the way, if you're looking for something to pair with this soup, I highly recommend making this Italian cheese bread or garlic bread to go with it. Both are delicious recipes that taste even better dipped in the flavorful tomato broth. 

Ingredients

The ingredient list for this recipe is pretty straightforward. It's basically the same ingredients you would use to make spaghetti and meatballs, with just a few additions to add some flavor and turn it into a soup.

With that said, I wouldn't be surprised if you have the majority of these ingredients on hand already!

Anyway, here's what you'll need to make the meatballs:

• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ cup heavy cream
• ½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese, finely grated into a powder
• 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• 1 lb. ground beef and pork (50%/50%, or the proportion of your liking)

And here's what you'll need to make the soup:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• ½ cup red bell peppers, diced. 
• ½ cup green bell peppers, diced
• 1 tbsp. garlic, minced
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• 1 cup dried elbow pasta
• Salt/Pepper, to taste

And, lastly, some toppings to finish off your meatball soup with:

• 8 oz. ricotta cheese
• ½ cup parmesan cheese
• Red pepper flakes

Pretty simple stuff, right?

By the way, you can use a lot of these same ingredients to make this meatball casserole. So, if you end up with some ground beef - and love meatballs - you definitely should give that a go next! It's another one of my favorite meatball recipes. 

Ingredient Substitutions And Suggestions

I highly recommend making this meatball soup with the exact ingredients listed above. But, if you'd like to substitute some of the ingredients with others, I have some suggestions on how you can go about that.

So, as far as the meatballs go, you can swap either ground turkey or ground chicken - or both - for the ground beef and ground pork. I've made this meatball soup recipe with both turkey meatballs and chicken meatballs in the past and it turned out bangin' each time. Also, just so you know, you can skip making the meatballs from scratch altogether and use frozen meatballs to make the soup with too.

Another thing this recipe calls for is chicken broth, but you can easily swap this for vegetable broth or beef broth. 

For the pasta, I like to use smaller noodles like elbow pasta or orzo pasta, but really anything you want/prefer will work.

Lastly, if you'd like to add some additional flavor to your meatball soup, I recommend adding some minced garlic - or garlic powder - to the meat mixture. It really turns the flavor up to 11 on them.

Also, if you have any fresh parsley lying around, it goes great on top of the soup as a finishing element.

How To Make Meatball Soup

Alright, now for the fun part, it's time to make some meatball soup!

Again, As I mentioned earlier, this recipe is a breeze to make. You basically just make and cook the meatballs, then make the soup broth, cook the noodles, and then top everything with cheese. It's easy-peasy!

Anyway, let's stop wasting time and get into the recipe!

Step 1: Make The Meatballs

First things first, you'll want to make the meatballs. So, you'll want to take out a large mixing bowl and add the egg, heavy cream, breadcrumbs, and grated parmesan cheese to it. Then, mix everything together for about a minute or so until it combines into a paste-like mixture.

Now, when you've got a thick, pasty consistency going on with those ingredients you'll want to add the ground beef, ground pork, minced garlic, salt, and pepper to the bowl and gently combine everything together.

Next, you'll want to take the meat mixture and roll it into about 12 one-inch-sized meatballs.

Step 2: Cook The Meatballs

Now that you have the meatballs ready to go, you can add the olive oil to a Dutch oven - or large pot - and put it over medium-high heat.

Then, once the oil is hot, you'll want to add the meatballs to it and cook them for about 2-3 minutes to brown them on all sides. Just keep in mind that you might have to cook the meatballs in batches depending on the size of your pot. 

Also, don't worry about fully cooking the meatballs at this time, as that will happen when they're in the soup later on.

Anyway, once all of the meatballs are all fully browned, you can set them aside.

Step 3: Make the Soup

Ok, now it's time to make the soup broth!

So, to make the broth, the first thing you'll want to do is melt the butter in the same pot you made the meatballs in. Then, you'll want to add the diced onions and peppers and cook them for 10 minutes, giving them a stir every few minutes so they can cook evenly.

Next, you can add the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and all of the seasonings to the pot and cook them for about 1 minute. Then, after you've done that you can add the chicken broth and tomatoes to the pot as well. Now you'll want to bring the soup mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes.

Step 4: Finishing The Soup

Once 15 minutes is up, you can raise the heat of the burner up to high, and bring the soup to a gentle boil. Then, after you've done that, you can add the partially cooked meatballs and pasta of your choice to the pot.

Now you'll want to let the soup continue to boil until the pasta noodles are fully cooked. Just refer to the package instructions for specific cooking times, or just taste test the noodles every so often until they reach your desired doneness.

Anyway, once the noodles are fully cooked, you can reduce the heat to low, add the spinach, and cook it for about a minute - or until the spinach is wilted.

Step 5: Assemble And Serve

Finally, you'll want to transfer this Italian meatball soup to a couple of bowls and serve it warm.

To finish it off, top each bowl with ricotta cheese, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and red pepper flakes if you want to add a little heat.

Enjoy!

How To Store Meatball Soup

This recipe for meatball soup makes about 6-8 servings, so it's really great for a big family dinner or to have as leftovers for the week. There's seriously nothing better than leftover soup, so you'll want to try and save some if you can!

With that said, if you do end up with leftovers, you can store your cooled leftover soup in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Alternatively, if you want to store your soup for even longer, you can freeze the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

How To Reheat Meatball Soup

Once you're ready to enjoy this Italian meatball soup again, you'll want to reheat it.

So, to reheat, simply transfer your leftover meatball soup to a small saucepan set to medium heat. Then, just warm the soup up for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until it reaches your desired temperature. 

Alternatively, if you're just reheating a single bowl of soup, you can reheat it in the microwave in 30-second intervals until warmed through. 

Oh, and for the frozen soup, just let it thaw in the fridge, and then you can reheat it as described above.

Wrapping It Up

Well, that's how to make meatball soup in just a few quick and easy steps!

If you love spaghetti and meatballs, and soup, then you absolutely must try this recipe. It's the best of both worlds, and it's made even better by conveniently being a one pot soup recipe! 

Honestly, this Italian meatball soup has become one of my family's go-to Sunday night dinners during the winter, and it just keeps getting better every time. We're honestly obsessed with it, and I have a feeling your family will be too.

Anyway, if you give this recipe a try, be sure to leave a comment below and let me know how it went.

More Soup Recipes

If you love easy soup recipes - like this meatball soup recipe - and you're looking for some to make next, then you've come to the right place!

Here are some of our favorites:

• Fideo soup
• Beef noodle soup
• Crack chicken noodle soup
• Ground beef vegetable soup
• 4 ingredient potato soup
• Chicken and dumpling soup

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