This hearty Meatball Soup features your favorite meatballs, loads of veggies, and pasta simmered in a tomato-y beef broth. Ready in just 30 minutes, it’s quick, easy, and super filling. Perfect for busy weeknights!
Easy Italian Meatball Soup
When it comes to homemade soup recipes, it doesn’t get much easier than this Meatball Soup!
All you need to do is quickly cook the veggies and then simmer the ingredients for just 10 minutes. Since we’re using tiny ditalini pasta, it cooks in no time. You can make your own homemade meatballs or simply grab a bag of frozen meatballs at the store. Whatever works best for you!
Unlike Italian Wedding Soup, which is made with meatballs and tiny pasta in a clear broth, this Italian Meatball Soup has a tomato-based broth, with tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and beef stock.
This soup is super hearty but not heavy. It’s perfect for those chilly winter nights when you want something nourishing and filling in a pinch.
What You’ll Need
This meatball vegetable soup is quick and easy to prepare, with a handful of vegetables, seasonings, and other ingredients. See the recipe card for the measurements.
- Olive oil – Used to saute the vegetables.
- Vegetables – Onion, carrots, celery, and green beans add flavor, texture, and extra nutrients to this easy soup recipe.
- Seasonings – I used Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper to season the soup, plus a bit of fresh parsley at the end.
- Beef broth – Be sure to use low sodium to avoid making the soup too salty.
- Tomato sauce
- Crushed tomatoes – Enhances the tomato flavor in the soup.
- Meatballs – You can make homemade meatballs or use your favorite store-bought meatballs. You can use any type of meatballs you want too, whether it’s with just beef or pork, a combination of the two, or even lean turkey meatballs.
- Short pasta – Ditalini is my go-to but other short pasta work as well.
How to Make Meatball Soup
This easy soup comes together in less than 30 minutes. Perfect for a busy weeknight dinner on a chilly night.
- Cook the veggies. Cook the onion, celery, carrots, and green beans in the olive oil for 5-6 minutes.
- Add the other ingredients. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, and seasonings. Bring to a simmer then add meatballs and pasta.
- Simmer. Continue simmering for 10 minutes, until the pasta is cooked.
- Enjoy. Ladle into bowls and top with parsley.
Tips & Variations
Here are a few tips for making homemade meatball soup.
- Pre-cook the meatballs. If you choose to use homemade meatballs, you’ll want to saute them on the stovetop before adding them to the soup. Otherwise, they won’t cook through completely.
- Add any veggies you like. You can add pretty much any veggies you want to this soup. Spinach or kale is a great addition. You can also try adding some frozen mixed vegetables.
- Use chicken broth. For a lighter flavor, you can use chicken broth or a combo of chicken and beef broth.
- Boil the noodles separately for leftovers. If you intend to have leftover meatball soup, it’s a good idea to cook the noodles separately so they can be stored in separate containers. The noodles will absorb more liquid as they set.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this Italian meatball soup with some fresh parsley and freshly grated parmesan. With the meatballs, pasta, and vegetables, I don’t think that this soup needs much in the way of side dishes.
That said, garlic knots are never a bad idea! And a simple side salad or caesar salad would pair well with this soup too.
How to Store Leftovers
Leftover meatball soup can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave. If the noodles have absorbed too much of the liquid, you may want to add a bit more broth when reheating.
Can I Freeze Homemade Meatball Soup?
Yes, absolutely. Italian meatball soup is great for freezing. However, I do recommend boiling the pasta separately in this case and freezing any leftovers without the pasta.
Thaw overnight in the fridge, reheat on the stovetop, and add freshly cooked pasta then.
More Easy Soup Recipes:
- Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Easy Minestrone Soup
- Slow Cooker Bean Soup
- Ramen Chicken Noodle Soup
Meatball Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 1/2 cups green beans trimmed and cut in one inch segments
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 6 cups low sodium beef broth
- 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce 1 1/2 ‐ 8 ounce cans
- 15 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/4 lbs fresh or frozen meatballs
- 3/4 cup dry short pasta such as ditalini
- fresh parsley chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery,carrots and green beans.
- Cook the vegetables for 5‐6 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs and pasta to the soup. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until pasta and vegetables are tender.
- Top with parsley. Serve with parmesan cheese if desired.
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