This Italian meatball soup is tender beef meatballs, vegetables and pasta, all simmered in a rich tomato broth. An easy dinner option that’s perfect for a busy weeknight!
My family happens to love meatballs, especially the kids. I make sure to put meatballs on our dinner menu on a regular basis. I often do cheesy meatballs or Greek meatballs with rice, but sometimes I like to mix things up a bit and serve this hearty meatball soup.
Soup is always a great option when it’s cold outside, and I find myself making this meatball soup constantly during the winter months. It has similar flavors to the classic spaghetti and meatballs, but in soup form. Best of all, my kids adore it and happily eat the veggies in this soup!
How do you make meatball soup?
The first step is to make your meatballs. We’re going Italian style here, and these meatballs contain seasoned breacrumbs, herbs and spices, parmesan cheese, garlic and an egg to bind everything together. I broil my meatballs to brown them, and this step ensures that the meatballs will hold their shape in the soup.
While the meatballs are in the oven, I make the base of the soup which includes carrots, onion, celery and plenty of tomato. After the meatballs come out of the oven, they go into the soup to simmer away with the vegetables. The final step is a handful of pasta, which cooks in the broth until tender.
Tips for Meatball Soup
- I use 90% lean ground beef. It has plenty of flavor but is not overly greasy.
- You can use any short pasta you like for this soup. I use ditalini, but other great choices are macaroni, rotini or orzo pasta.
- This soup makes great leftovers, but just be aware that the pasta will continue to soak up the broth as it sits in the fridge. You may need to add more broth when you go to reheat your soup.
- Meatball soup is hearty enough to stand alone as a complete meal, or you can serve it with a side of garlic knots.
- I like to make my meatballs on the smaller side (about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size), it’s easier to eat them in the soup that way.
Meatball Soup Variations
There are so many different ways to customize meatball soup – you can use different types of meat, add more vegetables or change up the seasonings.
- Sausage & Mushroom: Use 50% Italian sausage, 50% ground beef in the meatballs, and add 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms when you stir in the pasta.
- Turkey & Spinach: Use ground turkey instead of beef, and swap out the beef broth for chicken broth. Add 2 cups of baby spinach leaves to the soup during the last few minutes of the cook time.
- Veggie Lovers: Add 1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables during the last 5 minutes of the cook time.
I serve this meatball soup with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and fresh parsley for the perfect finish. Your family is sure to enjoy this soup as much as my family does!
More great soup recipes
Italian Meatball Soup
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef I use 90% lean
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- cooking spray
For the soup
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion finely diced
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 2 carrots peeled and diced
- 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes do not drain
- 16 ounce can tomato sauce
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3/4 cup dry short pasta such as ditalini
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- parmesan cheese for serving optional
Instructions
- Preheat the broiler.
- For the meatballs: place all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Stir with a large spoon or use your hands to combine all the ingredients. You can add a few teaspoons of water if needed to make the process easier.
- Shape the meat mixture into small balls (1/2 inch to 3/4 inch in size). Place on a sheet pan lined with cooking spray. Coat the tops of the meatballs with cooking spray.
- Broil for 8-10 minutes until meatballs are lightly browned.
- While the meatballs are cooking, heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots.
- Cook the vegetables for 4-5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, Italian seasoning, 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.
Bob Lakatos says
Made this recipe today minus -18C today wanted to warm up the insides. I used egg noodle drops instead of pasta, turned out awesome. Very very good.
Yvonne says
Delicious soup. Will make again. Made a few edits for my flavor—added some Italian sausage to the beef mixture, added a Parmesan rind while it cooked, and added a little fresh lemon juice right at the end to brighten up the soup.
barbara says
I had frozen mozzarella stuffed meatballs I wanted too use up. followed recipe for soup using them. It was amazing.
Sandy says
I was supposed to make a wedding soup, HOWEVER, the recipe called for chicken broth, which I didn’t have any, then I found this recipe, OMG! I CANNOT WAIT to hear the comments tomorrow!
I also used a beef base to go along with the beef broth then added fresh spinach to use up the ingredients from the wrong soup!
I’m thinking I’ll have to make it for my honey too sometime soon!
Thanks for this recipe!
Karen says
I had to make a few substitutions because of what I had in the house! Chicken stock instead of beef. A pack of shake & bake instead of breadcrumb & Herbs de Provence instead of Italian, Ragu instead of can tomato sauce & penne noodles. This was ‘next level’ good! I made the garlic knots to go with it & my 9 yr old is asking for thirds! Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Debs Fellowes says
I love this soup as it is so easy to make and also easy to substitute things if you don’t have the exact ingredients in the recipe, as long as you have the basics it works. If I make this during the week after a busy day at work I will use sausage meat for the meatballs (squeezed out of the skins) and add dried herbs and garlic for extra flavour, I always add garlic to the broth as I just love the stuff! It’s so versatile. After saving leftovers for the next day and there being no juice left at lunchtime (I was at work so I could not add extra broth) I decided after that to cook the pasta needed for the meal separately, dish it into the bowls per portion and ladle the soup/meatballs on top. Go with what you have in the fridge/freezer and trust your instincts, if your family like chilli then add it, if they prefer a certain vegetable over another then go with that, this is a great base for customizing to your own personal taste.
Brent Howlett says
I had homemade meatballs in the freezer from a recipe that is similar to the one here. I added a bit of garlic, but otherwise followed the directions here. It was terrific. My wife and I both liked it a lot, plus I had all the ingredients in my kitchen, Looking forward to the leftovers.
Deborah says
Delicious, just the perfect flavor i was looking forward too! Needed something different and this hit the spot. Thank you!!!!
Hls says
I am making this in the slow cooker function of my instant pot. Apparently my 3 quart instant pot is too small for this recipe so I used 4 cups of beef broth instead of six and I only used the can of crushed tomatoes no tomato sauce. I also used frozen meatballs and frozen vegetables but I use the fancy expensive good frozen meatballs. To be honest with you it smells fantastic even before I turn the heat on so I am excited. I think it’s gonna turn out pretty good and it’s a very cheap recipe. If you already have herbs and spices on hand and if you use a cheaper brand of meatballs the total cost of the recipe will probably around $11 which is not bad for four or five servings . Mind you it’s cheap because I’m using frozen vegetables instead of fresh
Heather says
Can you use chicken or turkey meatballs with chicken broth instead of beef?
Sara says
Yes that’s totally fine!
Sandy says
Delicious! I used canned grape tomatoes because it’s what I had in the pantry, and added a bag of mixed frozen mushrooms that were in my freezer. A perfect soup for a chilly Saturday afternoon!
Michele says
Can I substitute diced tomatoes for crushed.
Sara says
yes that’s fine!
Robin Reid says
I haven’t tried it yet, but wondering if I can freeze it or can it (preserving Jars)?
Thanks
Ronin
Sara says
Freezing should be fine, unfortunately I am not experienced in canning so I can’t say if that would work!
Craig M Thompson says
Sara,
Just to let you know I’m making this delishous looking Italian meata ball soup, tonight for our supper….👍
I hope it tastes as yummy as it looks. BTW, I also added green pepper, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, and lastly zucchini. We will be having this between 5-6:00.
Hhh says
It’s called dinner not supper
LindaP says
Dinner/supper depends on what part of the country you live in!!
Angia says
Supper every night, at home. Dinner is enjoyed in restaurants 😋 Bless your ❤️
Mom 2 Picky Eaters says
I love soup and this recipe is a keeper! Perfect for a cold winter evening. Only a couple small changes – I cooked the pasta separately and added a few big handfuls of spinach 5 minutes before the soup was done. I also cheated and used frozen meatballs from the grocery store. Thank you so much for this recipe. I’m looking forward to making it again this winter!
Meg says
I’m hoping to use frozen meatballs too (I’m a big cheater!). How many did you use? Did you just add them to the soup frozen or ?
Gene says
Those meatballs are off the chain! Very delicious, when combined with the soup, oh man that is gooooood!
Thanks for sharing.