Italian Meatball Soup
This Italian Meatball Soup is a hearty, comforting meal made with tender meatballs, a savory, rich tomato broth, and tender pasta. It’s packed with classic soup flavors from onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and Italian seasoning, making it a flavorful soup.
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It's filling enough for dinner while still simple enough to make on a busy weeknight. A large bowl of tomato-based soups, like my Crock Pot Lasagna Soup and this Meatball Soup always hit the spot. If you have any leftover juicy meatballs, just make some Meatball Subs with them.
Why You Should Make This
You'll love this big bowl of soup. It's a full meal made in one pot with protein, veggies, and some tiny pasta. It uses simple, pantry staple ingredients and is one of those easy make-ahead dinners that your family will truly enjoy.
With all those comforting flavors, this Italian soup is just what you need to add to your meal plan this soup season.
Let's Gather The Ingredients
- Meatballs: You can use small meatballs, mini meatballs, or large raw meatballs, either homemade or store-bought.
- Oil: Olive oil, canola oil, or avocado oil works great.
- Onion: White or yellow.
- Carrots: Add a touch of natural sweetness.
- Celery: Brings classic soup flavor.
- Garlic: Fresh is always recommended.
- Crushed tomatoes: Create a rich, hearty tomato broth that gives the soup its signature flavor.
- Beef broth: Stock or broth is fine.
- Italian seasoning: A blend of herbs that gives the soup its classic Italian taste.
- Red pepper flakes: Add a subtle kick of heat.
- Bay leaves: Infuse the broth with extra flavor as it simmers.
- Pasta: Any short-cut pasta will work.
- Parmesan cheese: Use fresh grated from the deli.
- Step 1: Add olive oil to a large pot or Dutch oven and add meatballs. Brown the Italian meatballs and remove from the pot.
- Step 2: Using the same pot, add diced onion, carrots, and celery. Cook until soft. Then add in minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Step 3: Next, add crushed tomatoes and broth. Add seasonings and bay leaves.
- Step 4: Finally, add in dried pasta and cook until pasta is al dente. Remove bay leaves and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Browning the meatballs first adds extra flavor to the broth, but you can skip this step if using fully cooked meatballs.
- Don’t overcook the pasta, as it will continue to soften as the soup sits.
- Stir occasionally while simmering to prevent pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- You can use different meatballs. Beef, turkey, chicken, or Italian sausage meatballs all work well.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days. Keep in mind the pasta will absorb more broth over time.
- If planning for leftovers, cook the pasta separately and add it to individual servings.
- For freezing, freeze the soup without the pasta. Add freshly cooked pasta when reheating.
Recipe Faq's
Simply add a little extra beef broth or water to this easy recipe until it reaches your desired consistency.
Absolutely, but I recommend cooking the pasta on its own, then adding it to the soup when ready to serve.
Crusty bread, Garlic Bread, garlic knots, or a simple side salad pair perfectly with this soup.
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Italian Meatball Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 24 small raw meatballs or 12 large see notes
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 ½ cups dried rotini pasta
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot on medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Brown the meatballs on all sides (they do not need to be cooked through), then remove to a plate and set aside.
- In the same pot as the meatballs, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil if needed. Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add in the garlic and cook another 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add in the crushed tomatoes, beef broth, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and Bay leaves and let come to a boil.
- Add in the dried pasta and meatballs, and reduce the heat to a gentle boil and boil for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the pasta is al dente and the meatballs are cooked through.
- Remove bay leaves. Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese!
