Kale Meatball Soup

This kale meatball soup is my favorite cozy soup recipe. It's loaded with meatballs, kale, sun dried tomatoes, pesto, assorted vegetables, and parmesan cheese. The broth tastes like it's been cooking for hours, and it's so so wholesome and delicious.

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• Why We Love This Soup
• Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
• Step-by-Step Instructions
• Frequently asked questions
• Serving Ideas
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why We Love This Soup

This meatball and vegetable soup is perfect for a cold winter day. It's super comforting without being heavy. It is kind of like Italian wedding soup, but without pasta and with a more complex broth. It's also a great meal-prep soup because it tastes great for several days.

If you like this soup, try our cauliflower and baked potato soup or turkey lasagna soup.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

Cooked Frozen Meatballs: We use pre-made meatballs to speed things up. We love Italian-style meatballs and get them at Trader Joe's or Sam's Club. Most grocery stores carry pre-made frozen meatballs. Feel free to make your own if you prefer.

Pesto: You can use store-bought or make your own. We have a great pesto recipe if you want to make your own—it's super easy and happens to be dairy free.

Sun dried tomatoes: We buy sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil. They come in a jar and are usually near the pickles and olives in the grocery store.

Chicken broth: We use bone broth, but regular chicken broth works fine too.

Kale: We cut our kale off of the stem and chop it into very small pieces. If you don't like kale, spinach works well too. You can follow the same instructions.

Milk: We use whole milk, but 2% also works. You can also omit the milk altogether, but we like the subtle creaminess it adds.

Fresh parmesan: You don't have to grate your own parmesan, but buy the good stuff in the refrigerated section, not the fake stuff in the cylindrical canisters.

See recipe card for full ingredient list and amounts.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Add oil to a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add celery, onions, and carrots, and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to soften.

Step 2: Add meatballs, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper to the pot. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Then add chicken broth, water, lemon juice, and pesto. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.

Step 3: Once the soup is boiling, turn the heat to medium and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Step 4: Add kale to the pot and cook for 3 minutes. Then turn off the heat and stir in the milk and parmesan cheese. Serve immediately and top with extra parmesan.

Serving Ideas

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📖 Recipe