Meatball and Vegetable Soup

This meatball and vegetable soup is my new favorite cozy soup recipe. It's loaded with homemade turkey meatballs, spinach, 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.

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 want to speed things up a bit, you can even use pre-cooked meatballs.

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

Ingredients

To speed this meal up (and simplify it), feel free to buy pre-cooked meatballs and skip over the meatball ingredient list. We love Trader Joe's meatballs, for example!

For the meatballs:

• Lean ground turkey
• Mushrooms- We use baby bella, but use whatever mushroom is your favorite.
• Egg
• Onion
• Parmesan cheese
• Spices/seasonings- garlic, fresh basil, Worcestershire sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes

For the soup:

• Tomato paste
• Pesto- You can use store bought or make your own. We have a great pesto recipe if you want to make your own!
• Celery
• Carrots
• Onion
• Sun dried tomatoes
• Chicken broth- We use bone broth, but regular chicken broth works fine too.
• Baby spinach
• Milk
• Fresh parmesan
• Other ingredients/spices- vegetable oil (we use avocado oil), garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, black pepper, Italian seasoning, salt, and lemon juice

See recipe card for amounts.

Instructions

Step 1: Make the meatballs. Combine the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Roll the mixture into 1-inch meatballs and set aside on a plate. Add oil to a large nonstick pan and sear the meatballs for 2-3 minutes on each side (about 10 minutes total), until all sides are golden brown. Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside.

If you choose to buy pre-cooked meatballs, you can skip this step.

Step 2: 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 3: Add garlic, sun dried tomatoes, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper to the pot. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then add chicken broth, water, lemon juice, and pesto. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.

Step 4: Once the soup is boiling, add the meatballs. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, your meatballs should be fully cooked. If you're worried they're not, remove one from the pot and ensure that the internal temperature is 165°F.

Step 5: Add spinach 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!

Meatball and Vegetable Soup Recipe

Recipe by Mollie

This meatball and vegetable soup is my new favorite cozy soup recipe. It's loaded with homemade turkey meatballs, spinach, 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.

Course: Dinner, LunchCuisine: ItalianDifficulty: Easy

4 from 3 votes

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Servings

6

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Calories

470

kcal

Total time

50

minutes

Cook Mode

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Ingredients

• For the meatballs:

• 1 pound 1 lean ground turkey

• 1 cup 1 baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped

• 1 1 egg

• ½ ½ white or yellow onion, finely diced

• 3 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon 1 fresh basil, chopped

• ½ cup ½ grated parmesan cheese

• 1 teaspoon 1 Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon 1 Italian seasoning

• ½ teaspoon ½ salt

• ½ teaspoon ½ black pepper

• ½ teaspoon ½ crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 tablespoon 1 vegetable oil (we use avocado oil)

• For the soup:

• 1 tablespoon 1 olive oil

• 3 stalks 3 celery, chopped

• 1 cup 1 carrots, chopped

• 1 1 small sweet onion, diced

• ½ cup ½ sun dried tomatoes, chopped

• 3 cloves 3 garlic, minced

• 2 tablespoons 2 tomato paste

• ½ teaspoon ½ crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 teaspoon 1 black pepper

• 1 teaspoon 1 Italian seasoning

• ½ teaspoon ½ salt

• 6 cups 6 chicken bone broth

• 1 cup 1 water

• Juice of Juice of 1 lemon

• ½ cup ½ pesto

• 5 ounces 5 baby spinach

• 1.5 cups 1.5 whole milk

• ½ cup ½ grated parmesan cheese

Directions

• Combine the meatball ingredients (except for the oil) in a large mixing bowl. Roll the mixture into 1-inch meatballs and set aside on a plate. Add the oil to a large nonstick pan and sear the meatballs for 2-3 minutes on each side (about 10 minutes total), until all sides are golden brown. Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside. If you're using pre-cooked meatballs, skip this step.
• 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.
• Add garlic, sun dried tomatoes, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper to the pot. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Then add chicken broth, water, lemon juice, and pesto. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.
• Once the soup is boiling, add the meatballs. Cook for an additional 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes, your meatballs should be fully cooked. If you're worried they're not, remove one from the pot and ensure that the internal temperature is 165°F.
• Add spinach 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!

Notes

• If you choose to use pre-cooked meatballs, use about a pound.

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