• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Hangry Economist logo
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • 30 Minutes or Less
    • Healthy-ish
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Sides
  • Lifestyle
    • DC/MD/VA Local Finds
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • About Us
  • Lifestyle
  • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • About Us
    • Lifestyle
    • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes

    Meatball and Vegetable Soup

    Published: Nov 15, 2022 · 1 Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    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.

    Meatball and vegetable soup in a bowl with a spoon.

    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 pantry rice and tomato soup, cauliflower and baked potato soup, or turkey lasagna soup.

    Jump to:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Frequently asked questions
    • Meatball and Vegetable Soup Recipe
    • 💬 Comments

    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.

    A bowl of meatball and vegetable soup.

    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.

    Meatball ingredients mixed together in a mixing bowl.
    Shaped raw meatballs on a plate.
    Meatballs searing in a pan.

    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.

    Onions, carrots, and celery cooking in a dutch oven.

    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.

    Vegetables and tomato paste cooking in a dutch oven.
    Broth and vegetables cooking in a dutch oven. It is boiling.

    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.

    Meatballs, broth, and vegetables boiling in a dutch oven.

    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!

    Finished meatball and vegetable soup in a dutch oven.

    Frequently asked questions

    How can I decrease the cook time of this soup?

    The most time-intensive part of this soup is making the meatballs. If you want to speed it up, buy pre-cooked meatballs and skip the entire meatball making step.

    Can I add pasta to this soup?

    Sure! Adding pasta to this soup would make it more similar to Italian wedding soup. Any small tubular pasta should work. Just boil the pasta separately and add it to the soup at the end. Keep in mind that the pasta will absorb some of the broth, so you may want to add more liquid.

    Can I use something else in place of the spinach?

    Sure! Kale would also work super well.

    Two bowls of meatball and vegetable soup.
    Meatball and Vegetable Soup Recipe

    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
    Pin
    Print
    Servings

    6

    servings
    Prep time

    20

    minutes
    Cooking time

    30

    minutes
    Calories

    470

    kcal
    Total time

    50

    minutes
    Cook Mode

    Prevent your screen from going dark!

    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.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag and follow @hangryeconomist on Instagram

    Like this recipe?

    Follow @hangryeconomist on Pinterest

    More Recipes

    • Two blackened mahi-mahi filets on top of rice.
      Pan-Seared Blackened Mahi-Mahi
    • A passion fruit martini in a coupe glass. It's dark yellow in color.
      Easy Passion Fruit Martini
    • Mango peach salsa with tomatoes in a serving bowl with a spoon.
      Mango Peach Salsa (with Tomatoes)
    • A virgin frozen strawberry mango margarita in a cocktail glass, garnished with a lime slice.
      Virgin Strawberry Margarita with Mango

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sharie S. says

      November 16, 2022 at 11:57 am

      Very hearty and full of flavor!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    hi, we're Michael and Mollie

    Welcome! We are Michael & Mollie, a hangry economics enthusiast and her husband. Our goal is to provide you with delicious, accessible, and healthy-ish recipes that are both time- and money-efficient.

    More about us →

    summer Recipes

    • Mango peach salsa with tomatoes in a serving bowl with a spoon.
      Mango Peach Salsa (with Tomatoes)
    • A virgin frozen strawberry mango margarita in a cocktail glass, garnished with a lime slice.
      Virgin Strawberry Margarita with Mango
    • Grilled salmon bites on a piece of parchment paper topped with a green garnish.
      Grilled Salmon Bites
    • Strawberries, basil, and halloumi on skewers on a serving plate.
      Strawberry and Halloumi Skewers

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Info

    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility Statement

    Contact

    • Email us

    Copyright © 2022 The Hangry Economist

    We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. Learn more here.

    The Hangry Economist
    Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

    Strictly Necessary Cookies

    Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

    If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.