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Looking for a hearty and flavorful soup that’s quick and easy to make? You need to try our Italian Meatball Soup! Packed with savory Italian meatballs, vegetables, and ditalini pasta. It’s a delicious and satisfying meal for dinner – the best part is that you only need 7 easy ingredients!
Italian Meatball Soup Recipe
My kids just love meatballs! Whether it’s in sandwich form with these Meatball Sliders, this easy crockpot version of Spaghetti and Meatballs, or my creative and easy take on the classic Swedish Meatballs dish, they always devour any dinner when it involves meatballs.
No need to make your own either! Simply use frozen meatballs to create this stunningly easy and delicious Italian meatball soup recipe.
With only 7 convenient ingredients like frozen meatballs, broth, canned Italian-style diced tomatoes, vegetables, and pasta, this soup comes together quickly in just one pot on the stove top.
Ingredients Needed For Meatball Soup
- Frozen Italian Meatballs – Using frozen meatballs is the quickest way to make this soup. However, if you have some leftover Homemade Italian Meatballs then those will work great in this soup recipe.
- Beef Broth
- Italian-Style Diced Tomatoes – These are the canned diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning (basil, oregano, and garlic).
- Chopped Carrots
- Chopped Celery
- Frozen Kale – If you don’t like kale then substitute with fresh spinach. Spinach won’t need as long to cook as the kale, so plan on adding it into the soup later after the pasta has cooked. Frozen kale can easily be found in the frozen food section by the other frozen vegetables.
- Ditalini Pasta – This is a small shaped tube pasta and it’s the perfect size for this recipe! Similar pasta shapes are small shell pasta or macaroni elbow pasta.
How To Make Meatball Soup With Italian Meatballs
Add all the ingredients (minus the garnishes) to a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Heat until boiling.
One boiling, stir in the uncooked ditalini pasta. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for 8-11 minutes, while frequently stirring it to make sure the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pan, just until the past is al dente.
Serve hot garnished with parmesan cheese and/or chopped fresh parsley.
How To Store Leftover Italian Meatball Soup
Once the meatball soup has cooled to room temperature, you can store it in an airtight container, inside the fridge, for up to 3-4 days. To reheat, simply warm up the soup (or just a serving of it) inside the microwave or on the stove top. Add additional broth or water as needed.
To freeze leftovers, ensure that the soup has cooled before transferring the soup to a freezer-safe container or bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Let the soup thaw in the fridge overnight before warming it up on the stove top until heated through.
Tip : If you know you are making this soup just to store it (like for a freezer meal), I would recommend not adding the pasta. Instead, add the pasta later before serving it. I would also suggest cooking the pasta separate and just adding it into the soup.
Changes and Substitutions For This Easy Soup Recipe
- Meatballs : You can use any meatball you like such as turkey, chicken, vegetarian, beef meatballs, plant-based protein meatballs, or whatever else your stores has to offer that you like.
- Vegetables : Feel free to substitute the carrots and/or celery with finely diced onion, chopped mushrooms, zucchini, or your favorite veggie.
- Seasonings : Because of the seasoned Italian meatballs, full salted broth, and Italian seasoned tomatoes – there are no additional seasonings in this soup. However, you can easily add some Italian seasoning, dried basil, parsley flakes, garlic powder, kosher salt, and/or black pepper if wanted. Depending on how seasoned the meatballs are that you’re using, and if you use salted or unsalted beef broth, will determine if you might want to add some additional seasonings. Add some red cayenne pepper flakes or a dash of hot sauce for some spice.
- Garnish : Top the serving of soup with shredded parmesan cheese, oyster crackers, croutons, shredded cheese of choice, or chopped parsley.
Recipe Tips For Success
- Precooked Meatballs : It’s important that whatever meatballs you use, frozen or fresh, that they are completely precooked before adding them into the soup pot. They won’t cook thorough in the time called for in the recipe below.
- Carrots : Some grocery stores sell a 12 ounce bag of sliced carrots which is a great substitute, with easy prep. Or just chop or thinly slice carrots or baby carrots for the soup. About 1.5 cups of carrots is what the recipe needs.
- Thin Vegetables : The carrots and celery need to be cut really small and thin so that they will soften in the short cook time.
- Cook Time : Before adding the pasta and covering the pot, check the veggies to make sure they are softened and cooked through. If needed, allow the soup to simmer longer before adding the past and covering it. Once the past is added and cooked, I don’t recommend leaving it on the heat because the pasta will expand quite a bit, get really soft, and soak up the broth as it simmers.
- Kale or Spinach : I don’t recommend using fresh kale as it takes much longer to cook until softened. You can use fresh spinach, but make sure to add it at the end of the cook time because it won’t need as long to cook as the frozen kale does. Or omit it entirely if wanted.
- Beef Broth : I always suggest using full salted broth, especially in soups, to help flavor everything. If using unsalted beef broth or reduced sodium broth, you may want to taste and additional salt at the end if needed.
More Soups To Try
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Hashbrown Potato Soup
- Rice-a-Roni Chicken Soup
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Vegetable Beef Noodle Soup
- Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Hamburger Soup
- Pasta Fagioli Soup
Italian Meatball Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 24 precooked frozen Italian meatballs (thawed)
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 can (28 oz) Italian-style petite diced tomatoes (do not drain)
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1 cup frozen kale
- 1¼ cups ditalini pasta (uncooked)
- parmesan cheese and/or chopped parsley (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Stir the meatballs, broth, diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, and frozen kale into a soup pot, over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil. * Check the veggies before moving on… make sure the veggies are softened to your liking and if needed, let it simmer/boil for a few additional minutes. Once you add the pasta and it's cooked, it's best to remove the soup immediately so there really is not much time to cook the soup longer.24 precooked frozen Italian meatballs, 3 cups beef broth, 1 can (28 oz) Italian-style petite diced tomatoes, 1 cup sliced carrots, 1 cup sliced celery, 1 cup frozen kale
- Once boiling, stir in the uncooked ditalini pasta and cover the pot with a lid.1¼ cups ditalini pasta
- Let the soup cook for 8-11 minutes, making sure to stir the soup frequently to prevent the pasta from sticking and burning to the bottom of the pot, and reducing the heat if needed.
- Ladle the meatball soup into bowls and garnish with parmesan cheese and/or chopped parsley if wanted.parmesan cheese and/or chopped parsley
Notes
Nutrition
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