This post may contain affiliate links, view our disclosure policy.

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!

A soup pot of this meatball soup with a wooden spoon inside of it for serving.

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.

A soup ladle showing some of this soup recipe inside of it.

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.
Labeled ingredients for this recipe.

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.

Process photo images showing how to make this recipe.

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.

Process photo images showing how to make this recipe.

Serve hot garnished with parmesan cheese and/or chopped fresh parsley.

Process photo images showing how to make this recipe.

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.

Process photo images showing how to make this recipe.
Process photo images showing how to make this recipe.

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.
Process photo images showing how to make this recipe.

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.
A soup bowl of this recipe up close.
A spoon with a meatball on it.

More Soups To Try

Close up of the soup pot with all the ingredients inside of it ready to serve.
A soup pot of this meatball soup with a wooden spoon inside of it for serving.
Together As Family Logo

Italian Meatball Soup


Author Jessica – Together as Family
Course Dinner, Soup
Cuisine American, Italian
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 6
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!

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

Meatballs : I used 24 smaller Italian meatballs (Cooked Perfect Brand & Great Value Brand) for this recipe. I’ve used both brands several times. If you are using the larger sized meatballs – like what you find at Costco – you probably won’t need as many of them because they are much larger in size than the grocery store ones. Thaw the meatballs before adding them to the soup pot, or throw them in frozen. The most important thing is that they are precooked!
Simmer/Cook Time : Depending on how large the veggies are and how frozen the meatballs are, you may want to simmer the soup for 5-10 minutes before adding in the pasta. Check the meatballs and check the veggies. Cover the pot and let it simmer, if needed, before adding the pasta in. Once the pasta is added in and cooked, it’ best to serve the soup immediately so the pasta does not get soft and mushy and soak up all the liquid. 
Veggies : Slice the carrot and celery very thin or chopped small. You could use a can of slice carrots instead of fresh, use frozen carrots instead of fresh, or use a bag of already sliced carrots from the produce area of the grocery store. I like to use baby carrots (they’re small and no need to peel) and just chop them up really finely for the soup. 
Kale : This is easily found in the frozen veggie section at the store. You could also use fresh spinach. I don’t recommend using fresh kale (unless it’s precooked) because it takes much longer to cook, and this short cook time in the recipe won’t cook it thoroughly in time. 
Diced Tomatoes : If you can’t find the larger 28 ounce can of Italian-style diced tomatoes, use 2 cans (14.5 oz each) instead. 
Seasonings : Depending on how seasoned the meatballs are, if you’re using salted broth or not, you may want to add 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil + 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning to the soup. Or a full teaspoon of each for more robust flavor. Taste and season as needed for this recipe. We love it as is. 
Beef Broth : I recommend using regular, full salted beef broth for this recipe. You can use reduced-sodium broth but you may want to add some additional kosher salt, black pepper, and other seasonings if using it. 

Nutrition

Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 696mg | Potassium: 876mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 6825IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 3mg

Did You Make This Recipe?

I’d love to see it! You can share it with me on @togetherasfamilyblog and follow on Pinterest @together-as-family-blog-recipes or Facebook @togetherasfamilyblog for more!

A serving bowl of this recipe

Did you love this recipe?

Make sure to comment below so we can chat about it! Or follow on your favorite social network for even more family recipes.

Leave a Reply

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

Recipe Rating