Italian Meatball Soup

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

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!

Course Dinner, Soup

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword italian meatball soup, meatball soup with frozen meatballs

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 20

Total Time 25

Servings

Calories 347kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

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

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