Recipes you will love forever.

Italian Meatball Soup

ByAva
Published OnJul 10, 2024
Updated OnJan 5, 2025

Each region in Italy has its own variation of Italian meatball soup. With tender meatballs, vegetables and a flavorful broth, many consider this dish to be the ultimate comfort food. Many families in Italy and the United States consider the meatball soup as a staple in their homes. Especially in winter.

Fun Fact: The Meatball originated in Ancient Persia.

Now, the beauty of Italian meatball soup is that it can be customized according to your individual preference. You can use different vegetables, basically whatever you have on hand. The best types of pastas are the short ones. Example: Fusilli, Penne, Ditalini.

What do you need to make Italian Meatball Soup?

Beef Ground mince, Paprika, Beef Stock Cube, Salt, Thyme, Dried Basil, Fusilli, Onion, Garlic, Red Pepper, Tomato, Tomato Paste and Fresh Basil or Parsley.

This recipe uses beef ground mince as the main protein. This provides a flavorful base that pairs with a number of different seasonings. Paprika, beef stock cube and salt provide flavor to the soup. Dried basil complements the tomato base of the soup.

Whilst fusilli pasta provides the perfect carbohydrate, the interesting thing about fusilli pasta is that it retains its structure and form in the soup. Onions, garlic, Red pepper and Tomato paste add flavor to the soup. Fresh basil and parsley add a herbaceous taste.

Instructions

Make the Meatballs: The first step is to make your meatballs. Meatballs are incredibly easy to make. (Check out this recipe on how to make meatballs). Once you have mixed and rolled up your meatballs. Add your meatballs to a pan and fry in some olive oil. Set aside your meatballs

Chop up your onion: It is important to brown your onions and garlic. The Carameralization will add a sweetness to your Italian meatball soup. It is an incredibly important step to making a delicious soup and, this process balances out the tartness of the tomatoes.

Add the tomato: Add your tomatoes to your pan of browned onion and garlic. We opted for fresh tomatoes + Tomato Paste, add both and mix well. The Combination of both creates a close comparison to Italian Passata sauce.

A substitute for the tomato part of this soup would be Canned tomatoes or Jar Tomatoes. Consider Passata for its neutral flavor or Crushed tomatoes. Add three cups of water and mix well.

Add your spices: Salt, paprika, beef stock cube, thyme and basil. Mix well. Add the chopped bell peppers. Add Meatballs.

Add the Pasta: Then, add your fusilli pasta to your Italian meatball soup. You can use different types of pasta such as Penne, Ditalini in your soup. Throw in some basil leaves and let it simmer.

The longer the meatballs sit in the tomato soup, the more flavorful it will be, this will create a delicious soup. Its that simple. You will want to make this recipe often, the flavor are out of this world and you will stay full for longer!

What to Serve with Italian Meatball Soup?

This dish is so versatile. You can pair it with many different types of side dishes. Consider Garlic bread or marinated olives with garlic. In terms of other carbohydrates, consider a bed of rice.

How to Store your Italian Meatball Soup? You can store this soup in the refrigerator for approximately two days. Keep in mind that the pasta will absorb all the water. It may turn mushy.

If you choose to freeze the Italian meatball soup, then it would be best to only add pasta in when your reheating it on the stove. This will ensure that the texture of the pasta is not diminished in the thawing process. If frozen, you can reheat on the stove, alternatively leave it out on the counter-top, it will take a few hours to thaw completely, then heat on the stove.