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The COZIEST soup with homemade, tender, juicy meatballs, little pasta noodles (ditalini pasta) and sneaked in greens!
It’s freezing cold outside but I have everything I need right here with the coziest meatball soup. It is basically a giant hug in a bowl that just makes you feel so warm and fuzzy inside.
Made with completely homemade little meatballs (store-bought is completely fine if you’re in a pinch), ditalini pasta (my favorite little tube-like pasta), and sneaked-in greens (totally fine to swap out spinach for the kale or your favorite greens).
It’s an incredibly versatile recipe, and I sometimes make it ahead of time, stirring in the kale right before serving. I also always have a fresh baguette on standby for dipping purposes.
Italian Meatball Soup
Ingredients
for the meatballs
- ¾ pound lean ground beef
- ¾ pound Italian sausage casing removed
- ½ onion grated
- ⅓ cup Panko
- ¼ cup whole milk
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
for the soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- ¾ cups ditalini pasta
- ½ bunch kale stems removed and leaves chopped
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
Instructions
for the meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, Italian sausage, onion, Panko, milk, egg, Parmesan, parsley, garlic and basil; season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 3/4-inch meatballs, about 1 tablespoon per meatball, forming about 45 meatballs.
- Place meatballs in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until cooked through, about 15 minutes; set aside.
for the soup
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in garlic, onion and Italian seasoning. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute.
- Gradually whisk in chicken stock and tomato sauce. Stir in meatballs. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until flavors have blended, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in pasta and cook until tender, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in kale until wilted, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in basil; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
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