Tomato Meatball Soup
A light and “brothy” tomato soup with tender chicken meatballs, ditalini pasta is a quick and satisfying dinner. The aromatic vegetables – onion, celery, carrots and garlic add lots of flavor and texture.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Soup
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 2 celery stalks (finely chopped)
- 2 carrots (finely chopped)
- 1–2 garlic cloves (minced)
- 1 Tablespoon butter or olive oil
- salt (ground black pepper, to taste)
- 2 (14.5 oz each) cans canned diced tomatoes (pureed in the food processor)
- 8 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
- 1 cup ditalini pasta
- 1 Tablespoon fresh herbs (parsley, basil)
- Parmesan cheese (finely grated, to garnish the soup)
Chicken Meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup milk (enough to cover the bread)
- 1 egg (slightly beaten)
- 1 – 2 teaspoons fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese (finely grated)
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
- 1–2 teaspoons dry herbs (optional)
Instructions
- Finely chop the onions, carrots and celery and mince the garlic.
- In a dutch oven or a large pot, heat the butter or oil until hot, adding the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat, until the vegetables are softened.
- Pour in the broth.
- Puree the diced tomatoes in a food processor (or blendeand add to the soup (with the tomato liquid). Bring the soup to a boil. (If you want the soup to have a more distinct tomato flavor and have a thicker texture, you can add an extra can of tomatoes.) Season with salt and ground black pepper. You can also add some Italian seasoning or any other dry herbs to the soup.
- Meanwhile, make the meatballs.
- Pour the milk over the breadcrumbs and set it aside for about 5 minutes, until bread has been absorbed by the milk and is soft. Grate the onion and add all the ingredients to the meatball mixture and mix until well combined.
- Using damp hands, form the ground meat mixture into approximately 1/2 Tablespoon meatballs and drop into simmering soup.
- Add the pasta and cook until pasta it’s as tender as you like.
- Add more broth if you want the soup to be thinner.
- Garnish with grated parmesan cheese and fresh minced parsley and/or basil.
Notes
Freezing the Soup:
This soup freezes really well.
If you’re going to freeze the soup, cook the pasta only until al dente, since the pasta will plump up more if it’s frozen and then reheated again.
Store the soup in an airtight container in the freezer from 3-6 months. Thaw and reheat on the stovetop.