Italian Meatball Soup

5 from 1 vote

Italian Meatball Soup is the perfect comfort food: it's quick, easy, and flavor-packed! Ready in 30 minutes.

Prep Time10

Cook Time23

Total Time33

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Italian meatball soup, meatball soup, meatball soup recipe, recipe for meatball soup

Servings: servings

Calories: 529kcal

See our Beef Temperature Chart for helpful tips on cooking any cut of beef!

Preheat the oven broiler to 500°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large bowl, add all meatball ingredients excluding the olive oil. Mix with clean hands until completely combined, but don't over-mix.
1 pound ground beef, ⅓ cup grated parmesan, ⅓ cup breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 3 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon basil, 1 teaspoon parsley, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Using a Tablespoon measure or a small ice cream scoop, create small meatball portions from the meat mixture, and roll them with your hands.
Line the meatballs in a single layer on your prepared baking sheet with some space between them.
Using a pastry brush, brush the meatballs with olive oil.
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Broil meatballs for 8-12 minutes, or until browned.

While the meatballs are cooking, add onion, carrots, garlic, and olive oil to a large pot over medium heat.
1 cup white onion, 2 carrots, 2 garlic cloves, 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Stir and cook for 5-6 minutes until softened and fragrant.
Add the beef broth, crushed tomatoes, vegetable stock, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes.
4 cups beef broth, 20 ounce crushed tomatoes, 1 cup vegetable stock or chicken stock, 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Bring the pot to a simmer (not a boil). Once they're out of the oven, add the meatballs, pasta, and red bell peppers.
1½ cup ditalini pasta, ½ cup red bell peppers
Simmer for 10 additional minutes, or until the pasta is al dente (just slightly underdone).
Top with fresh parsley or fresh basil as desired, and serve! Sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese for a little extra cheesy goodness. Adjust to taste with additional salt and pepper as you prefer.
2 Tablespoons parsley, 2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese, Salt, pepper

Make extra meatballs and freeze them to use again later. They're great for quick weeknight meals! You could even use them for my Italian Wedding Soup.

You can alter the spice level by adjusting the amount of red pepper flakes used.

Don't feel limited to ditalini pasta! You can also use orzo, quinoa, acini de pepe, barley, or small shells. These all work great with the flavor of the tomato sauce broth.

As the pasta cools, the starch from the pasta will thicken the soup broth. You can add more broth or water when you reheat it to thin it out.

It is so easy to double or even triple this recipe to make plenty for leftovers. No ratios for any of the ingredients need to be changed, just use double or triple of everything.

Stock works best for flavor in meatball soup recipes, but you can also use chicken broth or vegetable broth if it's what you have on hand.