From the very first bite, Creamy Italian Meatball Soup was a fast favorite at our house and is now a regular request for the menu.
Every spoonful is loaded with savory meatballs in a creamy broth with mushrooms and fresh spinach.
It takes a few minutes to prep the meatballs, but this recipe is super simple to make and big on flavor which means you’ll be on your way to hero status in about an hour.
Short on time? Use premade frozen meatballs to save a step, you just might have to halve or quarter them if they’re bigger because bite-size is what you want for soup.
How to Make Meatballs for Soup
When you’re making meatball soup, you gotta be sure the meatballs wow with flavor and hold up when suspended in broth.
How to Keep Meatballs From Falling Apart in Soup
The key to tender meatballs that hold their shape in sauces and soups is having the proper balance of binders and tenderizers.
When making meatballs it’s important to have a “binder” for the ground meat to help hold the structure of the meatballs once cooked. The egg is the hold-it-all-together ingredient and it doesn’t take much to get the job done. In fact, too much egg can create a spongy texture you don’t want.
- 1 large egg for every 2 pounds of meat is all you need
Bread crumbs (starch) and milk (dairy) offer some support but are mainly used to retain moisture and keep the meat proteins tender. So while you can skip the egg and use only a panade (starch and dairy mixture) for meatballs served with sauces, I find the addition of egg keeps the meatballs together better in soups.
How To Make the Perfect Size Meatballs for Soup
Using a scoop will help you make more uniform meatballs and the more uniform they are, the more evenly they will cook.
I recommend a stainless steel 25MM (.5 Tablespoon) scoop to make small meatballs for soup. This will make 1-inch bite-size meatballs, perfect for fitting the perfect bite on a spoon (this is a real thing, ya’ll).
- Portion the meat mixture with the scoop
- Moisten your hands with a little water or oil
- Lightly roll into a ball within the palm of your hands
TIP: Keep meatballs from sticking to your hands while rolling by wetting your hands with a little bit of water or oil.
Easy Baked Meatballs Step by Step
Sure, you can fry the meatballs, but we think broiling is so much easier because you can bake a lot more meatballs at once on a sheet pan than you can in a skillet.
Broiling the meatballs creates added flavor through the browning process, just like frying, but without the splattering mess and in less time.
All you need is a rimmed baking sheet and parchment paper to make the magic happen.
- Saute the onion for the meatballs. (This simple step makes sure there is no crunch to the onion.)
- Mix the egg, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, milk, parsley, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper.
- Mix the pork and Italian sausage with the onions and egg mixture until well incorporated.
- Roll into bite-size meatballs and place on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet about an inch apart.
- Broil on high in the oven for about 8 minutes or until cooked through.
These mini Italian meatballs are ideal for soup, but taste amazing with our homemade marinara or as meatball sandwiches too!
How To Use Frozen Meatballs to Make Soup
Not only can you freeze this Italian meatball recipe you can also purchase frozen meatballs to skip a step and make the soup even faster.
If using frozen precooked meatballs to make the soup, it is best to defrost the meatballs before adding them to the soup. The reason is, it can take 20-30 minutes more cooking time to get the frozen meatballs heated through when adding them to the soup.
Defrosted meatballs will fit into the flow of the recipe seamlessly. Simply pop them in the oven while you prep the rest of the recipe.
To defrost frozen meatballs quickly, arrange meatballs on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 18-20 minutes (depending on the size of the meatballs). Otherwise, defrost in the refrigerator in 4-6 hours.
Can you freeze raw meatballs?
Yes, you can freeze raw meatballs, but it’s not ideal.
We’ve tested lots of ways to make freezer meals without compromising the flavor or texture of foods. In my Monthly Cooking Course, I don’t recommend freezing raw meatloaf or meatballs, especially when using raw onions in the mix.
The reason is when raw onions are frozen the flavor becomes far stronger. Even if you love the flavor of onion, the pungent flavor often overwhelms all the other more subtle flavors in the meatball.
The other downside of freezing raw meat mixes is the increased moisture from ice crystal formation can compromise how well the meatballs hold together once cooked.
With this in mind, I recommend freezing the meatballs once they are cooked and cooled.
However, if you try freezing the raw mixture and find these issues don’t compromise the taste or texture of the cooked meatballs for you, go right ahead and freeze the meatballs raw or cooked.
Soup Make and Freeze TIPS
Soups make ideal heat and eat freezer meals. This creamy meatball soup can be frozen with very good reheating results just as the recipe is written. However, if you prefer a little bit fresher taste, you can hold off adding the spinach until after it’s been frozen.
When reheating the soup, add fresh spinach during the last few minutes of heating it through. This trick is just one of many we use to make any frozen soup taste freshly made.
The main difference is how the spinach responds to freezing as it will darken and diminish within the soup. If you wait to add it, the spinach color will be brighter and offer more texture when serving.
Recipe TIPS:
- Skip softening the onions for the meatballs if you don’t mind a little onion crunch (we found cooking the onions in advance made it more palatable for our kids)
- Keep meatballs from sticking to your hands while rolling by wetting your hands with a little bit of water or oil.
- For fresher-tasting results when making this recipe ahead, wait to add the spinach until reheating the soup after it’s been frozen. Add fresh spinach during the last few minutes of heating it through.
Recipe Variations:
- Gluten-free, use GF panko crumbs
- Add cooked pasta or rice
- Use premade frozen meatballs
- Substitute kale or other leafy greens for the spinach
- Substitute sauteed vegetables like zucchini or cauliflower for the mushrooms
- Substitute ground dark meat turkey or chicken for the pork in the meatballs
- Substitute 1 slice of bread (torn into small pieces) for ½ cup bread crumbs
- Make ahead and freeze
Creamy Italian Meatball Soup
Ingredients
FOR THE MEATBALLS:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup minced onion , (about 1/2 large onion)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 lb ground pork , beef, or veal
- 1 lb Italian sausage , mild or hot Italian
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup plain bread crumbs , like panko
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
- 1 heaping teaspoon dry Italian herb blend (less if using seasoned crumbs)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE SOUP:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups diced onion (1 large onion)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 16 ounces cremini mushrooms , rinsed and sliced
- 3 cups sliced carrot rounds , 4-5 large carrots
- 4 stalks celery , coarsely chopped
- 48 ounces beef stock
- 2 teaspoons dry Italian herb blend
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 8 ounces fresh spinach
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
FOR THE MEATBALLS
- Saute the onion for the meatballs in a medium skillet with olive oil to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and set aside to cool slightly.
- In a small bowl, mix the egg, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, milk, parsley, Italian herbs, salt, and pepper until well blended and set aside to allow bread crumbs to absorb the liquid.
- In a separate large bowl, mix the pork and Italian sausage to combine and then mix in the onions and egg mixture until well incorporated. Roll into bite-size meatballs (or use a small meatball scoop) and place on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet about an inch apart.
- Broil on high in the oven (about 10 inches from the oven coil) for about 8 minutes or until cooked through.
FOR THE SOUP:
- In a soup pot, saute the onion for the soup in olive oil for 8 minutes to soften and caramelize (brown at the edges). Stir in the garlic, carrots, celery, mushrooms and continue to cook another 6-8 minutes until vegetables release liquid and begin to brown (add oil if the pan is too dry).
- Stir in the beef stock, dry herbs, red pepper flakes, and meatballs to the pot with the vegetables and simmer 10 minutes to meld flavors. (Broth should just cover the contents, but more can be added, if desired.)
- Stir in spinach, cream, parmesan cheese, and parsley. Allow to simmer 5 minutes to meld flavors. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as desired.
Notes
- Skip softening the onions for the meatballs if you don’t mind a little onion crunch (we found cooking the onions in advance made it more palatable for our kids)
- Keep meatballs from sticking to your hands while rolling by wetting your hands with a little bit of water or oil.
- For fresher-tasting results when making this recipe ahead, wait to add the spinach until reheating the soup after it’s been frozen. Add fresh spinach during the last few minutes of heating it through.
- Gluten-free, use gluten-free panko crumbs
- Add cooked pasta or rice
- Substitute kale or other leafy greens for the spinach
- Substitute sauteed vegetables like zucchini or cauliflower for the mushrooms
- Use premade frozen meatballs
- Substitute ground dark meat turkey or chicken for the pork in the meatballs
- Substitute 1 slice of bread (torn into small pieces) for ½ cup bread crumbs
- Make ahead and freeze
Chef Mimi says
Oh my this looks good! I love the 2 cups of cream. Great recipe!
Renee Ofner says
Absolutely delicious!! I will definitely be adding this to my repertoire!!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Even thought this is a cream soup it still sounds light and delicious and I know I would enjoy It.
John / Kitchen Riffs says
Such a nice, detailed discussion about meatballs! Everything anyone needs to know. And the soup! This looks terrific. Neat recipe — thanks.
mjskitchen says
This is one of those soup that I’ve always wanted to make, but just never had. Wish I had that bowl sitting in front of me right now. Love your recipe and I’m keeping it for the near future. Thanks!