Chicken Meatball Soup
Flavorful, comforting, and delicious Chicken Meatball Soup is sure to be your new go-to soup for the chilly fall and winter seasons! The meatballs themselves are made with an array of fresh herbs and parmesan cheese, while the soup is rich with vegetables, herbs, and seasonings.
If you love the sound of this comforting chicken soup, make sure to try my Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup.
Sorry, chicken noodle soup, this chicken meatball soup may be even more satisfying than your usual comfort soup recipe! When the weather drops and you start craving a warm bowl of something delicious to cozy up with, try turning to this easy recipe instead of your usual go-to. I promise, once you make a big pot of this incredibly flavorful soup, it’ll quickly become your newest go-to!
Although I live in Florida and we have quite a while before the weather drops to colder temperatures, I’m already making this chicken meatball soup. I just can’t help myself! It’s the perfect dinner to make on those night that I wish the warm air would lower a few degrees, and it’s still oh so satisfying and delicious. I just know that when it does eventually get cold here, I’ll likely be making this soup even more often than I already do.
Between the perfectly flavored chicken meatballs and the hearty, vegetable-packed soup, this is a well rounded meal that’s all in one bowl! It’s loaded with vitamins and minerals from veggies like kale and carrots, and it’s got a great amount of protein from the chicken meatballs. I love a good soup for dinner that will actually fill up everyone at the table and act as a real meal, not just an appetizer or side dish.
Ingredient Notes
For chicken meatballs:
Ground Chicken – You’ll need a pound of ground chicken meat, make sure to get one with no additional flavors mixed in.
Breadcrumbs – Use plain breadcrumbs or gluten free bread crumbs if needed.
Garlic – Freshly minced garlic is the best option
Herbs – Fresh parsley and dill weed will help create the best flavor.
Seasonings – add salt and black pepper to taste!
Parmesan cheese – fresh grated Parmesan will give you the best flavor and melt into the meatballs.
For the soup itself:
Olive Oil – Extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil will yield the best flavor.
Vegetables – Yellow onion, celery, carrots, garlic.
Chicken Stock – For the best flavor ever, use Homemade Chicken Stock instead of store-bought.
Herbs – To create a wonderful fresh flavor, you’ll need a bay leaf, fresh parsley, and fresh dill weed.
Seasonings – To enhance the flavors of this soup even more, toss in some crushed red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
Kale – Make sure to remove the stems.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Chicken Meatball Soup
First, start by rolling all the meatballs! Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, then roll the meatballs and place them on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper.
Start preparing the soup by first preheating a Dutch oven and add some oil. Sear the meatballs a few at a time, then set them aside.
Next, sear the onions, celery, and carrots. Make a little well in the center of the veggies and add minced garlic, cooking until fragrant.
Mix the veggies and add the meatballs back into the Dutch oven. Then, pour in the chicken stock, seasonings, and herbs. However, do not add the kale quite yet!
Bring the soup to a low boil, then lower the heat. Let the soup simmer for about 20-25 minutes.
Chop up the kale and stir it into the soup. Cook it for another 5 minutes, then take it off of the heat and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
There is only one simple substitution you need to make for this soup to be gluten free. Use gluten free bread crumbs when making the meatballs! All remaining ingredients are already gluten free.
As always, do double check the nutritional information of the packaging to make sure.
There are plenty of ways to customize this soup! Feel free to add some other hearty vegetables like potatoes, mushrooms, or green beans. You can also add a squeeze of fresh lemon to the cooked soup for a zesty lemon note! Speaking of customizing, you can always adjust the spice level as you wish by using more or less red pepper flakes.
To this question, I always say YES! When the soup is almost cooked, add some dried pasta, cover, and let it cook just until the pasta is tender. Pasta usually takes 8-10 minutes to cook, unless it’s small like orzo, then it’s less. Make sure to adjust the amount of liquid through if you plan to add pasta. Increase the amount of chicken stock by 1-2 cups.
Storing and Reheating
Store the leftover soup in the same pot you cooked the soup if it has a lid, or transfer it into a food storage container with an air-tight lid. Store your leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
You can reheat it in the microwave just until it’s hot, or in a sauce pot on stove top over medium-low heat until it’s warmed through.
More Comforting Soups To Enjoy!
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Chicken Meatball Soup
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp fresh minced parsley
- 1 tbsp fresh minced dill weed
- 1/3 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
For The Soup:
- 2-3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 celery ribs sliced
- 3 medium carrots sliced
- 4 garlic cloves
- 5-6 cups chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp fresh minced parsley
- 1/2 tbsp fresh minced dill weed
- 1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 3-4 oz kale stems removed
Instructions
To Make The Meatballs:
- Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs in the mixing bowl and mix until thoroughly incorporated.
- Cover a cutting board with parchment paper and set it next to the mixing bowl.
- Use a cookie scoop to get an equal amount of mixture for the meatballs and roll the meatballs quickly. (If you don't have one, use a spoon and try to keep the meatballs as equal size as you can.) Place the rolled meatballs onto the parchment paper.
To Make The Soup:
- Preheat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add some olive oil.
- Sear meatballs a few at a time, don't overgrown the pan! You are looking for a nice golden-brown sear on both sides, don't need to actually cook the meatballs through. Take seared meatballs out of the pan and do remaining batches.
- Set seared meatballs aside.
- Add a little more oil to the Dutch oven if needed and sear onion, celery, and carrots until it starts to soften and get a golden sear as well.
- Make a little well in the middle of the veggies and add minced garlic. Sear just until garlic is fragrant, for a few seconds.
- Mix veggies and add back the seared meatballs to the Dutch oven. (Make sure to add the juices that ran off the meatballs as well!)!
- Pour in chicken stock, and add seasoning and herbs. (Do not add the kale yet!)
- Bring the soup to low boil and lower the heat to medium-low. Taste to make sure you've added enough salt and heat.
- Let the soup slowly simmer for about 20-25 minutes.
- Chop kale and add it to the soup. Stir and let everything cook another 5 minutes of so.
- Take off heat and serve!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
My kids love this meatball soup!