Now the days are short and the weather has been getting progressively colder and wetter. Not exactly my ideal, but it is perfect weather for soup. I had ground beef, bacon and vegetable bits hanging out in the refrigerator, waiting to be used. I immediately thought of this meatball soup.
Soup is not only a great cold weather meal, but it is just the thing for when you are not feeling well. I always make a big pot of this soup at the end of the year to have ready made for New Year’s Day. After a long stretch of holiday parties and celebrating, this meatball soup soothes my soul. Having it ready also means that the only thing I need to do in the kitchen is heat it up. No thinking required.
In this recipe, I used a combination of onion, celery, carrots and zucchini. Use the vegetables that you like and have on hand. Any cooked vegetables that I have in the refrigerator usually make their way into this soup.
You don’t want your meatballs much bigger than your vegetables. I have to keep reminding myself that I want bite sized meatballs. Keep that in mind when rolling your meatballs. You don’t want to have to cut the meatballs up when they are in the soup.
You can make this soup on the weekend and keep it refrigerated for a quick, hot dinner during the week.
For more delicious gluten free recipes to kick off your New Year, please visit our recipe page.
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| Prep Time | 50 minutes |
| Passive Time | 30 minutes |
| Servings |
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- 1 cup frozen spinach defrosted and drained well
- 1-1 1/2 lbs ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cup parmesan cheese shredded
- 1/2 pound bacon cut into 1/2" pieces
- 5 cups mixed vegetables chopped
- 4 cups chicken stock gluten free
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 tsp garlic minced
- 1 tsp oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz elbow macaroni gluten free, uncooked
Ingredients
Meatballs
Soup
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- Defrost and drain spinach. Place between paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
- In a bowl, combine meatball ingredients, mixing well. Roll out tablespoon sized meatballs and place on a platter. When the meatballs are all rolled, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- While meatballs are chilling, cook bacon and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon fat in pan.
- Saute vegetables in pan with bacon fat until soft. Set aside.
- In a large pot or dutch oven, measure out broth, water, garlic and spices. Bring to a simmer.
- Brown meatballs well on all sides.
- Add meatballs, sauteed vegetables and bacon to broth. Heat all the way through.
- Make pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Keep separate from soup until ready to serve.
- To serve: scoop warm pasta into each bowl and then scoop hot soup over the top. Sprinkle with additional cheese, if desired.
This soup freezes well. To freeze, do not add pasta. Allow soup to cool and store in airtight plastic freezer containers.
This Meatball Soup recipe is gluten free.
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