It’s no secret just how much I love a good meatball recipe, and this one is an oldie but a goodie. My Hearty Meatball Soup is packed with tender, Italian-style turkey meatballs simmered in a rich tomato-based broth and plenty of veggies and pasta to make it super filling and totally budget-friendly. It’s an easy one-pot dinner the whole fam will love! And like most of my recipes, this flavor-packed soup leans on pantry staples and freezer-friendly ingredients to keep things easy on the wallet.
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“A friend of mine told me about your blog just recently, and I have been obsessed ever since! I made this soup for my husband’s birthday because he is a huge meatball fan, and I have already made it again a few days later! It was soooo good!! A new winter favorite, thanks so much!”
Ashley
Easy TURKEY Meatball Soup Recipe
Today’s recipe is brought to you by the word mirepoix (aka the classic combo of diced onion, carrot, and celery). I start almost every soup this way, and once that trio is sizzling with a little garlic and olive oil, you’re already halfway to something delicious. That’s exactly how this simple meatball soup begins. I stir in some beef broth, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, pasta, and a batch of my homemade turkey meatballs to create the easiest, most delicious alternative to your average meatballs and pasta dish.
But if tomato-based soups aren’t your thing, I’ve shared a few variations below to mellow the flavor or make a lighter broth that still pairs perfectly with the meatballs!
Budget-Saving Tips!
- I use my turkey meatballs in this recipe because they’re packed with seasonings, which infuse the broth with extra flavor as they simmer. My homemade meatballs (made with beef and Italian sausage) work great here, too, but if you’re short on time, store-bought meatballs will still get the job done. Go for frozen meatballs (they’re often the most cost-effective) and cook them following the package instructions before adding them to your soup.
- When I first posted this recipe allll the way back in 2011, I only used half a batch of my turkey meatballs and 6 oz. of pasta. Since then, I’ve retested it using a full batch of meatballs and 8 oz. of pasta—which I much prefer! It makes this hearty soup even heartier and provides a good amount of pasta and meatballs per serving. That said, you can absolutely scale back the meatballs and pasta if you’re looking to save a few more dollars or prefer a brothier bowl.
Hearty Meatball Soup
Ingredients
- 3 large carrots, diced ($0.49)
- 3 ribs of celery, diced ($0.40)
- 1 yellow onion, diced ($0.70)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.22)
- 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juices ($1.63)
- 1 28 oz. can tomato sauce ($1.63)
- 4 cups beef broth ($0.52)
- 8 oz. dry pasta* ($0.59)
- full batch turkey meatballs (approximately 16-18 meatballs) ($5.97)
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley ($0.35)
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese ($3.69)
Instructions
- Cook the diced carrots, celery, onion, and minced garlic in a large pot with olive oil over medium heat until softened (5-10 minutes).
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water and beef bouillon to the pot. Bring it up to a simmer then add the pasta and meatballs. Allow the pot to simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked through.
- While the pot is simmering, rinse and chop half a bunch of parsley. Add the parsley to the pot after the pasta has fully cooked.
- Serve each bowl of soup with freshly grated parmesan on top.
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Notes
Nutrition
How to Make Hearty Meatball Soup Step-By-Step Photos
Gather all of your ingredients.
Sauté the veggies: Add 3 large diced carrots, 2 ribs of diced celery, 1 diced yellow onion (your mirepoix), and 4 cloves of minced garlic to a large pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil. Cook the mirepoix over medium heat until the onions have softened. It’s okay if the celery and carrots are still a little firm, they will continue to cook with the soup. I also like the added texture they give the soup if they’re not cooked down to mush.
Add the liquids: Add 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (with juices), 1 28 oz. can tomato sauce, and 4 cups beef broth to the pot with your veggies.
Add the meatballs and pasta: Bring the soup up to a simmer then add 8 oz. dry pasta and the full batch of turkey meatballs (about 16-18 meatballs). The meatballs will infuse flavor into the pot as it simmers. Bring everything back up to a simmer and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is fully cooked.
Finish: Add 2 Tbsp fresh parsley to the pot once the pasta is soft and cooked through. Mix to combine.
And then it’s pretty much done! Serve up your homemade meatball soup and sprinkle a little grated Parmesan over each bowl. I used ½ cup of grated Parmesan cheese in total. Enjoy!
Variations to Try!
You can actually go three different ways with the broth for this homemade meatball soup:
- Make an ultra-thick, tomatoey, almost sauce-like base (as I’ve done here).
- Create a soup-like broth by skipping the tomato sauce and using only diced tomatoes. I’d add an extra 2 cups of broth, adding more if needed, to make up for the missing tomato sauce. (A 28 oz. can of tomato sauce works out at about 3.5 cups, but it’s also very thick, which is why I’d only start with 2 cups of extra broth at first).
- You can make a clear beef broth by skipping the canned tomatoes altogether and using extra beef broth (or bouillon and water). I do this in my Italian wedding soup recipe, except I use chicken broth instead. It’s up to you!
Next time I make this soup, I’m going to try skipping the tomato sauce so that I can have a tomato and beef broth…and maybe add some kale. Mmmmm, yes.
Serving Suggestions
This soup is already a full meal on its own, but if I want to stretch the servings further, I’d add some warm garlic bread for dipping and a simple Caesar salad on the side. It turns this hearty meatball soup into something that feels a little extra and complete!
Storage & Reheating
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Just a heads up—the pasta will continue to soak up the broth and soften as it sits, so the texture may change a bit. Reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop, adding a little extra broth if needed. You could also freeze it for up to 3 months, but the pasta can get mushy after freezing and thawing. If that bothers you (but you still want to meal-prep this soup), you could leave the pasta out and cook it separately before serving. Add some pasta to each bowl and top with the reheated soup.
More Hearty Soup Recipes
Our Hearty Meatball Soup recipe was originally published 2/8/11. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 4/3/25.
I added a little Italian seasoning to this soup. Mine turned out more of a stew than a soup. When I added liquids, the pasta soaked it up. Very filling and easy to make!
This recipe popped up in my email on Friday and I couldn’t get it out of my head, even though Friday is usually leftovers (or, *gasp* frozen pizza). I couldn’t resist it, and it was great! Easy, pretty fast, and very satisfying! I did use the full amounts of meatballs (pre-made, frozen) and pasta, and ended up adding more broth. No worries on that… Just more leftovers to freeze for later! This is a winner!
Delicious recipe. Rather than using water, use a budget friendly red wine. I subbed water with Cabernet Sauvignon, budget friendly price then added jarred liquid bouillon along with tomato sauce. This added more depth of flavor resulting in a delicious entree soup. Also, this recipe is perfect to make as a vegan entree soup. Thanks for this recipe!
Made the turkey meatballs this afternoon so I could make this soup tonight. I have bouillion in a jar of loose powder so I used 4 teaspoons thanks to a comment where Beth cleared up what “2 large cubes” makes. Also, I’m going with one 28 oz can crushed tomatoes and I may add a small can of sauce or a 14 oz can of diced depending on how it goes. I happened to have exactly 6 oz of farafalle in my cupboard and I’m excited to use that. I LOVE this website and I’ve had so much success with everything I’ve tried. Thank you!!
This soup was SOOO good, and it made SOOO much. I’m excited I was able to freeze half the soup so my hubby and I can enjoy it later this month. I chose the option with 1 28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes, water, and beef bouillon and it was still nice and thick. I actually ended up adding 1 extra cup of water. The turkey meatballs were a little labor intensive, but definitely worth it in the end. I’m also excited I have about 25 left over to freeze and toss with another pasta dish in the future. Thanks!!
A friend of mine told me about your blog just recently, and I have been obsessed ever since! I made this soup for my husband’s birthday because he is a huge meatball fan, and I have already made it again a few days later! It was soooo good!! A new winter favorite, thanks so much!
Just made this recipe last night, I could not believe the flavor in the meatballs. Delicious! And the soup was amazing! (Must be the mirepoix, thanks for the French lesson!). And I think it reheats well…I was actually excited for leftovers today!
This is simmering on the stove right now, and I’m really looking forward to it. I made 95% lean ground beef meatballs and just dropped them into the simmering pot. I also doubled the amount of water after I added beef granules to stretch the amount that it made. REALLY looking forward to eating it. The few tastes I’ve tried were yummy!
Oh and we substituted basil for parsley and used whole wheat rigatoni for the pasta
We made a vegetarian version using veggie broth and frozen veggie meatballs from Trader Joes ( which can also be gotten at Whole Foods and Safeway) and it rocked in a major way. Thanks!
Jenn
Nope, the water was simply to reconstitute the bouillon cubes :)
Would you still add the water? (And thanks!)
Jeana- I would use four cups of broth (the two large cubes together with four cups of water make four cups of broth)… Which is nice because I think boxed broth usually comes in a four cup size. If you’re not using the tomato sauce you will want about another 4 cups of broth (the tomato sauce is 28 ounces which is about 3.5 cups). So, two quarts of broth total. The tomato sauce is kinda thick so you may be alright using less broth (maybe start with 6 cups and add more if you feel it necessary.
As far as kale is concerned, it kind of depends on the size of the bunch and I’ve seen them vary quite a bit. I wouldn’t think that you’d want more than one bunch so just buy one and add half at first and then add more if you want more greens :)
Hope that helps! :D
If I were to use beef broth out of a box instead of bullion, how would you alter the recipe? I think 2 bullion cubes make 2 cups of broth? so Use 2 cups of broth, and 2 cups of water? And since I don’t want to use the tomato sauce, maybe have 3 cups of broth? Also, how much kale would you use? I’m really excited to make this, but am always nervous deviating from a recipe :)
So warming!
I did add some kale, since I am on a bit of a kick with that at the moment lol
I was cruising Tastespotting, clicked on the beautiful picture and lo and behold it brought me back to you Beth!
I have frozen some individual portions of it and can’t wait for an easy mid week warm up.
Thanks again