Meatball Soup with Cheese Tortellini
A perfect weeknight dinner! This Italian Meatball Soup recipe is full of tender, plump tortellini, mini meatballs and flavorful Parmesan cheese in a zesty tomato broth.
Servings 9 cups
Calories 448kcal
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 (28 oz) can petite diced tomatoes (not drained)
- 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 4 cups beef broth (or more to thin the soup if desired)
- 1 (20 oz) package frozen Italian mini meatballs, thawed
- 20 ounces fresh refrigerated cheese tortellini pasta
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Chopped fresh basil or parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until starting to soften, about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 more minute.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, beef broth, and meatballs. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer (uncovered) for 20 minutes.
- Add tortellini and cook just until tender, about 5-7 more minutes.
- Stir in Parmesan cheese. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Serve soup immediately, and garnish with additional cheese and fresh herbs.
Notes
- This soup has a very thick consistency -- almost like a stew. Feel free to stir in extra broth at the end to thin the soup, if desired.
- If you prefer made-from-scratch mini meatballs in your soup, follow these recipe instructions. You can use ground beef, ground chicken, ground pork, ground turkey or ground sausage to make the meatballs.
- Frozen Italian mini meatballs work best in this soup, since the meatballs are a nice size for scooping up with a spoon.
- I prefer the quick-cooking, fresh taste of refrigerated cheese tortellini. If you would like to substitute with dry tortellini or frozen tortellini, just adjust the cooking time according to the package instructions on your specific product. You may also need to add more broth to the pot, since dry pasta tends to absorb more liquid than fresh pasta while it cooks.
- Cooking Just for Two? Prepare a smaller batch of soup by cutting all of the ingredients in half. For instance, use a 15-ounce can of petite diced tomatoes, an 8-ounce can of tomato sauce, a 2-cup can of broth, fewer meatballs, and a small package of tortellini (rather than the 20-ounce "Family Size" called for in the full recipe).
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup | Calories: 448kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 1155mg | Potassium: 685mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 452IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 215mg | Iron: 4mg