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A pot of meatball soup is accompanied with a bowl of the soup, as well as slices of cheesy garlic bread

Bolognese Inspired Meatball Soup

All the flavours of a rich Italian Marinara sauce, the ultimate tender and flavourful meatballs, and pasta makes this a comfort soup that ticks all the boxes. Just add cheesy garlic bread!
Course Soup
Cuisine Italian
Keyword marinara sauce, meatballs
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings 6

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1/2 lb spicy Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 1/2 lb extra lean ground beef
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan or grana padano cheese
  • 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
  • 1 medium or 2 small garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp each kosher salt and cracked pepper, or to taste
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste, depending on how spicy your sausages are
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs, don’t use old dried ones, better to tear bread into small pieces
  • 2/3 to 1 cup milk
  • olive oil

Soup

  • 1 medium onion, diced small
  • 1 large carrot, diced small
  • 1 large or 2 medium celery stalks, diced small
  • 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 tsp chili flakes
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar and pestle
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 28 oz jar or can (or 796 ml) crushed or puréed tomatoes, see Notes
  • 4 cups beef or chicken stock
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, see Notes
  • 1 parmesan rind, or 2 tbsp grated parmesan
  • 6 oz dried small pasta like ditalini, elbow macaroni, orzo, etc
  • fresh parsley for garnish
  • fresh grated mozzarella for serving

Instructions

Meatballs

  1. Preheat the oven to 425F, and spread a small amount of oil on a baking sheet.
  2. Combine the sausage and beef in a large bowl. Using only your fingers (remove any rings!), break up and mix sausage meat into the beef until gently combined (don’t overwork, or the meat will become tough when cooking them)
  3. Add the grated cheese, parsley and garlic. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Better to add less and adjust later- you don't know how seasoned the sausages are. Add the beaten egg. Next add the breadcrumbs and mix till everything is just blended (don't over blend, and only use only your finger tips).
  4. Add 2/3 cup of the milk, mix. Let sit for a minute to soak up the milk. Continue to add milk, 2 tbsp at a time, until the mixture has achieved the a sticky, moist consistency. The amount of milk you will need will depend on the breadcrumbs.
  5. Break off a small piece, form it into a small patty about the size of a quarter and sauté it in lightly oiled sauté pan. Taste this. Adjust your seasonings to the rest in the bowl at this point if needed. This way you haven’t formed the meatballs in vain!
  6. Using lightly oiled or wet hands, shape the mixture into 1 inch balls. You should get 24 balls or so.
  7. Place onto the prepared baking sheet.
  8. Bake on the centre rack till browned, and a crust has started to form on the exterior. This should take around 12-15 minutes. Remove and drain off any excess fat that may have collected on the bottom of the meatballs.

Soup

  1. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Sauté till just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook another minute.
  2. Add in the chilli flakes, fennel seeds, thyme, basil, rosemary and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper. Stir to coat all the veggies. Add in the tomato paste and stir once more.
  3. Pour in the crushed tomatoes and stock, along with the Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium low. Add in the parmesan rind; if you don't have a parmesan rind, then add the grated parmesan cheese at the end of cooking. Cover partially and simmer. Cook till the vegetables have softened and are just cooked through.
  4. Add the baked meatballs, and let them simmer in the soup for 10-12 minutes, or until cooked through.
  5. While the meatballs are simmering in the soup, prepare the pasta, according to the package directions. Drain and set aside.

Serve

  1. Divide the soup between six soup bowls. Ladle the soup over the pasta. Stir to blend. Garnish with fresh parsley and top with grated mozzarella cheese.

Storing Leftovers

  1. Store the soup in a sealed container in the fridge for up to three days. Store the pasta in a separate sealed container. When getting ready to eat again, heat the soup in a pot over medium low heat. Add in the pasta at the end to warm through.

Recipe Notes

Feel free to use a large jar of passata, or even whole tomatoes. Just crush up the tomatoes between your fingers before adding them and the juices from the jar to the pot.
Use any stock you like, although the beef stock will taste the most like a bolognese sauce.
The Worcestershire sauce can be replaced with a spoonful of Better than Beef Bouillon paste or cube, or even a splash of soy sauce if necessary.