This soup will appeal to all the carnivores in your life. Not only is it loaded with good for you fresh veggies, but the addition of beefy Italian style meatballs makes this tasty soup a hearty stick to your ribs meal in a bowl. I love that you can make the entire recipe in one pot, less clean up…YAY! It uses everyday ingredients that you most likely have on hand, no trip to the market needed…YAY! And the flavorful Italian spices and addition of red wine gives it an amazingly delicious, savory flavor profile that will appeal to just about everyone…YAY!
I love to serve this soup with a freshly baked loaf of bread to mop up all the flavorful broth in the bottom of my bowl. But if you don’t have time to bake up a loaf of bread, serve up a side of freshly baked Buttermilk Biscuits with this soup instead. They are so quick and easy to make. It takes just five minutes to get them ready to pop in the oven. Get them baking while you whip up this fabulous soup. They are a great “mop” to soak up all the delicious broth in the bottom of your bowl!
Once you have the biscuits in the oven, its time to start on the soup to go with them!
Start by prepping the veggies. Slice and dice the onion, carrots and celery. This is the hardest part of the entire recipe; the slicing and dicing.
Heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Sauté the diced onions, sliced carrots and celery until the onions are translucent and the carrots and celery start to soften up a bit, about 8-10 minutes.
Add the fresh minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and bay leaf. Stir to coat veggies on the pan. Cook, stirring constantly for about 1-2 minutes; this “blooms” the spices and brings out and significantly enhances their flavor. Be sure to stir constantly so the spices don’t burn or scorch.
Add the red wine and let it cook down, about 3-4 minutes. This also enhances and concentrates the flavor. This is the “base” we are going to be adding to.
Next, add the Bay leaf, diced tomatoes (with all the juices), beef broth, water, Worcestershire sauce, and frozen meatballs to the pan. No need to thaw the meatballs, they will thaw as they simmer in the broth.
Increase the heat and bring the soup to a boil.
I have to say, I’m not sure what smells better right now, the soup simmering away on the stove or the loaf of bread I just pulled out of the oven. My mouth is watering big time! Dinner is going to be sooooo good!!! I wish you were here to enjoy it with me.
Once the soup is simmering add the Ditalini pasta and stir to combine. Simmer the soup, stirring occasionally to prevent pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until pasta is tender but not mushy.
Fish out and discard the bay leaf. It has served the soup well and infused it’s flavorful goodness into the broth. Thank you Bay leaf for your flavorful contribution!!!
Stir in the fresh spinach leaves and cook until it wilts, about 1-2 minutes. It will seem like a lot of spinach, but it will all work out just fine! Trust me and just stir it all into the broth.
Taste and season broth with additional salt & pepper if needed.
To serve, top each bowl with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese. And don’t forget the bread or biscuit “mop” to serve along with this delicious soup!
This soup is so stinking good! Blooming the spices and cooking down the wine, significantly concentrates the flavor and adds a hugh wallop of taste to the broth! I made it on a cold, dark dreary evening, and it hit the spot perfectly. It made me all cozy, warm and yummy in my tummy. A hot steaming bowl chased away the cold from the inside out; making it just a little bit easier to tolerate the cold rainy night! It’s not even officially winter yet, and I already miss summer. It’s going to be a long dark winter…sigh. At least we have this wonderful soup to tide us over until it’s warm and sunny outside again.
One Pot, Rich & Hearty Italian Meatball Soup
Equipment
- 1 large saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 Bay leaf
- ½ cup dry red wine
- 32 oz beef broth
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes
- 16 oz frozen fully cooked Italian style meatballs
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 8 oz Ditalini pasta
- 5 oz bag fresh spinach leaves
- grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stock pot.
- Sauté diced onions, sliced carrots and celery until onions are translucent and the carrots and celery start to soften, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add minced garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Add Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and bay leaf. Stir to coat veggies on the pan. Cook, stirring constantly of 1 minute; this "blooms" the spices.
- Add red wine and let it cook down, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the Bay leaf, beef broth, water, diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and meatballs to the pan.
- Increase the heat and bring soup to a boil.
- Once soup is simmering add Ditalini pasta and stir to combine. Simmer soup, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes or until pasta is tender.
- Fish out and discard bay leaf.
- Stir in fresh spinach leaves and cook until spinach wilts, about 1-2 minutes.
- Taste and season with additional salt & pepper if needed.
- To serve, top each bowl with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan cheese.
Did You Make This?
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