There’s the Seared- Filet-Mignon- with-Rich- Balsamic- Glaze-and-Mushrooms nights and then there are the nights where this soup is on the menu to appease the hangry family.
And trust me, this easy meatball soup is just as delicious as the best cut of steak when you’re ravenous. It’s loaded with filling meatballs and potatoes – perfect comforting treat after a long day. I appreciate that this soup is quick to make and my boys like the fact that it’s packed with ingredients that will soothe their empty bellies.
To maximize my time in the kitchen, I always try to double or sometimes even triple the batch for the meatballs and save them for future easy meatball soups. It’s like unintentional freezer cooking, you won’t miss the few extra minutes that it takes for that extra batch and you’ll be grateful that you did it when hunger strikes.
{{This post may contain affiliate links. The cost remains the same for you. }}
For more nutrition, you can soak the rice for 12 hours prior to cooking to release some of that phytic acid. I prefer to use Lundberg for all of my rice as they routinely test for arsenic, and their levels are one of the lowest in the country. (source) Arsenic is an element found in nature and is taken up by plants (i.e. rice) as they grow which naturally causes arsenic to be in our food system. Long term exposure to high levels of arsenic can lead to health problems but the good news is that most arsenic leaves your body within a few days. This is another reason why it’s always best to follow a balanced diet rather an extreme one focusing on one food (group).
Easy Meatball Soup
Combine ground beef, cooked rice, mayonnaise (make your own here), egg and sea salt. Combine well using hands (it’s easier that way) and forming small balls (the size of a ping-pong ball), set them on a sheet lined with parchment paper. Stick in the freezer so they’ll firm up a bit. You don’t want them to turn to mush during cooking and keeping them in the freezer while you’re working on other steps helps avoid that. You can also do this step in advance to save time during rush hour and store the prepared and flash-frozen meatballs in a large ziploc bag. This way you can have a 30-minute meal. Bonus brownie points: you can even double and triple this part to have easy dinners ready.
In a large pot, melt your fat of choice and add chopped onions. Cook until translucent. Add carrots and continue to cook for another 3 minutes until softened. Add rice and give a quick stir. Add the bone broth and water, chopped potatoes and season with salt. Close the lid and bring to a boil. Once the vegetables come to a boil, drop the meatballs, one by one and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and allow to cook for additional 10 minutes. The meatballs should remain their form but there may be a few stray pieces of meat floating in the pot. Garnish with chopped parsley or dill.
Please note, this batch makes a large soup pot enough to feed 8 hungry people. 🙂
Easy Meatball Soup
Ingredients
For meatballs:
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 1/2 c cooked <a href="http://amzn.to/23x02A5" target="_blank">white rice</a>
- 1 T mayonnaise <a href="https://www.prepareandnourish.com/2014/11/homemade-mayonnaise/"target="_blank"> (learn to make your own)</a>
- 1 egg
- 1/2 t <a href="http://amzn.to/1nStnog" target="_blank">sea salt</a>
For soup:
- 1 onion , chopped
- 3 carrots , sliced
- 2 T butter , ghee, lard or tallow
- 1/3 c . <a href="http://amzn.to/23x02A5" target="_blank">white rice</a>
- 2 qts. bone broth
- 2 qts. filtered water
- 2 large potatoes , cubed
- 1 1/2 t <a href="http://amzn.to/1nStnog" target="_blank">sea salt</a>
Instructions
-
In a bowl, combine all ingredients for meatballs. Mix well (it's easier to mix well with hands). Using a teaspoon, spoon and form a meatball the size of ping-pong ball and place on a sheet lined with parchment paper. Stick in the freezer while working on the soup (this step will help the meatballs firm up).
-
In a large pot, heat fat of choice. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add carrots and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes until just barely soft.
-
Add rice to the onions/carrots mixture and give it a quick stir. Pour bone broth and add chopped potatoes. Season with salt. Close the pot and bring to a boil.
-
Remove meatballs from the freezer. Add them one by one into the pot with boiling broth and vegetables. Bring to boil again. Reduce heat to medium-low and let cook for additional 10 minutes.
-
Garnish with parsley or dill.
Recipe Notes
Meatballs can be made ahead of time and kept in the freezer, doing this will give you dinner under 30 on busy nights. It's also a good idea to double the meatballs for two pots of soup.
Let’s connect! I share more personal, daily snippets of life on Instagram, insightful articles and awesome recipes on Facebook and pin away like it’s going out of style on Pinterest.
This recipes has been shared on: Savoring Saturdays | Simply Natural Saturdays | Real Food Fridays | Thank Goodness It’s Monday | What’d You Do This Weekend? | The Art of Homemaking | Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural | Homemade Mondays | Anti-Procrastination Tuesday | Homestead Blog Hop | Allergy Free Wednesdays | Gluten-Free Fridays | Full Plate Thursday | Funtastic Friday | Our Simple Homestead | Real Food Friday |
Oh, meatballs make me do the happy dance and meatballs in soup make me delirious! Great recipe!
My mouth won’t stop watering this sounds incredible!! Thanks for sharing on Savoring Saturdays 🙂
Hi Anya,
Wow this sounds and looks tasty. Soup is always such a welcome meal on a cold Winter’s day. Thanks for sharing on Real Food Fridays. Pinned & tweeted!
Meatball soup is a big hit at our house too, your version sounds delicious, great idea to use rice in the meatballs! Love those bird napkin rings too. Thanks for sharing at What’d You Do This Weekend?!
Thank you for visiting Joy. 🙂
Your Meatball Soup looks fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing with us for our 5th Anniversary of Full Plate Thursday! Hope you have a fantastic week and hope to see you again real soon!
Miz Helen
Who can resist these delectable ingredients! My hubby would love this! Thank you for sharing your healthy and delicious Easy Meatball Soup with us at the Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party! I’m pinning and sharing this wonderful post!
Thank you Deborah. You always have such sweet words to share. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
This looks good! I pinned for later, thanks for sharing on the Homestead Blog Hop!
I almost forgot! You are being featured tomorrow!
Thank you Jennifer. 🙂
Your soup looks wonderfully delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe with us at Funtastic Friday.
My husband’s going to love this. Might need to test it on him tonight or this weekend!
Such a lovely, simple + nourishing soup. Looks beautiful and delicious!
Pinned! My husband would love this!
This looks super yummy! I’ve never heard of adding mayo to meatballs before. Interesting!
Looks so delicious and hearty. 🙂
I love how easy and delicious this is
This looks so amazing! I love meatball soups and often make a turkish kafta soup when the craving set in. Definitely going to have to try this one out!
Lovely soup! So nourishing and comforting and satisfying! My kids loooove anything with a meatball too!
This recipe looks great! I’ll be making a double batch for sure. The meatballs would be perfect with pasta for a quick and easy weeknight supper. Thanks for sharing Anya!