Mini Chicken Meatball Soup.

February 23, 2012 · 85 comments

Helllllo there.

Guess what?

Last week, I had a cup of wedding soup for the first time in like, YEARS. That may sound crazy to some of you but wedding soup is never my first choice… probably because I have no Italian in me whatsoever. And no, I would not like any either thankyouverymuch.

But it was deee.lish.usss. All I could think about was how I wanted to make a soup with little chicken meatballs. So I did.

I’m cut from a simple cloth.

Is soup season coming to a close in the next month or so? I guess for many normal people it is, but I’m not normal and I don’t have a soup season. I eat soup when it’s like 96 degrees outside. Then I hate life, but whatever. Soup is SO good.

Ew, but not with salads. Bah-lahhh. Soup and sandwiches for the win.

You have a meal in a bowl here my friends! You’ve got your chicken… you’ve got your pasta… you’ve got an entire brick of parmesan cheese grated on top… it can’t get much better than this.

Oh wait. Yes it can. BREAD. Warm and toasty and buttered. Yeah yeah… do that.

Mini Chicken Meatball Soup

[meatballs adapted from bite sized baked meatballs]

serves 4-6

for meatballs

1 pound ground chicken breast

1 large egg

1/4 cup romano cheese

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix until just combined. Taking 1 tablespoon or so of the mixture, roll into meatballs of desired size.

for soup

2 1/2 tablespoons of canola oil

1 sweet onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed

4 cups raw spinach

32 ounces low-sodium chicken stock

4 cups water

1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes

1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups small pasta (I used ditalini rigati)

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon canola oil. Add onion with a pinch of salt and stir to coat, then let cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in spinach and garlic, stirring continuously until spinach wilts. Remove from the pot and set aside in a bowl.

With the heat still on medium, add remaining canola oil. Add in chicken meatballs and cook for 2-3 minutes, then flip and cook 2-3 minutes more. (If you make larger meatballs, you will have to cook a few minutes longer. Additionally I found it was easier to flip the meatballs with two small spoons since they are all crowded together in the pot.) Once meatballs are browned, add onion and spinach mixture back to the pot, then add in stock, water and tomatoes. Stir gently making sure meatballs have started to float. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes. Add in pasta and parmesan cheese, then cook for 8-10 minutes more before serving.

Serve with additional parm. Mmm.

That meatball is so cute I want to eat it.

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{ 80 comments… read them below or add one }

Jenn (Cookies Cupcakes Cardio) February 23, 2012 at 2:21 pm

You know how you love bacon? I LOVE mini pasta and could it eat it 24/7! I’m definitely going to try this recipe out for the mini bites of carb heaven!

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Margarita February 23, 2012 at 3:11 pm

Absolutely love this! I love to eat meatballs, but don’t like the handling them part too much. This looks totally worth handling for what I’m going to get at the end.

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Jessica @ Stylish Stealthy and Healthy February 23, 2012 at 3:49 pm

I have a soft spot for Wedding Soup. One of my best friends from when I was little, lived behind the restaurant her family owned and we would go in and they’d make us whatever we wanted and we always ate copious amounts of the most deliciously authentic Italian Wedding soup in the whole wide world. Then when we got older and discovered the bar the wedding soup lost its luster…but yeah. So good. I have to make this immediately.

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Em (Wine and Butter) February 23, 2012 at 3:50 pm

For my honeymoon I had Tom Kha Gai soup nearly every lunch (in Thailand where it was like 5 gazillion degrees). My husband would tell me how sexy I was … sitting by the pool, sweating and burping my way through every delicious mouthful! This soup looks totally delicious – I cant wait to make it!

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Hilliary @Happily Ever Healthy February 23, 2012 at 5:01 pm

Love a good soup, and this looks delicious! The mini meatballs are to cute!

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Laura February 23, 2012 at 5:24 pm

Oh wow- that soup looks perfect for a winter’s day!

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RJ (Kids and Cast Iron) February 23, 2012 at 6:23 pm

I have never had or made this soup because it just doesn’t look appealing. However, reading through what is in it, it might actually taste good. You may have pushed me to give it a try.

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Quiche-ing Queen February 23, 2012 at 7:40 pm

This soup looks so delicious. I can eat soup anytime of year as well. I can’t wait to give this a try sometime. Just a friendly reminder about the giveaway on my blog for Satori Cheese. http://quiche-ingqueen.blogspot.com/2012/02/satori-cheese-giveaway.html

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Amy's Cooking Adventures February 23, 2012 at 9:26 pm

This looks wonderful! Love the mini meatballs!

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Sloane @ My Life in Florida February 23, 2012 at 11:04 pm

Wow this looks amazing!! I have seen a few recipes for meatball soup and wanted to try one. This one will have to be it, for sure!

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Julia {The Roasted Root} February 24, 2012 at 12:27 am

As a big fan of soup and even better, soup with meat in it, this dish looks very satisfying to me. I have never made chicken meatballs and I tend to use leaner meats, so chicken sounds perfect! Thanks for an excellent recipe, and yes, your mini meatballs are very cute. ;)

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Anna @ hiddenponies February 24, 2012 at 12:52 am

Soup season never ends for me either! This looks soooo good…

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Caroline @ chocolate & carrots February 24, 2012 at 9:49 am

Mmm…if there’s a meatball involved. I’m all over it! :D

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Lainie February 24, 2012 at 10:42 am

This looks insanely delicious! Wanted to tell you your blog is fantastic- you are so funny and I adore your writing style!

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cecilia g February 24, 2012 at 11:04 am

fantastic, believe it or not i have only just discovered meatball soups, but chicken meatballs.. wow.. c

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Tracy February 24, 2012 at 12:15 pm

The meatball soup sounds so healthful and delicious!

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Mary February 24, 2012 at 12:29 pm

This was SO good! I used mini ravioli’s for the win!

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Michelle Levine February 24, 2012 at 12:57 pm

This looks so good right now, as I am sitting here in Boston with the cold/flu that has been going around, snow falling out my window, with a huge craving for soup. Time to go heat up soup from a can and wish it was homemade like this one!

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Karriann February 24, 2012 at 2:47 pm

Your Mini Chicken Meatball Soup is just the perfect comfort food! ;)

“Spice it Up”

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Katie@Cozydelicious February 24, 2012 at 2:48 pm

Yum! I haven’t had wedding soup in forever! It’s one of those things I love but never make… I have to fix that.

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Tracy February 24, 2012 at 5:48 pm

This is such cozy comfort food, yum!!

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Paula Johnson February 24, 2012 at 6:06 pm

This was seriously good and I want to make it again and again – but can anyone tell me, if u put the pasta in dry or already cooked?

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Dana B February 25, 2012 at 11:00 am

Never had wedding soup, but this looks awesome! Our weather is turning cooler again (I have a soup season :) and this will hit the spot nicely. thx!

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Ashley February 25, 2012 at 9:36 pm

OMG I just made a very similar soup to this about 2 weeks ago. Except I used cheese tortellini and. For my mini meatballs I used spicy turkey sausage and dropped them right into the broth to cook. It gave the soup a great flavor! My family loved it! Looking forward to trying yours soon! Thanks I LOVE your site, you have the BEST recipes!

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Tee February 27, 2012 at 10:34 am

I made this on Sat, it was excellent!! Thank you!

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Lisa P February 27, 2012 at 1:10 pm

Made this yesterday. THE BEST SOUP I HAVE EVER MADE. Even my picky hubby is in love with it. Thank you SO MUCH. I’ll be using the meatballs with pasta too for the kids. MMMMMMMMMM. U r just simply the best.

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Linzo February 29, 2012 at 1:09 pm

Made this last night as it was unusually cold for southern CA….amazing!

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Marisa March 12, 2012 at 4:36 pm

I made this today! So goooood! I’m a lover of Kale so I just switched it out for the spinach and put it in a little later in the simmer. Fantastic!

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