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This is a recipe for hearty homemade meatball soup. Tender meatballs made from scratch, vegetables and chicken stock are turned into a bowl of deliciousness!
This filling comfort food goes well with bread rolls, French baguette or Focaccia Bread.
How to make a meatball soup
Prep the veggies – shred the carrots, dice celery, leek, parsnip and potatoes.
Heat up the oil in a large pot and throw in all the vegetables, except for potatoes. Sauté them for about 5 minutes.
Then, pour in the stock and cover the pot with a lid. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer (covered) for about 10 minutes before adding the potatoes in.
Now prepare the meatballs – combine together the ground meat, egg, salt, black pepper, breadcrumbs and onion. The finer you chop the onion the better.
Take about a tablespoon of the mixture and roll it into a meatball. Repeat until you have used up all the mixture (I got about 26 meatballs out of ½ pound of meat).
At this stage the potatoes should be almost ready so you can add the meatballs in. Cook them until they are ready. This will take only several minutes.
At last stir in finely chopped dill.
Here are some more tasty soups:
Tips for making meatball soup
- I highly recommend using fresh dill to make this meatball soup. It gives the soup a ton of flavor.
- Turnip can be used instead of parsnip.
- Homemade meatballs are always better than the shop-bought ones but if you are stuck for time, use what is more convenient for you.
- I used a mixture of ground beef & pork to make the meatballs, but it does not have to be a mix.
- This meatball soup tastes better the following day so if you are looking for make-ahead recipes, this is one of them. Also note, that it will taste saltier the following day so be careful with the amount of salt you add in.
- Chicken stock can be substituted with chicken broth, vegetable broth, beef broth. You can also use stock cubes but make sure to add only as many as needed for the amount of water you add to the pot.
- Bear in mind that the level of sodium vary from stock to stock. If not sure, use low sodium stock and add more salt at the very end of cooking.
- The meatballs will feel quite soft when rolling them. This is OK. They will turn out very tender after cooking.
This homemade meatball soup recipe is based on Estonian meatball soup (Frikadellisupp).
This is an old post that has been updated with new photos as well as tips and detailed instructions.
Homemade Meatball Soup
This is a recipe for hearty homemade meatball soup. Tender meatballs made from scratch, vegetables and chicken stock are turned into a bowl of deliciousness!
For the soup:
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil , see note 1
- 2 Carrots , shredded
- 1 Large Celery Stalk , diced
- 1 Leek , diced
- 1 Parsnip , diced
- 1 Large Potato , diced
- 4 cups Chicken Stock
- Fresh Dill to Taste
- Salt and Black Pepper to Taste
For the meatballs:
- ½ pound Ground Pork / Beef, see note 2
- 1 Small Egg , see note 5
- 2 tbsp Breadcrumbs
- ½ cup Onion , finely chopped (50g)
- ½ tsp Salt
- A pinch of black pepper , generous
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Heat up the oil in a large pot and throw in shredded carrots, diced celery, leek and parsnip. Sauté them for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour in the stock, cover the pot with a lid and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes before adding the potatoes in.
Meanwhile: In a bowl, mix together all the meatball ingredients until well combined. Roll the mixture into small meatballs (I used about a tablespoon of the mixture per ball). Add them to the soup and cook until both the potatoes and meatballs are cooked through.
At last stir in finely chopped dill. Taste the soup and salt and pepper, if needed.
- Vegetable oil can be substituted with sunflower or olive oil.
- Ground pork, beef, turkey or a mix of these can be used to make these meatballs.
- If you don’t want to make meatballs from scratch, buy ready-made ones. If using frozen ones, cook them until they are ready.
- For more tips, I recommend reading the whole post.
- Use a small egg. If you use a large egg, it might be difficult to form the meatballs. If not sure what size eggs you bought, beat it in a bowl first and add only half of it.
- If you feel that the soup is way too thick to your liking, add an extra cup of stock or water.
Nutrition Facts
Homemade Meatball Soup
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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