Meatball Soup Recipe
on Oct 23, 2021, Updated Jun 27, 2024
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This Meatball Soup Recipe is my childhood in a 🍲 bowl. This is what we call Bulgarian “supa topcheta.” It is absolutely one of my favorite soups in the world. This recipe is hearty, nutritious, and comforting. It does take some TLC to roll out the meatballs nice and small, but I promise it is absolutely worth it. I have been enjoying this soup for more than 30 years of my life as it’s been in my family for generations. I hope you love it just as much, please leave me a ⌨️ comment and let me know how it was.
Why You’ll Love This Meatball Soup Recipe
This Meatball Soup Recipe is warm, comforting and so satisfying on a cold day. It uses simple, humble ingredients that are filling, nutritious and delicious. It will take a bit of time to 🌀 roll out all the meatballs, but the results are so worth it. The meatballs are bite-sized and so tender and juicy, the perfect pairing for the hearty 🥕 veggies.
How To Prepare This Meatball Soup Recipe
🔪 Using a sharp knife, finely dice the onion, carrot, celery and cube a potato.
🥚 To a large bowl, add 1/2 an onion (diced), 400g of ground meat, an egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika.
🤲 Mix everything together really well with clean hands until a thick and sticky mixture forms.
🌀 Form tiny meatballs and set aside (this recipe will make about 40 in total).
🥕 In a big pot on the stove over medium-high heat sauté the onions, celery, and carrots. Add the potatoes and stir.
🍅 Now, add the tomato paste and sauce and stir.
🍚 Stir in the spices and rice and then add the water.
🫧 Let it come to a full boil and then slowly drop in the mini meatballs.
⏲️ Reduce the heat to medium, partially cover the pot and let it go for 20-25 minutes until everything is cooked.
🌿 Adjust for salt, add in freshly chopped parsley and enjoy.
Nonna’s Tip 🧑🍳
You can use pork, beef, or turkey for the ground meat. Feel free to mix different types of meat as well.
Variations and Substitutions for Meatball Soup
- Feel free to use any ground meat you personally like in this Meatball Soup recipe, we traditionally use ground pork.
- We traditionally take this soup a step further and temper it with a beaten 🥚 egg but I left it out here. If you know how to temper, you are more than welcome to do so.
- Instead of water, you can add even more flavor by using a good quality, unsalted chicken or veggie stock instead.
- You can make this Meatball Soup recipe vegetarian by omitting the meatballs and adding 🫘 beans or lentils for protein instead.
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Best Served With
- A slice of crusty homemade bread, like my No Knead Peasant Bread, is absolutely incredible with this Meatball Soup recipe.
- Serve this Meatball Soup recipe with a beautiful traditional Bulgarian side dish such as Bulgarian Stuffed Peppers, Bulgarian Salad or Bulgarian Cheese Sandwiches (Prinzesi).
Common Questions
You can use pork, beef, or turkey in this meatball soup recipe. Feel free to mix different types of meat as well.
Make this recipe vegetarian by omitting the meatballs and adding beans or lentils for protein instead.
I use our traditional, homemade Italian tomato sauce, but you can use whatever canned or jarred version you enjoy. I suggest choosing one with minimal ingredients for the best quality.
This soup freezes like a dream. Allow it to cool completely before transferring it to airtight containers or freezer bags, and then it can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
Meatball Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 400 grams ground meat, pork, beef or turkey
- 1 medium egg
- ½ onion, finely diced
- salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, to taste
Soup
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil, or any oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot, finely diced
- 1 celery rib, finely diced
- 1 medium potato, cubed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon salt
- pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon dry oregano
- ⅓ cup rice, I used jasmine but any will work
- 3 litres water, (or unsalted vegetable stock) 10-11 cups approximately
- finely chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a bowl, add all of the ingredients for the meatballs and mix well with clean hands until a thick and sticky mixture forms. Form tiny meatballs — we made a total of 40. Set them aside.
- In a big pot on the stove on medium-high heat sauté your onions, celery, and carrots. Add the potatoes and stir.
- Add the tomato paste and sauce and stir between each ingredient.
- Stir in your spices and rice and add the water. Let it come to a full boil and slowly add your mini meatballs.
- Reduce the heat to medium, partially cover the pot and let it go for 20-25 minutes until everything is cooked. Adjust for salt and add in freshly chopped parsley. Enjoy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent recipe! Thank you for sharing. I used turkey for the meatballs, and brown rice, and made the recipe pretty much as written except I like my veggies chunky. 🙂
SO glad you enjoyed the soup, Barbie. LOVE hearing how you made it your own! Thank you for your review!