Spaghetti and Meatball Soup

First recipe of the year! Of course we’re slurpin’.

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup / Bev Cooks

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup. You guys, I thought I was inventing something BRAND NEW to the world, until I googled it and saw exactly 2934834674234o352y3248347342 recipes for it.

Oh.

But! As I sifted through a few recipes, I found that they really ranged from WAY SIMPLE (like pre-made meatballs + water + marinara + pasta = the end) to WAY COMPLICATED (like raise your cow, name him Frank, grow your everything else, make the pasta from scratch, dance half-naked under the full moon and howl into the night.)

I’d say my recipe sort of meets everyone in the middle. You can call me Malcolm. Just kidding.

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup / Bev Cooks

The shortcuts are in the soup, but the legwork is in the meatballs. But not too much! You know me. It’s just a mix of ground beef and pork, some dried Italian seasoning, fresh parsley, lots of garlic, a little panko, and a smooch of milk. Das all. You could even add some fresh parmesan! I forgot because the new year has me all wonky-doo.

So yeah, make the balls way ahead of time and let them chill as long as you want. Or not! I don’t want to be bossy.

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup / Bev Cooks

As for the pasta, this is where it gets fun. I had these little nests of angel hair in my pantry, so I just cut them in half to make cute little strands for the soup. Because you don’t want to look all insane slurpin’ a two-foot rope of pasta out of a SOUP. No no no. This is a delicate operation. You can always sub for a smaller, toothier pasta if you want. Rings, shells, whatever makes you sob. But since I’m calling this SPAGHETTI and Meatball Soup, I wanted to keep the pasta as noodle-y as I could. Angel hair = noodles. Broken angel hair = sweet little baby darling noodles. We in bidness.

But you should know something! At first you’re going to think, “This isn’t enough pasta. We need more pasta. GET ME MORE PASTA.” But just wait, Henry Higgins, just you wait. Once it cooks it will seriously soak up the liquid and be the perfect amount. And you’ll be like, “Ohhhh. Yeah.”

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup / Bev Cooks

I went ahead and added baby spinach because I just can’t not put a green in a soup. It’s the rules of life and living.

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup / Bev Cooks

And that’s it! About 20 minutes or so of simmering, and you’ve got one heckuva slurp sesh ahead of you. This is a good thing.

Hahaha! You can see me in the spoon. Great, I’m not wearing any makeup.

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup / Bev Cooks

Heavy winter soup rotation begiiiiins now.

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup:

for the meatballs:

1 lb lean ground beef (I used 93% for this)
1 lb ground pork
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley (start with about a cup of parsley and chop it down)
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 Tbs. Italian seasoning
1/4 cup milk
big pinch of coarse salt and pepper

for the rest:

6 cups chicken stock (or a quart of stock + two cups water)
1 (28oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed with your hands
1 cup of broken angel hair pasta (cut with a knife, or broken under a tea towel)
1 (5 oz) package baby spinach
fresh parmesan for garnish?
maybe a little fresh lemon juice if you dare

Let’s make some meatballs. Combine all the ball ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands. Then roll the mix into 1-inch meatballs. Place them on a plate and chill for as long as you want. I started mine mid-morning and let them sit for maybe 3 hours.

Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high. Add a Tbs of oil to the pot and swirl it. In two batches, brown your meatballs all over. You don’t have to cook them through, just get some good color all over. Once the balls are browned, add the stock and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, add the pasta and spinach. You won’t feel like it’s a lot of pasta, but WAIT. It will really soak up the liquid and thicken up. But you still want it soupy! Once the spinach has wilted, give it a taste. You may need to add a little more salt. I always like to add fresh lemon right at the end of soups. So, if you want a tad more acidity, go for it!

You’re ready to serve. Ladle and up and garnish with an obscene amount of fresh parmesan. Slurp!

Serves 6.

Spaghetti and Meatball Soup / Bev Cooks

You’re welcome to just nosedive right in.

 

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12 Responses to Spaghetti and Meatball Soup

  1. Brian @ A Thought For Food January 7, 2016 at 10:10 am #
    Gurrrrl! This is one beautiful soup! Pure comfort food, right there! Hope you and your family had a wonderful, relaxing holiday!
  2. Elaine January 7, 2016 at 10:23 am #
    I will be making this, most def.
  3. Dee @ The Kitchen Snob January 7, 2016 at 10:38 am #
    Yum! I haven't seen spaghetti and meatball soup before so I will forever believe that you invented it. ;-)
  4. Teisha January 7, 2016 at 11:26 am #
    I am planning to make this for my husband! It looks delicious and perfect for this dreary weather we're having. Thanks!
  5. Jamie | The Kitchenarium January 7, 2016 at 12:04 pm #
    Great winter soup for sure. +1 for 'enry 'iggins
  6. Tori January 8, 2016 at 5:03 am #
    Such brilliance! Spaghetti and meatballs soup is such a great idea!
  7. Kristin January 8, 2016 at 9:19 am #
    Do your babes eat this? I'm on the freal struggle bus trying to get my little troll to eat anything besides chicken nuggets and french fries for dinner. Le Sigh... Got any food reccomendations for tiny people?
    • Bev Weidner January 9, 2016 at 9:35 am #
      They LOVED it. I pulled out the noodles, so it wasn't soupy for them, and cut the meatballs up. They inhaled it!
  8. Kristin January 17, 2016 at 1:37 pm #
    For some reason, the recipe is no longer showing for me. Is this happening to anyone else?
    • Bev Weidner January 18, 2016 at 7:57 am #
      It's back! We're trying to figure out a new recipe plugin, and it was giving me trouble. But you should be able to see it now!
  9. http://www.vidadesigninc.com/ June 19, 2016 at 8:46 pm #
    Volker Duebbers sagte hierzu am 12. Februar 2010 um 16:01: Gut so, dass es Ihnen genaus so geht wie uns - oder eher bedauerlich? Dann aber doch wohl für alle ...

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