Hidden Veggie Meatball Soup

This Hidden Veggie Meatball Soup is what comforting soup dreams are made of. Not only are the veggies blended into the broth, making the soup creamy and nutritious but also the meatballs add protein and make this a complete meal.

What stands out

You’re going to love this Hidden Veggie Meatball Soup because it checks all the boxes! Picky eater approved because you can’t tell there are vegetables? Absolutely! Packed with protein and nutrients? You bet! straightforward to prepare? Any night of the week!

Look no further for a soup that you will want to have on your repeat list. You likely even have all the ingredients you need for it on hand! This versatile soup is great to take on the go in a thermos as well.

How to Prepare Hidden Veggie Meatball Soup

In a large pot combine water, vegetable broth, shallots, celery, carrot, garlic, and bell pepper.

Bring to a boil, add salt, then reduce heat to simmer for 25-30 minutes until veggies are soft. Adjust salt to taste.

In a bowl, mix ground meat, egg, onion, breadcrumbs, salt, paprika, and oregano. Form small meatballs and set aside.

Remove whole veggies from the broth, and in a blender blend with 2 ladles of broth until smooth. Return the mixture to the pot.

Bring the soup to a boil, add meatballs, and stir gently.

Next, add the rice, reduce heat to medium, and cook for 15 minutes.

Taste the soup and add salt if needed. If the rice absorbs too much broth, add water to thin the soup.

Then remove from heat, garnish with fresh parsley, squeeze lemon into each bowl, and enjoy!

Kitchen tip

Hot soup (or any hot liquid, for that matter) will steam and expand in a blender, which can push the lid of the blender off and cause a mess and burn hazard. When pureeing hot soup, do it in batches. Fill the blender 1/3 to 1/2 full remove or loosen the center cap from the lid of the blender. Cover the lid with a folded dishcloth and hold it down while blending.

Swaps

Remember to adjust quantities and cooking times, based on the substitutions you make. Feel free to get creative and make the recipe to suit your taste preferences and dietary choices!

1. Add other vegetables such as spinach, kale, or peas for extra nutrition.
2. For gluten-free meatballs, substitute the regular breadcrumbs with gluten-free breadcrumbs or crushed gluten-free crackers.
3. Use any type of ground meat you like, such as turkey, chicken, beef or pork.
4. For a vegetarian or vegan version of this Hidden Veggie Meatball Soup, replace the ground meat with plant-based alternatives like tofu, tempeh, or textured vegetable protein.
5. Any type of broth will work in this soup, such as chicken, beef, or vegetable. You could also use homemade Vegetable Stock Cubes and make your own broth!

Serve it with

• Some crusty bread like our No Knead Peasant Bread
• A light salad

Questions

What type of broth do you use?

Can we use other types of broth?

Absolutely, you can use unsalted veggie broth, chicken broth, beef broth, or make your own at home. Or feel free to use homemade mark a Vegetable Stock Cubes and make your own broth for this Hidden Veggie Meatball Soup!

Do we have to use broth?

Feel free to use ONLY water if you don’t want to add stock into the pot in the beginning. We have made this soup without stock many times and it’s just as because boiling the veggies imparts great flavor.

What type of salt do you use?

We use mark Redmond Real Salt, please note that depending on the salt you use, your dish may be less or more salty. Salt is to taste so please always taste and adjust as you cook.

How can we make sure our meat is fully cooked?

If you don’t feel confident, you can most definitely use a mark meat thermometer.

What type of onion should we use?

We usually use a whole peeled yellow onion but we didn’t have any on hand so we used a few shallots instead. Feel free to use any onion (sweet, white, yellow) except red in this recipe.

What if we'd like to use Pasta or another grain or Noodle?

If you want to use pastina, orzo, or noodles, that’s great! You can use any small noodles you love in this Hidden Veggie Meatball Soup. Just be sure to add the noodles em after you have added the blended veggies back into the soup.

How can we pack this recipe for our kid’s lunch?

Add boiling hot water into a thermos and close it so that it pre-heats. In the meantime, warm up the soup on the stove. Dump the hot water out of the thermos and add the soup. Leave some room at the top so that it doesn’t create a vacuum seal for them as the thermos will be harder to open.

Can we freeze this soup?

Yes, you can, let it cool completely and transfer it into a freezer-safe container and put it in the freezer.

How do we prepare this soup from frozen?

When you’re ready to enjoy your leftover Hidden Veggie Meatball Soup, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight if frozen. To reheat, use a microwave, stovetop, or an oven. Make sure to heat it thoroughly until it’s steaming hot. You may need to add a bit of water or broth to adjust the consistency.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

The Broth

• 6 cups water
• 4 cups vegetable broth, unsalted or low-sodium
• 3 shallots, peeled
• 2 celery ribs
• 1 carrot, peeled
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• ½ red bell pepper, small (optional)
• salt

Meatballs

• 450 grams ground turkey, (1 pound) pork, turkey, beef, or chicken
• 1 egg
• 1 onion, finely diced or grated
• ¼ cup breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dry oregano

Additional Ingredients

• ⅔ cups rice, rinsed, you can use pastina, orzo, small noodles
• 1 handful parsley, finely chopped
• lemon, for serving

Equipment

• Soup Pot
• Measuring Cups + Spoons
• Cutting Board
• Peeler
• Redmond Real Salt
• Nakiri Knife

Method

1. Add the water and vegetable broth to a large pot. Add the shallots, celery, carrot, garlic, and bell pepper (if using) and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add 1/2 tablespoon salt.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and partially cover the pot with a lid. Let the broth simmer for 25 to 30 minutes or until all the veggies are super soft. Taste the broth for salt and adjust as needed.
3. In the meantime, combine the ground meat, egg, onion, breadcrumbs, salt, paprika, and oregano in a bowl. Using a large spoon or clean hands, combine the mixture really well. Using a mini ice cream scoop or a spoon, form the mixture into small meatballs. It helps to oil your hands (or wet them) to form smooth meatballs and prevent the mixture from sticking to your hands. Transfer the meatballs to a plate.
4. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the whole veggies from the broth and into a blender (see safety reminder below). Add 2 ladles of broth to the blender and blend until nice and smooth. Return the blended mixture to the broth in the pot.
5. Bring the soup to a boil and slowly add in the mini meatballs as you gently stir the soup. Add the rice and reduce the heat to medium, allowing the meatballs and rice to cook for about 15 minutes.
6. Once the rice and meatballs have cooked (taste the rice for doneness), taste for salt and adjust accordingly. If the rice has absorbed too much broth, add a little bit of water to thin out the soup. Remove the soup from the heat and garnish with fresh parsley. Squeeze some lemon into each bowl and enjoy!

SAFETY REMINDER

1. Hot soup (or any hot liquid, for that matter) will steam and expand in a stand blender, which can push the lid of the blender off and cause a mess and burn hazard. When pureeing hot soup, do it in batches. Fill the blender 1/3 to 1/2 full remove or loosen the center cap from the lid of the blender. Cover the lid with a folded dishcloth and hold it down while blending.