Kittencal's Mini Meatball Minestrone Soup

"This is a delicious rich soup that will need a longer cooking time then most soups and tastes even better the next day it's really a meal in itself, I serve it with garlic bread on the side --- to save some time prepare the meatballs up to a day ahead, the meatball mixture may be doubled if desired, if you don't use all the meatballs then freeze for another time and just drop them into the soup frozen -- 1/4 to 1/3 cup dry red wine may be added to the soup :)"
 
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Ready In:
1hr 40mins
Ingredients:
25
Serves:
8
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ingredients

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directions

  • For the meatballs; in a bowl combine all ingredients until blended.
  • Shape into 3/4-inch balls; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to add to the soup.
  • In a large pot heat olive oil over medium-high heat; add in garlic and saute for 2 minutes.
  • Add in onions, dried oregano and crushed chili flakes; saute for about 4 minutes, stirring.
  • Add in celery, carrots and tomato paste; saute stirring for 2-3 minutes stirring with a wooden spoon.
  • Add in chicken broth, tomato sauce, kidney beans, green beans, spinach leaves and zucchini; return to a boil.
  • Add in uncooked meatballs; bring to a simmer (do not stir for at least 20 minutes).
  • Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 1-1/2 to 2 hours (after about 30 minutes of cooking season with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste).
  • Add in cooked pasta and 1/3 to 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; stir to heat through (can add in more cheese if desired).
  • Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese.

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Reviews

  1. Kittencal does it again! I used to not be a huge fan of minestrone soup but this recipe has converted me over. It smells soooo good when its cooking, and I love that its thick and not thin like many other soups I have had. Having these leftovers again tonight for dinner and cant wait!
     
  2. WOW!! I consider myself really good at making soup and I think this is the best soup I have ever made. My DH agrees, such depth of flavor. I sauteed the onions slowly while I peeled the carrots and celery and then added them with the onion and sauteed them. I always do this longer than recipes call for. I thought 2 hours seemed excessive to cook everything but decided who am I to argue with Kitten so I did it and wow am I glad I did it is truly amazing. I did add the green beans in the last 20 min and spinach at the very end. I doubled the recipe and used half tomato sauce and half crushed tomatoes like the recipe suggests. I wasn't sure what to use for the tomato sauce so I used Presidents Choice organic basil and tomato, it is fairly bland. Not sure most people would need to double this recipe it makes a lot but I am glad I did. Oh also used extra broth and it was still not a thin soup. Thanks so much for this recipe. LOVE IT!!!
     
  3. My kitchen sure smells real good today. This soup is absolutely fantastic. Delicious blend of flavors. All I can say is Wow Kittencal. I love your recipes. I followed the recipe except I had about 1/2 cup frozen corn and added that, and I added a bit extra broth. The meatballs are wonderful. I made 40 meatballs with the amount of meat mixture and added them all to the soup. This is a scrumptious soup, thanks so much Kittencal. I hope you never stop posting recipes you are wonderful.
     
  4. Omitted the zucchinis and though 5star even without, it needs the liquid. Cant wait to try with zucchini! THX!
     
  5. Great soup! I took this to a family dinner and everyone loved it. I did make a couple substitutions - I used fire-roasted crushed tomatoes (what I had on hand), and I used ground turkey breast for the meatballs. I also used cannelini beans because thats what I had. This is a really versatile, hearty soup, great for these cold damp days. Will make often, thanks for the recipe.
     
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Tweaks

  1. Great soup! I took this to a family dinner and everyone loved it. I did make a couple substitutions - I used fire-roasted crushed tomatoes (what I had on hand), and I used ground turkey breast for the meatballs. I also used cannelini beans because thats what I had. This is a really versatile, hearty soup, great for these cold damp days. Will make often, thanks for the recipe.
     

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