Homemade Soup Recipes
The best and easiest soup recipes

Homemade Minestrone With Meatballs

Minestrone is an Italian soup which is usually fairly thick and contains a variety of pasta and vegetables. If you’ve ever had canned minestrone, forget about it! This homemade version of minestrone will make you never want canned soup again. This unique version contains meatballs; and why not – it’s Italian! This soup is a meal in itself because it has all the protein and vegetables you need for a meal, and it is reasonably low in calories, making it a healthy choice for a hearty appetite.

Homemade Minestrone Soup With Meatballs

• 455 g ground beef (1 pound)
• 60 ml breadcrumbs (1/4 cup)
• 60 ml grated parmesan or Romano cheese, or a little of each (1/4 cup)
• 2.5 ml dried oregano (1/2 teaspoon)
• 2.5 ml dried basil (1/2 teaspoon)
• 1.3 ml dried thyme (1/4 teaspoon)
• 2.5 ml salt (1/2 teaspoon)
• 0.75 ml ground black pepper (1/8 teaspoon)
• 0.25 ml cayenne pepper (a pinch)
• 2.5 ml garlic powder (1/2 teaspoon)
• 1 medium egg, lightly beaten
• 15 ml olive oil (1 tablespoon)
• 2 medium onions, peeled and chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
• 710 ml chicken stock (3 cups)
• 475 ml tomato juice or V-8 juice (2 cups)
• 475 ml cut green beans (2 cups)
• 3 sliced carrots
• 1 - 425 g can of red kidney beans, rinsed and drained (15 ounces)
• 115 g of canned mushrooms (4 ounces)
• 410 g of canned, diced tomatoes with the juices
• 30 ml chopped fresh basil or 5 ml dried (2 tablespoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1.5 ml dried oregano (1/4 teaspoon)
• 2.5 ml salt (1/2 teaspoon)
• 1.25 ml ground black pepper (1/4 teaspoon)
• 120 ml uncooked elbow macaroni (1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F)

In a mix bowl, mix together the ground beef, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, oregano, basil, thyme, salt and pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic powder and the beaten egg. Start grabbing hunks of the mixture and rolling it into 1/2 inch sized meatballs. Put them on a cookie sheet or in a shallow aluminum pan and bake them 12 to 15 minutes until they are browned.
While those are browning, heat the olive oil in a large soup pot and sauté the onions for a few minutes until they are soft and golden. Add the 5 cloves of minced garlic and continue to sauté for another couple minutes.

To the soup pot, add the stock, tomato juice, tomatoes, mushrooms, green beans, carrots, kidney beans, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper and stir everything together. Bring the soup to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce the heat and allow the minestrone to simmer for about a half hour on medium low. Stir it every 5 or 10 minutes.

Add the meatballs to the minestrone and stir. Add the elbow macaroni and stir again. Put a lid on the soup pot and continue to cook for another 10 or 15 minutes – until the pasta is soft but not mushy.

Serve the homemade minestrone with meatballs hot. If you like, you can make the meatballs ahead of time for later use, or you can omit them altogether.