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Why I Love This Chicken Meatball Soup
Iowa winters can be grueling. The weather isn’t always full of snow and ice, but by the time February rolls around, you assume it’s almost spring. Then nature reminds you it definitely is not. Like so many Midwesterners, until the days are noticeably longer, I like to hibernate.
The perfect hibernation food — or really, food in general — is soup. For some, soup is the lesser food, something you dump together when you’re in a hurry. To me, soup is layers of flavor that can be slowly cooked or thrown together after work, yet still provide a nourishing, wholesome, and hearty meal.
What Makes a Good Soup
- Layered flavors – As opposed to throwing everything in a slow cooker, the ingredients should be added one at a time, “creating layers.”
- Aromatics – Herbs and spices help to elevate and round out the layered flavors.
- Hearty additions – Beans, potatoes, and meat help make a soup a meal.
- Sturdy greens – Kale added towards the end wilts and truly finishes a soup.
Some soups are more of a side or require a dish to complement them. Think tomato soup paired with grilled cheese. Tomato soup by itself isn’t often very filling. That’s not the case with this soup!
The best part of this soup may be the homemade chicken meatballs. This extra step seems like something that you won’t want to do on a weekend. But instead, the sausage goes together quickly with a perfect spice blend. Scooped onto a baking sheet and roasted in the oven, in just a matter of minutes, you’ll have homemade meatballs with more flavor than you’ll expect.
To start the soup, onion, celery, and garlic are sauteéd until translucent. Even though we read this step in a plethora of recipes, it’s truly important in this soup. This softens the vegetables and takes the hard, fresh flavor away to bring out the sweeter flavors underneath.
During the winter, I don’t have the luxury of pulling fresh herbs from the garden. So for ease, I use dried herbs. Dried are economical and packed with flavor.
Carrot, potato, and white beans are added to the stock to simmer. This is the best part: it only needs to be simmered until the potatoes and carrots are tender, but can be simmered longer if you want a slow, winter soup kind of day.
At the end, some pureed beans are added for their ability to thicken. This dish can really be ready in about one hour if needed. The soup hits all my needs: hearty, full of flavor, filling, and nourishing.
More Soup Recipes
- Creamy chicken and wild rice soup
- Slow cooker chili
- Curry butternut squash soup
- Slow cooker turkey, sweet potato, and kale soup
- Beef and barley soup
Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
I hope you make this recipe and put some food on your table. Leave a comment and share a star rating so you can let others know how much you love this recipe. This helps show others that this is a recipe they, too, can make, enjoy, and love!
Chicken Meatball Soup
Ingredients
For the chicken meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 tsp fennel seed
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp herbs de Provence
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tbsp pureed white beans (reserved from below)
For the soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ cups diced onion
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¾ cup diced celery
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 ½ cups roughly chopped carrot
- 1 6-8 oz potato
- 2 cans white beans
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 1 bunch kale (approx. 10 oz) ribs removed and chopped
Instructions
For the meatballs
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Using an immersion blender or food processor, puree 1 can of white beans. Reserve 2 tbsp for the meatballs and set the rest aside for the soup.2 cans white beans
- In a bowl, combine the ground chicken, fennel seed, allspice, smoked paprika, herbs de Provence, salt, black pepper, garlic, and bean puree. Stir to combine spice and meat evenly.1 lb ground chicken, 1 tsp fennel seed, 1 tsp allspice, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp herbs de Provence, 1 ½ tsp kosher salt, ¾ tsp freshly ground black pepper, 1 clove garlic, 2 tbsp pureed white beans (reserved from below)
- Using a #100 (2 tsp) cookie scoop, make meatballs and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. This should make approximately 35 meatballs. Bake in the preheated oven until browned and an internal temperature of 165°F is reached. While baking, prepare the soup.
For the soup
- Heat olive oil over medium heat in a 6-quart stockpot or Dutch oven. Add onion, celery, and salt. Slowly sauté until the onion and celery are translucent and soft, 4-6 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper, oregano, and basil. Stir and heat until garlic is fragrant, 1 minute.2 tbsp olive oil, 1 ½ cups diced onion, 1 tsp kosher salt, ¾ cup diced celery, 3 cloves garlic, ½ tsp red pepper flakes, 1 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp dried basil
- Add carrot, potato, 1 can of whole white beans with the liquid, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the carrot and potato are cooked, 25-35 minutes.1 ½ cups roughly chopped carrot, 1 6-8 oz potato, 2 cans white beans, 5 cups chicken stock
- Once the potatoes and carrots are cooked, add the reserved pureed beans to the soup. Continue to cook to remove the raw flavor, 15 minutes. Add the kale and baked meatballs to the soup. Allow the kale to wilt and the meatballs to warm through, 6 minutes.1 bunch kale (approx. 10 oz)
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below!
I am allergic to kale, so I’m wondering if spinach or Savoy cabbage (or a combination of both) could be substituted. Please advise.
EXCELLENT! My husband loved it too!!!
Wow, Kaleb. Five stars from cccoold, snowy Michigan. This is hearty without being heavy, the flavors are delicious and I had no idea baked meatballs would be so easy! Thank you!
Loved this soup and love watching you. HAD tried many recipes. Love them all.
This recipe is delicious! I used the exact method and ingredients. Thank you, Kaleb!
Can’t wait to make this for the weekend. If I decide to simmer all day should I still wait to add the kale and meatballs to the last 20 minutes?
Delicious! Even better the following day! I have never made sausage from ground Turkey (it’s what we had).
It was super easy and flavorful!
Made this soup yesterday during the nor’easter we had here in Massachusetts. I saw the video on IG and had to try it. It was so delicious! Perfect for a snowy day. The meatballs were seasoned so well, everyone in the family loved them. My husband isn’t into kale and beans but he wants me to make the meatballs and incorporate them into another type of meal, perhaps a pasta or with peppers and onions? Thanks Kaleb!
I want to try this soup, it sounds crazy delicious. how do you think this would be with Swiss Chard? I ask because this week I have a choice of Kale or Swiss Chard in our CSA box? Thank You
I think swiss chard is a perfect green to use! You could even chop the ribs seperately and add them with the soup for a longer cooking time then add the green tops at the end just as you could kale!
Just got home and saw your recipe of this incredible fabulosity kale soup!Kaleb! I wish to make it right now but I have to wait till monday!!!!! Love everything about it, I am just like you I like to seethe veg and b it them just like you do!
Thanks for this delish soup recipe, Monday is Kaleb’s Kale and sausage soup night!
❤️ Enjoy your weekend!