Chicken Meatball Soup

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This Chicken Meatball Soup is full of tasty veggies, seasonings, and cooked barley. Healthy and so simple to throw together, I hope you try it this week!

Chicken Meatball Soup

This Chicken Meatball Soup is healthy, really good, simple to throw together and my 4-year old ate 2 bowls full. TWO BOWLS FULL! The mini meatballs and cheese I sprinkled on top definitely helped my cause. The rainy Portland weather begs me to make soup, so this is a frequent occurrence ’round these parts. Make some No-Knead Crescent Rolls and this becomes a mighty tasty dinner. Give it a whirl and enjoy!

Main Ingredients

Chicken Meatball Soup is made from a mixture of pantry staples and some other less used ingredients. So plan ahead and add what you need to your shopping list:

• Olive Oil, Onion, and Garlic – these three are a basic trio that packs a ton of flavor.
• Carrots, Zucchini, Butternut Squash, and Diced Tomatoes – these are all of our veggies for this soup. I bought a precut butternut squash from Whole Foods and the diced tomatoes are canned (to save on time).
• Chicken Broth – this fills out a lot of the soup and adds great chicken flavor.
• Bay Leaves, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Salt, and Pepper – all of our seasonings! Don’t forget to salt and pepper, those two go a long way when it comes to flavor.
• Pearl Barley – this is a whole grain and cooks right along with the soup. You could also use quinoa here.
• Chicken Sausage Links – I used sausage links cut open to make chicken meatballs that cook in the soup as well.
• Parmesan Cheese – I like to top this chicken meatball soup with a little bit of parmesan cheese, but that’s optional.

Chicken Meatball Soup Variations

If you are going to take the time to make dinner, you should make it how you like it! With that in mind, here are some suggestions to customize your Chicken Meatball Soup:

• Vegetables: replace any of the veggies listed in the recipe card for veggies that you like. Broccoli, peas, cauliflower, corn, all are great options.
• Meatballs: if you rather make a different kind of meatball (beef, pork, turkey) go for it! I have a great and very versatile meatball recipe you can use.
• Broth: switch out the broth to beef, or veggie broth to suit your needs.

How to Make Chicken Meatball Soup

This Chicken Meatball Soup requires a bit of chopping, rolling, and waiting. For full details, see the recipe card below!

1. Start by chopping a whole lot of veggies: onions, carrots, and zucchini. Grate some garlic too…and cut up some butternut squash too. Sauté all the veggies in some olive oil in a large pot until things start to soften up.
2. Now add in two cans of diced tomatoes, some chicken stock, and some spices. Cover and bring to boil.
3. Once the soup is boiling, you can grab some chicken sausages and make your cute little meatballs. You basically just squeeze the meat out of the casing and roll them into small baby meatballs. Drop these into the boiling broth to cook….and dump in the barley too. Let this cook away until the barley is soft.
4. Serve with a little parmesan cheese if desired and dig in!

Leftovers

Keep this soup in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge! To reheat, simply microwave or warm on the stovetop.

More Soup Recipes to Try!

• Alphabet Soup
• Easy Taco Soup
• Chicken Pot Pie Soup
• Tomato Basil Soup

Consider making this tasty and comforting Chicken Meatball Soup as the season changes to a chillier one.

The printable recipe card is below, have a great day 🙂

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5 from 7 votes

Chicken Meatball Soup

This Chicken Meatball Soup is full of tasty veggies, seasonings, and cooked barley. Healthy and so simple to throw together try it this week!

servings 6 servings

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 large onion diced
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic grated
• ▢ 2 cups carrot chopped
• ▢ 2 small zucchini diced
• ▢ 2 cups butternut squash diced
• ▢ 6 cup chicken broth
• ▢ 29 oz diced tomatoes two 14.5 oz cans
• ▢ 2 bay leaves
• ▢ 1 teaspoon basil
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• ▢ salt & pepper to taste
• ▢ 2/3 cup pearl barley
• ▢ 3 Italian chicken sausage links
• ▢ parmesan cheese optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onions, garlic, carrots, zucchini and squash for 5-6 minutes.
  
• Pour in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, seasonings and barley. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer.
  
• Pull meat from sausages out of casings and roll into small meatballs. Drop into simmering broth.
  
• Cook 30-45 minutes or until pearl barley is completely cooked. Ladle into bowls and serve with grated parmesan.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 298kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 1346mg | Potassium: 954mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 12478IU | Vitamin C: 51mg | Calcium: 117mg | Iron: 3mg

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken meatball soup