Description
A hearty meatball soup with garlic toast or croutons, marinara, and Italian seasonings.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3–4 pieces garlic toast or 18 large croutons (or as desired, for garnishing; divided)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small white or yellow onion (diced small)
- 1 green or red bell pepper (seeded and diced small)
- 3–4 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 32 ounces reduced sodium beef broth
- 32 ounces marinara sauce (two 16-ounce jars)
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 2–3 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or to taste)
- 1–2 teaspoons granulated sugar (or to taste)
- 26 ounces cooked meatballs (easiest to use a bag of frozen meatballs that are thawed before using)
- 6 ounces pepperoni slices (halved or quartered)
- Salt and pepper (optional and to taste)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (for garnishing; divided)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (for garnishing; divided)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (optional for garnishing; divided)
- Red pepper flakes (optional for garnishing)
Instructions
- If you’re going to bake garlic toast, garlic bread, French bread, or similar do it now according to package directions which likely means preheating your oven to 350F and cube the garlic toast now into 1 1/2-inch cubes (or do it after baking if desired), and bake for 5 minutes, flip, and bake for 5 more minutes. Get started on the rest of the recipe while it toasts. If you’re using croutons, no need to bake or toast anything and just start the rest of the recipe.
- To a large soup pot or Dutch oven, add the olive oil, onions, bell peppers, and cook over medium-high heat to sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until vegetables are softening; stir frequently.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir continuously.
- Add the beef broth, marinara sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, sugar, and stir to combine.
- Add the meatballs, pepperoni, and simmer for about 15 minutes; stir occasionally.
- Taste the soup and if it needs salt, pepper, or more sugar, add it now.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and evenly distribute the baked garlic toast or croutons over the top of each bowl as desired.
- Garnish as desired with the mozzarella, Parmesan, parsley, and optional red pepper flakes to taste, and serve immediately.
Notes
- If the soup tastes at all flat or bland, it likely needs salt. If it tastes acidic or has too much of a bite, it needs more sugar. Pepper is always nice to give flavor without adding spiciness.
- Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat gently in the microwave.
- Store any garlic toasts or croutons airtight at room temp and apart from the soup or they will get soggy and disintegrate into the soup.
- See Notes for Slow Cooker instructions.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 900mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 25g
- Cholesterol: 70mg