This delicious pork meatball soup is a perfect dinner soup! With tender meatballs, spinach and peas, all in a flavourful Parmesan broth.
I don’t like to pick favourites, but let me just say that this soup was one of the most delicious soups I’ve enjoyed in a while. I guess I’m saying, if you’re in the mood for soup, move this one to the top of your list!
This meatball soup starts with lovely ground pork and ricotta meatballs, that are pan fried to golden. The ricotta in these produces meatballs that are beautifully tender. Add the broth and a good size chunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and let it simmer just a bit. Throw in some peas and spinach, then spoon over egg noodles.
There is a lot to love about this soup, from the tender meatballs, to the bright greens and the noodles. The star perhaps though is the Parmesan broth. I think I could drink that broth out of a cup :) Delicious!
From start to finish, you can be enjoying this soup in about 45 minutes. It’s a wonderful dinner soup, served along with a salad and a crusty bread to dip in the flavourful broth.
Cook’s Notes
If you can, I recommend Parmigiano Reggiano parmesan cheese for this one. It’s a bit more expensive, but worth it and will be the star of this dish.
You could easily use ground chicken or turkey in place of the ground pork here.
Be sure not to simmer your broth with meatballs too vigourously. A very gentle simmer is best, to ensure your meatballs don’t break.
You may be wondering if you can add the egg noodles to the soup (or cook the egg noodles in the soup). A couple of reasons why it’s best NOT to go that route – if you simmer the cooked noodles with the broth, the starch in the noodles will make for a cloudy broth. If you have left-overs and the noodles are in the soup, the noodles will soak up all your lovely broth as they sit in the fridge. That would be a shame. So when all is said and done, you’re best to simply spoon the hot soup over warm noodles, rather than combining them.
Get the Recipe: Pork Meatball Soup with Parmesan Broth
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, grated, plus more for garnish
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, less if using fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/4 lbs ground pork
Soup:
- 2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 3-by-1-by-1 inch piece of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 3 inches long, 1 inch wide and 1 inch thick
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 2 cups baby spinach
For serving
- Warm cooked egg noodles
- Shaved, crumbled Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Instructions
- Start water boiling in a large pot for egg noodles.
- In a large bowl, stir together the ricotta and 1/4 cup of grated Parmigiano. Add the egg, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, salt, pepper and water. Add the pork and stir to combine well. Form into 15-18 approx. two-inch diameter meatballs.
- In a large pot (preferably non-stick), heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the meatballs and cook the bottom until well browned. Using a spoon, gently flip the meatballs over and brown that side well. Again, using a spoon, flip the meatballs on their sides and brown all sides to seal the meatball well. Pour in the broth and add the the piece of cheese. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer the broth very gently, stirring once or twice (so the Parmesan doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan), until the meatballs are cooked through and the broth is slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. Stir in the thawed peas and spinach. Taste, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until the peas are warmed through.
- Meanwhile, cook egg noodles in boiling water per the package directions. Drain and keep warm.
- Place some warm cooked egg noodles in the bottom of shallow bowls. Spoon the meatballs and broth over the egg noodles. Garnish with additional grated Parmigiano and serve.
Notes
More Soup Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I was actually looking at another recipe on your site when a link to this recipe popped up and wow! The photos are so mouthwatering I already have all the ingredients on my shopping list. This is the perfect recipe to make for lunch tomorrow. Thanks so much for sharing!
So glad you found this one! It’s one of my favourites. Great meatballs and I could drink the Parmesan broth :) Enjoy!
I made this delicious soup but when I make it again
I will double the broth. When it was done there wasn’t enough
broth left to really reheat it again. Nevertheless the entire recipe
was worth making again and again.
So glad you enjoyed it Rita and yes, you can easily increase the broth here :) Thanks!
Have now upped to 5 star and plus if I could. Not only do they freeze well, either raw or already cooked, they also go very well with spaghetti.
Day before I defrosted both cooked and raw. I cooked the raw ones earlier in day, heated the sauce and then added all the meatballs to heat thru. You could not tell the difference between them. All absolutely delish!
They are all gone and now must make for the freezer again. Being alone I love to have things ready in the freezer. Package them 3 meatballs to snack size baggies, can take out as many as I want should there be extra people at the table. I will probably precook all of them as the end results are pretty much the same and it eliminates that extra step before the final meal.
Thanks again… need to try your other meatball recipes now too :)
So glad to hear, Gwen! Thanks :) If you are a meatball fan, a couple I would recommend you try out are
1) These big meatballs are fabulously delicious with polenta or pasta, with pork and prosciutto – https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/pork-meatballs-polenta/
2) The Asian-inspired meatballs from this recipe are a great one for a bake-once/enjoy from the freezer option! https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/sesame-ginger-pork-meatball-soup/
I made the meatballs yesterday. Added the whole 300gr of ricotta as I didn’t want 1/4c left over. Also had 648 gr of meat so I guess that was about 85 gr over. It all worked out beautifully although I might increase the parm if my quantities are large for next time – and Jennifer there sure will be a next time!
I got 27 meatballs (2″) so to experiment, I froze 6 raw meatballs, baked 16 in small muffin tins (they fit perfect) of the 16 I froze in 2 packages 12 of them and the other 4 seemed to disappear somewhere between the counter and my mouth.
I still have 5 to fry up today but the oven was so easy – think that is my chosen way. As you suggested, 450 for 15 minutes then I turned them and back for 5. Cooked thru and beautifully soft, moist and tender.
Today I’m actually going to add the soup part (blushing).
Lol at your disappearing meatballs, Gwen :) And great to know the oven-method works well. Thanks!
Thanks for this keeper! One question…now that I am retired, I love dishes I can prepare early in the day and heat up or finish the easy part,later.
Can I make the meatballs and broth ahead…refrigerate…put it all together at dinner?
I would store the meatballs after cooking them in the broth, dry, in a separate container. Would you remove the piece of parm from the soup after the 15 minutes? Thanks for any help.
So glad you enjoyed the soup, Susan :) Just about every soup or main course dish on the blog was cooked in the morning, refrigerated, then re-heated for my husband and I to enjoy later in the day. I have learned to love having dinner done early in the day, so I totally understand :) I think it would do just fine making the parts ahead and keeping them separate. I would take the parm out of the broth myself, before refrigerating. Then add the parm back in and add the peas and spinach when re-heating for dinner. Hope that helps :)
This was wonderful! Unfortunately, my husband cannot eat spinach. Can you suggest something to take its place?
Hi Maria, a couple of ideas … watercress is one of my favourite greens and would be nice in this soup. Baby kale would also work nicely (or regular kale that’s massaged a little, so it’s not so tough, then chopped). Hope that helps!
I discovered your recipes around Christmas time and I must say, I’m really impressed. I can’t wait to try them all out. Tonight I had my mom over and made your meatball soup with a nice rustic bread, it was a hit. This soup will definitely become a favourite in our home. Tomorrow, I’m trying your pork loin with herbs and wine. I can’t wait. You’ve inspired me to cook again. Thanks so very much!!!
So glad you enjoyed it, Ruth! Thanks :)
Made this last week. Soup was indeed very tasty, but my spinach stuck together in clumps from the little bits of parmesan reggiano. Also, I got waaaaay more meatballs than recipe said (which isn’t a bad thing, lol). I baked half in the oven and did the rest on the stove top. Both ways worked well although the ones cooked in the skillet looked a little nicer. The baked meatballs had one very dark side.
All was enjoyed despite the minor issue with the spinach.
Glad to hear, Jerri :) Thanks!
Made this but did bake the meatballs instead of pan frying. (I always end up with burnt on the outside – raw on the inside – meatballs.) Baked at 450 for 15 minutes. I use a mini-muffin pan coated with cooking spray for my meatballs. Keeps them contained. You lose the deliciousness of the browned meatballs, but I’m willing to sacrifice that for the clean up too (no oil splatters on my cooktop). The broth is outstanding. Will use it for frozen tortollini or other pasta soup.
This goes into our rotation. Although I have to admit I have too many “meatballs in soup” recipes now thanks to this website. (Mexican Meatballs in soup, Ginger Pork Meatballs in Soup….) But they’re all so delicious I can’t give any of them up.
Lol! Yes, I do have a lot of meatball soups :) I’m drawn to them for my husband, I think. The extra meaty heartiness makes broth soups more appealing to his appetite. So glad you enjoyed this one. It’s a bit finicky, but I do love the combination of flavours !
I doubled this recipe and baked the meatballs in the oven . They were tender and perfectly cooked. Next time, I might brown just one batch in the pot for added flavor but the broth was delicious as it was. Definitely will be making this one again! Thank you!
So glad you enjoyed this Linda! I suspect the meatballs might not stand up well simmering in the broth, as they are quite tender. I don’t know that for sure, as I haven’t tried it, but just beware of that possible outcome :)
I made this a few weeks ago. It was delicious!!! Making it again tonight.. Can’t wait! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
So glad you hear you are enjoying this! I loved this soup and make it often myself. It always hits the spot :)
Holy cow, this is what I need in my life right now, Jennifer! I’m such a fan of egg noodles and of course, meatballs are the best food on the planet. Absolutely gorgeous!
Thanks Robyn :) I really loved this soup. Really hit the spot this time of year, especially!
I think that I could drink this broth straight out of a cup too, Jennifer! I can only dream of the flavours going on here! I often put parm in soup and it’s freaking delicious!; I can’t recall where exactly I saw parm put in soup before (maybe Lidia Bastianich). And, plus, you have in the meatballs and garnish? So good! All I’d need with this is a big piece of crusty, garlic bread for dunkin’ and I’d be one happy girl! Pinned! Happy Monday to ya!
Thanks so much, Dawn :)
As much as I love me some meatballs, I REALLY LOVE LOVE LOVE meatballs in a brothy soup! So you know I’m digging this deliciousness, Jennifer! The pork and ricotta meatballs with the parmesan broth sounds just perfect!!! YUM! Cheers!
Thanks so much, Cheyanne :)
Hi Anne, First I am sorry you didn’t love this soup. Obviously, that was not my experience. I didn’t have a single meatball fall apart and I found the soup to be very full flavoured. That said, I really do appreciate your feedback and I’ll see if I can help you love it too :)
First, the meatballs. Mine were definitely more around 2-inches to start. The meatball mixture was well stirred. Almost paste-like. The meatballs were moist but held their shape. I added to a hot pot and let the bottom brown up really well, then used a spoon to gently flip them over. Then (and this is the important part I think), I rotated them on their sides and cooked all the sides. Browning all the outside is important to seal them before adding the broth, as if the sides aren’t cooked well, the moisture will escape that way and cause the meatball to break. All that said, I agree, these are really soft meatballs owing to all the ricotta and yes, need to be handled gently. I also think using a non-stick skillet to make the meatballs might be easier, as it would give more room for the flipping, as well. Browning all sides was also a bit fiddly, as they tend to flatten a bit. This is exactly why I mentioned about wanting to bake them off quickly in a hot oven instead. I will be trying that this week and report back :) I think it would definitely be nice to make this more part more simple.
Now as for the flavour of the soup, I don’t know how big a parmesan piece you put in, but it should have been 3 inches long by 1 inch wide by 1 inch thick, so your broth should have been anything but lacking in flavour. It should have been distinctly paremsan-y. Beyond that, when it comes to soup, when I taste a soup and it seems to be missing something, it is almost always salt. Even though there is salt in the broth and parmesan, the added spinach and peas are completely unseasoned and even the noodles are very lightly salted from the boiling water (assuming it was salted). I usually add a bit of salt first in cases like this and see if it improved it. If it did, I add a bit more. Soups need a lot of salt.
As I said, I really do appreciate your feedback and will use it to go back and make my instructions more clear and make suggestions for others. Thanks!
You did it again! I love the soups recipes you create. So inviting!
Thanks Milena! I think you will love this one :)
This soup looks like perfect spring comfort food Jennifer. Love those meatballs!
Thanks so much, Mary Ann :)
I love meatballs any which way, but especially lightened up like these, this soup looks incredible!
Thanks Sue and yes, these meatballs were so light and delicious! Lots of flavour :)
What a lovely soup (and very helpful Cook’s Notes)… So full of beautiful colors and textures! I’m dying to taste it!
Thanks Michele :)
This looks delicious and I hope to make it next week. I have to use some ricotta that has been in my fridge for a while.
Thanks Gerlinde and yes, a perfect way to use up that ricotta :)
Three words – This. Is. Happening! (You’re killing me with this one! Okay – more than three words!)
Thanks so much, Annie :) You will love this one!
Oh my goodness, I love the idea of parmesan broth as a base for this beautiful soup. As a matter of fact, I love everything about it and I know the family -young and old alike – would really enjoy it too! Thanks!
Thanks so much, Chris and yes, that Parmesan broth!! The dish has shades of Italian Wedding soup, so I’m sure it would appeal to everyone :)
Well I’m moving this recipe to the top of the soup list. And I will try baking instead of frying the meatballs so thanks for the suggestion. I love that you put ricotta in the meatballs – and I can’t wait to bite into one! With the little bit of spinach and pasta – this is an amazing dish. So pretty too! Have a great weekend and thanks for this recipe!
Thanks Tricia and yes, I’m thinking baking the meatballs would be an easier way to go here (and no fussing about constantly turning them :)
I made this tonight, but I halved the recipe. BIG mistake because it was SO delicious and now there’s none left! ?
Thank you for such a great recipe, I will definitely make it again! ?
Don’t you hate when that happens?! :) So glad you enjoyed this. I am a big fan of this soup! Thanks!