Contributed By Courtney Horan, Author of Sweet Tooth Sweet Life
Ohhhhhhh, boy oh boy oh boy oh boy. Do I have lots of yummy food (and recipes!) to share with you this morning. And if you follow me on Instagram, then you probably already know what I’m talking about.
Last night, I set out to make some homemade soup and bread. I’m sort of a fan of the whole soup and bread combo, but I decided to switch things up a bit from the usual soup rotation.
While I was at the store earlier this week, I happened to notice that extra lean ground beef was on sale, so I picked up a pound of it, still not quite sure what I was going to do with it. Jay’s always happy when there’s actual beef in the house, so I knew I couldn’t really lose either way. 
So I started browsing through some of my cookbooks and wound up coming across a recipe for a tomato type of soup…with meatballs. I mean, how fun does THAT sound?
One of the best parts about this soup is that it unbelievably easy. Once you’ve got the meatballs made, the soup will literally take you less than 15 minutes to prepare. I was actually a little leery of the very basic ingredient list, unsure of whether or not it would turn out super bland.
Italian-Style Tomato and Meatball Soup
(lightly adapted from The Healthy Beef Cookbook)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
Meatball Ingredients:
- 1 pound extra lean group beef (I used 93% lean)
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 egg whites, slightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons minced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Soup Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 3-4 cloves roasted garlic (I had some leftover – you could also do 2 tsp minced garlic)
- 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) fat-free and lower sodium beef broth
- 1 can (28 ounces) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 cup whole wheat shells (or other small pasta), uncooked
- salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
Prepare meatballs: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well (use your hands to really get in there!). Shape into 28-30 meatballs, about 1-1/4 inches each. Place on a rack in a baking dish (or just directly in the dish). Bake for 13-16 minutes, or until no longer pink in the center. Set aside.
Prepare soup: Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Stir in broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Add in pasta and reduce heat; cover and simmer at least 10-15 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Stir in meatballs and continue to cook until heated through.
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