Chicken Meatball Noodle Soup
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Tastes just like everyone’s favorite chicken noodle soup but it’s made 1000x better with chicken meatballs!
I know I just experienced -1 degree F weather in Indianapolis during the holidays but I will still say this. It’s still cold at 56 degrees F in Los Angeles.
I thought I could brave the cold a bit better here in Southern California after Indy, but boy was I wrong. So, Butters and I are not leaving the house today.
He’s in a fancy cable knit sweater and I’m already on my second bowl of this chicken noodle soup with extra chicken meatballs in my bowl.
Because let’s be honest, the meatballs are legit the best part of this soup.
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Chicken Meatball Noodle Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! Ground beef, ground pork or ground turkey can be used instead of ground chicken.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the orzo (or else they will get mushy) in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop, adding freshly cooked orzo when serving.
Chicken Meatball Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup orzo pasta
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
For the chicken meatballs
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ⅓ cup Panko
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, Panko, Parmesan, oregano, basil, parsley, garlic powder and red pepper flakes, if using; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 3/4-to-1-inch meatballs, forming about 25-30 meatballs.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the stockpot. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in chicken stock and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Stir in orzo, rosemary and meatballs; reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender and meatballs are cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.
- Stir in lemon juice and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
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I made this today. My store was out of fresh rosemary so I thought I would substitute dried, which I thought I had. Should have checked, but a Google search suggested tarragon as a replacement, so I added a couple of shakes of that. I ate this as soon as it finished cooking and it was very good, but ate a couple of spoonfuls after it sat for a while and the flavor was much richer. It was a nice change from traditional chicken noodle soup. Soup is one of my very favorite things to eat. Will make again.
Love this soup! I keep coming back to it. My only change is if you like your soup to have a decent amount of noodles, double the orzo!
Sounds great. I would love to have Nutritional information after your recipes I’m trying to cut down and sometimes that really helps. Thank you
Can i just say wow? I loved this soup but omitted the orzo and just served with some rice instead and it was SO GOOD. Thank you!
Could you use jasmine rice in replace of the orzo??
Excellent! I didn’t have any onions or celery so I used the dried onion flakes and celery seed. I don’t care for rosemary so I left it out. I made this gluten free by using gluten free panko, orzo and chicken broth. If spinach was added it’s almost like wedding soup.
Do you have an instant pot version of this soup? Thanks !
Seen charts on Pinterest that you can convert a regular recipe to an instant pot recipe. Hope this helps!
This is so perfect, very simple but has nice strong flavors. Wouldn’t change a thing!
This recipe is delicious! I like it better than traditional chicken noodle soup. I do have a question though…can you roll the meatballs and store them uncooked in the refrigerator the night before you intend to make the soup?
This was very good. I made it as is although I’m not a fan of rosemary or thyme as it can become overpowering for me. I added cream at the end which took it to another level and mellowed the rosemary and thyme a little. Thanks for the recipe!
I haven’t made this one yet but I wanted to say that I have so many of your recipes on permanent rotation! I love everything I have made so far and can’t wait to try this one!
OMG! One of, if not THE best soup I’ve ever made. My husband and I found this recipe 2 weeks ago and I think we’ve made it 4 times since. There is sooo much flavor in this. Definitely tasty! I’ve even made it where I brown the outsides of / partially cook the meatballs and then throw everything into the Instant Pot to make it a super quick weeknight meal. Very nice! I LOVE THIS SOUP!!
Hi, I may have missed it but where is the rice? Do you cook it and add it in somehow, lost, please help:(
There actually is no rice in this recipe. I think you may be referring to the 1/2 cup uncooked orzo pasta?
I made this tonight and it is very tasty!!
Delicious: eat soup year around . Added spinach because I had gotten some at the farmers market. Definitely a keeper. Thank you
I am personally a huge fan of soup all year round! 🙂 Thanks, Sally!
Looks so YUMMY! Just wondering if anyone has made a batch and frozen it for later? I’m a single gal and while I’m sure I ould eat the whole pot, I really shouldn’t. This sounds great for lunches during the week.
I cook and freeze the meatballs only to make quick batches, but have never frozen the whole soup. I’m making it this week because my teenage sons love it and request it even during 100 degree summers. I’ll freeze a little bit and report back because now I’m curious!
I have tried your recipe today. And I’m leaving a comment because it was a success. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. I didnt have the orzo pasta so instead I use the gnocchi which I happen to have. I’ll definitely try this recipe again using orzo pasta.
Thank you.
Liked the soup and looks very appetizing in the soup bowl. How much lemon do you put in the soup? The amount is not given in the recipe. I squeezed the whole lemon which gave the soup
a strong lemon taste and to my surprise liked the lemon taste more and more, though probably would put less in next time. The meatballs made the soup filling. One change for me would be to use slightly less Parmesan cheese in the mixture.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup, Cathy! 1 lemon has about 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in it. You can add as little or as much lemon juice as you prefer.
Delicious! Perfect dinner for a winter day!
Change nothing, this soup is amazing!
Is 8 cups of chicken stock correct????? In your similar recipe, the one the spinach and beans, almost exact same recipe, but calls for 4 cups of stock. Something seems off Which is correct???
Hi Lee. This one is correct. I have made it myself many times with the exact ingredient list. The recipes are similar but not the same. This one calls for orzo and meatballs so it needs a lot more liquid than the other one. Thanks for checking!