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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Is the rosemary chopped?
No it is not.
I was looking this over and can’t wait to make it. I was wondering why there isn’t a beaten egg in the meatball ingredients? Won’t the meatballs fall apart without a binder? Also, can you suggest a substitute for the orzo ? I can never find it at my store. Thank you!
The meatballs should not fall apart without an egg but you can always add a beaten egg to suit your preferences. You can substitute another type of short-cut pasta that is readily available at your grocery store.
This was amazing. My picky husband kept telling me how I’d seasoned everything perfectly when, in fact, I just followed the recipe. I’m a pretty so-so cook, but you always make me look like a rock star! Thanks.
What is Panko? I live in Sydney, Australia and don’t know this ingredient. Oh and its 100F here today, and yesterday and probably tomorrow too!
Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb and can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store.
You weren’t lying about these chicken meatballs- they are seriously amazing! I’m already trying to figure out what other meals I can incorporate then in. Excellent receipt, perfect for a cold, rainy day!
I made this last night and it was AMAZING. Next time I’ll make a larger batch of meatballs to freeze for other recipes.
Wonder if anyone has done the math to figure out how many WW points are in a serving of the soup?
…and how long would you bake the meatballs. Would that be at 350?
You can cook them for about 12-18 min at 400 degrees F, or until completely cooked through.
I just finished eating this!!! Oh my goodness, it is delicious! My husband and I loved the meatballs! The only change I made was 1/2 a lemon, instead of a whole. Your spices were perfect! This recipe is going in my favorites! Thank you so much!
Interesting kind of soup, really. Don’t remember seeing a meatball soup before, will make it for sure!
My husband walked in and the first thing he said was it smells amazing in here, I can’t wait to eat that! The aromatics alone are enough for me to want to cook this but I love the taste as well ( even with the missing bay leaves that I was sure I had at home LOL). I seriously need to get it together and buy your cookbook.
Can you use ground turkey in place of the chicken? Looks delicious!
Yes, 100%!
Love the recipe, thanks for sharing.
I had to laugh when you said it was 56 degrees F where you are and it is cold haaa haaa haa, I was not sure if you were kidding or not?
Right now where I live in Canada it is 41 Degrees F, and that is considered nice and warm, light jacket or sweater weather 🙂
Not crazy about ground chicken, do you think you could sub pork?
Absolutely.
How much is a serving this looks absolutely amazing
About 1 – 1 1/2 cups.
Yummy!! This looks amazing. This is a dumb question … could I use ground turkey instead of ground chicken?
Yes, of course!
Hi! Is there any way you could post the nutrition facts? Calories, macros that sort of thing? This looks amazing!
Hi Julie! Nutritional information is actually provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, I recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information. Hope that helps!
How about using cauliflower rice instead of orzo?
What a great idea!
To make it dairy free shall I substitute bread crumbs for Parmesan in the meatballs or just omit the cheese?
You can omit!
Hi Chungah,
Thanks for the chuckle this afternoon. It’s a balmy -22 here in New Brunswick Canada, and we’re heading out for a walk with all 3 dogs; gotta love geographical comparisons hey! Soup looks amazing, just what we need for this weekend.
Looks great – is there a calorie count for this? Thanks
Hi Laura! Nutritional information is actually provided only for select and new recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, I recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain such information. Hope that helps!