Chicken Meatball Zoodle Soup
Everyone’s favorite chicken noodle soup, but made even healthier with zucchini noodles and the most tender chicken meatballs!
It’s September. Which means I can say: Happy almost-Fall!
The season where the leaves start to change colors, and when we have every excuse in the book to order a pumpkin spice latte.
Except. Well. We went to a Dodger game yesterday. And left at the third inning. Because it was so stinking hot.
We then came home, turned on the AC, and had soup.
But not just any kind of soup.
We took a traditional chicken noodle soup, swapped out the noodles for zucchini, and then added my favorite chicken meatballs.
It. is. everything.
It’s warm, it’s cozy, it’s hearty, and there’s so much meatball goodness!
I also developed this bad habit of taking just a tiny bit of zoodles but then loading up on all the meatballs!
Chicken Meatball Zoodle 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
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pound zucchini (about 3 medium-sized zucchini), spiralized
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 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 and rosemary until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in chicken broth, bay leaf and 2 cups water; bring to a boil. Stir in meatballs; reduce heat and simmer until meatballs are cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in zucchini noodles during the last 3-5 minutes of cooking time.
- Stir in lemon juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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I made this for my family tonight. Had to exclude the Parmesan cheese due to a milk allergy. My family raved and raved about how delicious this was. Thanks so much for the recipe.
Hey Chunga! Been visiting your site for years now and love everything you post. However, I just recently moved to Europe and don’t frequently see ground turkey or chicken. I love a lot of your meatball recipes, can I replace most with ground beef?w
Sure!
This is delicious. The flavors are great! The zoodles are too complicated to eat in a soup, though. It would be easier to eat if you cut up the zucchini in small pieces. The meatballs are wonderful, too.
WOW! This was incredibly good and so easy to make! Love the flavors and the meatballs are so good! Thank you.
Thank you Maria! Glad you liked it!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! Definitely one of my new favorites.
So happy to hear! Thanks!
You had me at zoodles! Such a light version of a comforting bowl of soup!
Amazing! I am gonna try it tonight thank you
This looks so yummy! I’m getting so excited for soup season!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
How do the zoodles hold up if you don’t eat all the soup at once? Do they get mushy??
Yes, they may soften a bit overtime so you can set the zucchini noodles aside until ready to serve. Hope that helps, Nora!
This looks light, yet hearty. Perfect for a winter night! Today is the first day it actually feels like fall at my house, and it’s got me craving all the soup!
Mmmmmm… Looks delicious ! One problem……I don’t have a spiralizer thing…..What kind do you use
and where did you get it ? I must go get one !! Can’t wait to make this soup . Thanks again for another
great looking recipe ! I have tried many of them and they have all been awesome !!
This is the spiral slicer that I use. It’s so easy to use – it honestly just takes minutes to spiralize!
This looks fantastic. Have you tried to make the meatballs without the panko? I’m trying to stay lower carb. Is the panko for binding? could an egg work?
Thanks!
Yes, you can try to substitute an egg but the Panko does create a smoother, spongier, more tender, and also less dense meatball! 🙂