
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
I kept meaning to get Mom’s recipe for this wonderful and easy meatball soup. She’s been making it for years. Because I love the meatballs so much, we put lots of them in this soup (2 lbs!!). You could use 1 lb and adjust the seasoning accordingly, but why? WHY?!!
My Mama and I made this together in her kitchen. I love cooking with Mom. I always learn so much. Everyone loved this soup and there was less than half left after a few hours. I downed two bowls myself and my son loved it too. It’s a winner for sure!
Ingredients for Mom’s Meatball Soup:
7 cups water
8 cups low sodium chicken stock
2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
6-8 medium potatoes, cubed
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup pasta (optional)
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 large sticks of celery, finely diced
3 Tbsp canola oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten (optional)
2 Tbsp Dill, fresh or frozen
Mrs. Dash
Freshly ground black pepper
Ingredients for the Meat Mix:
2 lbs ground pork
1 tsp Mrs. Dash original or Mrs. Dash garlic seasoning
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp salt
1 large egg
1/2 onion, finely diced

How to Make the Best Meatball Soup:
1. Add water and broth to a large soup pot over high heat. Add 2 tsp salt and all of your chopped potatoes to the soup pot.

2. Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes. In the mean time, slice your carrots and toss them into the soup pot.

3. Add 1/2 cup of 1/2″ pieces of thin spaghetti to the soup pot or whatever pasta you wish. Pasta is optional, but I’ve always liked it when Mom added it to soups.

4. Chop your onion (1/2 goes into the meat mix and 1/2 goes into the soup in step 7).

5. Place ground pork into a large bowl (Store-bought ground pork works. I ground my own pork on the large grinder holes). Add 1/2 chopped onion, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, 1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper, 2 tsp salt, and 1 egg. Mix well.

6. Make meatballs by rolling them in your hands. They don’t have to be perfect, just round-ish. Toss them in your pot as you make them. Recruit a helper for meatballs to liven (and speed) things up. Cook for at least 10 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and floating at the top.

7. Meanwhile, heat a non-stick skillet over medium/high heat. Add 3 Tbsp canola oil, finely diced celery and onion. I normally don’t like celery in soups, but sautéing enhances the soup’s flavor without being over-the-top celery flavored. Saute until soft and golden. Add it to the pot.

8. Add 1 beaten egg to the soup pot while stirring constantly so you don’t get clumps of egg. If you don’t like egg, you can omit it (the soup won’t miss it).

9. Add 2 Tbsp dill. Then add more Mrs. Dash, Salt and Pepper to taste (Mom added about 1/2 tsp dash, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper at the end).


Mom's Meatball Soup Recipe

Ingredients
Soup Ingredients:
- 7 cups water
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 2 tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- 6-8 medium potatoes, cubed
- 3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup pasta, optional
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 2 large sticks of celery, finely diced
- 3 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten (optional)
- 2 Tbsp Dill, fresh or frozen
- Mrs. Dash
- Ground black pepper
Meat Mix Ingredients:
- 2 lbs ground pork
- 1 tsp Mrs. Dash
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
Instructions
- Add water and chicken stock to a large soup pot over high heat. Add 2 tsp salt and all of your chopped potatoes to the soup pot. Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes.
- In the mean time, slice your carrots and toss them into the soup pot.
- Add 1/2 cup of 1/2" pieces of thin spaghetti to the soup pot or whatever pasta you wish.
- Place ground pork into a large bowl. Add 1/2 chopped onion, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 2 tsp salt, and 1 egg. Mix well.
- Make meatballs by rolling them in your hands. Toss them in your pot as you make them. Cook for at least 10 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through and floating at the top.
- Meanwhile, heat a non-stick skillet over medium/high heat. Add 3 Tbsp canola oil, finely diced celery and 1/2 onion. Saute until soft and golden. Add it to the pot.
- Add 1 beaten egg to the soup pot while stirring constantly so you don't get clumps of egg. (Optional).
- Add 2 Tbsp dill. Then add more Mrs. Dash, salt and pepper to taste. We added about 1/2 tsp dash, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper at the end).




Would ground chicken work fine for this?
I think it would work well with either. Ground chicken thighs would probably be the best (it’s the juiciest).
I made this recipe using 1 lb chicken thighs and 1 lb breast- turned out delicious!! My biggest food critic husband absolutely loved it!! And so did our 1 year old baby:) Will be a dinner staple. Thank you!!
Hi Mary! That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new family favorite!
I used chicken breast and the meatballs turned out dry. Thoughts ?
Hi Polina. That is quite common with chicken breast. Dark meat chicken or turkey would have more fat.
Which Mrs. Dash did you use? I looked it up on Google and I found different kinds.. I didn’t see a photo of it in your post
We used the original version. Usually has a yellow label.
I dont usually leave comments but this soup is superb!!! Thank you
Hi Debbie! That’s so great! Thank you for this amazing review!
Thank you for the recipe. I made this yesterday for my 9 month old daughter (she refuses to eat baby food now), and she loved it!
I used nutritional yeast instead of salt and used soft silken tofu instead of onion.
That’s so great Steph! Thank you for sharing that with us!
Yum, thank you for the recipe… I only had ground turkey and dry Dill… but It was delicious 😋.
Dill
Thats great Zhanna! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Hi Natasha,
Since I’m only cooking for two, I will be cutting this recipe in half. I still ended up buying 2 lbs of ground pork. Can I make these meatballs and freeze half? How much longer would I need to cook frozen meatballs, or would I thaw them first ? Thanks in advance!!
Hi Julie, I have frozen meatballs for soup in the past but I do prefer to thaw before adding them to the soup otherwise adding frozen meat tends to make the broth murky.
Did I miss where it said how long to let the soup simmer/cook after everything is added? I definitely want my pork meatballs cooked through. Thanks!
Hi Heather, sorry I didn’t specify – it should be about 10 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. They will be cooked through by the time you are done prepping the vegetables and adding the remaining ingredients. I updated the recipe to specify.
Thank you – I also loved your soup! Used half veal half pork mince and no Mrs Dash in Oz, so bit of herbs like garlic salt, oregano. Love the freshness and hydrating quality of the broth
Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
Thank you for a great recipe! My family loved it!
My pleasure Elena! I’m happy to hear your family enjoys the recipes as much as mine does! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Absolutely wonderful soup! I made this on 26 July 2017. Easy, straight forward recipe, enjoyed not only by me, but the entire Thai family loved it, and they will be heating it up this morning as well! I did not make the Mrs. Dash Seasoning yet so I just seasoned with salt, pepper, spring onion, and the tops from the celery. This is will be a regular here at the house now. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
You’re welcome Lee! I’m happy to hear that everyone loves the recipe! Thanks for sharing your fantastic review!
I made this soup yesterday, and it was delicious. The only difference I put way more Mrs. Dash into meat mixture. We had it with sour cream, and everyone was in love with it! Thank you!
That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review 😀
Is there anything I can do to make the liquid more flavorful? I omitted the celery because I really don’t like celery but I feel like the liquid is just salted oily water. Like it’s missing flavor. Any suggestions what I can add? Maybe chicken stock?
Thank you!
Hi Anna, did you use the amount and type of meat (pork) called for in the recipe? It should provide ample flavor to the soup without needing broth unless you substitute with a less flavorful meat. You can definitely replace some of the water with chicken broth, especially if you subbed for another kind of meat. I hope that helps! 🙂
This soup is delicious! Do you ever eat it with sour cream? Thanks so much for the recipe!
Hi Ester, I like the light broths like this without sour cream, but to be honest I’ve never tried it in this soup. Have you?
We did try it with sour cream and we loved it! My daughter ate hers without and also loved it. 🙂
My mom made a soup with rice instead of pasta, and gently sauteed the balls before adding them to soup. It prevents the meat scum from forming. Easy to do by slicking the pan with oil and gently shaking it as the balls get golden. I will try to use the 2 tsp springloaded ice cream scoop to form the balls(I think it’s #70).
Thanks for sharing your tip! 🙂 Yes, the ice scream scoop makes it so easy to form the meatballs! 🙂
Enjoying a bowl as I type this 😉
Mmmm!!!! Thank you for the recipe!
You’re very welcome :). We make this in our house all the time. It’s an adult and kid favorite around here 🙂
My husband hates soups. When I made this recipe, he absolutely loved it!!
Reading your comment is like music to my ears, except it’s my eyeballs – you know what I mean!! 🙂 Thank you for that awesome review! We just finished a pot of this same soup tonight 🙂
How long should the meatballs boil in the soup until fully cooked?
We usually give it a good 5 minutes. They will float to the top. You can test one to be sure 🙂
Thank you for all of your recipes!
You’re so welcome 🙂
This soup is yummy!! I always make it! Exactly how my mom use to make it! Thank you for the recipe!
Vicky, thank you for the great review and the compliment 😀.
Hello, my husband can’t eat red meat. Do you think this recipe would work with ground turkey or chicken?!
Thank You 🙂
I think it would work well with either. Ground chicken thighs would probably be the best (it’s the juiciest).
Hi Natasha
This soup is very yummy! My husband loved the meat balls :). I love all your recepies I have tried most of them :). And they all delicious!!!
Thank you. Hope there be more new ones soon 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoy it :). This one is our family’s favorite and most frequently made soup :).