More assembly instructions than recipe, this post pairs bite-sized, savory meatballs with a rich and creamy (prepared) soup, which we'll get bursting with tomatoey, basil-y goodness using a few low-effort tricks.
A rich, creamy tomato pesto meatball soup that is absolutely bursting with savory tomato-basil goodness. Spoonfuls of classic, tingly, warm-hug comfort. Right in the feels.
Low-Effort Flavor
One of the tricks that makes this tomato pesto meatball soup low-effort is using a prepared tomato soup. Choose a high-quality one. Don't sweat the ingredients list or macros. You can't (and probably shouldn't in this case) avoid the additional sugars added to store-bought tomato soup, unless you want it to taste blah. So in this case, we'll just roll with it.
Trick number two is using a good store-bought basil pesto sauce. By "good," I just mean that it uses olive oil and basil. Many use canola or sunflower oil and/or lack actual basil on the ingredients list. Some prepared pesto sauces include spinach (probably because spinach is cheaper than basil and is also green), which will definitely not add any desirable flavor.
So check the label and make sure your pesto has olive oil and basil as the first two ingredients. (It can be jarred or fresh, just as long as it meets that criteria it should be good.)
Trick number three: The rind(s) of a block of Parmigiano-Reggiano. If you don't have one, well, you're buying a block parm for this recipe, so just cut off the rind, and now you have one. Good work.
Oo-MA-mee
A word the about mushrooms: Please don't skip the mushrooms.
Mushrooms get a bad rap because people undercook them, and so they end up with slimy, mushy mushrooms that have a gross texture and taste soggy and raw. To avoid this, start them on relatively high heat to get the water out, evaporate said water over the high heat, and then back the heat down a little and cook them until they develop some color. They will be meaty and delicious.
Enjoy yourself with this tomato pesto meatball soup. Keep fueling that furnace, and bust your next workout right in the meatballs!
Print
Tomato Pesto Meatball Soup
Description
More assembly instructions than recipe, this post pairs bite-sized, savory meatballs with a rich and creamy (prepared) soup, which we'll get bursting with tomatoey, basil-y goodness using a few low-effort tricks.
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 2-3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb ground pork
- 4-5 white or brown button mushrooms, finely diced
- 1 medium white onion, finely diced
- 1 stalk celery, finely diced
- 1 medium carrot, finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cayenne
For the soup:
- 10 cups (2 ½ quarts) prepared creamy-style tomato soup
- 1-2 rind of Parmigiano-Reggiano
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- 2 Tbsp basil pesto sauce
- Salt to taste
- 2 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
Instructions
For the meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with foil and grease them lightly with olive oil.
- In a bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and chicken stock. Set aside to allow the breadcrumbs to absorb the stock.
- In a medium skillet in about a tablespoon of olive oil, add the mushrooms with a pinch of salt and saute using relatively high heat. The mushrooms will release their water. When the water has mostly evaporated, reduce the heat to medium-high and continue to cook until the mushrooms develop a darker brown color.
- When the mushrooms have browned, add the onions, celery, carrots, and another pinch of salt, and saute over medium-high heat until they are soft and a little browning has occurred.
- Add the garlic and cook about another two minutes. Remove the mixture to a bowl and set aside to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the following:
- ground beef
- ground pork
- the breadcrumb slurry
- 1 cup of the shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 2 eggs
- the cooked mushrooms, onions, celery, and garlic mixture
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- Mix with your hands or a spatula until thoroughly combined.
- Using your hands or a cookie scoop, portion out ½-ounce-sized (1 Tbsp) meatballs and place them on the baking sheets. (This will create about 65 meatballs.)
- Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
For the soup:
- In a Dutch oven (or other large pot) over medium heat, add the tomato soup, rind(s) of Parmigiano-Reggiano, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer gently, stirring occasionally (to prevent the rind from sticking to the bottom) until the meatballs have finished cooking.
Combine:
- When the meatballs have finished cooking, first, remove the rind from the soup, then add the meatballs. Stir, and then simmer gently for about another 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining cup of shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the prepared pesto sauce and stir it into the soup until well combined. Taste the soup, and adjust for more pesto if desired. (I used 2 tablespoons each time I've made this, but it will depend on your taste and the type of pesto you're using.)
- Serve with more parm and parsley and enjoy!
Leave a Reply