Name: Spaghetti and Meatball Soup
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 red onion, chopped coarse; 1 carrot, peeled and chopped coarse; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth; 2 (28-ounce) cans diced tomatoes; 1/2 pound ground chicken; 1/3 cup pesto, plus extra for serving; 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs; Salt and pepper; 2 cups ditalini pasta; Grated Parmesan cheese

Why This Recipe Works

For our Spaghetti and Meatball Soup recipe’s tomato base, we used canned chicken broth and canned diced tomatoes flavored with sautéed onion, carrot, and garlic. We preferred using chicken (flavored with pesto) in our meatballs instead of beef. The meat was far less fatty and didn’t make our Spaghetti and Meatball Soup greasy.

Before You Begin

Use any small, bite-sized pasta in this recipe.

Instructions

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and carrot and cook until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in broth and tomatoes. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer until carrot softens, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix chicken, pesto, bread crumbs, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper together in large bowl. Use heaping teaspoon to form mixture into forty 3/4-inch meatballs.

Strain soup into large bowl and rinse out pot. Transfer solids in strainer to blender with 1 cup strained liquid and puree until smooth. Return pureed mixture and remaining strained liquid to pot and heat until simmering. Season with salt and pepper.

Add pasta and meatballs and simmer until pasta is al dente and meatballs are cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Ladle soup into bowls and serve with dollops of additional pesto and grated Parmesan.