Classic Russian Meatball Soup: A Hearty & Comforting Homemade Delight

The aroma of a simmering pot of homemade soup is undeniably comforting, and for many in Eastern Europe, particularly those with Ukrainian or Russian heritage, this comfort often comes in the form of a delicious meatball soup. This isn’t just any soup; it’s a cherished classic, celebrated for its light yet remarkably satisfying character. Imagine tender, savory meatballs bathed in a rich, flavorful broth, perfectly balanced with an assortment of fresh vegetables and soft pasta. It’s a dish that warms the soul and evokes a sense of home, making it a beloved staple in countless households.

Our rendition of this traditional Russian Meatball Soup is designed to be both simple to prepare and incredibly rewarding to eat. We’ve refined the classic approach to ensure every spoonful delivers a burst of authentic flavor. One of the unique aspects of our recipe is the preparation of the meatballs themselves: instead of frying, which can often lead to messy oil splatters and uneven cooking, we opt for a baking method. This ingenious step strengthens the meatballs, ensuring they hold their shape beautifully in the simmering broth, and contributes to a cleaner cooking process and a lighter final dish. Paired with a harmonious blend of tender potatoes and comforting pasta, this soup offers a delightful texture and a wholesome meal in one bowl. While the combination of both potatoes and pasta is traditional, rest assured that either ingredient alone would still yield a wonderfully delicious soup.

The Secret to Perfect Meatballs: Why Baking Makes All the Difference

The secret to perfect meatballs in soup lies in their preparation. While pan-frying might be a common method for many meatball recipes, for soup, we find baking to be superior. This crucial step strengthens the meatball’s structure, preventing them from disintegrating in the hot liquid. Nobody wants a cloudy broth filled with crumbled meat! Baking also eliminates the mess and splatters associated with frying, making for a cleaner kitchen. Furthermore, it results in a lighter meatball that contributes to the soup’s overall fresh and clean taste, rather than adding extra grease. This simple pre-cooking method ensures your meatballs remain tender and intact, ready to absorb the rich flavors of the broth.

The Perfect Harmony: Balancing Ingredients for Ultimate Flavor

What truly sets this Russian Meatball Soup apart is its thoughtful combination of ingredients. The marriage of soft potatoes and delicate pasta creates a textural dance that is both hearty and comforting. Potatoes add a creamy, starchy body to the soup, absorbing the flavors beautifully, while elbow pasta provides a familiar, satisfying chew. Carrots bring a touch of sweetness and vibrant color, and the subtle sharpness of onion, often added whole for gentle flavoring and then removed, contributes depth without overpowering. Bay leaves infuse the broth with an aromatic warmth, and a careful selection of seasonings ensures every ingredient shines. Fresh dill, added at the very end, is the crowning glory, lending its distinctive, fresh, and slightly anisy flavor, which is characteristic of many Eastern European dishes.

Before diving into the cooking process, let’s ensure we have all our components ready. A well-stocked pantry and fresh produce are the foundation of any great meal. For this comforting Russian Meatball Soup, you’ll need a selection of fresh vegetables, a robust meatball mixture, and a few key seasonings that elevate the flavors. Taking a moment to prepare your ingredients—peeling and chopping vegetables, measuring spices—will make the cooking experience smoother and more enjoyable. This recipe celebrates simple, wholesome ingredients coming together to create something truly special.

Ingredients for Russian Meatball Soup:

How to make Russian Meatball Soup:

In a large pot, bring 12 cups of cold water to a rolling boil over high heat. Covering the pot with a lid can help it heat faster. This will be the base of your rich soup broth.
While the water heats up, preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (approximately 200 degrees Celsius). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. This preparation step is crucial for baking the meatballs, ensuring they don’t stick and making cleanup easier. Set the prepared baking sheet aside for when your meatball mixture is ready.
Next, prepare your meatball mixture. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs: ground pork, the beaten egg (which acts as a binder), grated onion (for moisture and flavor), salt, and ground black pepper. Use your hands to gently mix these ingredients until they are just combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this can result in tough meatballs. The goal is a uniform mixture that holds its shape.

Once the meatball mixture is ready, take heaping teaspoonfuls and gently roll them into small, uniform balls. Place them neatly onto your prepared baking sheet, leaving a small space between each to allow for even cooking. This recipe typically yields about 29 meatballs. Transfer the baking sheet to your preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. This quick bake will firm up the meatballs and help them retain their shape. After 10 minutes, turn off the oven and set the meatballs aside; they will finish cooking directly in the soup.

While the meatballs are baking, prepare your vegetables for the soup. Peel and thoroughly wash the potatoes, carrots, and the main onion. Once clean, cube the potatoes into bite-sized pieces, aiming for roughly the same size to ensure even cooking. Chop the carrots into small, uniform pieces. For the main onion, you’ll want to leave it whole for now; it will infuse the broth with its aromatic flavor and be easily removed later.

Tip: When grating a small onion for the meatballs, I like to leave one end of the onion intact. This provides an easier grip and prevents the onion from sliding all over the grater, making the process much safer and cleaner.

By now, your large pot of water should be boiling vigorously. Carefully add the whole, peeled onion, the cubed potatoes, and the two bay leaves to the boiling water. Reduce the heat to medium and let these ingredients simmer gently for 10 minutes. This allows the potatoes to begin softening and the onion and bay leaves to impart their aromatic flavors into the broth, building the foundation of your soup’s taste.

After the potatoes have cooked for 10 minutes, it’s time to add the next layer of ingredients. Stir in the elbow pasta, chopped carrots, and all the seasonings: Vegeta all-purpose seasoning, Mrs. Dash seasoning, salt, ground black pepper, and garlic salt. Continue to boil the soup over medium heat for another 10 minutes. During this time, the pasta will cook to al dente, and the carrots will soften, while all the robust seasonings meld together to create a rich and savory flavor profile.

Once the carrots have had their 10 minutes of simmering, carefully add the pre-baked meatballs to the pot. Stir them gently into the soup and allow them to boil for an additional 5 minutes. This final cooking period ensures the meatballs are thoroughly cooked through and allows them to absorb the wonderful flavors of the broth, becoming even more tender and delicious.

As the final 5 minutes of meatball cooking concludes, carefully remove the whole onion from the pot (it has now infused the broth with its flavor). Then, generously stir in the fresh dill. The residual heat from the soup will be enough to gently wilt the dill and release its vibrant, fresh aroma. Immediately turn off the heat to preserve the dill’s delicate flavor and prevent it from overcooking.

Place a lid on the pot to cover the soup. Allow it to rest for a few minutes, which helps the flavors deepen and meld even further. Keep it warm until you are ready to serve this delightful Russian Meatball Soup. It often tastes even better after a short rest, allowing all the ingredients to truly harmonize.

Variations & Customizations for Your Meatball Soup

One of the beauties of a classic recipe like Russian Meatball Soup is its adaptability. Feel free to experiment with ingredients to suit your taste or what you have on hand:

Meat: While ground pork is traditional for its tender texture and flavor, you can certainly substitute it with ground beef, ground chicken, or a blend of meats for the meatballs. For a vegetarian option, consider using plant-based meatballs and a vegetable broth.
Vegetables: Don’t limit yourself to just potatoes and carrots. Peas, diced bell peppers, chopped celery, or even some leafy greens like spinach can be wonderful additions. Add quick-cooking vegetables later in the cooking process to prevent them from becoming mushy.
Pasta: Elbow pasta is a classic choice, but small star-shaped pasta, alphabet pasta, or even orzo would work just as well. If you prefer a gluten-free option, use gluten-free pasta, ensuring it’s added at the appropriate time for its specific cooking requirements.
Broth Base: For an even richer flavor, you can swap out some of the water for chicken or vegetable broth. Just be mindful of the added sodium from packaged broths and adjust your salt accordingly.
Herbs & Spices: While dill is essential for an authentic touch, you can also add a pinch of dried parsley, a dash of paprika, or an extra bay leaf for more depth. Fresh parsley can also be used as a garnish.

Serving Your Delicious Meatball Soup

This hearty Russian Meatball Soup is a complete meal on its own, but a few accompaniments can elevate the experience:

Sour Cream or Smetana: A dollop of sour cream (or its Eastern European cousin, smetana) on top of each serving adds a creamy richness that beautifully complements the savory broth.
Fresh Bread: Serve with a crusty loaf of rye bread or sourdough to soak up every last drop of the flavorful broth.
More Fresh Herbs: Garnish with extra fresh dill or a sprinkle of chopped parsley just before serving for an added burst of freshness and color.
Garlic: Some prefer a side of raw garlic cloves to munch on, or a garlic-infused butter spread on bread for an extra kick.

Storage and Reheating Tips

One of the best things about this soup is that it often tastes even better the next day! Here’s how to store and reheat it:

Storage: Allow the soup to cool completely to room temperature before transferring it to airtight containers. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Freezing: This soup freezes relatively well. Place cooled soup in freezer-safe containers or heavy-duty freezer bags, leaving some headspace for expansion. It can be frozen for up to 2-3 months. Note that potatoes and pasta might become slightly softer upon thawing and reheating, but the flavor will still be excellent.
Reheating: Gently reheat the soup on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is heated through. You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave. If the soup has thickened too much after chilling, you may add a splash of water or broth to reach your desired consistency.

Embrace the Comfort of Homemade Russian Meatball Soup

There’s a special kind of warmth that only a homemade soup can provide, and this Classic Russian Meatball Soup truly embodies that feeling. From the careful baking of the meatballs to the gentle simmering of vegetables and pasta in a rich, aromatic broth, every step in this recipe is designed to deliver maximum flavor and comfort. It’s a dish that transcends mere sustenance, offering a taste of tradition and a moment of culinary joy. Whether you’re gathering your family on a cold evening or simply seeking a comforting meal for yourself, this soup is guaranteed to hit the spot. So, roll up your sleeves, gather your ingredients, and prepare to create a delicious, hearty soup that will quickly become a cherished favorite in your kitchen. Enjoy the delightful process and the even more delightful outcome!

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Russian Meatball Soup Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Author: Alyona’s Cooking

If you’re Ukrainian or Russian you know how good a meatball soup is! A Russian meatball soup is light and meaty.

Ingredients

Russian Meatball Soup:

12 cups water
5 potatoes
1/2 cup elbow pasta
1 onion
2 bay leaves
2 carrots
2 tsp Vegeta all purpose seasoning
1 tsp mrs.dash seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/3 cup dill
MEATBALL MIXTURE:
1 lb ground pork
1 egg
1 small onion grated (or half a medium sized onion, grated)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

In a large pot bring 12 cups of water to a boil.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil; set aside.
In a medium sized bowl combine the meatball mixture and mix to combine well.
Shape meatball mixture into heaping teaspoon full balls and place onto the prepared baking sheet (makes about 29 meatballs). Bake for 10 minutes. Turn off oven and set meatballs aside until needed.
Peel and wash the potatoes, carrots and onion. Then cube the potatoes, chop the carrots and leave the onion whole.
Once the water boils add the whole onion, potatoes and bay leaves; boil over medium heat for 10 minutes. Then add the pasta, carrots and seasonings and boil another 10 minutes.
After the carrots have boiled for 10 minutes add the meatballs and boil for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes add the dill and turn off the heat. Cover and keep warm until serving.