Winter time is soup time!
I know it gets super cold with snow and ice in other parts of the world during winter. It’s not like that here in Sydney Australia. When growing up in New Zealand, I lived in Queenstown where it snowed often in our backyard during winter. I have fond memories of sitting on my toboggan and having the family dog pull me along the snow. In Sydney where we live, it doesn’t snow… we rarely get frost. The temperatures are only as low as 12°C (54°F ) during the day but that’s rare. Most of the time they are about 18°C (64°F) during the day. Nights are still cold but rarely below 6°C (43°F). We still rug up in jackets, jeans, and boots to be outside. It’s what you’re used to I guess. But for us here, this is winter. And winter means hot delicious nourishing soup such as this chicken meatball soup.
Mum used to make two different types of vegetable soups when I was young. One was a more creamy-style soup. The other was a broth-style soup with vegetables. Similar to this but I add my own spin of course. Mum never added chicken meatballs but she did add pieces of poached chicken. She made her broth from scratch also. We’re lucky these days that great liquid broth is available to purchase in supermarkets. It wasn’t when I was growing up.
Making the Meatballs
Chicken mince meat is readily available in supermarkets here in Sydney. If you don’t have this available, you can mince up two chicken breasts (boneless and skinless) in a food processor. These meatballs are packed with flavour which is the hero in this soup. Containing parmesan cheese, parsley, oregano and garlic they take on an Italian flavour that just tastes so deliciously good. I do recommend you don’t skimp on these meatball ingredients. If you do, your chicken meatball soup just won’t be quite as nice.
There is something quite therapeutic and relaxing when rolling the Italian-style chicken meatballs into perfect rounds. It helps to set aside the troubles and worries from the day to feed your body and soul!
Want another delicious recipe?
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Chicken Meatball Soup
Ingredients
Soup
- 1 litre liquid chicken broth
- 1 large carrot, peeled and diced into small sized cubes
- 3 large potatoes, peeled and diced into medium sized cubes
- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 spring onion, thinly sliced (to serve)
Chicken Meatballs
- 500 grams chicken mince
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 1/3 cup parmesan, finely grated
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- Make the meatballs first. In a large bowl, add all ingredients and mix together to thoroughly combine. Using a tablespoon of mixture, roll into small round meatballs. Put on a plate until ready to add into the soup.
- In a large pot, add the liquid chicken stock and crushed garlic. Bring to a gentle boil.
- Carefully drop in the meatballs into the soup, one at a time. Put a lid on the pot and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add all vegetables (except the spring onion) and garlic. Put the lid back on the pot. Cook for a further 10-15 minutes, until both potato and carrots are tender.
- Serve in bowls with thinly sliced spring onions sprinkled on top.