Creamy Tuscan Chicken Meatball Soup
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Meatball Soup
It’s soup season and this Creamy Tuscan Chicken Meatballs Soup is doing it for me! I would consider it comfort food for sure even though it’s loaded with veggies. A warm bowl of anything is comforting on a cold day! Vegetables in the soup include celery, carrots and spinach. It also has fresh basil which adds an incredible amount of flavour! The rest of the ingredients are basic and can be found at most grocery stores:
Ground Chicken - Either ground chicken or ground turkey would work for this recipe.
Garlic - I recommend using fresh garlic to enhance flavour, although you could use premade, minced, oil-packed garlic from the store in a pinch.
Panko crumbs - Panko crumbs act as a binder for the meatballs. You can also you regular breadcrumbs.
Italian Seasoning - Italian seasoning is usually a blend of dried Italian herbs such as thyme, basil, oregano and rosemary. You can find this at any grocery store.
Parmesan cheese - Parmesan cheese is a traditional Italian cheese that pairs perfectly with this soup. You could also use Asiago or Romano cheese .
Basil - I highly recommend using fresh basil for this recipe. It adds desired, strong flavour and beautiful colour as opposed to dried basil which is more muted.
Chicken Stock - I usually use chicken bullion with water because it offers better flavour than stock from the carton. If you have homemade stock, that’s even better!
Heavy cream - The cream is what makes this soup, well … creamy! I use heavy whipping cream. Table cream would work as well. If you are dairy free then you can use full-fat coconut milk but it will change the flavour of the soup.
This is one-pot meal, which we LOVE. Clean-up is quick and easy and can be done while the soup is simmering. This recipe makes about 6 servings, so if you are hosting a larger dinner it can easily be doubled. You can also prep the chicken meatballs, cooked or raw, in advance and refrigerate or freeze them. This is such a yummy soup; if you have leftovers it would make a delish lunch the next day!
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Meatball Soup
Creamy Tuscan Chicken Meatballs Soup
Ingredients
- 1lb ground chicken
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup Panko crumbs
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- avocado oil, for frying
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 5 cups flavourful chicken stock
- 1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, finely sliced
- 4 cups packed fresh spinach
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more for garnishing
Instructions
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the ground chicken, butter, garlic, egg, Panko crumbs, Italian seasoning, onion powder and parmesan cheese. Mix well with your hands until all of the ingredients are combined.
- Form meatballs using your hands or a cookie scoop and set aside.
- Heat avocado oil in a heavy bottomed pot and add the chicken meatballs in a single layer without crowding them. You may have to do two batches. Sear them on all sides and then remove them to a plate.
- To the same pot, add the onion, celery and carrots and sauté them until they start to brown, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper and sauté another 2 minutes.
- Pour in the chicken stock and add the bay leaf. Bring the soup to a boil and then simmer on low-medium heat until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add the chicken meatballs back into the soup along with the sun-dried tomatoes, basil, spinach and red pepper flakes. Cook until the spinach has wilted.
- Add in the cream and parmesan cheese and stir until combined.
- Ladle into deep bowls and top with additional basil and parmesan cheese. Enjoy!