Easy Tortellini Meatball Soup Recipe

This easy tortellini meatball soup recipe is a hearty soup with Italian flavors that takes less than 25 minutes to make. There is no chopping or dicing – and is satisfying as a meal. It’s an easy meatball soup recipe the whole family will love!

You might also like this recipe for the best Italian wedding soup!

My husband has been away for work so I’ve been taking a cooking vacation. Tonight it was soup and sandwiches so I wanted to throw a soup together that Max and I would both like.

I remembered an Italian Vegetable Soup that I made awhile back and how the broth was so good; like a big bowl of marinara sauce.

I didn’t have much time so I just took what I had in the house and made this easy tortellini meatball soup and boy was it delicious. It was the perfect meal in a bowl type of soup for busy weeknight dinners.

Recipe ingredients I used.

The basics of this soup can all be bought at your local Aldi. The ingredients I used were frozen vegetables, frozen meatballs, dried cheese tortellini, crushed tomatoes, beef broth, fresh garlic, salt, pepper and Italian herbs (oregano, basil, thyme). 

I often have all of these items on hand for quick meals. I use the mixed vegetable in soups like my creamy turkey or taco soup.

The meatballs are always in my freezer for dishes like this or my meatball sub spaghetti squash. And the dried tortellini are perfect for when I don’t feel like cooking dinner. I just make them and some brown butter and they are happy campers!

How to make easy tortellini meatball soup.

This is basically a dump soup. No need for chopping or dicing, just  dumping everything in a big soup pot and cooking your ingredients.

1. Pour beef stock or broth and water into a large soup pot. Turn on the heat to a medium-high heat.
2. Add  the frozen vegetables, meatballs,  crushed tomatoes, garlic and spices and bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat to medium heat.
3. Pour in the dry tortellini and when it’s done, according to package instructions, so is your soup!  Note cooking time may vary depending on the starting temperature of your ingredients.
4. Garnish with grated parmesan cheese if you wish. ou could also garnish with fresh parsley or fresh basil if you wish. 
5. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. (please scroll down to view and print the recipe card.)

Recipe Notes & Tips

• One thing I would like to note: The dried tortellini will suck up lots of broth. You might want to add extra broth at the beginning or when it’s finished if you like your soup more brothy (not a word I know).
• I personally like chunkier soups with more “stuff” than broth. However if you are otherwise inclined, just add more broth or less tortellini or cook the tortellini separately and add at the end.
• If you want to add a little spice or heat, try sprinkling a little hot pepper flakes at the end.

Substitutions for this recipe.

• frozen vegetables: I used a frozen mixed vegetable blend but you can use any vegetables you like. Actually if you don’t want any vegetables that’s fine too. I just wanted some added nutrition since this was for my son.
• meatballs: I used premade Italian meaballs however you could also use Italian sausage. Just buy a few links and cut them up pieces and cook in the broth. You could also just ground beef or ground turkey. Just brown the meat before adding the other ingredients.
• tortelli: I bought a bag of the dry tortellini you can find on the shelf of a grocery store. You could use fresh cheese tortellini but you won’t need to cook those very long and frozen tortellini might take a few minutes more. You can also substitute egg noodles or any kind of pasta you like.
• broth: I used beef stock but you could use chicken broth (stock) or vegeteble broth (stock) if you wish.
• other additions: I recently made this fresh baby spinach. Add a bunch at the end and it will wilt from the heat. It adds color, bulk and good nutrition!  I also sometimes add shredded mozzarella at the end and it gets gooey gooey. Sour cream will also add a creaminess to this soup. Play around!

I hope you like this hearty bowl of tortellini meatball soup as much as we did. It’s and easy dinner on those busy days leading up the holidays or during the cold weather. I like it because I always have these items on hand and it’s really easy. Enjoy!

PS I have over 35 deliciously easy soup recipes so check them out!