I stole this recipe for Meatball Tortilla Soup from a cookbook called The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come & Get It. This homemade soup adds something extra to traditional tortilla soup. Mini meatballs are made with ground beef, cheddar cheese, spices and breadcrumbs. The meatballs are browned in a stock pot and set aside. Onions, garlic, pepper and corn are cooked in the same pot until soft. Then beef broth, tomatoes, seasoning, black beans are added to finish the soup. After the meatballs are added to the mixture, the soup finishes cooking. Tortilla strips are added as a garnish before serving. This Tex-Mex soup is a great soup to cook any day, just be careful not to run out.
Combine 1 lb ground beef, ½ cup grated pepper jack cheese, 2 tbsp minced parsley, 1 large egg, 2 minced garlic cloves, ½ tsp kosher salt, ¼ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp ground cumin, ¼ tsp chili powder, ¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs and the juice of 1 lime in a large bowl and mix well.
Shape into small balls (about 24 total) and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For the meatballs I measured 1 tbsp then cut that in half to make 2 smaller bite size meatballs. This way the meatballs were spoon sized.
In a heavy pot, heat 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat. Add ⅓ of the meatballs and lightly brown on all sides (they won’t be cooked through).
Remove the meatballs to a plate. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
To the pot the meatballs were browned in, add 2 tbsp butter to the pan and let it melt. Add ½ large diced onion, 3 minced cloves of garlic, 1 ½ cups frozen corn kernels and cook, stirring until softened 2 to 3 minutes.
Next add 6 cups low sodium beef broth, 10 oz can diced tomatoes and chiles, 2 heaping tbsp tomato paste, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp chili powder and ¼ tsp cumin and stir in.
Bring it to a boil, and then add 14.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed. Return the meatballs to the pot, cover, and simmer until the meatballs are cooked all the way through, 15 to 20 minutes.
Ladle into bowls.
If you want to try another soup with mini meatballs, check out Italian Meatball Soup.
Meatball Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef
- ½ cup grated pepper jack cheese
- 2 tbsp minced parsley
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ¼ cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- Juice of 1 lime
Soup
- 4 tbsp butter
- ½ large onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 ears sweet corn kernels sliced (1 ½ cups frozen corn kernels)
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and finely diced
- 6 cups low sodium beef broth
- 10 oz diced tomatoes and chiles ro*tel
- 2 heaping tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- 14.5 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 6 corn tortillas cut into strips
Instructions
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Combine meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Shape into small balls (about 24 total) and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
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Make the soup. In a heavy pot, heat 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat. Add ⅓ of the meatballs and lightly brown on all sides (they won’t be cooked through) then remove them to a plate. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
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Add 2 tbsp butter to the pan and let it melt. Then add the onion, garlic, corn and pepper and cook, stirring until softened 2 to 3 minutes.
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Next add the broth, the tomatoes and chiles, tomato paste, salt, chili powder and cumin and stir in. Bring it to a boil, and then add the beans. Return the meatballs to the pot, cover, and simmer until the meatballs are cooked all the way through, 15 to 20 minutes.
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Just before serving, stir in tortilla strips.
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Serve with sour cream, sliced avocados, cheese and cilantro.
Recipe Notes
I omit the cumin to keep the heat level more mild, the soup still came out with a great flavor. For the meatballs I measured 1 tbsp then cut that in half to make 2 smaller bite size meatballs. This way the meatballs were spoon sized. Making the meatballs this way, my yield was 63 bite size meatballs.