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Soup with meatballs and canned beans

Meatball Soup with Canned Beans

A simple, light, but hearty soup made from everyday ingredients. I love these no-fuss soups with no sautéing, no oil, and no extra fat — though you can pan-fry the carrot first if you like, and add some finely chopped onion too. Any ground meat works for the meatballs, but my favorite is lean ground beef, which keeps the whole dish nice and light.

Maria

Recipe author

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Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Water (or meat broth)

1.5

Canned beans (red kidney)

100

Potatoes

Carrot

Dill (1-2 sprigs)

Bay leaf

Ground meat

250

Ground black pepper

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 22 % 2 g

Fats 33 % 3 g

Carbohydrates 44 % 4 g

57 kcal

GI: 80 / 0 / 20

Cooking method

Step 1:

Gather your ingredients. For meatball soup with canned beans you'll need: water or ready-made broth (I'm using beef), canned beans in their own liquid, potatoes, a carrot, dill, and a bay leaf.
Step 2:

Drain the canned beans in a colander. You can rinse them under water to wash off the thick canning liquid.
Step 3:

Peel the potatoes and cut them into medium cubes.
Step 4:

Put the potatoes and bay leaf in a pot and pour in the water or broth. Set it over the heat and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes.
Step 5:

Meanwhile, peel the carrot and grate it on the coarse or medium side of a box grater.
Step 6:

Wash, dry, and finely chop the dill.
Step 7:

Now the meatballs. For these you'll need: ground beef (I'm using lean beef, but a mix or ground chicken works too), ground black pepper, and salt.
Step 8:

Add salt and pepper to the ground meat and knead until smooth.
Step 9:

Roll the meat into small, even meatballs a little smaller than a walnut.
Step 10:

Add the grated carrot and the meatballs to the boiling broth. Cook the soup, stirring, for about 10 more minutes, skimming off the foam now and then.
Step 11:

Add the canned beans and dill to the soup. Bring back to a boil and cook for 1–2 minutes.
Step 12:

Let the soup rest for 5 minutes, then ladle it into bowls. Enjoy!

To make the soup even more filling, you can add a grain like rice, or small pasta shapes like stars — it comes out really tasty. Meatball soup is a favorite first course for so many people, loved by grown-ups and kids alike, and it tastes just like childhood. My mom made it all the time when I was little, and she still does now and then. She just uses homemade ground beef instead of store-bought. By the way, you can speed things up by making the meatballs ahead of time and freezing them.