3 Easy Ways to Make Meatball Orzo Soup Instantly
Meatball Orzo Soup in the Instant Pot is a delicious, gut healthy soup that can be made ahead of time or thrown together the day of [insert all crazy life things you may have going].
This meatball orzo soup includes homemade turkey meatballs, which will impress everyone at the table. Add fresh garlic, sliced carrots, and leafy escarole to your instant pot and press the easy button! We have five kids, so I’m always making dinner. This make ahead meal is a must do on busy weekend game days.
This post is all about meatball orzo soup!
Gut Healthy Micro superstars featured in meatball orzo soup:
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What is it Going to Take to Put Together Italian Meatball Orzo Soup?
- First, make the meatballs
- Then, either bake the meatballs or, if making them ahead of time, freeze or refrigerate them
- Next, chop the vegetables and add to the Instant Pot
- After this, pour the chicken stock into the Instant Pot
- Then, add the meatballs to the pot
- Close the lid and steam valve, press soup, and set timer for 30 minutes
- Cook the orzo according to package directions
- Enjoy your delicious Italian meatball orzo soup!
The hardest part about this meal is bartering around who gets the most meatballs!
Easy Italian Meatball Orzo Soup
1. Use the Instant Pot
This soup can be prepped in less than 10 minutes the day you make it if you make ahead the meatballs. How can homemade soup take less time than following the directions on the back of a package?
The Instant Pot does the work for you! Throw in all the ingredients and press “soup.” Set the timer for 30 minutes and pat your Julia Child self on the back. Settle in with a magazine and glass of wine until you hear the timer!
You can press order and find your new Instant Pot on Amazon here!
The Instant Pot does everything a slow cooker can do and more. Want to learn more about why the Instant Pot might have to be on your next Christmas list? Check out my post on the top reasons to own an Instant Pot!
Turkey Meatball Orzo Soup
2. Make the Meatballs Ahead of Time
The beautiful thing about meatball orzo soup is you can choose your own adventure and make the meatballs ahead of time or make them the day of. I like to do a double batch and make them ahead of time so I have extras to heat up separately or throw into spaghetti sauce on another day.
The meatballs include onion, ground turkey, and 2 large eggs to emulsify the meat. This is all combined with 100% whole wheat panko instead of traditional breadcrumbs and shredded smoked gouda cheese.
Gut Health Secret
When you eat 100% whole wheat instead of refined flour or panko it builds short chain fatty acids in your gut which reduce inflammation and also reduce your likelihood for colorectal cancer. Whole wheat foods also count as a plant point!
So, skip the refined panko and swap it out for 100% whole wheat panko like the Kikkoman style linked below.
What if I Don’t Have Panko?
If you do not have panko, don’t panic! You can use Triscuits. Better yet, they are still 100% whole wheat. Crumble them with your hands or roughly chop with a knife and then add to your large bowl of meatball ingredients. You can get a large pack of them through Amazon, linked below.
Or, you can also find Triscuits at most grocery stores or in bulk at Costco.
Pro Tip
Maintain Staple Ingredients Seamlessly
When I am out of a staple ingredient, like panko, I add it to THE LIST.
Alexa, my Amazon echo, keeps my list organized and synced to my phone. No more forgetting groceries! Just open your app and check off items as you shop!
Best Kept Secret to Managing Groceries
Ever find yourself forgetting the one thing you went to the store to buy?! Try asking your Amazon echo Alexa to keep your grocery list. If you do not have an Alexa, you should seriously consider getting one, they are worth their weight in gold.
Planning a meal ahead of time? Just ask Alexa to add whatever you need to the list. It will sync to your phone for whenever you next go to the store. Bonus, when your kids or significant other kills the last bag of coffee beans, milk, or slice of bread, they can add it to the list and it will be waiting for whoever does the shopping.
Disclaimer, teenagers will add things to THE LIST. Such as, Madden, Lamborghini, or my personal favorite, “the good peanut butter.”
What if We Have an Egg Allergy in the Family?
You can still make meatball orzo soup if you have an egg allergy in the family. My step-son has an egg allergy, and if he were here tonight, I would be using an egg substitute.
I like the egg substitute from Bob’s Red Mill best because it congeals a bit more and really helps everything stick together. This is a must have in meatballs, cookies, muffins, or most things you might add in an egg. You can find it linked below.
Healthy Meatball Orzo Soup
The best part of meatball orzo soup is two fold, how easy it is to throw together and all of the gut healthy ingredients. Homemade meatballs are better for you because you can ditch the processed junk and amp up the gut healthy ingredients like garlic and onion.
Gut Health Secret
Onion is so good for you and your gut health! It contains alliinase that becomes active when cut (Bulsiewicz, 2020). Wait for 10 minutes after chopping the onion. This gives time for the alliinase to turn into allicin.
When consumed, it turns into allicin, a micro bacteria that keeps your gut healthy. Dr. B suggests you “chop and stop” (Bulsiewicz, 2020, p. 161). Wait for 10 minutes after chopping. Make sense? Don’t overthink it, just set it to the side and wait!
Chop and Stop! Wait 10 minutes after chopping, smashing, or mincing garlic to give it time for the superhero micro bacteria inside to wake up!
Bulsiewicz, 2020
Meatball Soup: Bake the Meatballs
Place meatballs, about 1.5 tbsp sized, on a pan and bake them in an oven at 400 degrees Farenheit for 17 minutes. My big oven takes a bit longer than some when I do not use the convection setting. So, your oven might take somewhere between 12-15 minutes to bake.
Don’t Forget the Parchment Paper
This recipe made 28 meatballs with one bowl to clean. How? Tear a piece of parchment paper to cover your baking sheet to eliminate the clean up! Just remove the paper after baking, toss away, and put those pans right back into the cabinet or drawer after they are cool to the touch.
You can find parchment paper at most grocery stores, on Amazon.
Or an eco-friendly version at Whole Foods linked below.
Italian Meatball Soup Recipes: Make the Soup
Meatball soup is frequently Italian. This soup combines Italian meatballs with fresh leafy escarole and carrots. You can slice the carrots or chop them if you like smaller pieces. That feels like a bit EXTRA for me, so I usually just slice them and tell the kids to eat their vegetables.
Chop up the head of escarole. I chop off the very bottom of the stem. Then, I slice it up and then down the middle for reasonable pieces.
All of this gets thrown into the Instant Pot with the meatballs, the chicken stock, and the seasonings.
Did you know cooked carrots have more gut health benefits than raw carrots?! Another reason to toss these delicious veggies into soups and salads.
Dr. Kait
Gut Health Secret
Carrots support healthy eyes. Carrots are an excellent source of beta-carotene which your body converts into vitamin A. Moreover, cooked carrots have MORE GUT HEALTHY benefits than raw carrots. (Ghavami et al., 2012; Livny et al., 2003; Edwards et al., 2002). Top among these is their ability to help keep your eyes healthy over time (Meyers et al., 2014).
For peer reviewed articles read: Ghavami et al., 2012; Livny et al., 2003; Edwards et al., 2002; and Meyers et al., 2014.
Meatball and Orzo Soup
3. Make the Orzo Separately to Save Left Overs
While the soup is cooking, you can cook the orzo according to the directions on the package. I like to buy 100% whole wheat orzo (linked below).
Why to Boil the Noodles Separately
You should boil your noodles separately if…
1. you often have left over soup
2. you keep your left overs to eat for lunches or dinner the next night.
If the noodles are added to the soup ahead of time, they become soggy for left overs. So, boil them separately and keep them in a separate container to add to your soup when you’re ready to eat!
However, if you want to eliminate a pot to clean, you could add the orzo right to the soup after the instant pot timer goes off and the pressure is released.
Cooking the orzo is super easy. It requires you fill a pot with water, place it on the burner. Boil said water, add noodles, cook to directions.
This Post Was All About Meatball Orzo Soup in 30 Minutes or Less!
This meatball orzo soup will get five stars from everyone at the table! Shred extra smoked gouda to sprinkle onto your soup. The soft cow cheese will melt into a deliciousness of soup. Finish with a piece of crusty sourdough bread or side salad for a quick, gut healthy meal worthy of a weekday or weekend!
Give meatball orzo soup a try and post your comments below! If you love it, share this link or repin!
Instant Pot Meatball and Orzo Soup
Equipment
- 1 cookie sheet for meatballs
- 1 parchment paper rectangle sized piece over baking sheet
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground turkey organic
- 1 large onion
- 2 large eggs cage-free, beaten
- 3/4 cup 100% whole wheat panko
- 1 cup shredded smoked gouda 1/2 for meatballs, 1/2 for soup topping
- 6 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 tsp salt Mediterranean sea salt
- 1 tsp ground pepper
Soup
- 4 large carrots think Costco size
- 1 head escarole
- 10 cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups orzo whole wheat pasta
Instructions
Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit.
- Mix the meatball ingredients all together in a bowl.1 lb ground turkey, 1 large onion, 2 large eggs, 3/4 cup 100% whole wheat panko, 1 cup shredded smoked gouda, 6 cloves fresh garlic, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground pepper
- Place meatballs, about 1.5 tbsp sized, on a pan.
- Bake in oven between 15-17 minutes.
- Makes about 28 meatballs. Remove the parchment paper after baking, discard.
Soup
- Slice carrots. You can also chop them if you wanted smaller pieces.4 large carrots
- In the Instant Pot, add carrots.
- Chop up the head of escarole. Chop off the very bottom of the stem. Then, slice it up and then down the middle for reasonable pieces.1 head escarole
- Add to the Instant Pot.
- Add the chicken stock. And then salt and pepper to taste.10 cups chicken stock
- Add the meatballs to the pot.
- Close the lid of your instant pot and turn the valve to sealed. Push the soup button and set the time for 30 minutes.
- When the timer goes off, release the pressure valve to let out the steam.
Orzo Pasta
- Meanwhile, fill a pot with water and set on the burner.
- Plan on setting it to boil at about 10 minutes prior to the soup timer going off.
- Boil noodles.1 1/2 cups orzo whole wheat pasta
Making this for dinner tonight!
Fun! I can’t wait to hear how it turns out!