Chicken Meatball and Kale Soup with Parmesan Broth
Small chicken meatballs bound with parmesan and ground flaxseed, browned and then simmered in a tomato-flecked broth with carrot and kale, sharpened with cider vinegar.
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This is my Thursday soup, the one I make when the week has gotten away from me and I want lunch to taste like it took longer than it did. The meatballs are rolled small, about an inch across, so they cook through in the broth in ten minutes and the whole pot is finished in under an hour. It reheats better than most soups with meat in them, and it travels in a jar for lunch at a desk. I usually double the meatball mixture and freeze half of it raw on a sheet pan, which turns the next round into a twenty minute job.
Ground chicken is soft and wet and it will fall apart in broth if you treat it like ground beef. Two things fix that. Grated parmesan goes into the mix and firms it up as it rests, and a spoonful of ground flaxseed takes up the loose moisture, so the meatballs hold their shape in a pot of moving broth. Then brown them in a wide pan in batches and let them sit undisturbed until they lift cleanly off the metal. That crust is what holds each one together in the pot, and the stuck brown layer it leaves behind becomes the base of the broth.
The broth is where this is won or lost. Crushed tomatoes go into the hot pan first and cook down until they darken and catch on the bottom, garlic-infused olive oil carries the aromatic note through everything, and if there is a parmesan rind in the refrigerator door it goes in and simmers along, giving back a savory depth that is difficult to get any other way. Two teaspoons of cider vinegar at the end wake all of it up without reading as sour. The kale goes in for the last three minutes, and the parsley after the heat is off.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb ground chicken
- 3/4 cup finely grated parmesan, plus a 2-inch piece of rind if you have one
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp garlic-infused olive oil, divided
- 3/4 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 7 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 medium carrots, cut into small dice
- 1 large bunch lacinato kale (about 7 oz), stemmed and sliced into ribbons
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt, divided
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Mix the meatballs: Combine the ground chicken, grated parmesan, ground flaxseed, rosemary, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and the black pepper in a bowl and mix with your hands just until it comes together. Refrigerate the mixture for 10 minutes, which firms it enough to roll.
- Roll and brown them: Roll into 24 meatballs about an inch across, wetting your hands if the mixture sticks. Heat 1 tablespoon of the garlic-infused olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high and brown the meatballs in two batches, about 4 minutes each, turning once they release from the pot. They will not be cooked through, and they should not be, since they finish in the broth. Set them aside.
- Build the broth: Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the crushed tomatoes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until the tomatoes darken and start to catch on the bottom. Pour in the broth, scrape the pot clean, and add the parmesan rind if you have one.
- Simmer the carrots and meatballs: Add the carrot and bring the pot to a bare simmer for 5 minutes. Return the meatballs and any juices, then cook at a shiver for 10 to 12 minutes, until a meatball cut in half is opaque through and reads 165°F (74°C).
- Add the kale: Stir in the kale ribbons and cook for 3 minutes, just until they turn deep green and lose their stiffness while keeping some chew, because kale left longer in a hot pot goes drab and slippery. Fish out the parmesan rind.
- Finish and serve: Take the pot off the heat, stir in the cider vinegar, and taste for salt, adding the rest a pinch at a time. Ladle into bowls and finish with parsley and more grated parmesan.
Variations
- Herbier meatballs: Work 1/4 cup of chopped parsley or basil into the mixture for meatballs that taste green all the way through.
- Greens swap: Use swiss chard, mustard greens, or spinach rather than the kale, adding tender greens for the last minute.
- Brothy and clear: Leave the crushed tomatoes out and add a strip of lemon zest with the broth for a paler, sharper pot.
- With a grain: Stir a cup of cooked quinoa or millet into the finished soup for a heavier bowl that still reheats well.
- Spicy: Add 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne to the meatball mixture and a pinch more to the broth for warmth that builds as you eat.
Storage & Leftovers
The soup keeps for 4 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator, and the meatballs stay tender because they finished cooking in liquid. The kale darkens and softens as it sits, which most people find they like. The broth thickens slightly as the flaxseed in the meatballs works its way out.
Reheat on the stove over medium until it steams, about 7 minutes, and add a splash of broth or water if it has tightened. Stir carefully so the meatballs stay whole. A fresh grating of parmesan and a little parsley over the reheated bowl brings back what the cold storage took out.
It freezes well for up to 3 months. Freeze the broth and meatballs together and leave the kale out, then wilt fresh kale into the pot as it comes back to a simmer. Raw rolled meatballs also freeze on a sheet pan and go straight into hot broth from frozen with 4 extra minutes.
Notes & Tips
- Chill before you roll: Ten minutes in the refrigerator turns a sticky mixture into something that holds a ball. It is the single step that decides whether the meatballs survive the pot.
- Do not overwork the meat: Mix with your hands only until the parmesan and flax disappear. Squeezing and kneading makes ground chicken springy and tight once it is cooked.
- Brown in batches: Crowded meatballs steam and stay pale, and pale meatballs leave no fond. Two batches take four extra minutes and give the broth its backbone.
- Cook the tomatoes down first: Crushed tomatoes added straight to broth taste raw and thin. Two minutes in a hot pan until they darken and stick makes them taste cooked and deep.
- Use the rind: A parmesan rind simmered in broth gives back savory depth for free. Keep the ends in a bag in the freezer and drop one into any pot that needs more behind it.
- Vinegar off the heat: Two teaspoons of cider vinegar at the end sharpen everything without tasting sour. Added early, it simmers away and does nothing at all.
Nutrition & Mindful Eating
- The meatballs, the broth, and the kale each do a job here. The chicken and parmesan give the bowl its substance, the tomato and broth carry the flavor, and the kale keeps enough texture that this eats like a full meal in a bowl.
- Ground chicken makes a tender, delicate meatball that stays soft in broth, and rolled small the way they are here they turn a pot of soup into a real source of protein you can eat by the spoonful.
- Parmesan is doing two jobs at once. Grated into the meat it binds and seasons in the same move, and a piece of the rind dropped into the pot gives the broth a savory backbone, along with the calcium that comes with any hard aged cheese.
- Lacinato kale goes in for the last three minutes so the leaves stay dark and toothy, and those leaves bring vitamin K, lutein, and a faint mineral bitterness that keeps a tomato broth from tasting flat.
- Rosemary, oregano, and two teaspoons of cider vinegar at the end are what make the broth taste finished. The vinegar does not read as sour on the tongue, it simply sharpens everything already in the pot.
- As you eat, notice the parmesan and rosemary in the broth before you get to the meatballs, and hold the bowl long enough for the meal to land rather than rushing straight back into the afternoon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the meatballs hold together in the broth?
They will, as long as you chill the mixture and brown them first. Grated parmesan and ground flaxseed together take up the moisture that would otherwise loosen the mix, and the crust from browning seals each one. Skipping the ten minutes in the refrigerator is what usually causes them to slump in the pot.
Can I use ground turkey or ground beef?
Yes to both, at the same weight. Ground turkey behaves almost identically. Ground beef makes a firmer, richer meatball and gives the broth more fat, so skim the surface before you add the kale if that bothers you. Keep the browning and the simmering times the same.
What if I do not have a parmesan rind?
The soup is still good, since the grated parmesan in the meatballs seasons the broth as they cook. If you want more savory depth, add another two tablespoons of grated parmesan directly to the broth and let it melt, or a teaspoon of nutritional yeast.
Does this fit a low-FODMAP lunch?
It does. The base is built from browned meatballs, tomato cooked down in a hot pan, garlic-infused olive oil, and a parmesan rind, and hard aged cheese like parmesan carries very little lactose. Kale and carrot in these portions are well tolerated, and the flaxseed amount per serving is small.