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A comforting, hearty Italian-style meatball soup made in a slow cooker with pre-cooked frozen meatballs, tomato broth, pasta, spinach, and Parmesan cheese, offering an easy, hands-off meal.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 20 ounces frozen Italian style meatballs
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 3 teaspoons garlic, minced
  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes
  • 6 ounces tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1 ½ cups heavy cream
  • 16 ounces dry ditalini pasta
  • 1 cup Parmesan cheese, finely shredded
  • 4 cups fresh baby spinach

Instructions

  1. Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
  2. Add frozen meatballs, diced onion, minced garlic, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, black pepper, Italian seasoning, paprika, and dried thyme to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
  3. Cover and cook on low for 6–8 hours or high for 3–4 hours.
  4. Whisk cornstarch and heavy cream until smooth and lump-free.
  5. Stir the cornstarch-cream mixture into the slow cooker to thicken the soup.
  6. With about 30 minutes remaining, add dry ditalini pasta, shredded Parmesan, and fresh baby spinach; cook 15–30 minutes until the pasta is al dente and the spinach is wilted.
  7. If the soup is too thick after adding pasta, stir in additional broth to loosen to desired consistency.
  8. Stir the soup before serving.

Notes

Use a food processor to chop onion quickly for faster prep., If soup thickens too much after adding pasta, add more broth to adjust consistency., Refrigerate leftovers in sealed containers up to 3 days; avoid freezing the full soup to preserve pasta texture., You can freeze the meatball and tomato broth base (without pasta or spinach) for 2–3 months; thaw and reheat with fresh cream added near serving., For gluten-free option, use rice or gluten-free pasta and gluten-free breadcrumbs in homemade meatballs., Add extra herbs like fresh basil or bay leaves, vegetables such as mushrooms or kale, or beans/orzo for variation.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://lanamixingbowl.com/slow-cooker-meatball-soup/