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There’s no doubt that winter is around the corner. There’s snow on the ground (in Alaska, anyway), and the nights are getting longer and longer. Which means, soup season is officially back! I mean, I’d eat soup year round, but truly, there’s nothing better than a steaming bowl of soup after walking around in the snow. And this Whole30 Italian Meatball and Fennel Soup is sure to warm you up on even the coldest evenings with tons of seasonal flavor.
Simple Ingredients with a Stunning Outcome
I have always been a fan of Albondigas, which is a Mexican meatball soup with a flavorful beef broth. This soup is an excellent example of elevating humble ingredients, like ground beef, onions, and carrots, into pure comfort food. You don’t need fancy ingredients and fancy recipes to make flavorful food; all you need is to treat your ingredients with care.
This soup is my Italian-inspired take on albondigas. The meatballs have a decidedly Mediterranean flair with the spice blend, and substituting the vegetables with fennel really transport you to another part of the world. Or maybe an Italian American Sunday dinner. I’ll let you decide which one.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Fennel
I’ve written several recipes for fennel at this point, and I am still finding new ways to use this vegetable. It has such a lovely savory, almost sweet, vaguely anise flavor when cooked that it just begs to be added to soups.
If you truly hate fennel, but still want to make this meatball soup, I recommend subbing with more celery. The texture is similar to fennel, but the flavor is completely dissimilar. Celery adds an herbal flavor and will pair nicely with all of the flavors in this soup.
Cabbage
Cabbage is severely underrated as a vegetable, in my opinion. I find it to be extremely versatile, and, even better, it lasts for a long time when stored properly in the refrigerator. This recipe uses four cups of shredded cabbage, which sounds like a lot, but it wilts down and adds a good body to the broth of the soup.
While I used a hard green cabbage, like Golden Acre, you may see many other varieties at your farmers market. Savoy and January King cabbages would work just as well. You could use a purple variety without any change to the flavor, but it may discolor the soup.
Oh, and if you’re in a pinch, feel free to use a bag of pre-shredded coleslaw. It totally works. If you happen to have a bag that you need to use up, this is a great way to repurpose it into something new.
Ground Beef
I recommend using an 80/20 mix of ground beef; this results in the juiciest Whole30 compliant meatballs. Anything more lean than this can have a tendency to dry out, even when added back into the soup.
Tips and Tricks
Don’t leave out the red wine vinegar. Acidity is necessary to brighten the soup up from the heavier beef broth. It’ll seem like a lot of vinegar in the recipe, but after it’s stirred in, it won’t seem nearly as acerbic. If you’ve ever tasted your cooking and thought, “this still needs a little something, but I’ve already added salt,” you’re probably missing some kind of an acidic element.
Serving Suggestions
What I love about soup is that it’s an entire meal in a single bowl. No need for any sides, everything you need is already in the broth.
What about the leftovers?
This soup freezes beautifully and can be stored this way for several months. It’s perfect for evenings when you’re working late, or just can’t be bothered with cooking. I love keeping tons of these sorts of leftovers in my freezer for these occasions, which for me, is when either my husband or I return home from long flights. No need to worry about dinner; I’ve got an amazing homemade soup ready for me whenever I get home!
Whole30 Italian Meatball and Fennel Soup
This soup is my Italian-inspired take on albondigas. The meatballs have a decidedly Mediterranean flair with the spice blend, and substituting the vegetables with fennel really transport you to another part of the world. Or maybe an Italian American Sunday dinner. I'll let you decide which one.
Ingredients
Whole30 Italian Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef, 80/20 blend preferred
- 1 ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
Soup
- 1 large fennel bulb, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups shredded cabbage, approximately 1/2 of one head
- 4 cups beef broth
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
Instructions
- Mix all meatball ingredients together in a large bowl until just combined. Form 12 meatballs, approximately ¼ cup in size, by rolling mixture in your hands.
- Heat avocado oil to medium high heat in a large stock pot, and brown meatballs on all sides. Do not worry about cooking meatballs through, as they will finish cooking in the soup later.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove browned meatballs and set aside.
- Turn heat down to medium, and add fennel, onion, and carrot. Saute until onion and fennel have softened and become translucent.
- Add garlic, and sauté for an additional 2 minutes, or until garlic becomes fragrant.
- Add cabbage and beef broth to the pot. Bring the stock to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add meatballs, and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
