Category: Soups


Apr
2021

Cream Of Asparagus Soup

categories: Soups, Vegetable Dishes
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Make four servings of delicious Cream of Asparagus Soup in under 30 minutes! It’s so easy to make – serve as a main dish OR as a side dish.
Make four servings of delicious Cream of Asparagus Soup in under 30 minutes! It's so easy to make - serve as a main dish OR as a side dish.

We love asparagus, especially in the Spring when it is readily available at much lower than normal prices! Recently my husband picked up a couple large bunches of asparagus at the grocery store, so we enjoyed some of them pan-steamed until crisp-tender and served with chicken.

The rest of the fresh asparagus was used for this wonderful tasting cream of asparagus soup! YUYM! The original recipe came from one of my OLD “Taste of Home” magazines (from 21 years ago!), but it is a timeless, fantastic recipe you’re gonna love! One of the reasons I love this soup is because not all of the asparagus is pureed until creamy. Half of the soup is pureed in a blender or food processor to make it creamy; but some of the tender small pieces of asparagus are left intact in the soup. I like that!

This cream of asparagus soup is incredibly EASY to make, as well. If you enjoy fresh asparagus, I’m confident you’ll enjoy a bowl of this delicious soup. Here is how to make four servings of cream of asparagus soup:

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Prepare The Vegetables For The Soup

The first thing you will do is sauté chopped onion and minced garlic in a large saucepan. Heat oil on medium-low heat until hot, but not smoking. Add the veggies, then cook for 3-4 minutes (until tender). Stir often, to ensure the garlic does not burn and become bitter. 

Chopped onion and minced garlic are cooked in oil in a large saucepan.

Add the fresh asparagus pieces, low-sodium chicken broth, and red pepper flakes to the saucepan. Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat to Low, and cover the saucepan. Let this mixture simmer (covered) on low for 13-15 minutes, or until the asparagus is tender. Once done, remove the pan from the heat.

Asparagus, chicken broth, and red pepper flakes are added to the cream of asparagus soup in pan.

Make The Cream Base For The Soup

Remove about HALF of the asparagus mixture (including broth), and place it in a blender (or food processor). Add cream cheese, sour cream and dried dill weed or fresh chopped dill. Process these ingredients in the blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. 

Half the soup mixture is transferred out of the saucepan into a blender for processing.Cream cheese, sour cream and dried dill are added to asparagus in blender and processed until creamy.

Pour the creamed mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining ingredients, and stir to fully combine the cream of asparagus soup. Turn the heat to Medium, and cook, just until the soup is heated through. The cream of asparagus soup will be thick, creamy, and have small pieces of tender asparagus in there, as well.

Pureed cream of asparagus soup is added back into remaining ingredients in saucepan.After stirring, the cream of asparagus soup is thick and creamy.

Serve The Cream Of Asparagus Soup

Once the cream of asparagus soup is fully heated through, it is time to serve! See how easy that was? Ladle the hot soup into four bowls, and lightly sprinkle each portion with ground nutmeg on top. That’s it! Grab a spoon, and enjoy this delicious, thick, creamy, soup! Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in a saucepan or in the microwave.

The cream of asparagus soup is sprinkled with ground nutmeg and served hot, in a white bowl.

I truly hope you try this delicious cream of asparagus soup. We LOVE it, and trust you will, too. Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit my blog. Have a great day, and come back for another visit real soon.

Looking For More SOUP Recipes?

You can find all of my soup recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have lots of them you’ll enjoy, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:

Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

Original recipe source: “Taste of Home” magazine, April/May 2000 edition, page 17, published by Reiman Publications, Inc.

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Cream of Asparagus Soup
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
25 mins
 

Make four servings of delicious Cream of Asparagus Soup in under 30 minutes! It's so easy to make - serve as a main dish OR as a side dish.

Category: Main Course, Side Dish, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: cream of asparagus soup
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 119 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion , finely chopped
  • 2 medium garlic cloves , minced
  • 3 cups fresh cut asparagus (1" slices) woody bottom part of stem removed/discarded
  • 2½ cups low-sodium chicken broth (or regular)
  • ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3 ounces light cream cheese , OR regular, cut in small cubes
  • 2 Tablespoons light sour cream (or regular)
  • 1 teaspoon dried dill weed , OR 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg , for garnish
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Heat oil on medium-low heat until hot, but not smoking. Add onion and garlic; cook 3-4 minutes (until tender). Stir often, to ensure garlic doesn't burn and become bitter. 

  2. Add asparagus pieces, chicken broth, and red pepper flakes to saucepan. Bring broth to a boil, then reduce heat to Low. Cover the saucepan. Let simmer (covered) on low 13-15 minutes, or until asparagus is tender. Once done, remove pan from the heat.

  3. Remove HALF the asparagus mixture (including broth); place in blender or food processor. Add the cream cheese, sour cream and dill. Process until smooth and creamy. Pour creamed mixture back into saucepan (with remaining ingredients), and stir to fully combine soup. Cook on Medium heat only until soup is heated through.

  4. Ladle hot soup into four bowls; lightly sprinkle each portion with ground nutmeg. Grab a spoon, and enjoy this delicious, thick, creamy, soup! Store any leftover soup in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat in a saucepan or in a microwave.

Nutrition Facts
Cream of Asparagus Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 (1/4 of total))
Calories 119 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Cholesterol 14mg5%
Sodium 153mg7%
Potassium 452mg13%
Carbohydrates 11g4%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 5g6%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 931IU19%
Vitamin C 8mg10%
Calcium 84mg8%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Make four servings of delicious Cream of Asparagus Soup in under 30 minutes! It's so easy to make - serve as a main dish OR as a side dish.


Mar
2021

Navy Bean Soup

categories: Main Dishes, Meatless Meals, Soups
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Navy Bean Soup is delicious and filling! Slowly cooked dried navy beans, carrots, garlic, celery, onion, broth & spices create a robust soup.
Navy Bean Soup is delicious and filling! Slowly cooked dried navy beans, carrots, garlic, celery, onion, broth & spices create a robust soup.

Do you enjoy soup? We really do, especially in the cold of winter when a big bowl of piping hot soup takes the chill off the day! Today I want to share with you a recipe that I originally found in an old Italian cookbook of mine (from Williams-Sonoma). It is really tasty, warming, and filling.

The recipe uses dried navy beans, so the only “downside” (if there is one), is that it will take some time to soak and cook the beans until they have slightly softened. Typically I soak the beans early in the day, then add them to the soup later and then let the soup cook low and slow to infuse the beans with flavor, and to soften them perfectly! It’s inactive prep time, so you do other things while they soak!

So… as long as you plan ahead a little bit, you will have no problems making this absolutely DELICIOUS navy bean soup. Yes… it will take a bit of your time on your part, but it is worth it! Don’t forget, a lot of the time involved is inactive time (soaking, cooking, etc.) Let me show you how to make navy bean soup:

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Prepare The Navy Beans

Bags of navy beans can be found in most grocery stores, and are a very economical main ingredient for the soup. Because this recipe calls for dried navy beans, that means you’ll need to plan ahead to soak them (which helps soften them).  I usually do this step early in the day, so the beans have several hours to soak.

To do this, first rinse the navy beans in a strainer. Once rinsed, place the beans in a large bowl and completely cover with water. Let them soak for at least 3 hours, and then drain.

Dried navy beans are soaked in water for hours to soften them.

Ready To Cook the Navy Bean Soup

Okay… the beans have soaked. Now it’s time to start making the soup. Place olive oil into a large soup pot, and let it get warm (on medium heat). Add chopped celery, carrots and onion to the pot, and cook for about 8-10 minutes (stirring occasionally) until the veggies have softened.

Once the veggie have softened, add minced garlic and minced fresh rosemary to the pot, and stir  to combine. Cook this mixture for a couple minutes, stirring often so the garlic doesn’t burn.

Carrots, celery and onion are cooked in olive oil in a large soup pot.

Add the chicken stock (or vegetable stock) and the drained, softened navy beans to the pot. Stir to combine, and then bring it to a boil on MEDIUM heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to LOW, and let the navy bean soup simmer for about 1½ hours, uncovered. You will know it is done when the beans are soft to the bite, and the liquid has reduced in quantity. Let the soup cool for 5 minutes.

Chicken stock, navy beans and seasonings are cooked in soup pot.Beans have softened and liquid has reduced in the navy bean soup.

Thickening The Navy Bean Soup

Now you’re ready for the last step… thickening the navy bean soup for eating! It’s EASY. Remove about 1/3 of the bean mixture and place it in a blender (or food processor). Process the bean/soup mixture until it becomes a puree, smooth in texture.

Return the pureed bean mix to the soup pot, and stir well, to fully incorporate the puree into the soup. This will really help thicken the soup! Gently reheat the soup until it’s hot enough to serve. Season the navy bean soup with salt and black pepper, to suit your personal taste.

Some beans are pureed, then added back into the navy bean soup.Pureed navy beans will help thicken the soup.

Garnish, Serve, and Enjoy!

Once you have the soup seasoned to your liking, it is time to serve/ Ladle the navy bean soup into individual serving bowls. Garnish each portion with chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve piping hot, and enjoy this thick, creamy and delicious soup!

Bowl of navy bean soup, garnished with Parmesan cheese and parsley.Taking a spoonful of thick navy bean soup from a white bowl.

I really hope you have a chance to make and enjoy eating this soup. We sure enjoy it, and trust you will, too! Thank you for stopping by, and sincerely hope you will come back soon. Have a GREAT day!

Looking For More SOUP Recipes?

You can find all of my soup recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have lots of delicious soup recipes, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:

Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

Original recipe source: The cookbook “Williams-Sonoma Italian Favorites”, page 22, published in 2004 by Oxmoor House and Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

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Navy Bean Soup
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 30 mins
Inactive (Bean Soaking Time)
3 hrs
Total Time
4 hrs 40 mins
 

Navy Bean Soup is delicious and filling! Slowly cooked dried navy beans, carrots, garlic, celery, onion, broth & spices create a robust soup.

Category: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: navy bean soup
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 332 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups small navy beans (dried)
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion , finely chopped
  • 1 large carrot , peeled/finely chopped
  • 1 stalk celery , finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary , minced
  • 7 cups low-sodium chicken broth , or vegetable broth
  • salt & pepper, to taste
To Garnish:
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 Tablespoon Italian flat leaf parsley , chopped
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Rinse beans in a strainer. Once rinsed, place beans in large bowl; cover completely with water. Let beans soak at least 3 hours; drain.

  2. Once beans have soaked at least 3 hours: Place olive oil into a large soup pot; heat oil until warm on medium heat. Add celery, carrots and onion; cook 8-10 minutes (stirring occasionally) until veggies have softened. Add garlic and rosemary; stir  to combine. Cook 2 minutes, stirring often, so garlic doesn't burn.

  3. Add chicken stock (or vegetable stock or water) and the drained beans. Stir to combine, and bring to a boil on MEDIUM heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to LOW; simmer soup gently for 1½ hours, uncovered. It is done when beans are soft to the bite., and liquid has reduced. Let cool for 5 minutes.

  4. Remove about 1/3 of the bean mixture; place in a blender (or food processor). Process bean/soup mixture until it becomes a smooth puree. Return puree to soup; stir well, to mix puree into soup. Gently reheat soup until hot. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

  5. Ladle hot soup into serving bowls. Garnish each portion with chopped parsley and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

NOTE: If you do not have access to chicken or vegetable broth, you can substitute 7 cups water. However... the flavor will be much better using the broth.

Nutrition Facts
Navy Bean Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 (1/6 of total))
Calories 332 Calories from Fat 108
% Daily Value*
Fat 12g18%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 7mg2%
Sodium 227mg10%
Potassium 950mg27%
Carbohydrates 39g13%
Fiber 13g54%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 21g42%
Vitamin A 2108IU42%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 193mg19%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Navy Bean Soup is delicious and filling! Slowly cooked dried navy beans, carrots, garlic, celery, onion, broth & spices create a robust soup.


Nov
2020

Creamy Avgolemono Soup

categories: Main Dishes, Meatless Meals, Soups
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Creamy Avgolemono Soup is a classic Greek dish (with rice) that is delicious, rich and lemony, and very easy to make in under 30 minutes.Creamy Avgolemono Soup is a classic Greek dish (with rice) that is delicious, rich and lemony, and very easy to make in under 30 minutes.

For many years I have read about, looked at recipes, and wondered about Avgolemono soup. It sounded quite unusual. I was tempted many times to give it a try, but never did, until last month. Whoa! I LOVED this soup! Who knew that a lemon-flavored creamy rice soup could taste so incredibly GOOD?

Creamy avgolemono soup is a classic Greek beloved soup, one of their signature dishes, to be sure. “Avgolemono” comes from the Greek language. “AVGO” means egg, and “LEMONO” means lemon. This light and creamy simple soup only uses a few ingredients, is EASY to make, and tastes wonderfully bright and fresh! I hope you will give it a try… it will surprise you, most likely. Here’s how to make it:

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

How To Make Creamy Avgolemono Soup

Heat six cups of chicken broth in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil, and then pour in a half cup of uncooked long grain rice. Stir well, to combine.

Cook the broth and rice, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes on medium-high heat, until the rice becomes tender. Stir the rice occasionally while it is cooking, to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Uncooked rice is added to boiling chicken broth to cook.

Temper The Egg Mixture Before Adding To Hot Soup

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk four egg yolks lightly, and then add fresh lemon juice and finely grated lemon zest, whisking to combine. Now it’s time to “temper” the egg mixture. This is a VERY important step!

*Tempering the eggs means slowly adding in hot broth VERY SLOWLY. This raises the temperature of the eggs, so that when they’re added to very hot soup, they won’t become “scrambled eggs”. Here’s how to temper the egg mixture:

Slowly drizzle 1 cup of the hot broth into the egg mixture, whisking constantly as you add it. Continue whisking until all the cup of broth has been added. Turn the heat down to medium-low under the broth in the pan , and then slowly add the warmed egg mixture back into the hot broth in the pot, whisking as you add it. 

Egg yolks, lemon juice and zest are whisked together until combined.Hot broth is slowly drizzled/whisked into egg mixture to temper the eggs.

Finish Cooking The Soup

Let the soup continue to cook on medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. DO NOT LET THE SOUP COME TO A BOIL!  The creamy avgolemono soup will thicken up a little bit as it continues to cook. Once it has fully heated through (about 3-4 minutes), remove the pan from the heat. Season lightly (to suit your taste) with salt and pepper.

Avgolemono soup is cooked 3-4 minutes after adding tempered egg mixture.The soup is lemony, rich, thick and creamy after heating through.

Ready For A Bowl Of Creamy Avgolemono Soup!

Once heated through, the creamy avgolemono soup is ready to eat! Ladle the hot soup into serving bowls, and garnish each serving with chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (and strips of lemon peel, if desired).

The parsley and lemon peel add a “pop” of color, and another layer of flavor, but are not absolutely essential if you don’t have them handy! The soup is thick and creamy, bursting with lemon flavor, and the rice is very tender (and filling). We enjoy this soup with crusty slices of garlic bread on the side. YUM!

A bowl of Creamy Avgolemono Soup, garnished with chopped parsley and lemon peel.Garlic bread served on the rim of a bowl of creamy avgolemono soup.

I truly hope you will give this creamy avgolemono soup a try- it’s quite delicious! The leftovers were microwaved for lunch the next day, and were wonderful, as well! Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you will come back soon. Take care.

Looking For More SOUP Recipes?

You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have lots of soup recipes you’ll enjoy, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:

Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

Original recipe source: The cookbook: “Williams-Sonoma Soup Of The Day”, by Kate McMillan, published by Weldon Owen, Inc. 2011, page 15

5 from 3 votes
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Creamy Avgolemono Soup
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
25 mins
 

Creamy Avgolemono Soup is a classic Greek dish (with rice) that is delicious, rich and lemony, and very easy to make in under 30 minutes.

Category: Dinner, Soup
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: creamy avgolemono soup
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 200 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • ½ cup long grain white rice , uncooked
  • 4 large egg yolks , slightly beaten
  • ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest (finely grated lemon peel)
  • salt/pepper, to taste
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley (flat leaf) , chopped for garnish
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Heat broth in large saucepan on medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; add uncooked rice. Cook uncovered, 15-20 minutes on medium-high heat, until rice is tender. .Stir occasionally while it cooks, to prevent rice from sticking to bottom of pan.

  2. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks lightly. Add lemon juice and zest, whisking to combine. "Temper" the egg mixture. *Tempering eggs means slowly adding in hot broth VERY SLOWLY. This raises the temperature of the eggs, so that when added to hot soup, they won't scramble. Here's how: Measure out, then slowly drizzle 1 cup of the hot broth into the egg mixture, whisking constantly as you add it. Continue whisking until the entire cup of broth is added.

  3. Turn the heat down to medium-low under the broth in pan; slowly add the warmed egg mixture back into the broth in pan, constantly whisking as you add it back in. Let the soup continue cooking on medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. DO NOT LET THE SOUP COME TO A BOIL! Soup will thicken up a bit as it cooks. Once hot (3-4 minutes), remove pan from the heat.

  4. Season lightly (to suit your taste) with salt and pepper. Ladle hot soup into bowls, and garnish each serving with chopped parsley (and strips of lemon peel, if desired). Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts
Creamy Avgolemono Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 200 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Cholesterol 184mg61%
Sodium 117mg5%
Potassium 376mg11%
Carbohydrates 25g8%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin A 414IU8%
Vitamin C 9mg11%
Calcium 45mg5%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Creamy Avgolemono Soup is a classic Greek dish (with rice) that is delicious, rich and lemony, and very easy to make in under 30 minutes.


Jul
2020

Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili

categories: Main Dishes, Meatless Meals, Mexican / Southwestern, Soups
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Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili is a hearty meatless dish, with all the flavor of a traditional chili. It’s thick, delicious, and simple to prepare!
Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili is a hearty meatless dish, with all the flavor of a traditional chili. It's thick, delicious, and simple to prepare!

Do you enjoy chili? We sure do. Every couple of months I make my Mom’s old-fashioned chili, and it is my absolute favorite “go to” chili recipe. One of our sons and his girlfriend are vegetarians, and my sister-in-law is a vegan. When they come over for a chili dinner, I make my traditional chili recipe and simply leave the meat out. I am always on the “hunt” for vegetarian recipes I can fix for them.

However, sometimes ya just gotta try new recipes, and for me, the thrill of the hunt for a “new” recipe is exciting. I found this yummy, meatless chili recipe on the app called My Fitness Pal. It’s a fiber and protein-filled dish, and is another GREAT alternative for anyone looking for a meatless chili, with all the flavors you know and love.

It’s also low-calorie, easy to make, and I know my vegetarian and vegan family members will love it. I can’t wait for them to try it, too! Here’s how to make this yummy black bean butternut squash chili (a printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post):

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

How To Prepare The Butternut Squash

The first thing you will need to do is prepare the butternut squash. I prefer to use fresh, but you can substitute frozen butternut squash, if necessary. Preparing the fresh squash is not difficult at all (but it will take 4-5 minutes). HINT: You won’t need to use the entire squash for your chili. Perhaps you would enjoy using the leftover squash to make Maple Cinnamon Butternut Squash for another meal’s side dish?

Use a vegetable peeler to remove the outer peel from the butternut squash. Once peeled, carefully slice off both ends of the squash. Slice the squash in half horizontally. Scoop out the seeds and “stringy pith” from the cavity of the squash, and discard.

Slice the squash into half-moon shaped rings (1″ thickness), and then cut the rings into bite-sized cubes of butternut squash. Try to keep them around 1″, because they will cook faster than large chunks.

Use a vegetable peeler to peel the butternut squash.Cut butternut squash in half length-wise, and remove seeds.Slice the squash, then cut into small cubes before cooking.

Make The Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili

Now it’s time to get the black bean butternut squash chili ready to cook. No worries… it’s simple! Place all the ingredients into a large stock pot. Add the water and give the chili a good stir, to fully combine ingredients. See how easy that is? Now the chili is ready to cook!

The ingredients for the black bean butternut squash chili in a large stockpot.Water is added to the soup pot and then chili is cooked.

Cook The Chili

Cook the black bean butternut squash chili on medium-low heat for 30-40 minutes. Cover the pot of chili for the first 15 minutes, then uncover the pot for the rest of the cooking time.

You will know it is done when the cubes of butternut squash become tender. Take a bite of the squash at the 30 minute mark, then continue cooking, if necessary until the squash is softened. The chili will thicken as the water reduces during the cooking time. Take a small sample bite, and add salt, if desired, to suit your taste.

After cooking, the chili will thicken and butternut squash will be tender.

Serve The Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili

Once your chili is done cooking, it is ready to serve! Ladle the black bean butternut squash chili into serving bowls, and if desired, garnish each bowl of chili with a dollop of sour cream and/or fresh cilantro, for a pop of color and added flavor.

A bowl of black bean butternut squash chili garnished with cilantro and sour cream.

Hope you enjoy a nice hot bowl of this delicious black bean butternut squash chili.  The black beans and butternut squash provide a nice dose of fiber, which helps to fill the old tummy up! Plus, it really does taste wonderful, and I am confident you will really enjoy it.

Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili, ready to enjoy!

Hope you have the opportunity to try this recipe for yummy, meatless chili. You might also enjoy my recipe for Tasty Turkey Chili. Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you will come by for a visit again. Take care, and have a great day!

Looking For More MEATLESS MEALS?

You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have several meatless meals you might enjoy, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:
Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

Recipe adapted from: https://blog.myfitnesspal.com/butternut-squash-black-bean-chili-recipe/

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Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
35 mins
Total Time
50 mins
 

Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili is a hearty meatless dish, with all the flavor of a traditional chili. It's thick, delicious, and simple to prepare!

Category: Entree, Soup
Cuisine: Southwestern
Keyword: black bean butternut squash chili
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 224 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 30 ounces canned black beans (2 cans) , rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups butternut squash , peeled, cut into 1" cubes
  • 15 ounces canned diced tomatoes , including juice
  • 1 cup corn kernels , fresh or frozen
  • 1 medium red onion , diced
  • 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
  • 2 Tablespoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 3 cups water
  • salt, to taste
  • Sour cream, cilantro (OPTIONAL for garnish)
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Remove peel from squash. Carefully slice off both ends; cut squash in half horizontally. Scoop out seeds and stringy pith; discard. Slice into half-moon shaped rings (1" thickness); cut rings into 1" bite-sized cubes, for a total of 2 cups. (you won't use the whole squash).

  2. Place ingredients into a large stock pot; stir well. Cook on medium-low heat for 30-40 minutes. **Cover pot of chili for the first 15 minutes, then uncover for the rest of the cooking time**. Taste a bite of squash after 30 minutes. If soft and tender, chili is done. If not, continue cooking until tender. Chili will thicken as water reduces while cooking. Taste; season with salt, as desired.

  3. Serve chili with a dollop of sour cream and fresh cilantro, if desired (optional, but good). Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

NOTE: I use fresh corn kernels (cut off one cob) and fresh butternut squash, but you can substitute frozen corn kernels or butternut squash, if necessary. If using frozen butternut squash, your cooking time may vary, as it might take less time to become tender.

Nutrition Facts
Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 224 Calories from Fat 18
% Daily Value*
Fat 2g3%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 740mg32%
Potassium 1014mg29%
Carbohydrates 44g15%
Fiber 15g63%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin A 7091IU142%
Vitamin C 22mg27%
Calcium 133mg13%
Iron 6mg33%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Black Bean Butternut Squash Chili is a hearty meatless dish, with all the flavor of a traditional chili. It's thick, delicious, and simple to prepare!


Jun
2020

Easy Tortellini Soup

categories: Main Dishes, Meatless Meals, Soups
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Enjoy a piping hot bowl of yummy, Italian-inspired, Easy Tortellini Soup, made in under 30 minutes with only a few key ingredients and spices.
Enjoy a piping hot bowl of yummy, Italian-inspired, Easy Tortellini Soup, made in under 30 minutes with only a few key ingredients and spices.

Even though the weather has been heating up this week, I want to share this soup recipe with you, cause it’s YUMMY, no matter what time of year it is. This recipe for easy tortellini soup is just that… EASY! It also happens to be delicious (in case that matters, too – ha ha!).

If you enjoy Italian food, and the spices associated with it, you’re gonna enjoy this soup. It has a tomato-based broth, with Italian spices, fragrant garlic, cheese tortellini pasta, chopped spinach, and is topped with a sprinkling of grated Parmesan cheese. Because it doesn’t require a long cooking time, you’ll be slurping up this delicious soup in NO TIME! Here’s how simple it is to make:

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Prepare The Tortellini

Cook the fresh, frozen, or dry tortellini in salted water, according to the package directions. Once done cooking, drain the tortellini, and set aside. I like to cook the tortellini AND the spinach (see below) at the same time, to save time.

Cheese tortellini are cooked per package directions, and then drained.

Prepare The Spinach

Cook the chopped spinach according to the package instructions. Once cooked, put the spinach into a strainer which is placed on top of a bowl.  Press down with the back of a spoon to press out the spinach juice into the bowl below.

The juice will collect in the bowl sitting underneath the strainer. Keep pressing (a lot) to drain off as much of the juice as you can. Discard the juice once finished. Set the spinach aside. Now it’s SOUP time, and it will come together REALLY quickly!

Frozen chopped spinach is thawed, then drained of excess liquid in a strainer.

How To Make Easy Tortellini Soup

Place the butter into the saucepan you will be using. Melt the butter on medium heat, and then add the minced garlic. Cook on medium heat for about a minute, stirring constantly, so the garlic doesn’t burn. Burnt garlic has a bitter taste, and you do NOT want that in your tortellini soup!

Now add the chicken broth to the pan, and heat it until it comes to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to a low simmer, and then add the cooked, drained tortellini. Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally.

Butter and garlic is cooked in the soup pan for about a minute.Cooked and drained tortellini is added to the broth in the soup pan.

Finish Making This Easy Tortellini Soup

Once the soup has simmered for 5 minutes, add the diced tomatoes (including juice), drained spinach, salt, and Italian seasoning. Stir well, to fully combine the ingredients. Continue to heat the tortellini soup on low heat for 5 more minutes, or until the soup is fully heated through.

Drained spinach, tomatoes, and spices are added to the tortellini soup.The easy tortellini soup is cooked until heated through.

Serving Easy Tortellini Soup

Once the soup is fully heated through, it is ready to be served and gobbled up! Ladle the soup into individual bowls, and sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top. The Parmesan cheese garnish is optional, but trust me, it makes this Italian-inspired soup taste SO GOOD!

This wonderfully easy tortellini soup tastes great, especially if you serve it with a nice piece of crusty garlic bread on the side! Yum… I really hope you enjoy it. Store any leftover soup (covered) in your refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.

The finished tortellini soup is topped with finely grated Parmesan cheese.A close up photo of the easy tortellini soup.

This truly is a simple soup to make, and it tastes wonderful. We were able to share some with one of our neighbors who lives alone, and he enjoyed it, too!  I hope you have the opportunity to make it for those you love, and trust you will enjoy it, too! Thanks for stopping by, take care, and have a great day.

Looking For More TORTELLINI Recipes?

You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have several tortellini recipes, which include:

Looking For More SOUP Recipes?

You can find all of my soup recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have quite a few delicious soup recipes I think you will enjoy, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:
Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

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Easy Tortellini Soup
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
25 mins
 

Enjoy a piping hot bowl of yummy, Italian-inspired, Easy Tortellini Soup, made in under 30 minutes with only a few key ingredients and spices.

Category: Entree, Soup
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: tortellini soup
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 191 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 8 ounces fresh, frozen, or dried cheese tortellini
  • 10 ounces frozen chopped spinach
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 2 cloves garlic , minced
  • 28 ounces chicken broth
  • 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes (canned) , undrained
  • 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 6 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (optional, for garnish)
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Cook fresh, frozen, or dry tortellini in salted water, according to pkg. directions. Once done, drain tortellini; set aside.

  2. Cook spinach according to pkg. directions. When done, put spinach into a strainer placed on top of a bowl.  Press down with the back of a spoon to press out juice into bowl below. Drain off as much juice as possible. Discard juice, and set spinach aside.

  3. Melt butter on medium heat in large soup pan. Once melted, add minced garlic. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, so garlic doesn't burn. Add chicken broth to pan, and heat until it comes to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a low simmer. Add tortellini. Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Add diced tomatoes (including juice), spinach, salt, and Italian seasoning. Stir well, to combine ingredients. Continue to heat soup for 5 more minutes, or until fully heated through.

  4. Ladle hot soup into bowls, and sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on each serving. Serve, and enjoy! Store any leftover soup (covered), in refrigerator, for up to 2-3 days.

Nutrition Facts
Easy Tortellini Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 (1/6 of total))
Calories 191 Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 24mg8%
Sodium 1068mg46%
Potassium 415mg12%
Carbohydrates 23g8%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 11g22%
Vitamin A 5736IU115%
Vitamin C 19mg23%
Calcium 214mg21%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Enjoy a piping hot bowl of yummy, Italian-inspired, Easy Tortellini Soup, made in under 30 minutes with only a few key ingredients and spices.


Mar
2020

Easy Potato Chowder

categories: Main Dishes, Meatless Meals, Soups
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Make four servings of yummy, filling, easy potato chowder in about 30 minutes, from start to finish, using a few simple and common ingredients!
Make four servings of yummy, filling, easy potato chowder in about 30 minutes, from start to finish, using a few simple and common ingredients!

My mom used to make this easy potato chowder for our family as I was growing up. The recipe is incredibly EASY, inexpensive, and can be made fairly quickly (about 30 minutes) with common pantry items. It is a delicious, filling soup, which tastes wonderful on a chilly day!

The end result is a creamy chowder with cubes of tender potatoes, celery, and onions, seasoned with salt, pepper, butter, and a few green onions for garnish. These simple ingredients, along with milk, make up this delicious potato chowder! Here’s how easy it is to make!

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Prepare The Veggies

First things first… prepare the veggies! Chop onions, thinly slice celery, and peel and cut the potato into small 1″ cubes. Don’t make the cubes of potato too big, so they will cook fairly quickly. NOTE: I used Russet potatoes, but other varieties can be easily substituted.

Melt butter in a large saucepan, and then add the chopped onions and sliced celery. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes, until the onions and celery have softened.

Chopped onions and celery are cooked in butter to tenderize.

Add the cubed raw potatoes to the saucepan, and stir to combine. Continue to cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring often. The small cubes of potato will begin to soften as they cook.

Cubed raw potatoes are added to onions, celery and butter in pan to cook and soften.

Season Veggies And Add Flour To Thicken Chowder

After the potatoes have cooked for 10 minutes (and have become tender), remove the pan from the heat. Season the veggies with salt and black pepper. Add the all purpose flour to the pan, and stir to fully combine. The flour coats the vegetables, and will act as a thickener for the chowder, once the milk has been added.

The potatoes are seasoned with salt and pepper.Flour is added into the potatoes to thicken soup as it cooks.

Time To Turn This Into Easy Potato Chowder!

Now it is time to add the milk to the saucepan! Slowly pour 4 cups of milk into the saucepan. I used 1% milk, but feel free to use any kind you prefer. Stir well, once all the milk is in, to fully combine the ingredients.

Return the pan to the stove top and cook on medium, bringing it up to heat slowly. Be careful to not let the soup boil after adding the milk. Just bring it up to a very hot serving temperature slowly. As it cooks, the soup will thicken.

Milk is added to the pan to thicken and cook into the soup.

When the easy potato chowder has thickened and is very hot (but not boiling), taste test a potato cube to make sure they are tender. At this point, adjust the seasoning to your taste by adding more salt and pepper, if desired.

Want Your Chowder Even Thicker?

If at the last minute you decide you want the chowder to be even thicker (a personal choice), here’s a little secret tip I’ve used a couple of times to do that: Once the chowder is at serving temp, simply stir in about 1/2 cup of instant potato flakes! Yep… give them a stir into the soup, and instant thickener! This is completely OPTIONAL, but it does work!

The potato chowder has thickened, is heated through, and is ready to serve.

Serve The Easy Potato Chowder

Once the soup is heated to serving temp, ladle it out into individual serving bowls. Sprinkle some thinly sliced green onions over the top, if desired, and grab a spoon! Go ahead… dig in!

The easy potato chowder is delicious, and we love to serve it with warm bread or rolls on the side. We usually get about 4 good sized bowls of chowder from this recipe (as written), but it can EASILY be doubled! Hope you enjoy it!

Sliced green onions are added to the easy potato chowder, right before serving.You can see the chunks of potatoes in the finished chowder.

Well, this really is an easy soup to make for lunch OR dinner! Sure hope you have the opportunity to try it soon, and trust you will enjoy it, too. Have a wonderful day, and thank you for visiting.

Looking For More Potato SOUP Recipes?

You can find all of my soup recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. A few of our favorite soups that include potatoes are:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:
Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

Original recipe source: My Mom

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Easy Potato Chowder
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
30 mins
 

Make four servings of yummy, filling, easy potato chowder in about 30 minutes, from start to finish, using a few simple and common ingredients!

Category: Dinner, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easy potato chowder
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 309 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup butter (½ stick or 4 Tablespoons)
  • 1 cup brown onion , finely chopped
  • ½ cup celery , thinly sliced
  • 1¾ cup potatoes (approx. 2 medium) , peeled and cut into 1" cubes-I used russets.
  • 1½ teaspoons salt ( + more to taste as desired)
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ⅓ cup all purpose flour
  • 4 cups milk
  • ½ cup instant potato flakes (OPTIONAL) (if desired for thicker soup)
  • 1 stem green onion (green part) (OPTIONAL GARNISH) , thinly sliced
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Chop onions, thinly slice celery; peel/ cut potato into small 1" cubes. Small potato cubes are important, so they cook quickly. Melt butter in a large saucepan; add the onions and celery. Cook on medium heat, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes, until onions/celery have softened.

  2. Add potato cubes to the pan; stir to combine. Cook on medium for 10 minutes, stirring often. Remove pan from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Add flour to the pan; stir to combine.

  3. Add 4 cups of milk into the pan. Stir well, to fully combine ingredients. Return pan to the heat and cook on medium, bringing it up to serving temperature slowly. Don't let soup boil after adding milk. As it cooks, the soup will thicken. Taste test a potato cube to make sure they are tender (if not tender, let chowder cook a couple more minutes). Adjust seasonings to your taste by adding additional salt and pepper, if desired.

  4. Once chowder is heated to serving temp (and potatoes are tender), ladle it into individual bowls. Sprinkle thinly sliced green onions over the top, if desired. Serve, and enjoy!

  5. OPTIONAL TIP: Want Your Chowder Even Thicker? When chowder has thickened and is very hot , if you decide you want the chowder to be even thicker (a personal choice), here's a little tip I've used a couple of times: Simply stir in about 1/2 cup of instant potato flakes! Yep... give them a stir into the soup, and instant thickener! This is completely OPTIONAL, but it does work!

Recipe Notes

NOTE: Caloric calculation was made using 1% milk, and NO instant potato flakes.

Nutrition Facts
Easy Potato Chowder
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 309 Calories from Fat 126
% Daily Value*
Fat 14g22%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Cholesterol 42mg14%
Sodium 1092mg47%
Potassium 730mg21%
Carbohydrates 36g12%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 15g17%
Protein 11g22%
Vitamin A 874IU17%
Vitamin C 7mg8%
Calcium 321mg32%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Make four servings of yummy, filling, easy potato chowder in about 30 minutes, from start to finish, using a few simple and common ingredients!


Feb
2020

Hearty Minestrone Soup

categories: Italian, Main Dishes, Soups
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Hearty Minestrone Soup is filling and DELICIOUS! This classic Italian soup, with meat, veggies, tomatoes, beans, and macaroni is sure to please.
Hearty Minestrone Soup is filling and DELICIOUS! This classic Italian soup, with meat, veggies, tomatoes, beans, and macaroni is sure to please.

The first time I had this hearty minestrone soup was when my Father-in-Law died over 40 years ago. A friend of the family was there for his memorial, and fixed a massive pot of this soup for the family at my in-laws home after the service.

The day of his memorial service was very cold and snowy (January), so this hot, delicious, filling meal was a God-send, as well as a sweet, thoughtful “gift” to our family!  A long-time family friend named Veda Quatro made the soup, gave me her recipe, and we’ve enjoyed this hearty, flavor-packed soup ever since that day!

The recipe makes 12 servings, and is CRAZY DELICIOUS. It takes a bit of time and prep work to make, but honestly, the results are wonderful, and will be worth your time! If you will only be serving a few people, you will enjoy having the leftovers for lunches or a quick meal! YUM!

Four Steps To Making Hearty Minestrone Soup!

There are basically 4 steps to making this soup. Cook the stew meat in broth, cook ground beef, onions and spices, cook the veggies, and add the final batch of veggies and pasta to the soup 30 minutes before serving!

It’s really not that hard to make… honest! Here’s how to cook a large batch of this yummy soup:

Step #1 – Cooking The Stew Meat

Place 5 quarts of water into a HUGE soup pot. Add the beef bouillon cubes and the stew meat. NOTE: You can substitute 5 quarts beef broth for water and bouillon, if more convenient. Cook on high for about 20 minutes, or until the stew meat is cooked through. Once done, turn off heat, and transfer the stew meat with a slotted spoon to a plate to rest.

NOTE: Trust me… you will want to use a LARGE soup pot or divide the recipe between two standard sized soup pots for this recipe, because it makes a LOT of soup, once completed!

Stew meat is cooked in beef broth in a large stock pot.

Step #2

Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add the ground beef, drained stew meat, chopped onion, pepper, and chopped parsley. Cook this mixture until the ground beef is browned and fully cooked through.

As soon as the ground beef is fully cooked, add the minced garlic, and continue to cook, stirring often, for one minute.

Stew meat, ground beef, onions, and parsley are browned in skillet.

Minced garlic is added to the browned meat mixture.

Drain the grease from the skillet (discard) and then add the cooked beef and onion mixture into the broth and stir, to combine.

Cooked beef and onion mixture is added to beef broth.

Step #3

On to the next step! Gather the sliced celery, carrots and shredded cabbage, and add them to the pot of hearty minestrone soup! Pour in the canned diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and then give everything a good stir, to combine. Add the salt, stir then taste the soup, and add  additional salt, if desired, to suit your personal taste.

Continue to cook the hearty minestrone soup (uncovered) on medium heat for about 30 minutes, or until the veggies become tender. The soup liquid will reduce in volume slightly as the mixture cooks.

NOTE: If making soup ahead for serving later in the day… turn off the heat after this step, and let soup sit until 30 minutes before you want to serve, then go to Step #4.

Carrots, celery and green cabbage are prepped for the minestrone soup.Hearty minestrone soup is cooking away in a large stock pot.

Step #4 – The FINAL Step Before Serving

About 30 minutes BEFORE serving, add the uncooked macaroni noodles, frozen peas, kidney beans and zucchini slices to the pot of soup.

Cook the hearty minestrone soup on medium heat (still uncovered) for 30 minutes, and then it will be ready to serve! The broth will slightly reduce as it continues to cook, and the macaroni will fully cook in the soup!

Zucchini, peas, and uncooked macaroni noodles are added to the soup.The macaroni noodles cook fully in the hot minestrone soup.

Time To Serve Hearty Minestrone Soup!

After 30 minutes your huge pot of homemade, hearty minestrone soup is ready to serve! Give it a final taste, and add additional salt, if desired. Ladle the steaming soup into bowls, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and serve!

A bowl of hearty minestrone soup, topped with grated Parmesan cheese.Beef, veggies macaroni, tomatoes and beans are featured in hearty minestrone soup.

I really hope you will give this hearty minestrone soup a try! It is fabulous, and feeds a small village, or provides you with quite a few leftover bowls of delicious soup! YUM!!! Have a great day.

Looking For More SOUP Recipes?

You can find all of my soup recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have many soup recipes on the blog, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:
Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

Recipe adapted from: Family friend Veda Quatro’s original recipe (1979)

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Hearty Minestrone Soup
Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
1 hr 30 mins
 

Hearty Minestrone Soup is filling and DELICIOUS! This classic Italian soup, with meat, veggies, tomatoes, beans, and macaroni is sure to please.

Category: Entree, Soup
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: hearty minestrone soup
Servings: 12
Calories Per Serving: 241 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 5 quarts water
  • 1½ pounds beef stew meat , cut into cubes
  • 4 large beef bouillon cubes
  • 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
  • ½ pound ground beef
  • 1 medium brown onion , chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ cup fresh parsley , finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1 cup celery , sliced
  • 2 cups green cabbage , shredded
  • 1½ cups carrots , sliced or diced
  • 43.5 ounces diced, canned tomatoes (=three 14.5 ounce cans)
  • 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 2 teaspoons salt , plus additional, to desired taste
  • 1 cup zucchini , sliced thin, then cut slices in half
  • 1 cup frozen peas , do not thaw
  • 15.5 ounces kidney beans (canned) , rinsed and drained
  • 2 cups elbow macaroni , uncooked
  • grated Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. STEP #1: Place 5 quarts of water into a HUGE soup pot. Add the beef bouillon cubes and the stew meat. NOTE: Substitute 5 quarts beef broth for water and bouillon, if more convenient. Cook on high for 20 minutes, or until stew meat is cooked through. Once done, turn off heat, and transfer stew meat with a slotted spoon to a plate to rest.

  2. STEP #2: Heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add ground beef, drained stew meat, chopped onions, black pepper, and parsley. Cook until ground beef is browned and cooked through. Add minced garlic, and cook, stirring often, for one minute. Drain grease from skillet (discard) and then add this mixture to the broth and stir to combine.

  3. STEP #3: Add celery, carrots and cabbage to the pot of soup. Pour in canned diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning; stir, to combine. Add salt, stir then taste the soup, and add additional salt, if desired. Continue to cook soup (uncovered) on medium heat for 30 minutes, or until the veggies become tender. The soup liquid will reduce in volume slightly as the mixture cooks. NOTE: If making soup ahead for serving later in the day -turn off heat after this step, and let soup sit until 30 minutes before you want to serve, then go to Step #4.

  4. STEP #4: 30 minutes BEFORE serving, add the uncooked macaroni noodles, frozen peas, kidney beans and zucchini slices to the soup. Cook on medium high heat (still uncovered) for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, and then it's ready to serve! Give it a final taste; add additional salt, if desired. Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and serve! Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

TIP: The original author of this recipe (Veda) told me this tip: If you need to stretch out any leftover soup, just add another can of diced tomatoes or kidney beans, to make it go further!

Nutrition Facts
Hearty Minestrone Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 241 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Cholesterol 13mg4%
Sodium 974mg42%
Potassium 689mg20%
Carbohydrates 36g12%
Fiber 7g29%
Sugar 9g10%
Protein 12g24%
Vitamin A 3271IU65%
Vitamin C 26mg32%
Calcium 82mg8%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Hearty Minestrone Soup is filling and DELICIOUS! This classic Italian soup, with meat, veggies, tomatoes, beans, and macaroni is sure to please.


Feb
2019

Southwestern Chicken Soup

categories: Chicken, Lunch - Quick and Easy, Main Dishes, Soups
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You’ll love this delicious Southwestern Chicken Soup, a Weight Watchers dish with corn, black beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and avocado slices!
You'll love this delicious Southwestern Chicken Soup, a Weight Watchers dish with corn, black beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and avocado slices!

Recently I tried a new (to us) soup recipe that I found on Weight Watchers.  The soup sounded really good, and since it was freezing cold outside (the middle of winter), I decided to make some. A bowl of hot soup really warms a gal up on a chilly February evening!

Whoa! This Southwestern chicken soup tastes amazing! The portion size is large (1¾ cups per serving = 3 Smart Points), and is packed with corn, black beans, tomatoes, in a Southwestern spiced broth. Trust me- this is one flavor-packed bowl of soup!

If you enjoy Southwestern flavored dishes, chances are you will LOVE this hearty soup! It’s very easy to make, so you can be serving up steaming hot bowls of Southwestern chicken soup before you know it!

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

How To Make Southwestern Chicken Soup

Place one teaspoon of olive oil in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Heat oil on medium-high heat until very hot, but not smoking. Lightly season chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then add to the pot.

Cook the chicken on all sides, stirring often, for approximately 5 minutes. The chicken should be very lightly browned and cooked all the way through. Once the chicken is done, remove it from pan with a slotted spoon, and transfer to a plate. Set chicken aside until later.

Cooking the chicken breast pieces for Southwestern chicken soup.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil back into the pan (the same one you cooked the chicken in). Heat oil on medium-high, then add the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño to the pan.

Cook for 3 minutes, stirring often, until veggies have softened up a bit. Add the chili powder, minced garlic, and ground cumin to the pan, and stir to combine. Cook this mixture for an additional 30 seconds once combined.

Bell peppers, jalapeño and onions are cooked, to add to Southwestern chicken soup.

Spices for Southwestern chicken soup are added to onions, jalapeños and peppers in pan

Stir the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, black beans and corn into the soup. Bring the soup to a boil. Once soup begins to boil, put a lid on the pan, and turn the heat down to LOW. Continue to cook the Southwestern chicken soup on low heat (covered) for about 8-9 minutes. The veggies should be nice and tender at this point.

Broth, tomatoes and corn are added to the pan of Southwestern chicken soup.

Add The Cooked Chicken And Finish The Soup

Carefully add the cooked chicken pieces back into the hot Southwestern chicken soup. Stir the ingredients to combine, and continue to cook just until the chicken is fully heated through. It should only take about 2-3 minutes to reheat the chicken.

Remove the pot of soup from the heat, and stir in the fresh lime juice. The Southwestern Chicken Soup is now ready to garnish, then eat!

Cooked chicken pieces are added to the pot of Southwestern chicken soup.

See all those nice veggies and chicken chunks in this soup? You’re gonna enjoy this!

A ladle, full of yummy Southwestern chicken soup.

To Serve Southwestern Chicken Soup

When ready to serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Each serving of this hearty soup is 1¾ cups, so full bowls of Southwestern Chicken Soup are in order! Garnish each bowl of soup with 2 slices of ripe avocado, and a few cilantro leaves, and some crumbled corn chips. Grab a spoon and help yourself to a big bite of this delicious Southwestern chicken soup!

NOTE: The original Weight Watchers recipe did NOT use corn chips. I added 3 crumbled up corn chips to each bowl of soup, for a nice looking presentation and “crunch”. 

Southwestern Chicken Soup is served with avocado slices, corn chips and cilantro on top.

We really LOVED this soup!  My husband said this might have become his new FAVORITE soup! Wow! That’s saying a lot, since I make a lot of yummy soups! The leftovers were yummy, too! The soup will keep for 4 days in refrigerator and up to 3 months in the freezer.

Sure do hope you will consider trying this Southwestern chicken soup. It is incredibly easy to make, and tastes absolutely wonderful. If you follow the Weight Watchers program to track your food intake, this recipe has a value of 3 Smart Points (without corn chips). Have a great day!

Looking For More SOUP Recipes?

You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have lots of soup recipes published, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:

Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

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Original Recipe Source: https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/recipe/southwestern-chicken-soup/59779f66112c2b4e18b0fd84 

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Southwestern Chicken Soup
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
Total Time
35 mins
 

You'll love this delicious Southwestern Chicken Soup, a Weight Watchers dish with corn, black beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and avocado slices!

Category: Entree, Soup
Cuisine: Southwestern
Keyword: Southwestern chicken soup
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 401 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil , divided use
  • 1 pound chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) , cut in 1/2" cubes
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 medium onion , chopped
  • 1 small green bell pepper , seeded and chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1 medium jalapeño pepper , seeded and chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 29 ounces chicken broth (reduced sodium) (this is two 14.5 oz. cans)
  • 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes , drained
  • 1 cup frozen corn kernels (or fresh)
  • 15.25 ounces canned black beans , drained and rinsed
  • 1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • 1/2 medium avocado , pitted, peeled, cut into 8 slices
  • 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Heat 1 teaspoon of the olive oil in a large soup pot, on medium-high heat until very hot, but not smoking. Lightly season chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then add to pan Cook chicken on all sides, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Chicken should be lightly browned and cooked all the way through. Once chicken is done, remove from pan, and transfer to a plate. Set chicken aside.

  2. Add remaining 1 teaspoon of oil back into the pan (the same one you cooked chicken in). Heat oil on medium-high, then add onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring often, until veggies have softened a bit. Stir in the chili powder, minced garlic, and ground cumin. Cook this mixture for an additional 30 seconds once combined. Stir in chicken broth, diced tomatoes, black beans and corn.

  3. Bring the soup to a boil. Once it boils, put a lid on the pan, and turn heat to LOW. Continue to cook soup on low heat (covered) for about 8-9 minutes. The veggies should be nice and tender.

  4. Carefully add the cooked chicken back into soup. Stir to combine, and continue to cook until chicken is heated through. This should take 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from the heat, and stir in the fresh lime juice. 

  5. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Each serving is 1¾ cups. Garnish each bowl of soup with 2 avocado slices, and a few cilantro leaves. You can also add a few crumbled corn chips (optional) if you want! Serve, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

OPTIONAL: You can crumble up two or three corn chips on top to garnish each bowl of soup. The corn chips are NOT included in caloric or WW points calculation.

Nutrition Facts
Southwestern Chicken Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 bowl (1¾ cups + 2 avocado slices per serving))
Calories 401 Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Cholesterol 72mg24%
Sodium 1085mg47%
Potassium 1457mg42%
Carbohydrates 40g13%
Fiber 12g50%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 38g76%
Vitamin A 1070IU21%
Vitamin C 41.4mg50%
Calcium 112mg11%
Iron 5.3mg29%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!You'll love this delicious Southwestern Chicken Soup, a Weight Watchers dish with corn, black beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, and avocado slices!


Jan
2019

Chicken Noodle Soup

categories: Chicken, Main Dishes, Soups
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Delicious, homemade chicken noodle soup, made with leftover rotisserie chicken, celery, carrots, garlic, onions and spinach, will warm you up on a cold day!
Delicious, homemade chicken noodle soup, with leftover rotisserie chicken, celery, carrots, garlic, onions and spinach will warm you up on a cold day!

We recently bought a rotisserie chicken at Costco. They always seem to have the best roasted chicken! After a couple days of enjoying it, we were left with a mostly picked over whole chicken in our fridge. About 75% of the meat was gone off the bones, and we had the “skeletal remnants” in the fridge.

A lot of folks would throw out the rest of the chicken, at that point. But did you know the bones and tiny bits of chicken left hanging on for dear life can make an incredible tasting chicken noodle soup? YEP!  I decided not to waste the leftovers, and make a big pot of soup for our rainy night dinner!

The results? A wonderful tasting homemade chicken noodle soup that we enjoyed for a few more days, for dinner and a couple lunches! So the next time you have a leftover roasted chicken  (or have some leftover pre-cooked chicken and chicken broth in your kitchen), make soup! It’s EASY!  Here’s how:

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Making Chicken Noodle Soup Using Leftover Roasted Chicken

The photo below shows you what was left of our rotisserie chicken. Poor thing never had a chance! Most of the meat had already been eaten, but there was still some attached to the bones. This is PERFECT for making a delicious broth for the soup!

So, to make a good broth for the chicken noodle soup, place the chicken (or what’s left of it) into a large soup pot, and cover it with water.

Leftover rotisserie chicken in pot of water to make chicken noodle soup.

Add sliced carrots, celery, chopped onions and two smashed cloves of garlic to the pot. The carrots, onion, and celery are considered the holy trinity of cooking, because they impart so much flavor. They will be perfect to flavor the chicken noodle soup base!

Celery, carrots, garlic and onion added to chicken in water, for chicken noodle soup.

Add salt, pepper, and two large chicken bouillon cubes to the soup pot. Bring the water to a boil on medium high heat. Cook for about 35 minutes, then remove from heat. Carefully remove whole chicken from pot, and let it cool a bit.

Once it has cooled some, pick off all the pieces of chicken you can get from the bones, and add them back into the pot. Believe it or not, I ended up with about 2 cups of shredded chicken! Discard the bones once finished. Skim any accumulated grease off the top of the soup, and remove the two smashed garlic cloves.

If NOT Using A Whole Chicken To Make This Chicken Noodle Soup

NOTE: If NOT using a whole chicken, simply cook the veggies for about 15 minutes (to soften), then add two cups of cooked, shredded chicken into the pot. Make sure to add THREE large chicken bouillon cubes to the water, for flavor.

Timesaving Tip For Making Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I made this soup to use up our rotisserie chicken leftovers. HOWEVER… IF YOU WANT TO SAVE TIME, simply use 4 quarts of store bought chicken broth with your veggies and precooked chicken. Then there is no need to make your own chicken broth, and it will still have lots of flavor!

It will end up costing you a bit more to make the soup, but will save you time, if that’s an issue!

Holding a ladle full of chicken soup (without noodles)

Put the chicken noodle soup back on the stove on medium high heat. Bring the soup to a full boil, then add the uncooked rotini pasta. If you don’t have rotini pasta noodles, add your favorite! Stir, and cook the noodles for the time stated on package (typically this is between 11-13 minutes).

Uncooked rotini pasta is added to boiling chicken noodle soup in pan.

Chicken noodle soup in a ladle is almost done cooking.

When the noodles are finished cooking, add 1 Tablespoon of butter to the pot. Stir in the thawed and drained chopped spinach. Continue cooking the soup for a couple minutes, until chicken noodle soup is heated through. Take a small taste, and add salt and/or pepper, as desired.

Spinach has been added to chicken noodle soup in pot.

A ladle, full of the finished chicken noodle soup.

And there you have it! Instead of throwing away the remnants of a whole rotisserie chicken, you have used it to make a delicious pot of homemade chicken noodle soup!

A big pot, full of homemade chicken noodle soup.

Who’s Ready To Eat Some Chicken Noodle Soup?

All that’s left to do is ladle up a bowlful of hot soup, and serve it to those you love!  It’s really quite easy to make a delicious, filling pot of chicken noodle soup very inexpensively! The best part is that this soup, filled with chicken, pasta, spinach, carrots, onions, celery and a wonderful tasting broth TASTES SO GOOD!

A bowl of hot chicken noodle soup is ready to eat!

Sure hope you will consider trying this recipe for homemade chicken noodle soup! I think it’s fun to get a huge pot of delicious soup using only a few simple, common ingredients!

Looking For More SOUP Recipes?

You can find all my soup recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. A few favorites of ours include:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:

Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Have a wonderful day!

Author's signature

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Chicken Noodle Soup
Prep Time
40 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
55 mins
 
Delicious, homemade chicken noodle soup, with leftover rotisserie chicken, celery, carrots, garlic, onions and spinach, will warm you up on a cold day!
Category: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken noodle soup
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 152 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
  • 2 cups cooked chicken
  • 4 quarts water , to cover chicken
  • 2 cubes chicken bouillon , large cubes
  • 2 large carrots , peeled, sliced
  • 1/2 cup onion , chopped
  • 2 stalks celery , chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves , peeled, smashed
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1½ cups uncooked rotini pasta , or pasta of choice
  • 1 Tablespoon butter
  • 1 cup chopped frozen spinach , thawed & drained
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
If Using Rotisserie Chicken Carcass (to make soup base)

  1. Place the chicken carcass (what's left of it) into a large soup pot, and cover it with water. Add sliced carrots, celery, chopped onions and two smashed cloves of garlic to the pot. Add salt, pepper, and two large chicken bouillon cubes. 

  2. Bring the water to a boil on medium high heat. Cook for 35 minutes, then remove pan from heat. Carefully remove chicken carcass from pot, and let it cool a bit. Once it has cooled some, pick off all the pieces of chicken you can get from the bones, and add them back into the pot. Discard bones, once finished. Skim any accumulated grease off the top of the soup, and remove the two smashed garlic cloves.  

  3. Put the soup back on the stove on medium high heat. Bring the soup to a full boil, then add uncooked rotini pasta. Stir, and cook the noodles for the time stated on package until done (typically this is between 11-13 minutes).

  4. When noodles are finished cooking, add 1 Tablespoon of butter to the pot. Stir in the thawed, drained chopped spinach. Continue cooking soup for a couple minutes, until it's heated through. Take a taste, and add salt and/or pepper, as desired. Serve, and enjoy!

If Using Pre-Cooked Chicken And Store Bought Chicken Broth (TIMESAVER)

  1. Cook the veggies (carrots, onions, celery, garlic) in the boiling broth (4 quarts) for 15 minutes, then add shredded chicken and pasta (etc.) and cook per instructions above. Once noodles are cooked, add butter, spinach, and season with additional salt/pepper as desired. Serve, and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Caloric calculation is based on "made from scratch" method (using leftover chicken and bones).

Nutrition Facts
Chicken Noodle Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 (1/8 of total))
Calories 152 Calories from Fat 54
% Daily Value*
Fat 6g9%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Cholesterol 30mg10%
Sodium 220mg10%
Potassium 264mg8%
Carbohydrates 12g4%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 10g20%
Vitamin A 5410IU108%
Vitamin C 3.4mg4%
Calcium 45mg5%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Delicious, homemade chicken noodle soup, with leftover rotisserie chicken, celery, carrots, garlic, onions and spinach, will warm you up on a cold day!


Nov
2018

Moroccan Meatball Couscous Soup

categories: Beef, Main Dishes, Soups
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Moroccan Meatball Couscous Soup is a delicious, flavor-filled dish, with baked ground beef meatballs and pearl couscous, in a simple garlic/shallot broth.
Moroccan Meatball Couscous Soup is a delicious, flavor-filled dish, with baked ground beef meatballs and pearl couscous, in a simple garlic/shallot broth.

A couple of weeks ago, I tried a new soup recipe that I recently found on Pinterest.  The recipe was for a Moroccan meatball couscous soup, and I thought it sounded really interesting, due to the spices used in the tiny meatballs.

Do you like meatballs in soup? We do! One of our favorite soups with meatballs is my Albondigas Soup, which has traditional Southwestern flavors. I wasn’t too sure how this Moroccan meatball couscous soup (using pearl / Israeli couscous) would turn out, but thought I’d give this unique sounding soup a shot!

WOW!  We LOVED this simple soup!  Tiny meatballs, made with ground beef or lamb (I used ground beef), are mixed with a variety of Moroccan spices. The spices include turmeric, cinnamon, chili powder, curry powder, and several more.

Those little meatballs are baked, then added to a simple chicken or vegetable broth, which has been flavored with garlic and shallots. The end result? A wonderful tasting Moroccan meatball couscous soup that will knock your socks off! The soup is very easy to make – here’s how:

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

How To Make Moroccan Meatball Couscous Soup

The first thing you will need to do is preheat your oven to 375° F, and line a 13×9 inch baking sheet (with edges) with parchment paper. Place a rack in the middle of the oven.

Mix together the spices for the meatballs in a small bowl. Place the ground beef (or ground lamb) in a medium bowl.  Add the spice mixture and tomato paste to the meat in the bowl. Mix thoroughly (with clean hands), until all ingredients are completely blended.

Blending spices and ground beef to make Moroccan Meatball Couscous Soup.

For each meatball, use a rounded teaspoon of meat. Roll meat between your hands to form a small meatball. Place meatballs onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat until all the meat is gone. I ended up with 43 little meatballs out of this mixture.

Place meatballs into the oven (on the middle rack). Bake at 375° F. for 10-12 minutes, until they are fully cooked through. When done, remove baking sheet from oven, and set aside.

Forming meatballs and baking them for Moroccan meatball couscous soup.

Preparing The Couscous

While the meatballs are baking, you can cook the Israeli (pearl) couscous. For this recipe the couscous is lightly “dry toasted” first, then cooked. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium heat in a saucepan. Once the oil is hot (but not smoking), add the pearl couscous. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally while it lightly “toasts”. Lightly “toasting” the couscous, helps develop a slightly nutty flavor.

Add 1¾ cup water, and a tiny pinch of salt to the toasted couscous. Let the water come to a full boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pan. Cook the couscous for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until the water has been fully absorbed. Remove pan from heat once done. Set aside.

Toasting then cooking Israeli couscous for Moroccan meatball couscous soup.

Putting The Moroccan Meatball Couscous Soup Together

Heat 3 Tablespoons olive oil  on medium high heat, in a large Dutch oven or soup pot.  Add the minced garlic and 3 chopped shallots to the hot oil. Cook, stirring often, for one minute.

Add the chicken (or vegetable) broth to the pot, along with 2 more cups of water. Bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and carefully add the meatballs and the cooked couscous to the hot broth.

Shallots, garlic, chicken broth, & meatballs added to Moroccan meatball couscous soup.

Simmer the Moroccan meatball couscous soup (uncovered) on low heat for 10 minutes.  See how nice and plump the pearl couscous is?

Moroccan meatball couscous soup cooking in broth.

Time To EAT!

Once the Moroccan meatball couscous soup is finished cooking, remove the pot from the stove. Taste test the broth. If you find more salt or pepper is necessary to suit your taste, add it now. Ladle the hot soup into individual serving bowls. To serve, garnish each bowl of Moroccan meatball couscous soup with some chopped fresh flat leaf parsley.

Moroccan meatball couscous soup, served with parsley garnish.

That’s how simple it is to make this delicious soup!  I wasn’t sure I was gonna like it at first (being honest), but my husband and I ended up loving it!  The leftovers were fabulous for lunches, too! YUM.

Moroccan meatball couscous soup, served in white bowl, with fresh parsley garnish.

I really do hope you will consider trying this scrumptious Moroccan meatball couscous soup recipe. You will be surprised at the wonderful flavors in the meatballs and in the broth!  Have a wonderful day, friends.

Looking For More SOUP Recipes?

You can find all of my soup recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. Some of our favorites include:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so.  If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:

Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

Recipe Source: littlespicejar.com/moroccan-meatball-couscous-soup/

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Moroccan Meatball Couscous Soup
Prep Time
25 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
45 mins
 
Moroccan Meatball Couscous Soup is a delicious, flavor-filled dish, with baked ground beef meatballs and pearl couscous, in a simple garlic/shallot broth.
Category: Main Dish, Soup
Cuisine: Moroccan
Keyword: Moroccan meatball couscous soup
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 360 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
For Meatballs:
  • 1½ pounds ground beef (or lamb)
  • 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For Soup:
  • 8 ounces Israeli (pearl) couscous
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil ,for toasting couscous
  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil ,for cooking shallots/garlic
  • 8 cloves garlic ,minced
  • 3 shallots , finely chopped
  • 4 cups chicken broth ,may substitute vegetable broth
  • 3¾ cups water , divided
  • chopped flat leaf parsley ,for garnish - optional
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 375° F, and place a rack in the middle of the oven. Line a 13x9 inch baking sheet (with edges) with parchment paper. 

  2. Mix spices for the meatballs in a small bowl. Place the ground beef (or lamb) in a medium bowl. Add the spice mix and tomato paste to the meat. Mix thoroughly (with clean hands), until completely blended. For each meatball, use a rounded teaspoon of meat. Roll meat between hands to form a small meatball (40-45 total). Place meatballs onto parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat until meat is gone. Place meatballs into oven (on middle rack). Bake at 375° F. for 10-12 minutes, until fully cooked through. When done, remove baking sheet from oven, and set aside.

  3. While meatballs bake, cook the couscous.  Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil on medium heat in a saucepan. Once the oil is hot (but not smoking), add the pearl couscous. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally while it lightly "toasts".  Add 1¾ cups of water and a pinch of salt to the toasted couscous. Let water come to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, and cover the pan. Cook couscous for approximately 8-10 minutes, or until the water has been fully absorbed. Remove pan from heat and set aside when done.

  4. Heat 3 Tablespoons olive oil  on medium high heat, in a large Dutch oven or soup pot.  Add minced garlic and chopped shallots to the hot oil. Cook, stirring often, for one minute.  Add the chicken (or vegetable) broth to the pot, along with 2 more cups of water. Bring liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to low; carefully add meatballs and cooked couscous to the hot broth. Simmer the soup (uncovered) on low heat for 10 minutes. Once the soup is finished cooking, remove the pot from the heat. Taste test the broth. If you find more salt or pepper is necessary to suit your taste, add it. Ladle the hot soup into individual serving bowls. To serve, garnish each bowl of soup with chopped fresh flat leaf parsley. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts
Moroccan Meatball Couscous Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 360 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Fat 19g29%
Saturated Fat 5g31%
Cholesterol 57mg19%
Sodium 667mg29%
Potassium 449mg13%
Carbohydrates 24g8%
Fiber 1g4%
Protein 20g40%
Vitamin A 60IU1%
Vitamin C 10.1mg12%
Calcium 36mg4%
Iron 2.8mg16%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Moroccan Meatball Couscous Soup is a delicious, flavor-filled dish, with baked ground beef meatballs and pearl couscous, in a simple garlic/shallot broth.