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:
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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.
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.
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.
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.
Simmer the Moroccan meatball couscous soup (uncovered) on low heat for 10 minutes. See how nice and plump the pearl couscous is?
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.
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.
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:
- Grandma’s Southern-Style Chicken n’ Dumplings (my #1 pinned recipe)
- Beef and Barley Soup
- Albondigas Soup
- Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
- Mom’s Old-Fashioned Chili
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Recipe Source: littlespicejar.com/moroccan-meatball-couscous-soup/
- 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
- 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
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.
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.
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.
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!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!