Dutch Vegetable Soup with Meatballs
If you go to a Dutch specialty store in our city, you'll find Scott buying boxes of powdered soup mix. He only buys a particular brand and his favourite flavour is groentesoep (vegetable soup).
The words on the box are all in Dutch; neither of us can read it, but Google Translate helps. I'll admit that, for a boxed soup, it's pretty good as a quick meal when we are in a hurry or tired from a long day.
To prepare it, Scott goes by memory of how he always ate it growing up. For him, it's both tasty and nostalgic. Scott's dad would make this soup on Sunday nights as a warm bowl of comfort food prior to going curling.
It was the chicken noodle soup of their family; that simple, delicious meal that fills you up, warms you up, and reminds you of time spent with your family.
We have talked about making the soup without the box since we knew it was probably easy to do from scratch. We set out to make a completely homemade version.
Scott grew up with using the pantry staples of carrots and celery. Of course, the vegetables can be changed around so that you can use those you already have at home; broccoli and cauliflower would be a great substitution!
The little meatballs, of course, can be made in a variety of ways, but Scott grew up eating a simple version with lean ground beef (no eggs), a few choice spices, and fresh parsley and chives.
We hope you enjoy this recipe.
Mise en place {see Ingredients for amounts}.
Combine meatball ingredients together and then form little meatballs.
Bring vegetable broth to a boil and add carrots, celery, vermicelli, and meatballs. Reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are folk-tender and meatballs are cooked through.
Remove from heat and top with fresh chopped parsley and chives.
Plate and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Dutch Vegetable Soup with Meatballs
Dutch Vegetable Soup with Meatballs or groentesoep met balletjes is a healthy, simple soup with vegetables, vermicelli pasta, small beef meatballs, and fresh herbs. One-pot and ready in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- ½ lb. lean ground beef
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon plain breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon onion salt
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the soup:
- 4 ½ cups vegetable broth (I used low sodium)
- 2 medium carrots, sliced
- 2 celery sticks, sliced
- 4 ounces vermicelli pasta, broken into small pieces
- 3-4 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 3-4 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, thoroughly combine meatball ingredients, then form small meatballs (about 1 tablespoon each). Set aside.
- In a medium pot over high heat, bring the vegetable broth to a boil. Add the carrots, celery, vermicelli, and meatballs. Reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are fork-tender and meatballs are cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.
- Remove from heat and top with parsley and chives. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 222Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 2311mgCarbohydrates: 18gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 20g
i didn't check the weather today, and my flats/hair/jacket/etc are very... hydrated, so this sounds like perfect comforting, hearty food.
Oh dear! I've been caught in the rain before and it's not fun at all! This soup would be great to have to warm up after the rain! Thanks for stopping by, Heather!
I just made this tonight after seeing the recipe this afternoon, and it was sooo good! Perfect for a cold day. Definitely a keeper.
This makes me so happy, Cari! Thank you for stopping by and commenting. 😊
That looks absolutely perfect for a cold day like today - and not fussy at all. I imagine poaching the meatballs rather than frying them keeps them from becoming tough - that's a really interesting idea.
Mmm this does sound very warm and comforting...those meatballs look so juicy!! You guys sound so fun adventuring into Dutch specialty stores and trying things out haha 😀
Thanks Joyce! The Dutch store that we go to has so many sweets and cheese in it; I have to restrain myself from buying everything! 😉
I grew up on Dutch soup my dad was Dutch it’s delicious now I make it for my girls
My husband was the same! His family grew up eating it so we thought we would share it on the blog. It's so comforting.
I grew up eating this soup too. We always used packaged vegetable soup mix, but we used the Knorr brand since couldn’t find the Dutch version. We just called it balletjes soup. As a kid I called ball cheese soup, and always questioned why it didn’t have balls of cheese in it. 😜
What a cute story! Thanks for sharing. My husband and I had a giggle over it this morning. 🙂 Now he wants to make this soup again!
Interesting you mention cauliflower, because in the Netherlands we use carrots, celery, cauliflower leek and red bell peppers in this soup (with the peppers it is considered farmers vegetable soup, no idea why)
Also a dash of curry powder near the end is something I quite like to add
And I prefer to add the meatballs first and once they float at the top, add the vegetables, so they have a little more bite
Thank you for the wonderful info, Patrick. I’ll try adding curry powder next time!
If I make it chicken I always add lovage. It’s I the celery family. My Dutch Oma taught me how to make it. Now my Dutch husband makes it for our Sunday soup. It brings back memories of our family in the “old” country. Yummy
I loved hearing your story! Thanks for stopping by!
Making this now in my Dutch Oven! Had to substitute a few things like vermicelli for angel hair and I added a bit of nutmeg to the meatballs. Will Def try meatballs first then veggies. Celebrating my Dutch heritage on a Sunday paired with a cold Amstel! Had most of the ingredients in the pantry love it! Thanks!
The soup and beer sounds like a winning combo! I hope you had a fantastic meal and day!
I was brought up Dutch and was the only one born in Canada. I’m just making a big pot of this soup today, the way my mother made it every Sunday. You start out with 1 1/2 lbs stewing beef. Cut into bite size pieces. Bring the 5cups of water to a boil and add the stewing beef, then immediately turn the stove down to low so the broth will simmer lightly all night long and most of the next day. This is to cook the stewing beef to make it tender. Then the next afternoon you add the vegetables which our case was 3 Carrots,2 Celery, 1 cup Celery root and 1 cup cauliflower chopped into smaller sizes. Then add a beef bouillon cube or two and the vermicelli and veggies. Then prep the meatballs which is lean or extra lean ground round with salt and pepper and a little nutmeg, but no bread crumbs, I find it made the meatballs soft and rubbery. (Just my opinion) then add them into the soup and when they rise to the top and float the soup is done. You can give it a taste to the broth and add some more seasoning if you like to your own flavouring. We always had Maggie on our dinner table when we had this soup. This soup freezes well and can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Super good and delicious especially on a cold winter day. Hope you all try this recipe and enjoy it as much as i do. Cheers and Enjoy.
Opps sorry I forgot the leeks that my mom used to put in it as well so the white light green part of the leek was also added