This lamb meatball soup is flavorful, hearty - and healthy. You'll love the fresh flavorful homemade meatballs with ground lamb (that cook right in the soup), tender vegetables, and potatoes in a delicious herb broth with spinach and lemon. Cozy up with a bowl of this high protein soup and a slice of crusty bread!
Best Lamb Meatballs Soup!
One Pot Wonder
One of my favorite things about making this lamb meatball soup recipe is being able to use one single large stock pot to saute my mirepoix ( onions, celery, carrots), simmer, and cook meatballs until finished. No frying or baking any meatballs - thank goodness for that!
Loaded!
This soup is loaded with delicious ingredients, such as freshly made lamb meatballs, fresh onions, celery, carrots, potatoes, fennel, tomatoes, spinach, and lots of delicious herbs and seasonings! This is one hearty soup that you can serve on its own or serve with a light side like a salad.
Lamb Soup Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need to make lamb meatball soup:
- Ground Lamb (Lamb Mince)
- Fresh Parsley - used as a garnish in this recipe.
- Converted White Rice - Also called parboiled rice. Do not cook the rice. It will cook in the soup. Short grain and long grain rice can be substituted but you will need to soak the rice in ½ cup cold water for 30 minutes, then drain before adding to the meatball mixture.
- Garlic - use fresh garlic.
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- All Purpose Flour - used to coat each meatball before dropping them into the soup.
- Olive Oil
- Onion - use your favorite variety of onions in this recipe - any will do!
- Carrots
- Celery
- Fennel Bulb
- Russet Potato - use either one large or a few small ones in this recipe. Adjust to the quantity you would like.
- Lamb Stock or Chicken Stock - you can make your own stock or use store-bought. Lamb stock isn't as common in the U.S. so I make my own.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes
- Baby Spinach - this will wilt down in the soup when cooked, so you can always start with half a bag and add until you like. Swiss chard or kale can also be used but it will need to be chopped and requires a longer cooking time.
- Dried herbs - I used dried Thyme and Oregano
- Bay Leaves
- Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
For exact ingredient quantities, please see the recipe card below!
Substitutions and Variations
Here are a few ways you can vary or make substitutions to this recipe:
- Substitute lamb for ground beef, ground chicken, or a mixture of ground beef and sausage to make meatballs (adjust seasoning accordingly).
- Time Saver: use frozen meatballs instead! Add them straight to the pot and cook until done.
- Substitute fresh herbs for the dried ones.
- Add more vegetables. Mushrooms and zucchini are delicious.
- Add 2 tablespoons of shredded parmesan cheese to the meatball mixture.
- Adjust any seasonings to taste in this recipe.
- Substitute beef broth in place of lamb or chicken stock.
- Use swiss chard in place of spinach.
How To Make This Ground Lamb Soup Recipe
Here are the step-by-step instructions for making this lamb meatball soup recipe:
Ground Lamb Meatballs Mixture
- In a bowl add lamb, rice, water, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix together until well combined.
- Form the mixture into 1" size meatballs. Place flour in a bowl and roll each meatball in flour.
- Place them on a tray or plate lined with parchment paper and chill for 25 minutes in the refrigerator. (Note: the meatball mixture will be soft, but it will hold together.)
Saute the Vegetables
- Preheat olive oil a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, and fennel.
- Saute until they are golden (caramelized) and tender.
Add Ingredients
- Add potatoes and saute for 5 minutes. dd chicken or lamb stock , tomatoes, thyme, oregano, and bay leaves.
- Scrape the bottom of the pot. Bring the soup to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.
Add Meatballs to Pot
- Add the meatballs (raw) and return the soup to a simmer.
- Cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked (145 degrees F) and the rice is tender inside the meatball.
Finishing Touches
- Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Squeeze a wedge or two of lemon juice to taste.
- Adjust salt and pepper as desired and serve!
How To Serve Lamb Meatball Soup Recipe
Here are a few ways to serve this delicious lamb meatball soup:
- Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Garnish with fresh parsley, dill, or rosemary.
- Top with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and a lemon slice.
- Meal idea! Serve this soup with a delicious salad such as this Greek Salad and crusty bread.
Top Tips
- Do not cook the rice beforehand.
- If you can't find parboiled rice, use a short-grain or long-grain rice and soak it in ½ cup of water for 30 minutes, then drain before adding to the meatballs. Continue following the recipe.
FAQs
Parboiled rice (also called converted rice) is partially cooked rice. It is partially cooked in its husk and then dried. Parboiled rice cooks faster than long grain white rice. Some substitutes for parboiled rice are brown rice, quinoa, and couscous.
Meatballs are very simple, as they contain a ground meat, usually beef, pork, veal, or lamb, eggs, breadcrumbs, grated cheese, and spices. Follow our ground lamb meatballs recipe below, as we use rice as a binder to hold these meatballs together!
The majority of people assume that the longer you boil your meatballs, the juicer and more tender they become, but as a meatball boils, the fat is rendered or pulled from the meatball into the boiling liquid, which then, in time, will dry out your meatballs even though they are in a liquid.
Allow your leftovers to cool before transferring them to an airtight container for storage. Freeze for up to 4 months.
Cool down your soup in the refrigerator uncovered. Then transfer it to an airtight container and store it for up to 4 days.
Reheat your soup in a medium-sized sauce pot and bring it to a simmer on medium heat. Your soup is safe to eat once the meatballs have reheated to an internal temperature of 160 degrees or higher.
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📖 The recipe.
Lamb Meatball Soup
Ingredients
Ground Lamb Meatballs
- ¼ cup long grain parboiled rice, uncooked (also called converted rice)
- ¼ cup water
- ½ pound ground lamb (lamb mince)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- all-purpose flour
Soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion (chopped)
- 2 medium carrots (peeled and sliced)
- 2 stalks celery (sliced)
- 1 cup fennel bulb (chopped)
- 1 large russet potato (peeled and chopped in 1/2" pieces)
- 4 cups chicken or lamb stock
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- squeeze of lemon juice to taste
- ½ teaspoon each, salt and pepper (adjust to taste before serving)
Instructions
- In a bowl add lamb, rice, water, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mix together until well combined.
- Form the mixture into 1" size meatballs. Place flour in a bowl and roll the meatballs in flour. Place meatballs on a tray or plaste lined with parchment paper and chill for 25 minutes in the refrigerator. (Note: when forming the meatballs, the mixture may be soft, but it will hold together.)
- Preheat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrots, and fennel. Saute until they are golden (caramelized) and tender.
- Add potatoes and saute for 5 minutes. Add chicken or lamb stock , tomatoes, thyme, oregano, and bay leaves. Scrape the bottom of the pot. Bring the soup to a simmer then reduce heat to medium. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.
- Add the meatballs (raw) and return to a simmer. Cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked, and the rice is tender inside the meatball.
- Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Squeeze a wedge or two of lemon juice to taste. Adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve.
Kori's Tips
- Don't miss all of our helpful hints, substitution ideas, cooking tips, and other delicious recipes that can be found in our post. Check it out!
- VARIATIONS: Use any ground beef, ground chicken, or a mix of ground beef and sausage to make meatballs (adjust seasoning accordingly). Time saver: use frozen meatballs, add straight to the pot and cook until done.
- TOP TIPS: the meatballs go into the soup raw, do not cook the rice beforehand. The rice will cook inside the meatballs. If you can't find parboiled or converted rice use short-grain or sushi rice.
- SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve with fresh parsley, a little parmesan cheese, and a lemon slice. Goes well with this Greek Salad recipe.
Nutrition
© 2025 Seeking Good Eats™
Lamb mince (ground lamb) has so much flavor, and it's a wonderful addition to soups, shepherd's pie, stews, and curry. It also makes great gyro burgers!
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Patricia
In your instructions you forgot to indicate when to add spices(thyme, oregano, bay leaf). I assume it’s before simmwr
seekinggoodeats
Thank you for catching that! It's my typo and it's fixed 🙂 I hope you enjoyed it!