Comfort food without the guilt!
When you think of warm, satisfying comfort foods, what comes to mind? Creamy potatoes? Maybe a hot soup? The delicious meatballs you loved on top of spaghetti as a kid? What if we combined savory meatballs with tender potatoes in a velvety soup that will warm and sustain you? Our meatballs are made with lean chicken, cutting fat and calories from this recipe, and red pepper flakes and chili powder add a pop of flavor to this scrumptious dish!
Slow Cooker Meatball Soup with Potatoes & Kale
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground turkey or chicken
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 yukon gold potato large, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chicken broth fat-free, low-sodium
- 2 cups milk 1 or 2% recommended
- 2 cups kale leaves stems removed, rinsed and coarsely chopped
Instructions
- In a medium bowl combine the first 4 ingredients and make into 1-inch meatballs. Add oil to a large skillet and lightly brown meatballs over medium-low heat, on both sides. Note: The meatballs shouldn't be cooked through all the way, but just browned on the outside.
- Add to the slow cooker: meatballs, onion, garlic, potato cubes, red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, chicken broth, and milk, and stir just to combine. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours.
- Add kale and cook just until wilted, approximately 10 -15 minutes.
- Optional: For a thicker soup, combine cornstarch and cold milk, stir until smooth and add to slow cooker the last 20 minutes of cooking time.
Nutrition Information
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Do you cook the meatballs all the way through before putting them in the slow cooker?
Joel, The meatballs just need to be browned on the outside, not fully cooked through on the inside. I've added that note in the directions. Thanks for noticing.
Usually milk is added near the end of cooking but this works? Wonder why, it's lower fat or diluted with the broth?
Terry, That's true, but this works:).
If planning to have leftovers, do you still add all of the kale at the end? Or should you cook the kale separately and add to each bowl as you eat it? If second, what's the best way to do that to match the recipe?
Hi Jennifer, I would add the kale at the end, then warm up leftovers. 🙂