I love a bowl of French onion soup, but this time there’s a little something extra inside. This is my French Onion Soup with Mini-Meatballs.

Why can’t we take a traditional dish and make it our own? That’s just what I did. I added mini meatballs along with those sweet caramelized onions, savory broth, and covered it with delicious cheese.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Yields: 6 servings
Equipment: 1 (6-quart) Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid, 2 rimmed baking sheet pans, 1 large mixing bowl, 1 (medium-size) cookie-dough scoop, chef’s knife, cutting board

Ingredients for the Mini Meatballs:
2 pounds of ground pork (substitute ground beef, chicken, or turkey)
3 tablespoons of Italian flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (substitute 2 tablespoons of dried)
2 cloves of garlic, freshly grated
3/4 cup of ricotta cheese, whole milk
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated
5 dashes of Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup of store-bought fresh basil pesto
1 1/4 cups of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of black pepper, freshly ground
2 tablespoons of dried oregano
2 extra-large eggs

Ingredients for the French Onion Soup with Meatballs:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
5 large sweet onions, thinly sliced into half-moons
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of thyme leaves, roughly chopped (substitute 1 tablespoon of dried)
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper, freshly ground
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons of dry Sherry
1 fresh bay leaf, substitute dried
1 (10.5-ounce) can of beef consommè
5 cups of beef broth, unsalted
36 mini meatballs, fully cooked (6 meatballs per cup of soup)
1 loaf of baguette bread, sliced and toasted (2 per soup)
3 cups Gruyère cheese, freshly grated
Garnish:
Fresh thyme leaves, optional

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Start by lining two rimmed baking sheet pans with parchment paper. Liberally spray the parchment with non-stick cooking spray.

I happened to have ground pork in my refrigerator, so that’s what I’m using today.

In a large mixing bowl, start with the meatballs’ flavorings. Add ricotta cheese, fresh chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley, basil pesto, freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated garlic, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, dried oregano, Italian breadcrumbs, Worcestershire sauce, eggs, and heavy cream; mix to combine. It’s important to mix all the flavorings first before adding the ground meat. This ensures you don’t overmix the meat and end up with tough meatballs. Using your hands, gently combine the meat, distributing the flavorings evenly throughout.

Using the medium-sized cookie-dough scoop, scoop the mixture into your hands, then roll them into mini-meatballs. Arrange the meatballs 1 to 2 inches apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. The mixture yields approximately 36 meatballs.

Lightly spray the tops of the meatballs with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for 40 minutes.

In a preheated Dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil, sliced onions, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, sugar, fresh thyme, and red pepper flakes. Stir frequently; cook until deep golden brown and caramelized for 30-40 minutes. Stir in the garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Remove the meatballs from the oven.

Add the dry Sherry, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the beef consommé, beef stock, and bay leaf.

Add the mini-meatballs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally until slightly reduced, about 15-20 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf.

Adjust the oven temperature to the broil setting.

Place baguette slices onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place into the oven and broil until golden brown on both sides, about 1 to 2 minutes per side. Set Aside.

To Serve: Divide the soup (6 meatballs per crock) into the 6 soup crocks. Place two slices of the toasted baguette on the surface of the soup. Top with shredded Gruyère cheese. Set 2 soup crocks on each baking sheet. Leave the oven door slightly ajar, and broil for just a few minutes until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown, about 2 minutes.

There you have it, my French Onion Soup with Mini-Meatballs.

Notes:
1) Using a cookie-dough scoop will ensure the meatballs will turn out the same size.

2) If the onions begin to burn on the bottom of the pot, reduce the heat slightly and stir in 1/4 cup of water.

3) Add the bread and cheese when you’re ready to serve; otherwise, bring the soup to room temperature before you transfer it to the fridge for storage.

4) Linda Lou Hamel is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value are important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through a preferred online nutritional calculator of your choice. Calories and values can vary depending on the brands you choose.

https://lindalouhamel.com/2019/07/10/summer-time-flowers-and-herbs/