Beet Soup With Meatballs, Cabbage, and Spaetzle
Luscious silky beet soup loaded with meatballs, cabbage, and spaetzle. Not just any spaetzle either, homemade gluten free spaetzle! I don’t specialize in gluten free cooking, but I do have a few friends that can’t eat gluten, so I really love making some recipes more inclusive so everyone can enjoy them! This soup was such a special treat that I knew I had to make it available to everyone.
The stunning bright reddish pink color of this soup is what first pulls you in, but after you take a few bites, the deep earthy flavors of the broth and the meatballs keep you coming back for more! The cabbage is cooked tender and the chewy spaetzle adds a fantastic flavor contrast!
The idea for this recipe
The idea behind this was to follow the pattern of an Italian wedding soup but with more Polish or eastern european ingredients. I swapped out the chicken broth with a thick beet puree, tweaked the meatballs, used cabbage instead of escarole, and spaetzle instead of pasta. The soup came out great and on top of that it was an absolutely stunning deep reddish pink color.
I have been using beets a lot this winter, an ingredient I have sort of ignored in the past. I love when my brain gets stuck on a specific technique or ingredient and I need to explore as many applications for it as possible! I have dubbed it my winter of beets.
Start by making the thick beet broth
Saute the carrot, celery, and onion and then add some garlic.
The usual beginnings of any good soup!
Next, add in the stock, and then the beets. Bring it to a simmer and cook for about 45 minutes until the beets are tender. This will make the beet soup so creamy and perfect to coat the meatballs and spaetzle!
Next make the mini meatballs
While the beets are getting tender, whip up the meatballs.
Meatball ingredients
- ground beef
- breadcrumbsย (I used gluten free)
- onion
- tumeric
- garlic
- egg
- dried parsley
- salt and pepper
Once the beets are tender, blend the soup until it is smooth. Then add the raw meatballs and cabbage. This will cook down for about 15 minutes and the meatballs will be fully cooked and the cabbage will become tender.
Making the spaetzle
Because this is gluten free it is a bit different than if I was making a more traditional spaetzle. If you would rather put a more traditional spaetzle into your soup, check out the recipe from Plated Cravings.
In the bowl is some rice flour, tapioca flour, egg, sour cream, and xanthan gum! I have xanthan gum around cause I use it to make ice cream. If you want some, you can buy it here.
The tapioca flour and xanthan gum will create the gummy texture that gluten normally adds to spaetzle.
Press the spaetzle dough through anything with holes and let it drop right into boiling water. Today I used a pizza pan, but you can also use certain strainers that have larger holes.
These are a little larger than I would probably normally make them, but I thought it would be good to have bigger pieces in this beet soup so the spaetzle don’t get lost and hold up with the meatballs.
Looking good!
Put together the Beet Soup with Meatball And Spaetzle
Spaetzle! Put some into a bowl and top with the beet soup. ย Yessss. Make sure you get a lot of the meatballs and cabbage in there too.
Stunning color and even better flavor!
I loved the color of this but the flavor is amazing too! ย First of all the gluten free spaetzle were just about perfect in terms of flavor and texture. ย The chewey pasta went really well with the meatballs and wilted cabbage, and the earthy sweet beets gave the whole thing such a unique flavor profile!
I made a big batch of this and ate it all week and it was perfect for the cold weather. My roomates were a little freaked out by the bright magenta color, but it didn’t stop them from eating a nice big bowls of it! My roommates were a little freaked out by the bright magenta color, but it didn’t stop them from eating a nice big bowls of it!
Variations on Beet Soup with Meatballs and Spaetzle
I mentioned a few times that this is Gluten Free, You could definitely make this with gluten by using regular breadcrumbs and a more traditional spaetzle, like the one I linked above.
To make the dish easier, you could also use store bought meatballs and spaetzle.
If you are looking for more soup recipes, check out my fennel and carrot soup with chicken and kale, or this Giardiniera soup with Italian Beef.
Beet and Meatball Soup with Cabbage and Spaetzle
Ingredients
meatballs
- 1.25 pounds ground beef
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs I used gluten free
- 2 tablespoons grated onion
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- salt and pepper
spaetzle
- 1.5 cups brown rice flour
- 1/5 cup tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- whole milk if needed
- 2 tablespoons butter
soup
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup diced carrot
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 quarts chicken stock
- 6 beets
- 2 tablespoons paprika
- salt and pepper
- 1 large head napa cabbage shredded
- 1/4 cup mustard
Instructions
- Mix all the meatball ingredients together. Form little bite sized meatballs. Set aside.
- Mix all spaetzle dough ingredients in a bowl, except the butter. Add milk if needed to thin it out. It should be paste like in consistency. Set aside for 2 hours in the fridge.
- Saute the celery, carrot, and onion in a big heavy bottom pot or dutch oven in some oil for about 15 minutes. They should be starting to brown and drastically reduced in size.
- Add the garlic and cook 3 minutes.
- Add in the stock and beets. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Cook about 40 minutes until the beets are tender.
- Blend soup with a hand blender. Add a little water if needed to thin it out.
- Add the meatballs and the cabbage and cover. Simmer on low covered for about 15 minutes. Stir and repeat.
- Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Get any kitchen device that has large holes in it. I used a pizza pan. Place it over the boiling water and put the spaetzle dough on top. Press it through the holes with a spatula. The spaetzle fill fall into the water and cook. Boil the spaetzle for about 8 minutes until you taste one and it doesn’t taste grainy.
- Strain the spaetzle and toss in a little butter or oil.
- Check to see that the meatballs and fully cooked.
- Add the mustard to the soup. Taste the soup for seasonings and adjust as needed.
- To serve put the spaetzle in a bowl and top with a big ladle of the soup mixture.