Meatball Noodle Soup – A recipe from One-Pot Paleo by Jenny Castaneda
I wish I could say that I was the one who came up with this delicious Meatball Noodle Soup recipe, but unfortunately, I was not.
I have to give all the credit to one of my favorite Paleo bloggers out there, the beautiful and very talented Jenny Castaneda, who blogs over at Paleo Foodie Kitchen.
If you’ve never visited Jenny’s blog, you really should take a minute to do that, and then come back here when you’re done… You really wouldn’t want to miss out on this fabulous recipe!
And then, if you don’t yet own a copy of her cookbook, One-Pot Paleo, you should definitely consider getting your hands on that, too, especially if you’re looking for recipes that stand out from the crowd. Jenny, you see, is Filipino, and she really let her heritage shine through in her cookbook. Her distinctive, unique approach to healthy cuisine is one that I sincerely appreciate and can’t wait to dig further into.
Sadly, I’ve only had time to try this one recipe so far, but it was so crazy amazingly flavorful and delicious, I can guarantee that it will not be the last.
For me, photography plays a big role in determining the quality of a cookbook, and I can tell you that One-Pot Paleo does not disappoint in that department. The book is strikingly beautiful and filled with mouth-watering pictures! I just want to make everything and almost feel like licking the pages as I flip through them!
Among my favorite recipes are her Fifteen Minute Ginger Chicken Noodles, Hawaiian Meatballs, Garlic Beef with Wilted Greens, Sukiyaki (Japanese Hot Pot), Puchero (Pork Belly Stew) and this Meatball Noodle Soup, which I am about to share with you today. (Did I mention it was to die for? TO.DIE.FOR!)
Jenny’s Meatball Noodle Soup calls for Sea Kelp Noodles, which I had a very hard time locating! Good thing is, Jenny gives you an option to use Sweet Potato Noodles instead, should you run into that same situation…
But I really had my heart set on using the Kelp Noodles, so I kept searching and finally found some at one of my [not so local] health stores.
The thing is I’d never tried Sea Kelp Noodles before and I was VERY curious as to what they might taste like: their perfect translucence and somewhat gelatinous appearance were just fascinating to me.
Boy am I glad I waited until I finally found them to make this soup. I think I have a new addiction! These things might be a tad pricey, but they’re worth every penny, if you ask me. They have the coolest texture EVER. Not so much flavor, but then again, most noodles aren’t all that flavorful…
And the best part is, Sea Kelp Noodles don’t even need to be cooked. You just dump them in your dish at the last minute to heat and soften them up a bit, that’s all!
So anyway, enough chit-chatting… what do you say we actually get busy making the soup?
In her book, Jenny has you place the ingredients for the meatballs in a food processor. For my part, seeing as how I had already chopped everything up, I decided to just mix my ingredients by hand. I saw no good reason to dirty my food processor…
Feel free to use yours if you prefer, though.
In my kitchen, the ground pork, shrimp, eggs, green onions, carrots, sea salt, black pepper and coconut flour got thrown into a large mixing bowl and then were mixed by hand until well combined.
Now time to form the meatballs…
As always, I used my trusty spring-loaded ice cream scoop to help with the task.
You want to form the pork mixture into twelve 1½” (4cm) meatballs and then set them aside.
You may choose to put them in the fridge, just to be on the safe side and help them firm up a little bit.
Add some coconut oil (or other healthy cooking fat, such as ghee, or avocado oil) to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add the garlic and onion and sauté until fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vegetable broth (Jenny has a great recipe for that in her book), water and fish sauce.
Cover and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to medium-low until the broth mixture is just simmering.
Drop in the meatballs one by one, about 5 seconds apart so that they do not stick to each other.
Simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, then gently stir and add the spinach to the soup. Let stand for 1 or 2 minutes until it wilts.
Add the sea kelp noodles, delicately mix them in and let them cook for about 1 minute, then turn off the heat and serve hot.
In her book, Jenny adds the Sea Kelp Noodles 5 minutes after the meatballs get dropped in and lets them cook for 25 minutes. The instructions on my bag said that the noodles didn’t need to be cooked, so I chose to add them at the very end.
Garnish your soup with a handful of chopped carrots and green onions, if desired. Now sit yourself down and prepare to have your mind blown!
See how cool those noodles are? I’m telling you, I can’t get enough of them.
And I can’t thank Jenny enough for this new addi(c)tion to my repertoire!
Meatball Noodle Soup – A recipe from One-Pot Paleo by Jenny Castaneda
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground pork
- ¾ cup medium shrimp, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup green onions, chopped
- ¼ cup carrots, finely diced
- ¾ tsp Himalayan salt
- ¾ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 3 cups water
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 12 oz sea kelp noodles
- 1 bunch spinach
Instructions
- Prepare the meatballs by combining the ground pork, shrimp, eggs, green onions, carrots, sea salt, black pepper and coconut flour in a large mixing bowl and mix with your hands until well combined.
- Form the pork mixture into twelve 1½" (4cm) meatballs and set aside. A spring-loaded ice cream scoop works wonders for this.
- Add coconut oil to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and onion. Sauté until fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the broth, water and fish sauce. Cover and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low until the broth mixture is just simmering. Drop in the meatballs one by one, about 5 seconds apart so that they do not stick to each other. Simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, then gently stir and add the spinach to the soup. Mix for 1 to 2 minutes until it wilts. Add the sea kelp noodles and let them cook for about 1 minute, then turn off the heat and serve hot.
- Garnish with chopped carrots and green onions, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
If you’ve tried this recipe, please take a minute to rate the recipe and let me know how things went for you in the comments below. It’s always such a pleasure to hear from you!
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6 Comments on “Meatball Noodle Soup – A recipe from One-Pot Paleo by Jenny Castaneda”
This soup looks fantastic!! I really need to try those kelp noodles!
This soup looks so yummy and easy. Unfortunately I can’t eat shrimp/fish. What would be a good replacement for the shrimp? Thanks.
Chicken would work great, I think!
I made this tonight. Love the noodles. I added a bunch of stuff, especially fresh lime and cilantro – thought that really made it.
Thank you for this tasty low carb, paleo meal! I’m so bored with low card recipes, but now I have this. You have the best recipes! I made it as is and used packaged organic vegetable broth – worked great.
Thanks, but I’m afraid I can’t take the credit for that one… Jenny is the one who needs to be thanked! 😉