He was promoted to the senior squad during the 2008–09 Serbian League Belgrade, as the club suffered relegation at the end of the season.
In the summer of 2010, Malbašić moved to Rad, making his Serbian SuperLiga debut later that year, four days shy of his 18th birthday.
After failing to earn his place in the squad, Malbašić completed a season-long loan move to Partizan in June 2013.
Six months before the expiration of his contract with 1899 Hoffenheim, Malbašić was transferred to Vojvodina, penning a two-and-a-half-year deal on 21 January 2016.
In the next 2016–17 season, Malbašić was the league's third-highest scorer with 16 goals, being selected in the competition's best eleven.