Italian Wedding Soup
Did you know that traditionally Italian Wedding Soup isn't served at Italian weddings? It got its name from the marriage of fresh, herb vegetables and savory, juicy meatballs. It's really been a match made in heaven though. :) Italian Wedding Soup is a delicious blend of savory and garden flavors. Give it a try and see what you think!
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 8 oz lean ground beef, turkey or chicken
- 8 oz lean ground pork
- ½ cup ground Nut-Thinks crackers
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 ½ tsp fresh oregano minced
- ½ cup parmesan cheese finely shredded
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper or to taste
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Soup
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 ¼ cups carrot diced
- 1 ¼ cups yellow onion diced
- ¾ cup celery diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 5 14.5 oz cans chicken broth low sodium or homemade
- salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 6 oz fresh spinach chopped
- parmesan cheese optional for serving, finely shredded
Instructions
Meatballs
- Add the ground meat and pork into a large mixing bowl. Add ground crackers, parsley, oregano, parmesan, egg, salt and pepper. Gently toss the mixture together until everything is coated and evenly combined.
- Shape mixture into small meatballs, about ¾-1" and place them on a plate.
- Heat olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Once the oil is heated, add ½ of the meatballs and cook, stirring occisionally, until mostly browned and cooked through, about 4-5 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked meatballs to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
Soup
- While the meatballs are cooking, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add in carrots, onion and celery and cook until vegetables soften, about 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in chicken broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.
- Add the cooked meatballs and simmer 10-15 minutes. In the last minute of cooking, add spinach and stir until spinach wilts.
- Serve warm, topped with parmesan if desired.
Notes
Italian Wedding Soup is usually served with orzo pasta or small macaroni. If you like that texture in the soup, replace the pasta with spiralized zucchini (cut into small pieces) or cauliflower rice. Add to the soup mixture when you add the spinach so it heats through but doesn't become mushy.