Italian Wedding Soup

The most delicious Italian Wedding Soup made from chicken broth and flavored with traditional Italian herbs, meatballs, fresh spinach, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, dill, parmesan cheese, and Italian pasta. Hearty, restaurant-style juicy Italian beef meatballs made from scratch. Easy beef and vegetable pasta soup made on the stovetop in 40 minutes with the best flavor. An Italian-American Classic; this soup recipe is packed full of savory flavor and is the perfect dinner recipe this winter.

Course Main Course, Soup

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Beef, Italian Wedding Soup, Meatball Soup, Pasta, Vegetable-Based Soup

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings people

Calories 571kcal

Author Jessica (swankyrecipes.com)

Ingredients

Italian-Style Beef Meatballs

2 lb. ground beef
2 large eggs
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp dried parsley
2 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (use from green bottle)

Italian Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
5 medium cloves garlic, minced (or 1.5 tsp garlic paste)
10 cups low-sodium chicken broth (80 oz.)
2 bay leaves
3/4 tsp dried dill
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1.5 tsp salt .5tsp more to taste
1 1/4 cups uncooked Acini Di Pepe pasta or use orzo, ditalini, or small shaped pasta
3 cups baby spinach
1/2 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese, to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Italian-Style Meatballs

Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk together meatball ingredients, except for beef.
Mix beef into wet mixture. Use clean hands or heavy spoon to fully incorporate the wet paste all throughout the beef.
Form equal sized balls and roll until smooth. I use a 1.5 tbsp cookie scoop. Place on cookie sheet 1/2-inch apart in rows.
Bake in oven 35 minutes. Then allow a few minutes to cool. Use a paper towel to blot grease from the bottom of meatballs.

Italian Wedding Soup

While the meatballs are baking, saute onions, carrots, and celery in large stockpot with 1 tbsp olive oil over medium-high heat for 4 minutes. Add garlic at minute 3.
Stir in chicken broth and remaining herbs/powders/salt/pepper.
Bring pot to low a boil and cook 20 minutes or until carrots are tender. (If using frozen meatballs, stir them in here).
Stir in pasta. Cook until just softened.
Remove bay leaves. Stir in spinach and freshly baked meatballs.
Serve each bowl with parmesan cheese.

Notes

Can I use another type of pasta? Find Acini de Pepe in the pasta aisle. It is a very small, round pasta. Use very small pasta shapes in place of Acini de Pepe. Most stores carry Ditalini pasta, Orzo pasta and Corbata pasta.

I’m using uncooked raw/frozen meatballs; when should I add them? Raw, uncooked meatballs should be added once the chicken broth comes to a boil. Most will cook in 10-15 minutes but bigger ones may take 20 minutes. Frozen meatballs can be added at this time, too.

What other vegetables can I use? Dice zucchini and squash. Use eggplant like the Sicilian region of Italy. Swap the spinach for kale and add other vegetables like corn, peas, broccoli, and green beans.

Nutrition