Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
Classic Italian Wedding Soup is light, yet hearty. Homemade meatballs shine in a savory broth with tender pasta and vegetable for a satisfying meal that's perfect all year long.
Servings: 8
Cost: $10
Equipment
- 1 stockpot
- 1 sheet pan
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef I used 80/20
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 3 tablespoons chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
For the Soup:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Vidalia or sweet onion diced
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 2/3 cup acini de pepe pasta uncooked
- 4 cups fresh escarole or baby spinach
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
Make the meatballs:
- Using your hands, lightly break the beef into pieces. Set aside.
- In a blender, add the onion and garlic. Blend until pureed.
- Add the onion mixture, stock, fish sauce, panko, parmesan, parsley, salt, pepper and egg to the beef and, using clean hands, mix the ingredients together until well combined.
- Gently shape the mixture into balls into mini meatballs about 1/2 inch in diameter and place on the baking sheet being sure they are not touching.
- Bake the meatballs in a 425˚F oven for 5-10 minutes until browned.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. (Can be made up to 48 hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.)
Make the soup:
- Heat the olive oil in large dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat.
- Add the onion and cook until softened.
- Stir in the carrots and celery, continue to cook until softened, approximately 4-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and Italian seasoning, cook for an additional 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Stir in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer.
- Add the meatballs and the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is al dente, approximately 3 minutes.
- Stir in the spinach or escarole and cook until wilted.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve with the parmesan cheese.
Notes
Meatballs can be made up to 5 days in advance. You can even freeze the meatballs for up to 3 months making this soup easy to whip up in minutes for a busy weeknight dinner.
Nutrition
Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 540mg | Potassium: 585mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2867IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 113mg | Iron: 3mg