Description
Italian Wedding Soup is a comforting and flavorful soup featuring tender meatballs, fresh vegetables, and pasta simmered in a savory chicken broth. This classic Italian recipe combines lean beef and pork meatballs with a medley of sautéed carrots, onion, and celery, finished with fresh spinach and parmesan cheese for a heartwarming meal perfect for any season.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs
- 8 oz. lean ground beef
- 8 oz. ground pork
- 1/2 cup fresh white bread crumbs (from fresh bread not dried)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp minced fresh oregano (or 3/4 tsp dried)
- 1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan
- 1 large egg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper (1 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Soup
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups chopped carrots
- 1 1/4 cups chopped yellow onion
- 3/4 cup chopped celery
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (1 1/2 Tbsp)
- 5 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup dry acini di pepe or orzo pasta
- 6 oz fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
- Finely shredded parmesan, for serving
Instructions
- Prepare the meatball mixture: In a large mixing bowl, combine the lean ground beef, ground pork, fresh white bread crumbs, chopped parsley, minced oregano, shredded parmesan, egg, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Gently toss and break up the mixture with your hands to evenly coat and distribute all ingredients.
- Shape the meatballs: Form the mixture into very small meatballs, about 3/4 inch to 1 inch in diameter, and place them on a large plate.
- Brown the meatballs: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook, turning occasionally to brown on 2 or 3 sides, for about 4 minutes total. Transfer browned meatballs to a paper towel-lined plate to drain excess oil. Repeat with remaining meatballs. Note that the meatballs will not be cooked through during this step; they will finish cooking in the soup.
- Sauté the vegetables: While browning meatballs, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped carrots, onions, and celery, sautéing until the vegetables soften, about 6 to 8 minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté for an additional 1 minute.
- Add broth and bring to boil: Pour in the low-sodium chicken broth, season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Cook pasta and meatballs: Add the dry acini di pepe or orzo pasta along with the browned meatballs to the pot. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Cook until the pasta is tender and the meatballs are cooked through, about 10 minutes.
- Finish with spinach: In the last minute of cooking, stir in the roughly chopped fresh baby spinach to wilt.
- Serve: Ladle the soup warm into bowls and sprinkle each serving generously with finely shredded parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Use a hearty rustic bread for the fresh bread crumbs; grind a slice finely in a food processor. Save remaining bread for serving or freeze for later use.
- If you prefer a more brothy soup, reduce pasta to 3/4 cup to prevent thickening.
- As the soup sits, pasta will absorb broth; add extra broth to thin soup as needed when reheating.
- For added flavor, simmer a parmesan rind with the soup broth.
- This recipe makes about 12 cups of soup, approximately 6 servings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 450 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 20 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 65 mg
