Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

My flavor-packed Italian wedding soup recipe is easy to make in under an hour using less than 10 ingredients. It's great for meal prep!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Italian wedding meatball soup, Italian Wedding Soup, Italian wedding soup recipe, Wedding soup

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings servings

Calories 622kcal

Author Isabel Laessig

Ingredients

1½ lbs ground beef
6 eggs divided (2 for the meatballs, and 4 for the spinach mixture, beaten separately)
1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1½ cup parmesan cheese grated (½ cup for meatballs, 1 cup for spinach mixture)
8 ounces chopped spinach frozen and thawed
¼ cup olive oil
1 small onion very finely minced (or half of a large onion)
2 celery stalks finely chopped
2 carrots finely chopped
16 cups chicken broth
1 cup orzo pasta or acini di pepe if you can find it
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Mix and Bake the Meatballs

Preheat oven to 400°F (205°C). Spray a 9 by 13-inch sheet pan with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, add ground beef, 2 beaten eggs, breadcrumbs, garlic powder, and ½ cup Parmesan cheese. Mix until everything is well-combined.
1½ lbs ground beef, 6 eggs, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1½ cup parmesan cheese, 1 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
Roll the meatballs by taking pieces from the ground beef mixture and rolling them in your palms. These should be small meatballs - don't make them too big, or they won't work well for the soup!
Line the meatballs on your prepared sheet pan. Once all of the meatballs are rolled and on the pan, add them to the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Remove meatballs from the oven once prepared. Sprinkle them with salt and black pepper to season.

Create Spinach Mixture

In a clean large bowl, add thawed spinach, 4 beaten eggs, and 1 cup Parmesan cheese. Mix together well to combine.
6 eggs, 1½ cup parmesan cheese, 8 ounces chopped spinach

Saute the Vegetables

Add half of your olive oil to a deep soup pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat on the stove. Once the oil is hot, add your finely diced onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions are golden brown.
¼ cup olive oil, 1 small onion
Toss in celery and carrots. Pour in the remaining olive oil and saute the vegetables for a few minutes, then season with salt and pepper.
2 celery stalks, 2 carrots, salt and pepper to taste

Add in Broth and Spinach

Turn the heat on your stove almost to high, then pour in your chicken broth. Allow the mixture to reach a slow boil. This will take a few minutes.
16 cups chicken broth
Once you have a slow boil going, drop in small forkfuls of the spinach egg mixture into the pot one at a time until all of the mixture has been added.
After a few minutes, the top of your soup should look frothy. Give it a gentle stir, then add in your pasta. Lower the heat to medium. Allow the soup to simmer for 5-10 minutes and give it a good stir!
1 cup orzo pasta

Serve and Enjoy

Add the cooked meatballs after simmering. Stir to mix together, then serve. Spoon into bowls, top with additional Parmesan cheese if desired, and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Season the meatballs after cooking, not while mixing. Parmesan and breadcrumbs already contain salt, so it isn't necessary. Adding a layer after cooking is best for bringing out the flavor. Season them immediately after they're out of the oven, because seasoning works best when the meat is still hot.
Make sure to roll small meatballs. The meatballs should not be too big or they won't work well for the soup.
I recommend making extra meatballs. I like to make a double-batch and freeze half so that I have them ready for the next time I make this soup. They're also the perfect size for appetizer meatballs for a party!
Cooking your meatballs in the oven is easier than making them on the stove. You can make a big batch all at once effortlessly, and they taste great. You don't have to worry about these meatballs drying out.
If you can find acini di pepe, I recommend it. But, if you can't find it, orzo works great, too.
Using frozen spinach makes this an even easier recipe to prepare. Traditional Italian wedding soup uses escarole, but trust me, frozen spinach works just as well and tastes delicious.
To chop onions finely, I recommend using a food processor. It makes it so much easier to chop up onions. Plus, you avoid the onion tears!
If you're trying to cut back on salt, you can use reduced sodium chicken broth or even homemade broth.
You don't need to pre-cook the pasta. I start off by adding only one cup because once it's in the pot, it will continue to grow and expand. You don't want to overpower the broth with too much pasta, and you can always add more later if it isn't enough for you.

Nutrition