Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
Total Time
40 mins
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Rating
4.99 out of 5 stars
(64)
Ingredients
6 servings
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 3 Tbsp whole milk
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 5 oz fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup dry acini de pepe pasta, or orzo
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
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Preparation
Step 1
In a bowl, combine together the ground pork, beef, egg, garlic, parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, milk, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Shape into 18-20 meatballs (or 35-40 mini meatballs).
Step 2
In a Dutch oven, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium/high heat. Once the oil is hot, add half of the meatballs. Cook until the meatballs are browned, turning occasionally. Remove the meatballs to a separate dish and repeat with remaining meatballs.
Step 3
Add 1 Tbsp butter with onions and carrots and saute until soft and golden (6-7 minutes), then add the minced garlic and saute another minute.
Step 4
Pour in the broth and add the pasta, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 5
Add the meatballs back to the soup, season with salt and pepper to taste, and keep at a low boil for an additional 7-9 minutes, or until pasta is cooked to your desired doneness.
Step 6
Add the spinach and cook another minute, or until spinach is wilted. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Step 7
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Chef's notes
Start with a Great Base:
For the best taste, use Homemade Chicken Stock.
One-Pot Soup:
Though we prefer cooking the meatball in a Dutch oven for a one-pot soup, you can easily bake the meatballs.
Pasta Varieties:
In the traditional soup, acini di pepe pasta is used. If your local grocery store doesn’t carry the pasta, you can easily substitute with orzo or ditalini.
Spinach Substitute:
If you don’t like spinach, you can substitute it for kale like we use for Zuppa Toscana and cook an extra 5 minutes.
Brown the Meatballs:
When sauteing the meatballs, you just want to brown them on all sides. The meatballs don’t need to cook all the way through, they will finish cooking once added to the soup.
Meat Substitutions:
Ground beef and pork are traditional, but you can use a combination of any ground meat for the meatballs. Try sausages as we used in our White Bean Sausage Kale Soup.
