Description
A comforting and hearty Italian Wedding Soup recipe featuring flavorful meatballs, tender pasta, and fresh spinach in a savory chicken broth. This soup is a perfect meal that warms the soul and satisfies the taste buds.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Meatballs:
- 8 oz. lean ground beef
- 8 oz. ground pork
- 1/2 cup fresh white bread crumbs*
- 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 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
- For the meatballs: Add beef and pork to a large mixing bowl. Add in bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, parmesan, egg, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Gently toss and break up mixture with hands to evenly coat and distribute. Shape mixture into very small meatballs, about 3/4 inch to 1 inch and transfer to a large plate.
- Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook until browned, turning occasionally (to brown on 2 or 3 sides), about 4 minutes total.
- Transfer meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels while leaving oil in skillet. Repeat process with remaining meatballs.
- For the soup: While meatballs are browning, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions, and celery and sauté until veggies have softened about 6 – 8 minutes, add garlic and sauté 1 minute longer.
- Pour in chicken broth, season soup with salt and pepper to taste and bring mixture to a boil. Add in pasta and meatballs, reduce heat to medium-low.
- Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through, about 10 minutes, while adding in spinach during the last minute of cooking.
- Serve warm, sprinkle each serving with parmesan cheese.
Notes
- *I recommend using a hearty rustic bread. Just grind up a slice in a food processor to fine crumbs. Save the remaining bread for serving or freeze for another use.
- **If you like a more brothy soup you can reduce pasta to 3/4 cup. Add more broth to thin the soup as desired.
- If you have a parmesan rind, simmer it with the soup for added flavor.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 680mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 19g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 20g
- Cholesterol: 75mg
