Italian Wedding Soup
Updated Oct. 19, 2023
- Total Time
- 1 hour and 15 minutes
- Prep Time
- 15 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 1large egg
- ½pound ground beef
- ½pound ground pork
- ½cup Italian bread crumbs or panko
- ⅓cup grated Parmesan
- 3tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2large garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1teaspoon dried oregano
- 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- ½teaspoon black pepper
- Olive oil, for forming the meatballs
- 3tablespoons olive oil
- 1large yellow onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 3medium carrots, diced (about 2 cups)
- 2 to 3large celery ribs, diced (about 1½ cups)
- 2large garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
- 8cups (2 quarts) chicken broth, plus more as needed
- ½cup acini di pepe, ditalini or orzo
- 3cups packed baby spinach
- Grated Parmesan, for serving
For the Meatballs
For the Soup
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
459 calories; 29 grams fat; 8 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 16 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 22 grams protein; 1041 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the meatballs: Crack the egg into a large bowl and beat it lightly with a fork. Add the beef, pork, bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix gently but thoroughly, until incorporated. Coat your hands with olive oil, then form small meatballs using 1 heaping teaspoon of the mixture per meatball; transfer to a plate or sheet pan. You should have about 80 (1-inch) meatballs.
- Step 2
Make the soup: In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, fry the meatballs in 2 batches, turning occasionally, until mostly browned all over, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Step 3
Add the onion, carrots and celery to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt (or 2 teaspoons if you’re using low-sodium broth) and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Step 4
Return the meatballs to the pot, add the broth and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Stir in the pasta, lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes.
- Step 5
Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach until wilted. Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. (The broth should taste pleasantly salty.) Serve hot, topped with Parmesan. The pasta will continue to absorb liquid as the soup sits; you may need to add broth when reheating. Soup will keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer (see Tip).
- To freeze, cool soup to room temperature in the pot, then transfer to airtight containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or run the container under hot tap water until the soup releases. Transfer to a pot and bring to a simmer, partially covered, adding more water or broth if necessary.
Private Notes
Comments
I bake the meatballs at 350 for 15 minutes. I use escarole instead of spinach. And I cook the pasta separately and add to each bowl while serving; this way the pasta doesn’t get mushy in the leftovers.
There's hardly any way this soup can be prepared in the 15 minutes the recipe indicates. It includes forming 80 small meatballs! And there's onion, celery, carrots, and garlic to peel/chop too. It is a great soup though.
To streamline the meatball making, I make a square or rectangle out of the entire meatball mixture about 1" thick. Then cut into 1" squares. To brown I broil watching carefully. My family isn't fussed if the meatball shape isn't round :)
Cut the prep time significantly by following advice from two notes. I used the Kitchen-Aid mixer to combine the meatball ingredients. Then I formed the mixture into a large rectangle on a cutting board, pressed to an even 1/2 inch thickness, then cut them into a grid with a pastry cutter. Rolled each little square, and ended with 70 meatballs all the same size. Thanks for the tips!
It’s a bad idea to let a whole pot of soup cool to room temperature. That can take hours, which gives bacteria time to grow. I prefer to transfer hot soup to individual containers, preferably wide-mouth glass jars, right away, then cool a bit on the counter before refrigerating and then freezing.
A smash hit pot of soup! The meatballs were time consuming but it was cold and rainy, so no better way to spend my time. Balanced flavours were delicious at the table and reheated very well. I added some extra stock to the pot when reheating. I had some Parmesan rind that I cooked in the dish and served with warm crusty bread.