Italian wedding soup is one of my favorite meals. It’s not only super hearty, chock full of both veggies and protein, but also bursts with flavor and warmth.
This soup may seem like a lot of effort to make homemade, but with a couple of meal prep staples, it’s super easy to throw together. It is simply mirepoix, bone broth & meatballs, all perfectly paired together with some pasta and greens for character.
If you do meal prep, this soup is actually very convenient and quick. Starting with my parmesan herb meatball recipe, which is simple, easy to make in bulk, and freezable. These meatballs are extremely versatile and flavorful. While you can find these in the recipe below, click here if you want to make a bigger batch or just prep the meatballs.
Homemade bone broth can also be simple if you plan ahead. I make bone broth weekly, so throwing together a soup doesn’t take much thought. There are little to no rules when it comes to homemade bone broth. Bones, salt & herbs, veggies if you want, and let it cook for a while. If you want to learn more on how to make bone broth, click here. I like to use a bone broth with both chicken & beef bones for this specific recipe, but either works great!
Lastly, I always encourage people to have some prepped mirepoix on hand, especially if you plan on doing a lot of cooking or meal prepping. Mirepoix is a mixture of vegetables, usually carrots, celery, and onion, that are cooked to be browned in a fat, usually butter or olive oil. You can buy mirepoix pre-chopped in bags at many stores, or you can pre chop it yourself. I like to keep a big bag of chopped carrots, onion & celery in my freezer, and break off as much as I need for a recipe. Throw it in some olive oil or butter and bam, you have a soup or stew base just like that.
Keep in mind, when this pasta is refrigerated, the pasta WILL soak up the broth. To prevent this from happening, you can make the whole recipe without the pasta and cook the pasta into the soup in single servings. Or, you can keep extra broth on hand to add so it stays a soup rather than a pasta dish.
Italian Wedding Soup
A warm, flavorful soup dish with all the nutrients you need.
Ingredients
Parmesan & Herb Meatballs
- 1lbs Ground Beef (or mix of beef & pork)
- 2 Eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup Beef Broth
- 1/8 cup Milk
- 3/4 cup Grated Parmesan
- 1 Garlic Clove, minced
- 1/8 cup fresh parsley, minced
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Basil
- 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
Soup Ingredients
- 2 Large Carrots, diced
- 1 Sweet Yellow Onion, diced
- 1 Large Stalk Celery, diced
- 4 Cloves Garlic, minced
- 2tbsp Olive OIl
- 2tbsp Butter
- 8-12 Cups Bone Broth (Depends on how soupy you want it)
- 1 1/2 cups Pasta of Choice (orzo, acini de pepe, lentils, couscous)
- Salt, pepper, oregano (start with 1 tsp each, then add to taste)
- 3-5 cups Spinach or Kale
Instructions
- First, make your meatballs. Mix all the ingredients together by hand or in a kitchen aid with the paddle attachment. Shape the meatballs very small, about 3/4 inch in size.
- Heat up a pan with a drizzle of oil or butter (just enough to cook meatballs) and brown the meatballs on each side. You do not have to cook them all the way through, just brown them a little on the outside to get them started. Set aside.
- Prep your veggies.
- Heat up 2tbsp of butter & 2tbsp of olive oil in your soup pot.
- Once the butter is melted, add in the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Saute until golden.
- Top with salt, pepper & oregano, mix well.
- Cover the mirepoix with bone broth. Cover and bring to a simmer.
- Add in the meatballs and pasta. Cook until pasta is soft.
- Turn off the stovetop, add in your spinach/kale. Mix in to cook it, it will happen very fast.
- Top with parmesan & enjoy! I love adding an olive oil drizzle and lemon slice to garnish as well.
Notes
I like a hearty soup, so if you are more of a brothy person, you can always add more broth or cut the meatball recipe in half.
Also, keep in mind if you meal prep this soup, the pasta WILL suck up the broth in the fridge. You can always prep everythig but the pasta & boil the pasta in the soup in single servings, or keep extra broth on hand if you need to water it down to get more of a soup than a pasta dish.
Pasta Recommendations: Italian Wedding Soup traditionally calls for the very small, round pasta Acini de Pepe. If you cannot find this in the store, both couscous and orzo are great options that give a similar size and texture. If you are gluten free or tend to avoid pasta, you can use lentils, too! Bit of a different texture, but still delicious.
What is your favorite pasta to add to Italian Wedding Soup? Let me know in the comments! Much love, see ya next blog.
