Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
User Reviews
5
Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
Description
Italian Wedding Soup Recipe begins with forming small meatballs from a mixture of ground beef, pork, onion, garlic, parsley, Parmesan cheese, soaked Italian bread, eggs, and seasoning. The meatballs are baked until lightly browned and cooked through. Meanwhile, the soup base is prepared by sweating diced onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in olive oil before simmering in chicken stock until vegetables are tender. The addition of acini di pepe pasta and escarole or baby spinach completes the dish.
The resulting soup combines tender, flavorful meatballs with a clear broth carrying softened vegetables and pasta. The fresh greens added at serving help retain their texture and color. This soup balances hearty proteins, mild vegetables, and small pasta for a comforting texture contrast in every spoonful.
It’s common practice to keep meatballs, broth with vegetables, and pasta separate during storage to avoid sogginess. The recipe allows for freezing half the meatballs for future use, and reheating is done gently over low heat to preserve flavors. Adding Parmesan cheese on top before serving enhances the richness without overpowering the delicate broth.
Prepare extra meatballs to freeze for convenient future meals.Store soup components separately to maintain texture; keep pasta and greens apart until serving.Reheat soup slowly on low heat to preserve the broth’s clarity and flavors.The soup serves well as a main course and can be garnished with additional Parmesan cheese if desired.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 pounds ground pork
- 1 yellow onion peeled small diced
- 4 garlic finely minced cloves
- ¼ cup parsley finely minced
- 1 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
- 1 Italian bread loaf, soaked in water and squeezed
- 5 egg
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
For the Soup:
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion peeled, medium diced
- 3 garlic finely minced cloves
- 4 celery medium diced stalks
- 4 carrot peeled medium diced
- 128 ounces chicken stock
- 2 escarole or 8 cups packed baby spinach
- 1 pound Acini di pepe pasta cooked and cooled
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°.
- Meatballs: Combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed in and form small ping pong sized meatballs and set them on sheet trays lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in the oven at 400° for 22-25 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through.
- Freeze ½ of the meatballs and set the other ½ aside.
- Soup: Add the olive oil to a large soup pot along with the onions, garlic, celery and carrots and sweat over low heat for 15 minutes. Do not brown them.
- Add in the broth and simmer over low to medium heat for 15 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper.
- To Plate: Place some of the broth and vegetables into a bowl. Add in some of the cooked and cooled acini di pepe along with a small handful of escarole, and 5-6 meatballs.
- Grate on optional parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Make the soup up to two days in advance; keep meatballs, broth with vegetables, and pasta stored separately.
- Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to 5 days; freeze for up to 3 months, thawing overnight before reheating.
- Reheat gently over low heat to warm without overcooking pasta or vegetables.
- Freeze half of the meatballs when baking a large batch to extend meal options.
- Add escarole to each bowl at serving to keep it fresh and prevent wilting.
- Cooks pasta separately to avoid it becoming mushy in the soup.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 12Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 644 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 644kcal | 32% |
| Carbohydrates | 58g | 19% |
| Protein | 32g | 64% |
| Fat | 32g | 49% |
| Saturated Fat | 13g | 65% |
| Cholesterol | 108mg | 36% |
| Sodium | 688mg | 29% |
| Potassium | 965mg | 21% |
| Fiber | 6g | 24% |
| Sugar | 15g | 30% |
| Vitamin A | 5292IU | 106% |
| Vitamin C | 10mg | 11% |
| Calcium | 132mg | 13% |
| Iron | 4mg | 22% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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