This classic Italian Wedding Soup has tender meatballs in a savory broth, filled with spinach, vegetables, and orzo pasta! It's easy to make in under one hour and great for feeding a crowd.
Looking for more easy soup recipes? You'll love my easy lentil soup!
About This Recipe
You're probably wondering why I'm posting a soup recipe in the middle of summer- but hey, I have free will and can eat whatever I want, whenever I want! Jokes aside, this is genuinely one of the tastiest soups you'll ever try. Personally, I donโt mind eating soup in the summer since it's super hydrating.
This Italian Wedding Soup is also really healthy, packed with vegetables like onions, carrots, celery, and spinach. The meatballs are tender, flavorful, and incredibly savory. If you're looking for a well-rounded dinner that everyone will love, then you'll love this recipe.
I used to really hate making meatballs because I found it very tedious to pan-fry them- but that was before I learned you can bake them instead. It's so much easier and way less messy with no oil splatter. Just preheat the oven, line a baking sheet, and cook all your meatballs at once. The key is to bake them at a very high temperature so they develop a nice brown color on the outside.
Key Ingredients
Meatballs: For the meatballs, you'll need lean ground beef, ground pork, breadcrumbs, egg, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Most ground pork sold at stores is about 20% fat, so I recommend using lean or extra-lean for the beef.
Soup: The soup is a standard broth made from an onion, carrot, and celery base. I used chicken stock in mine, specifically Better Than Bouillon chicken base, but feel free to use whatever broth you want. Other ingredients you'll need are: olive oil, garlic, and Italian seasoning.
Spinach: For this recipe, I used 3 cups, but low-key, after I was done taking pictures for this blog post, I added the rest of the bag. It was delicious and extra-nutritious.
Orzo: Traditionally, Italian wedding soup is made with acini de pepe pasta, but I just used orzo instead. It doesn't really matter that much.
Instructions
STEP 1: Combine all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Roll into 1-inch balls and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet (I made a double batch of meatballs; you won't have this many).
STEP 2: Bake for 20-25 minutes until the outside is lightly browned and the inside is cooked through.
STEP 3: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic for 5-6 minutes until softened.
STEP 4: Add the chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and orzo pasta. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 10-ish minutes until the pasta is cooked through.
STEP 5: Add the meatballs and bring to a simmer.
STEP 6: Finally, stir in the spinach and cook for just 1 minute until wilted. Enjoy!
๐ Recipe
Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- ยฝ pound lean ground beef
- ยฝ pound ground pork
- ยผ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- ยผ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- ยผ teaspoon pepper
For the soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 2 medium carrots (diced)
- 2 ribs celery (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 8 cups chicken broth (plus more as needed)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ยพ cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 3 cups fresh spinach (firmly packed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475ยฐF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl. Roll into 1-inch balls and arrange on the baking sheet with space between each meatball so air can circulate.
- Bake meatballs for 20-25 minutes until browned and cooked through.
- For the soup, heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic for 5-6 minutes until softened.
- Add the chicken broth, Italian seasoning, and orzo pasta. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook for 10-ish minutes until the pasta is cooked through.
- Add the meatballs and bring to a simmer.
- Stir in the spinach and serve immediately. Enjoy!
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