Italian wedding soup
Italian wedding soup is super flavorful, filled with mini meatballs, spinach and pasta, and makes a great, hearty soup for a chilly night.
Yield: 6 -8 servings
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 lb. lean ground chicken
- ½ lb. chicken sausage, casings removed
- ⅔ cup plain breadcrumbs
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
For the soup:
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, minced (about 1 cup)
- 3 large carrots, peeled and diced in ¼ inch pieces (about 1 cup)
- 2 stalks celery, diced in ¼-inch pieces (about ¾ cup)
- 10 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 cup small pasta (such as ditalini or stars)
- ¼ cup minced fresh dill
- 1 (10 oz.) bag fresh baby spinach
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with Parchment paper and set aside.
- Make the meatballs. Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix gently with a fork.
- Use a small spoon and drop meatballs onto the prepared pan. They should be about 1 inch to 1 ¼ inches in diameter. It’s OK if they are not perfectly round. You’ll have about 40-42 meatballs.
- Bake meatballs for 25-30 minutes at 350, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the soup. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and sauté for 5-6 minutes, until softened, stirring occasionally.
- Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. (You can turn up the heat to medium high to help this along.)
- Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 7-8 minutes, until tender. Add the fresh dill and the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add the fresh spinach and stir into the soup for 1 minute, until it’s just wilted.
- Ladle the soup into bowls, top with extra Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!
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Notes
Ground chicken has a little more fat and flavor than ground chicken breast, and is the best choice here. Or you could substitute ground turkey.
If you can’t find just a plain chicken sausage, it’s fine to use a flavored one. Just make sure it’s something that goes with the flavors here, such as an Italian flavored sausage, a roasted pepper one, a Parmesan or garlic version, a spinach chicken sausage, etc. Or you could substitute turkey or pork sausage instead.
You’ll need two sheet pans to cook all of the meatballs at once in the oven. It makes about 40 meatballs total.
You can use any small pasta you like, such as ditalini or stars or even elbow.
Spinach is a great, easy green to add into this soup, but you could certainly try it with another green, such as Swiss chard or kale, if you prefer.
Meal prep tip: You can absolutely make the meatballs ahead of time. They’ll keep in the refrigerator, in a covered container, for up to 5 days.
Leftovers: The leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
This soup freezes great too! Allow it to cool completely, then pack it in a freezer-safe bag or container. Label and date the container and freeze for up to 4-5 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. (If you have frozen a large portion, it may take two days to thaw completely.) Reheat on the stove over medium low heat, until warmed through, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 116mg | Sodium: 1403mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g
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