Featured Image - Italian Wedding Meatball Soup

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Italian Wedding Meatball Soup is the “marriage” between fresh vegetables and meat and has the lovely combination of tender meatballs, fresh spinach, broth, and small pasta. It’s a wonderful recipe to enjoy on a cold evening with a grilled cheese sandwich or hard, crusty bread.

Adding Fresh Spinach to the Soup - Marriage Between Meat and Fresh Vegetables

This recipe is most popular with Italian-Americans where you will find it on many restaurant menus–and it’s not necessarily served at weddings. Rather, the name comes from an Italian phrase Minestra Maritata, which means the marriage of foods.

One of the joys of making foods from other countries is learning the history and how they came to be or got their names. I found this one quite interesting and hope you will too.

More Italian Recipes

Ingredients for Italian Wedding Meatball Soup

(As a Walmart Affiliate, I earn from qualified purchases at the links below. See the full recipe at the bottom of this post.)

Notes on Ingredients

Instructions For Making This Recipe

Meatball Ingredients for this Recipe
Soup Ingredients for The Broth

Preheat oven to 375°F. Gather the ingredients for this recipe so you have everything close at hand on the counter or table. You’ll start with the meatballs, and then move on to the soup broth while the meatballs cook.

Note in the above picture that I’m using a Riesling for this soup. I would have preferred a white wine that wasn’t as sweet such as a Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Pinot Grigio. But when I took these pictures, all I had in my stash was a Riesling. You may, of course, simply omit the wine from this soup and use chicken broth instead.

Prepare the Meatballs

Place ground chicken and pork sausage in a large bowl. Add in a large egg, Italian bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix to combine.

Season the meat with the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. If the mixture seems too dry, you may add 1-2 tablespoons of whole milk to moisten.

Form the meatballs using a spoon or a scoop that is 3/4 ounce or smaller to ensure uniform size. Here I’ve used Vollrath’s purple disher scoop, size #40. Roll the meat into small balls and place in a greased oblong baking dish.

I prefer using a glass or ceramic baking dish for easier cleanup. You might also line the dish with aluminum foil, if desired.

I love Vollrath’s scoops and through the years have collected them in many sizes. I use them when making muffins, cookies, truffle candies, meatballs and more.

Bake the Meatballs

Bake Meatballs Until Lightly Browned

Bake the meatballs in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned. The meatballs will cook even more when you add them to the soup later. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack until ready to use.

Prepare the Soup Ingredients

While the meatballs bake, prepare the base ingredients for the soup. Using a cutting board and chef’s knife, peel and dice the carrots, celery, and onion. Mince the garlic.

Grate the fresh parmesan using a fine-edged zester. Place in a covered dish until garnishing the soup.

Roughly chop the fresh baby spinach. Set aside until ready to use.

Make the Soffritto

Pour extra virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot and heat over medium low heat. Add the diced carrots, celery, and sweet onion, and sauté for 4-5 minutes until translucent, stirring occasionally. Next, add the minced garlic, and stir to combine, cooking for an additional minute.

In Italy, this step is often referred to as the holy trinity of cooking, or soffritto, where you sauté equal amounts of diced carrots, celery, and onion in olive oil as a base for the recipe. In France, it is known as the Mirepoix.

Season the base with dried parsley and basil. Stir to combine. Make a hole in the center of the vegetables and add in the tomato paste. Stir it around and cook for 2-3 minutes, allowing it to lightly brown and caramelize. Taking time to do this step will enhance and deepen the flavor of this soup. Mix in with the rest of the vegetables.

When cooking with tomato paste, I will either use Cento paste that comes in a tube, or paste that comes in a small can, freezing any unused portion for later. The latter is less convenient, but more economical.

Add Liquids to the Soup

Now it’s time to add the liquids, beginning with the white wine. Cook over medium-low heat until the wine has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.

As mentioned before, if you don’t want to use wine, you may use chicken broth in its place, although this will slightly alter the taste of the finished soup.

Then add in the chicken broth and beef broth, for a total of 10 cups. Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat. (If you would like to serve a few more people, you may easily add an extra 2 cups of water without altering the flavor of this soup too much.)

If desired, add in the parmesan rinds at this time. Allow the soup to simmer for 10-12 minutes, giving plenty of time for the parmesan rinds to soften and season the soup.

At this point, you may remove the parmesan rinds from the soup and discard. Or once removed, you may slice the softened rind into small bites and return to the pot, adding even more cheesiness to the soup.

Finish the Soup

To finish the soup, return the broth to a boil and add to it the baked meatballs and ditalini pasta. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and lightly boil for 5-7 minutes until the pasta is nearly al dente. The pasta will continue to cook in the soup, so keep that in mind for serving, as you don’t want the pasta to turn mushy.

This soup is meant to be served as soon as it is finished. If you will not be serving the soup right away, you may want to add the pasta and spinach just before serving, to assure the best freshness of this soup.

The last step is to add the chopped spinach to the soup. Stir to combine. Simmer uncovered for another 1-2 minutes until the spinach has slightly wilted. Season the soup with red pepper flakes, along with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

When I take this soup to a potluck dinner, I will add the pasta right before I leave home and then add in the spinach once I arrive. The pasta cooks in the hot broth while we travel, and it only takes a minute or two for the spinach to wilt.

To serve, ladle hot soup into individual bowls and garnish with freshly grated parmesan. This soup is best served the day it is made and makes enough for 8-10 people. Serve with a hard crusty bread such as my Tangy Sourdough Bread or Rustic Sourdough Baguettes.

If using this soup as leftovers, I will remove the spinach and replace it with freshly chopped when reheating. Also, please realize that the pasta will have expanded as it sits in the broth overnight. Orzo seems to do better than ditalini. The soup is still good, but not as fresh.

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Featured Image - Italian Wedding Meatball Soup

Italian Wedding Meatball Soup

Italian Wedding Meatball Soup is the “marriage” between fresh vegetables and meat and has the lovely combination of tender meatballs, fresh spinach, broth, and small pasta. 
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Serving Size 10

(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)

Ingredients 

Meatballs

  • 1 lb ground chicken (or ground turkey)
  • 1 lb ground pork sausage
  • 1 large egg
  • 3/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk (as needed)

Soup

  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups carrots (diced)
  • 1 1/2 cups celery (diced)
  • 1 1/2 cups sweet onion (diced)
  • 2 tablespoons garlic (minced)
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup white wine (like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, or Pinot Grigio)
  • 6 cubes chicken bouillon + 6 cups water (or chicken broth)
  • 4 cubes beef bouillon + 4 cups water (or beef broth)
  • 2 cups water (optional)
  • 2 each Parmesan rinds (optional)
  • 1 cup ditalini pasta (or other small pasta)
  • 12 oz fresh baby spinach (chopped)
  • 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 1 cup freshly grated parmesan ( for garnish)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375℉. Gather the ingredients for this recipe so you have everything close at hand on the counter or table. You’ll start with the meatballs, and then move on to the soup broth while the meatballs cook.

Prepare the Meatballs

  • Place ground chicken and pork sausage in a large bowl. Add in a large egg, Italian bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, minced garlic, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix to combine.
  • Season the meat with the Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. If the mixture seems too dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of whole milk to moisten.
  • Form the meatballs using a spoon or a 3/4 oz scoop or smaller for uniform size. (Here I’ve used Vollrath’s purple scoop, size #40.) Roll into round balls with your hand.
  • Place the meatballs in a greased oblong baking dish. (I prefer using a glass or ceramic baking dish for easier cleanup. You might also line the dish with aluminum foil, if desired.) This will make 40-45 small meatballs.

Bake the Meatballs

  • Bake the meatballs in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until lightly browned. The meatballs will cook even more when you add them to the soup later. Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack until ready to use.

Prepare the Soup Ingredients

  • While the meatballs bake, prepare the base ingredients for the soup. Using a cutting board and chef’s knife, peel and dice the carrots, celery, and onion. Mince the garlic.
  • Roughly chop the fresh baby spinach. Set aside until ready to use.
  • If using bouillon cubes to make the chicken/beef broth, go ahead and dissolve the cubes in boiling water.

Make the Soffritto

  • Pour extra virgin olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot and heat over medium low heat. Add the diced carrots, celery, and sweet onion, and sauté for 4-5 minutes until translucent, stirring occasionally.
  • Next, add the minced garlic, and stir to combine, cooking for an additional minute.
  • Season the base with dried parsley and basil. Stir to combine. Make a hole in the center of the vegetables and add in the tomato paste. Stir it around and cook for 2-3 minutes, allowing it to lightly brown. Mix in with the rest of the vegetables.

Add Liquids to the Soup

  • Now it’s time to add the liquids, beginning with the white wine. Cook over medium-low heat until the wine has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.
  • Then add in the chicken broth and beef broth, for a total of 10 cups. Bring this to a boil, then reduce heat.
  • If desired, add in the parmesan rinds at this time. Allow the soup to simmer for 10-12 minutes, giving plenty of time for the parmesan rinds to soften and season the soup.
  • At this point, you may remove the parmesan rinds from the soup and discard. Or once removed, you may slice the softened rind into small bites and return to the pot, adding even more cheesiness to the soup.

Finish the Soup

  • Return the broth to a boil and add in the baked meatballs and ditalini pasta. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and lightly boil for 5-7 minutes.
  • The last step is to add the chopped baby spinach to the soup. Stir to combine. Simmer uncovered for another 1-2 minutes until the spinach has slightly wilted. Season the soup with red pepper flakes, along with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
  • To serve, ladle hot soup into individual bowls and garnish with freshly grated parmesan. This soup is best served the day it is made and will serve 8-10 people.

Notes

*This soup is meant to be served as soon as it is finished. If you will not be serving the soup right away, you may want to add the pasta and spinach just before serving, to assure the best freshness of this soup.
*If you would like to serve a few more people, you may easily add an extra 2 cups of water when you add the broth without altering the flavor of this soup too much.

Nutrition

Calories: 459kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 1424mg | Potassium: 838mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 6788IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 288mg | Iron: 3mg

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