Italian Wedding Soup

Name: Italian Wedding Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef (extra lean ); 1/4 cup milk; 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (grated); 1/2 cup breadcrumbs; 1/4 cup parsley (fresh, chopped); 1 large egg; 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste); 1/2 tsp pepper (or to taste); 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 medium carrot (chopped); 8 cups chicken broth (low sodium); 2 cups spinach (packed down and roughly chopped); 1 cup orzo (dry); 1 tsp salt (or to taste); 1 tsp pepper (or to taste); Pecorino Romano cheese ( freshly grated, for serving)

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Italian Wedding Soup – an American-Italian soup with spinach and orzo studded with delicious meatballs. So simple, quick and always a big hit! Try it today and in less than 30 minutes you’ll have a drool worthy dish, I promise!

a large green pot with a ladle scooping italian wedding soup filled with orzo and meatballs

Italian wedding soup is one of my favorites because it’s so easy to make! Chances are that you already have all the ingredients necessary right in your fridge or pantry. We Romanians have our own meatball soup but this Italian wedding soup is a bit different because it has spinach in it.

I won’t say which is my favorite here, you’ll just have to try both and decide for yourself! If you do just be sure to top it with freshly grated Pecorino Romano ad some cracked black pepper. It will rock your world, I promise.

Is This Soup Served At Italian Weddings?

One might think that the name of this soup implies that it’s served at Italian weddings, but actually it has nothing to do with weddings. It’s said to get its name from the marriage of ingredients, the meat, greens and noodles, because together they are a marriage made in heaven. Huh, the more you know!

What Is Orzo?

Orzo is a small cut pasta that tastes heavenly in light little dishes just like the one I’m writing out for you all today. It packs some good protein and pairs well with a good variety of veggies.

a spoon holding a meatball above a bowl full of italian wedding soup

Ingredients In Italian Wedding Soup

Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Meatballs

Beef – Ground beef extra lean is what we will be using today.
Egg – The binder for our meatballs.
Herbs – Chopped fresh parsley.
Milk – Feel free to use any kind of milk you’d like.
Bread crumbs – Use any you have on hand, I do love to use Panko personally.
Seasoning – Salt and pepper
Cheese – Freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Soup

Olive oil – We want a nice neutral tasting oil for this soup.
Veggies – Carrots chopped up nice and fine and spinach packed down and roughly chopped
Pasta – I prefer to use orzo as a tiny little chewy addition, but other small shaped pasta will also work.
Liquids – Low sodium chicken broth is needed to make up the flavorful liquid base of our soup, be sure to find low sodium as we want to control our salt.
Cheese – Pecorino Romano freshly grated – believe me this ingredient is necessary.
Seasoning – Salt and pepper.

How To Make Italian Wedding Soup

Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Make the meatballs: Add all the meatball ingredients to a bowl and mix well using your clean hands until well incorporated. Shape into mini meatballs, about 3/4 to an inch and place them in a bowl. Set aside.
Saute the carrots: Heat the olive oil in a soup pot or large Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and saute for a couple minutes or until tender.
Assemble the soup: Add the meatballs and chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Stir in the spinach, orzo, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cool for about 10 to 15 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the orzo is fully cooked.
Serve the soup: Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with grated Pecorino Romano Cheese or Parmesan cheese.

How To Serve

This delicious soup is perfect for a rainy day or a beautiful day for celebrating, like a wedding, and everything in between. I personally like to just serve it up with some Dinner Rolls or some crusty Bread. But if you’d like to turn it into a full spread here’s some perfect accompaniments!

italian wedding soup in a bowl topped with parmesan cheese

Changes or Substitutions

I improvised today by adding some carrots, which is by no means traditional but just because it isn’t traditional doesn’t mean it’s not delicious!

Feel free to add diced potatoes for a heartier soup.
Ground veal, ground pork, or ground turkey and chicken are great additions to our meatball, feel free to substitute or combine any of them with the ground beef.
Feel free to incorporate celery and onion to form a mirepoix.
If you can’t find Orzo acini de pepe will work perfectly!

Some Tips

Sear the meatballs before adding to the soup if you’d like to add some nice complexity to your dish.
Be sure your meatballs are small, don’t think pasta meatballs think soup meatballs.
Use fresh bread crumbs if you’l like to really set these meatballs off, just slice up some nice crusty bread and blend a slice in the food processor till it’s reduced to crumbs.

Leftovers

In an airtight shallow container this dish will keep for 3 – 4 days in the fridge, just be sure it is cooled before storing. You can also freeze this dish, just store it cooled in a shallow airtight container and it will keep for 4 – 6 months. Just allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating on the stove when ready to eat.

Craving More Delicious Soup? Try These Recipes:

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I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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