My family (along with my neighbors) absolutely swoon over this recipe for Italian Wedding Soup. It’s so flavorful and perfect for fall.
This classic soup is hearty, but feels light because of the flavorful broth base. Prepared with veggies, beefy meatballs, and baby pasta pearls (aka Acini de Pepe)… this will certainly satisfy all your comfort-in-a-bowl cravings. Other soups we really enjoy this time of year include this Cream of Celery, my Homemade Tomato Basil with Grilled Cheese Croutons, and another classic… Cheesy French Onion.
WATCH ME MAKE THIS ON THE GRAM!
INGREDIENTS FOR THIS RECIPE:
I’m a little obsessed with soup right now (can you tell? I just wrote an entire blog rounding up my favs), so when I was looking through my pantry for dinner ideas… I was so ecstatic that I already had everything on hand to make this! Here’s what you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Yellow Onion
- Carrots
- Garlic Cloves
- Tomato Paste
- Crushed Calabrian Peppers
- Frozen Angus Beef Meatballs
- Chicken Bone Broth
- Celery Seeds
- Acini de Pepe Pasta
- Frozen Spinach
- Salt + Pepper
- Italian Parsley
- Grated Parmesan
- Red Pepper Flakes
If you’ve wandered through some of my recipes before, you know I like to put my own spin on them. I was craving a bit of heat, so I added the crushed Calabrian peppers and garnished with red pepper flakes. I know that these aren’t traditional ingredients in a recipe for Italian wedding soup, but I do recommend them! If you’re not a fan of spicy foods, just omit them and this will still taste fantastic. Oh, and if you’re dairy-free, simply skip the grated parmesan as a garnish.
SNEAKY SHORTCUTS:
With two young boys at home, I’ll never sway away from something that will make my cooking easier or less time consuming.
MEATBALLS: While you can certainly make your own (here’s a collection of some I’ve made previously), I chose the easy route and used frozen. But seriously, feel free to swap out with your favorite homemade meatballs. My recipes are always customizable for what you have on hand or preferred taste! I’d think these Truff Meatballs would be super yummy, as they would add a unique truffle flavor that would infuse into the broth.
SPINACH: I didn’t have any fresh spinach, but I always have frozen spinach in my freezer. You can add it to so many recipes… it’s always nice to keep some handy. I use it in a lot of spinach dips; like my Cheesy Jumbo Lump Crab Hot Spinach Dip, this classic Cold Spinach Dip, and this oldie-but-goodie-on-the-blog, Hot Spinach Party Dip (please don’t judge my baby blogging skills 😉 ). If you have fresh spinach on hand, simply add it into this recipe while you’re simmering towards the end.
MORE COMFORT FOODS YOU’LL LOVE:
High Protein Homemade Mac & Cheese
Easy Chicken Noodle with Lemon and Thyme
Grandma June’s Classic Lasagna
Super Cozy Potato and Leek Soup
Classic Fettuccini Alfredo with Peas and Pancetta
Beef and Mushroom Lasagna Soup
VIEW ALL RECIPES BY CLICKING HERE!
- 1 tbsp. Olive oil
- 1 Yellow Onion, diced
- 4 Carrots, peeled and small dice
- 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. Tomato Paste
- 1 - 2 tbsp. Crushed Calabrian Peppers, to taste
- 18 oz. Frozen Angus Beef Meatballs
- 8 - 12 cups Chicken Bone Broth (see notes below)
- 1 tsp. Whole Celery Seeds
- 10 oz. Frozen spinach
- 16 oz Acini de Pepe Pasta, uncooked
- Salt + Pepper, to taste
- Italian Parsley, for garnish
- Grated Parmesan, for garnish
- Red Pepper Flakes, optional
- Heat oil in a large stock pot and add the yellow onion and carrots. Sauté for about 5 minutes, or until slightly softened. Then add the garlic, tomato paste, and crushed Calabrian peppers. Continue to sautè for 1 - 2 minutes.
- Add the frozen meatballs, 8 cups of chicken bone broth, celery seeds, and frozen spinach. Bring to a low boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Next, add the Acini de Pepe Pasta and then continue to simmer for an additional 10 minutes, or until the pasta is plump.
- Season with salt + pepper, to taste. Serve immediately with Italian parsley, parmesan, and red pepper flakes on the side for garnish.
NOTES ON THIS RECIPE:
- I used whole celery seeds instead of fresh celery, as that’s what I had on hand. The seeds practically add the same flavor… so it works in this recipe. However, if you’d like to use fresh celery instead of the seeds… go ahead and add three chopped stocks in with the onion and carrots in step 1. Then skip the seeds in step 2.
- Leftovers should be kept refrigerated, in a sealed container, and enjoyed within the next 2 – 3 days.
- While cooking, I use 8 cups of bone broth (you could also sub this with chicken broth or stock if desired). However, if you have leftovers the pasta will continue to absorb the broth while in the refrigerator. So I like to keep 4 extra cups of broth handy to add to the leftovers before reheating.
PIN THIS FOR LATER:
Leave a Reply