Can I Freeze Italian Wedding Soup
YES! I love making an extra large batch of this soup and freezing leftovers for a rainy day. Just make sure you chill the soup before placing it in the freezer.
I like to pour the soup in large zip-top bags and lay them flat in the freezer until frozen. Then they stack nicely and defrost quickly.
This soup can be frozen for up to 5 months!
Recipe Notes And Helpful Tips
- You can substitute ground turkey or all ground pork or all ground beef.
- For optimal taste brown the meatballs before adding to the soup. Browning adds great flavor that spreads through out the whole pot. It also lends a better texture than a boiled meatball.
- Feel free to substitute escarole, kale, or endive for the spinach. They all work well in this soup recipe.
- Orzo can be substituted for the acini de pepe pasta.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat leftovers in the microwave at a reduced power or on stove top on low until warm.
- Freeze for up to 3 months. See below for more on freezing this soup.
How To Make Italian Wedding Soup
Begin by making the meatballs.
In a large bowl, beat the egg with the chives, sage and garlic.
Add the ground beef, sausage, cheese, breadcrumbs, and salt.
Mash with your hands until evenly combined.
Roll the mixture into tablespoon-size balls and place on a greased oven-safe rack.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through. Set aside.
To make the soup, heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery.
Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, beef broth, water, wine, bay leaf, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.
Add the pasta and cook, uncovered, at a gentle boil until the pasta is al dente, 8 to 10 minutes .
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Reduce the heat to low and add the spinach and meatballs.
Simmer for a few minutes, until the spinach is wilted and the meatballs are warmed through. Ladle into bowls and serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Also Check: Dairy Free Cream Of Celery Soup
The Secret To The Best Italian Wedding Soup
The secret to making the best Italian wedding soup is using homemade meatballs that give the broth lots of flavor. And the trick to the best meatballs is using a combination of meat. For this recipe, I use ground beef and ground pork and mix them together for the tastiest meatballs. You can also use ground turkey instead of beef or pork.
Even though making meatballs sounds a little involved, this soup recipe is simple because you don’t need to brown the meatballs beforehand. Cooking them right in the broth saves you time, and also infuses the broth with lots of flavor.
And of course, you can also use frozen meatballs to save time .
Related recipe:Instant Pot White Bean and Sausage Soup
Shortcuts Substitutions And Cooking Tips:
- If you can’t find Acini de Pepe, you can substitute another small noodle such as ditalini, small shells, or orzo.
- If you own a food processor, you can use it to make this recipe even faster. Just grate/chop the onion, parsley, garlic, and even the bread right in the processor.
- I prefer to use spinach in Italian Wedding Soup, but many people like to use escarole as a substitute. You can also use fresh baby spinach in place of frozen spinach.
- Several commenters have substituted ground turkey for the beef/pork with good results.
- I included parmesan cheese as an optional ingredient because I wanted this wedding soup recipe to be dairy free . But you can use freshly grated or store bought parmesan cheese in your own version.
- You can double the meatballs and freeze uncooked meatballs for later, so you can have homemade Italian wedding soup in no time! Make sure to freeze them individually on a large plate or on a baking sheet, and then combine the frozen meatballs in a freezer-safe container… otherwise all the meatballs will freeze into one big lump!
Related recipes: Check out more delicious dinner soup recipes!
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What Is Italian Wedding Soup
Wedding soup gets its name from an Italian phrase which is translated to married soup. It is a reference to the flavors coming together so well, like a marriage.
Meatballs in a hearty broth with acini di pepe pasta, greens, and vegetables. Its a little like the Italian version of Chicken Noodle Soup. The recipe comes together so quickly, making it a great recipe for busy evenings.
How To Make Italian Wedding Soup Fast
This recipe for Italian Wedding Soup comes together so quick, youll be wanting to make it all winter long!
SAUTÉ Start by sautéing your onion, carrots and celery in a little bit of olive oil, until the veggies are nice and tender. Stir in the garlic and cook until nice and fragrant.
ADD BROTH AND MEATBALLS Remove the casings from the sausage links and shape the meat into tiny, bite-size meatballs. Pour the broth into the veggies and bring it to a boil. Add in the meatballs and cook for 4 minutes.
ADD IN PASTA Once the meatballs have cooked for about 4 minutes, add in the pasta and let it cook for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the pasta is nice and tender.
STIR IN SPINACH AND HERBS Finally, stir in the spinach and fresh herbs, until they are wilted throughout the soup.
I love the little bits of tender pasta throughout this soup. The mild sausage gives each bite a nice kick of flavor, while the spinach keeps it nice and hearty.
Also Check: Best Frozen Soups To Buy
What Kind Of Pasta To Use
I particularly love adding Israeli couscous to this soup. The tiny beads of pasta take the same short time to cook as regular pasta and look so pretty in the pot.
For this soup, you could also use tiny stubby pasta rings called ditalini, rice-shaped orzo, or the miniscule pasta grains called acini de pepe.
Can I Substitute Other Greens Here
I prefer the flavor of the spinach best here but kale, endive or escarole are other greens commonly used in Italian Wedding Soup and they would work fine in this recipe.
If using one of those previously listed Id recommend adding them along with the pasta as theyll need a longer cook time. The spinach cooks almost instantly whereas those others wont.
This soup might require a little more prep than some of your average soups but the extra steps and extra pan are so worth it in the end. Hope you love it too!
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More Savory Soups To Try
Soup is a go-to recipe for me during the winter months, There is just something so comforting and delicious about them when its cold and dreary outside. Here are a few more of some delicious soup recipes that you MUST TRY! They are all pretty different so there should be something for everyone. Enjoy!
Soup Recipes
Ingredients For Italian Wedding Soup
- ground chicken ground turkey can be used too. I recommend using 93/7% lean.
- panko gluten-free panko is available at many stores if you need the recipe to be gluten-free.
- parmesan cheese Use the good stuff and not the powder in the green can.
- Italian seasoning
- low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
- parmesan cheese rind adding the rind gives the soup great flavor. I always keep my rinds in a freezer bag in the freezer so I have them on hand for soups like this.
- orzo if you can find acini de pepe that is the traditional pasta that is used in this soup.
Also Check: New England Soup Factory Cookbook
Italian Wedding Soup Cooking Classy
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Panzenella is a Tuscan bread salad, perfect for summer. It does not adhere to a certain recipe, yet both ingredients that do not alter are tomatoes and bread. This salad is terrific with a chilled glass of Prosecco and great deals of sunshine!.
How To Make Turkey Meatballs
Also Check: Chicken Pot Pie Recipe With Cream Of Chicken Soup
How Do You Make Italian Wedding Soup
First combine the ground beef, pork, breadcrumbs, egg, Parmesan, herbs and spices. Roll the mixture into small meatballs and cook in a large skillet over medium heat until browned. Dont worry if they are not fully cooked. Those sweet babies will finish cooking in the soup. Remove the meatballs from the skillet and plate.
Add the onions, carrots and celery to same skillet and cook until softened. Add the garlic and herbs and cook for 1 minute while stirring constantly. Move the cooked vegetables to a Dutch oven or large stock pot. Add the chicken broth and bring the soup to a low boil. Add the pasta and cooked meatballs. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Stir in the spinach the last minute of cooking. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.
If you own a dutch oven the whole thing can be prepared from start to finish in there. They are great for browning meat. However I would drain any excess grease before adding the chicken broth.
I Love This Italian Wedding Soup
Our version of Italian wedding soup is inspired by the Italian-American take, which consists of a brothy soup studded by small pasta, mini meatballs and something green like spinach.
After a bit of research, it seems that Italian wedding soup is not actually served at weddings and instead is named for the blending or marrying of ingredients when making the soup.
Our recipe may not be authentic, but I promise you, its absolutely delicious. Its so tasty that the last time we made it ourselves, we loved it so much that we decided to make it again for dinner the next evening.
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Best Italian Wedding Soup Recipes How To Make Italian
Best Italian Wedding Soup Recipesfrom 10 Best Italian Wedding Soup Recipes How to Make Italian. Source Image: www.countryliving.com. Visit this site for details: www.countryliving.com
Theres nothing quite like the taste of a good pasta puttanesca. Its a real Italian traditional as well as, when Im back in Naples, my mother cooks this for me at least as soon as a week.
Authentic Italian Recipes My Life And Kids
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Right heres a terrific different to the conventional British bangers and also mash. Italian sausages have a tendency to be very flavoured with seasonings and herbs, such as fennel, which adds a perfect increase of flavour to this recipe.
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Italian Wedding Soup E Pot Classic Quick And Easy
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This simple Roman pasta dish obtains its name from carbone suggesting coal. It was a pasta prominent with the coal miners. The original recipe calls for guanciale, which is pigs cheek, however since its not easily available, the cook has actually made use of bacon instead.
Italian Sausage Gnocchi And Tomato Soup
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This is one of the most basic and easiest cooked pasta sauce, therefore it is the standard of an excellent Italian house chef. This one boats of being among the original Italian recipes of pasta. easy as well as quick, this pasta recipe can be made under half an hour. Serve as a breakfast, pack for youngsters tiffin or savour as a night snack. You can even cook this for a careless and also laid-back dinner as well as pair this up with red wine.
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How To Freeze This Soup
To freeze this soup first cool the soup completely. Ladle the fully cooled soup into quart or gallon sized heavy duty freezer zipper bags. Mark the bags with the date and the contents. Lay the soup bags down in a single layer on cookie sheets and place in the freezer. Once fully frozen stack the bags up on their side in the freezer to save on space. Thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat on the stove-top on low or in the microwave at 60% power so as not to overcook any ingredients before it is hot.
How To Make Chicken Broth Soup
This wedding soup recipe is another family favorite that I make all the time. It was one of my dads favorites. I remember way back in the day, when I was contemplating making this soup for the first timeI was very apprehensive about making it because it looked like it was a process, but this is one of those pretty straight forward Italian soup recipes comes together in just about 40 minutes.
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How To Make Easy Italian Wedding Soup
Italian Wedding Soup is easy to make and we’ve streamlined it even further so it fits neatly into a weeknight meal plan. Meatballs in Italian Wedding Soup tend to be on the small side which can be a challenge to pull together if you’re in a hurry. Instead, we use larger meatballs in our soup to save on prep time. You can buy pre-cooked frozen meatballs to add to your soup or make a homemade batch ahead of time as we do here. We also use baby spinach which can be added right to the soup without removing stems or chopping.
- Step 1
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, 4 to 5 minutes.
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- Step 2
Add broth, cover and bring to a boil. Add orzo, oregano and salt cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the orzo is just tender, about 9 minutes.
- Step 3
Stir in meatballs and spinach cook until the meatballs are heated through and the spinach is wilted, 2 to 4 minutes.
- Step 4
Serve sprinkled with cheese and drizzled with the remaining 3 tablespoons oil.
How To Make Italian Wedding Soup Step By Step
Step 1: Cook the veggies The soup base is your basic mirepoix, made up of onions, celery, and carrots. You can chop them up yourself or even better pick up diced veggies at the store to save on prep time.
Heat olive oil in a large dutch-oven and cook the mirepoix with a pinch of salt over medium heat until the onions are soft, about 5-7 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
Step 2: Add the liquidsand pasta Next, add the chicken broth and water. Use good quality broth as it will make a big difference in the taste of the soup. Dont forget to season the broth with salt.
When the broth is simmering, add pasta and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered. You want the pasta partially cooked before adding the meatballs.
Step 3:Add the meatballs Drop meatballs one by one to the simmering pot of soup and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Cook time will depend on the size of the meatballs. I used 2-inch frozen turkey meatballs, which took 5 minutes to cook.
Step 4: Finish with spinach and parsley In the last minute or so of cooking, add spinach and stir until wilted. Then stir in the chopped parsley.
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Best Ever Italian Meatball Soup
A big bowl of hearty soup never fails to bring smiles to my familys faces around the dinner table. Its the kind of reaction you only get when you know youre serving up something really special. Do you know what I mean?
I know that when I dish out one of my favorite soup recipes, like my famous Shrimp Bisque or this Italian Meatball Soup, Ill get to watch their faces light up with every bite.
Seeing their reactions is enough of a reward on its own, but this soup? Let me tell you, it is the best Italian Wedding Soup you will ever eat. There is so much flavor packed into each spoonful!
I know youre going to love this soup. But before you take a bite, make sure you watch your familys reaction first. I guarantee there will be smiles across the board!
