Italian Wedding Soup is super simple to make, and equally as delicious.
This one's a staple in my house (we love our soups around here). Homemade juicy and flavorful turkey meatballs, tender carrots, fresh wilted spinach, and gluten-free pasta. *If not dining gluten-free, you can simply switch out the pasta for your favorite wheat brand and use wheat breadcrumbs in the meatballs.
Serve it all by itself or pair it with crackers, crusty bread, garlic bread, or rolls (click here for my gluten-free dinner rolls recipe).
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What Is Italian Wedding Soup?
Italian Wedding Soup traditionally consists of leafy greens and meat. The origin of the name derives from a mistranslation of the phrase "minestra maritata" which means "married soup". In this case, the word "marriage" refers to the flavor that results from the combination of leafy greens and meat together and has nothing to do with weddings.
The meatballs in Italian Wedding Soup are traditionally made with beef and pork. However, in this recipe I will be using ground turkey. If you'd like to swap out the meats, feel free to do so. Simply use ½ lb. (80/20) ground beef and ½ lb. ground pork - you can use ground pork or ground Italian sausage.
What Do I Need To Make Italian Wedding Soup?
- Carrots
- Celery
- Yellow onion
- Chicken broth
- Baby spinach
- Your favorite shape gluten-free brown rice pasta, or regular pasta. I use Jovial's gluten-free brand from Thrive Market. Tip: If not dining gluten-free, you can use regular wheat pasta or pearl couscous. Great options are mini shells, orzo, or ditalini.
- Ground turkey (or swap out for ½ beef and ½ pork - you can use ground pork or ground Italian sausage)
- Parmesan cheese
- Parsley
- Basil
- Italian Seasonings
- Gluten-free plain dried breadcrumbs. I use the brand 4C Foods.
- Egg
How To Make Homemade Meatballs:
- Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray, or cover it with parchment paper. This is where we'll set the meatballs down as they're being rolled.
- Combine turkey and seasonings in a medium-sized mixing bowl until evenly distributed. Add in egg, breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese. Stir to incorporate into the mixture.
- For large meatballs: Pinch off 1-2 tbsp. of the meat mixture and roll into balls. Place on the greased/lined baking sheet. For small meatballs: Pinch off 2 teaspoon of the meat mixture and roll into balls. Place on the greased/lined baking sheet.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or nonstick frying pan over medium heat. along with 1 tbsp. of oil and 1 tbsp. of butter.
- Brown the meatballs on both sides until golden. Set pan aside. Meatballs should still be raw in the center; they will finish cooking in the soup.
How To Make Italian Wedding Soup:
- Prepare the meatballs; set aside.
- Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until shimmering.
- Add in carrots, celery, and onion. Cook until slightly soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, water, and seasonings. Turn up the heat to high and bring it to a boil.
- Add in the meatballs. and boil 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the pasta. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly al dente. Tip: You can either cook the pasta in the soup or cook it separately and place it in bowls at each serving. If using gluten-free pasta, it's important to cook the pasta to just al dente. Sometimes if gluten-free pasta is overcooked in soups, it will swell, taking up a lot of the soup and breaking into smaller pieces.
- Add spinach, and allow to wilt for 1-2 minutes until vibrant green in color.
- Season to taste.
- Serve. Pair with crackers, crusty bread, rolls, garlic bread, etc.
Serve with my gluten-free dinner rolls for a delicious pairing.
Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
For the Turkey Meatballs:
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
- 1 teaspoon dried chopped basil
- 2 tablespoon gluten-free or regular dried breadcrumbs I used the brand 4C Foods for GF breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg (I use 1 teaspoon salt for turkey meatballs. If swapping out for pork or beef, you will need to use less salt.)
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Wedding Soup:
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced into coins
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup high-quality gluten-free dried brown rice pasta I used Jovial brand
- 5 oz. baby spinach
- salt and pepper to taste I used ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the Meatballs:
- Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray, or cover it with parchment paper. This is where we'll set the meatballs down as they're being rolled.
- Combine ground turkey and seasonings in a medium-sized mixing bowl until evenly distributed. Add in egg, breadcrumbs, and parmesan cheese. Stir to incorporate into the mixture.
- For large meatballs: Pinch off 1-2 tbsp. of the meat mixture and roll it into balls. Place on the greased/lined baking sheet. For small meatballs: Pinch off 2 teaspoon of the meat mixture and roll into balls. Place on the greased/lined baking sheet.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or nonstick frying pan over medium heat. along with 1 tbsp. of oil and 1 tbsp. of butter.
- Brown the meatballs on both sides until golden. Set pan aside. Meatballs should still be raw in the center; they will finish cooking in the soup.
For the Wedding Soup:
- Prepare the meatballs; set aside.
- Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until shimmering.
- Add in carrots, celery, and onion. Cook until slightly soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken broth, water, and seasonings. Turn up the heat to high and bring it to a boil.
- Add in the meatballs. and boil 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the pasta. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly al dente. Tip: You can either cook the pasta in the soup or cook it separately and place it in bowls at each serving. If using gluten-free pasta, it's important to cook the pasta to just al dente. Sometimes if gluten-free pasta is overcooked in soups, it will swell, taking up a lot of the soup and breaking into smaller pieces.
- Add spinach, and allow to wilt for 1-2 minutes until vibrant green in color. Season to taste.
- Serve. Pair with crackers, crusty bread, rolls, garlic bread, etc.
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