Name: Italian Wedding Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 8 c. chicken broth; 1 10 oz package frozen spinach; 1 egg; 1 c. Parmesan cheese (shredded and divided); 1 teaspoon black pepper; 3 garlic cloves (minced); 1 c. cooked chicken (shredded); 2 c. mini meatballs; 8 oz. small pasta (pastina, orzo, or similar)

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Italian Wedding Soup is an easy to make and hearty chicken based soup with spinach, pasta, and plenty of meatballs in it! This post originally published November 2012.

When I turned 16 I started working as a hostess at an Italian restaurant. It was a fun job but after several months the restaurant closed.

Thankfully several months later another Italian restaurant opened up in its’ place and I started working there as a waitress. I waited tables there until I was 23 and I loved it. My cousin and brother and some of my best friends worked there too which made it even more fun.

At both restaurants the one soup we had all the time was wedding soup. I always loved wedding soup but I had never made it before. One day one of the cooks needed help and I got to help make the wedding soup.

Imagine my surprise when I found out just how easy this soup is to make! I’m talking less than 10 ingredients and hands on time of about 10 minutes.

Ingredients:

chicken broth
cooked chicken
mini meatballs
frozen spinach
egg
Parmesan cheese
black pepper
garlic cloves
pastina pasta (or orzo)

To Make the Soup: Heat the chicken broth in a large pot over medium heat. In a medium bowl combine the spinach, egg, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and garlic cloves. Mix well then add to the soup. Add in the chicken and mini meatballs and heat over medium heat, covered, for 30 minutes.

Adding the Pasta: Add the pasta to the soup and reduce heat to medium low. Cook for 30 more minutes. Spoon into bowls and serve with additional Parmesan cheese.

Because I wanted to keep the soup simple I cheated a little bit. I bought already cooked chicken though you can use either a rotisserie chicken or leftover cooked chicken.

I also used frozen meatballs. I’m not big on store bought meatballs but I didn’t have time to make my own so I just went with it. While it’s definitely better with my homemade meatballs, these ones were good in a pinch.

Can I use fresh spinach?

Yes! However, if you do use fresh spinach make sure you steam it or cook it before combining it with the egg and Parmesan cheese.

Should I use fresh grated Parmesan or the Parmesan in a can?

You can really use either one. I ended up using fresh shredded Parmesan mixed in with the spinach then a little bit of both on top because that’s what I had. You can use either one as I’ve used both before and it’s turned out fine.

Do I have to add in the chicken?

No, since you are using chicken broth the chicken flavor is already there. However, the chicken certainly adds more chicken flavor and a heartiness.

Can I add vegetables to this soup?

Yes! If you want to add celery, carrots, or onions you can dice them and add up to 2 cups to this soup. I would start with one tablespoon of olive oil in the pot and saute the vegetables for 5 minutes before adding in the chicken broth if you want the added vegetables.

This soup was so easy to make. I was able to start it when I got home from work and I had to add in a few more ingredients 30 minutes later then that was it.

I ended up simmering it for about 2 hours before we ate but it was totally fine. Hands on time was around 10 minutes so I had plenty of time to play with my little man the evening I made this.

It’s also a filling and hearty soup. It makes plenty so it’s great if you need to feed a crowd or if you want lunch for the week! With just my husband and I eating the soup it ended up feeding us for 4 separate meals.

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