Italian Wedding Soup

Italian wedding soup with juicy mini turkey meatballs, tender orzo and spinach in a flavorful Parmesan broth.

It's a cozy, comforting and nutritious soup you'll want to make all fall and winter long.

How to make turkey meatballs

Who knew meatballs worked so well in a soup? 

I mean, I’ve had Italian Wedding Soup many-a-time, but still believe whoever decided to add little meatballs to a vat of broth amongst pasta and spinach is basically a genius.

And I'm going with it.

There are numerous ways to make meatballs, but I like to keep it simple. Here are my steps:

• Soak dried minced onion. Yes, you can use minced fresh onion, but I find it easier and just as tasty to soak some dried minced onion in a little water to rehydrate it before adding it to your meatball mixture.
  • It only needs about 5 minutes to soak, then toss it in the bowl!
• Add ground turkey and ground pork to the bowl. If you want to make the meatballs leaner, go ahead and use just ground turkey.
  • But I like that pork has a bit more fat and flavor, so I find mixing turkey and pork to be a great combo for meatballs.
  • But you do you!
• Add egg and breadcrumbs to the meat. These are binders and will hold the meatballs together.
  • There are many types of breadcrumbs you can use.
  • I like panko because they're light and fluffy, but you can also use traditional breadcrumbs or even soak pieces of bread and use those as your binder.
  • If you're looking for an egg replacement, you can try a 'flax egg' (1 tablespoon ground flax seed soaked in 2 tablespoons of water) or use something like Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer.
• Add spices and herbs and cheese. I am talking freshly minced garlic, oregano, salt, black pepper and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
  • You can also add basil or use Italian seasoning, if you'd like! There are many ways to do meatballs.
• Roll the balls! Because we're putting the meatballs in soup, I recommend making them mini or bite size.
  • That way they're easy to eat on a spoon!
• Roast the meatballs. This isn't a required step, but I like to line the meatballs on a wire rack and roast them before adding to the soup.
  • When cooked in the oven versus sauteing, meatballs get a brown crust on the outside (flavor!) and they cook evenly.
  • However, if you'd like to keep this dish "one pot", you can saute them in a little olive oil before adding the rest of your ingredients.

How to make Italian wedding soup

• While your meatballs are cooking, bring a big pot of chicken stock to a simmer.
• Add a few tablespoons of your favorite bouillon.
  • I use this because it takes the stock from being somewhat flavorful to being out-of-this-world.
  • I am a fan of Better Than Bouillon paste, but like I said, whatever you like to use will work - just know that each bouillon has a unique amount of salt, so that will alter how much salt you'll want to add to the soup.
• To the simmering stock, add handfuls of fresh spinach and orzo.
• Then add the mini roasted meatballs.
• While the orzo cooks (usually takes about 10 minutes), you can make the egg mixture you'll be adding to the soup.
  • If you've ever made egg drop soup, this is a similar technique.
  • Simply whisk together the eggs and freshly grated Parmesan cheese in a small bowl.
  • While the soup is still at a gentle simmer, create a whirlpool by gently stirring the soup in a circular motion.
• Slowly drizzle in the egg mixture as it forms ribbons in the stock.
  • Once all of the egg mixture is in, your soup is done!
• Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
  • Never skip this step when you're cooking!

Other soup recipes I know you'll dig:

• Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup
• Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup
• Carrot Ginger Soup
• Loaded Cheesy Potato Soup
• Thai Sweet Potato Soup
• Broccoli Cheese Soup

Also, be sure to check out my other favorite soups in my Simple Soups Cookbook! It contains 27 of my very favorite soup recipes!

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