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Italian Wedding Soup

UPDATE:  I originally wrote this Italian Wedding Soup recipe in 2011 but didn’t have a proper recipe card, which is now in this blog post.  Instead of creating a whole new blog post, I decided to leave this post as written over FIFTEEN years ago.  So crazy!  I hope you make this soup, it’s so good.  The recipe card for the homemade beef and zucchini meatballs follows the soup recipe card.

Italian wedding soup

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italian wedding soup

Italian Wedding Soup

Yield: 6 (2 cups soup + 12 meatballs)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

This light and flavorful soup is perfect for an early fall dinner with crusty bread.

No Ratings

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 2 cups chopped carrots
  • 2 cups chopped celery
  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 2 (14.5-ounce) cans fire-roasted tomatoes, blended
  • 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
  • Crushed red pepper, to taste
  • 10 ounces fresh spinach
  • 3 cups cooked pasta, such as acini di pepe
  • Homemade Beef & Zucchini Meatballs, or your favorite frozen meatballs

Instructions

Sauté the garlic and vegetables

Add the minced garlic, chopped carrots, and chopped celery to a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to soften and the garlic is fragrant.

Add the broth and tomatoes

Pour in the chicken broth and blended fire-roasted tomatoes. Add the Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper to taste. Stir everything together and bring the soup to a gentle simmer.

Add the meatballs

Add the cooked homemade Beef & Zucchini Meatballs to the simmering soup. If using frozen meatballs, cook them according to the package directions first, then add them to the soup.

Let everything simmer together so the meatballs can soak up some of those delicious flavors, at least 1 hour. Continue cooking until the vegetables are tender.

Build your bowl

Place the fresh spinach in the bottom of your bowl. It may look like a lot at first, but don't worry. Spinach wilts down quickly as it cooks from the heat of the broth. Ladle 2 cups of the soup onto the spinach and let sit for a few minutes.

Add the cooked pasta

Finally, stir in the cooked pasta. We used acini di pepe, which is perfect for Italian Wedding Soup because the tiny pasta is easy to scoop up with the broth and meatballs.

Since the pasta is already cooked, you only need to heat it through.

Enjoy!

Each serving is about 2 cups, with approximately 1/2 cup of pasta, 12 mini meatballs, and 1 ounce of spinach. 

Notes

The soup base is zero WW points. 1/2 cup of pasta is 3 WW points. 12 mini meatballs using my recipe (link here) is 2 points, so each serving is 5 WW points.

Nutrition Information
Yield 6 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 286Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 9mgSodium 1407mgCarbohydrates 54gFiber 8gSugar 8gProtein 13g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

© Biz
Category: All Recipes
meatball sub with marinara sauce

Zucchini Meatballs

Yield: 60
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

I am like a toddler where you have to hide veggies into things for me to eat them. Promise you won't taste the zucchini, but it makes these meatballs so tender and delicious.

No Ratings

Ingredients

  • 1 pound 93/7 ground beef
  • 1 cup zucchini, shredded and squeezed dry
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 1 ounce pepperoni, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Prepare the zucchini

Shred the zucchini and squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible. You can use a clean kitchen towel or paper towels to press and squeeze the zucchini dry.

This step is important because too much moisture can make the meatball mixture too wet and difficult to shape.

Combine the ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef, squeezed zucchini, minced garlic, egg, Parmesan cheese, Panko breadcrumbs, and finely chopped pepperoni.

Add the onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried parsley, salt, and pepper.

Mix gently

Using your hands or a large spoon, gently mix everything together until the ingredients are evenly incorporated.

Be careful not to overmix the meat. Mixing just until everything comes together will help keep the meatballs tender.

Form the meatballs

Form the mixture into approximately 60 mini meatballs. A small cookie scoop works well for keeping the meatballs similar in size.

Cook the meatballs

Cook the meatballs using your preferred cooking method until they are cooked through and reach an internal temperature of 160°F.

For approximately 60 mini meatballs, the cooking time is about 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of the meatballs and your cooking method.

Serve or store

Serve the meatballs immediately with your favorite recipe, or let them cool completely before refrigerating or freezing them for later.

Notes

12 meatballs is a serving and 2 Weight Watchers points. If you count calories or macros: 175 calories, 9 fat, 6 carbs, 0 fiber and 17 grams protein. See the nutritional label below per meatball.

Nutrition Information
Yield 70 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 31Total Fat 2gSaturated Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 10mgSodium 39mgCarbohydrates 1gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 2g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

© Biz
Category: All Recipes
 

It’s never a good sign when the news starts reminiscing about the Blizzard of 1967 when referring to our weather starting this afternoon into tomorrow.  Projections now say that our county will get up to 24 inches of snow, with 40 mph winds.  It’s February people!   I am so over winter.  I just want to be able to put our gazebo up, watch White Sox games and grill out. 🙁

Okay, here is a breakfast you never would have thought I’d eat.  I saw it in our pantry and just had a taste for it:

I had frosted mini wheats with skim milk, and a cheese stick

I ended up doing 45 minutes on the treadmill, 3.8 mph walking with a 6 pound medicine ball tossing back and forth as I walked.  It is a surprisingly good work out!

I used to buy baby carrots because they were already peeled, but now realize the carrots with the tops on them are not only way cheaper, they taste so much better.

Tubetti is the pasta I used, but any small pasta would work.  In the updated version in 2026, I used this pasta shape:

small shaped pasta

 

Not only is this soup delicious, it makes a lot – and freezes well

And you can’t have soup without a grilled cheese 😀  My lunch comes in at 12 points.

My store had really good meat prices over the weekend.  I got chicken drummets for .49 cents a pound.  This is actually a WW recipe, but I need to tweak this recipe before I post it – they were good but needed a bit more flavor – Hoisin marinated sesame wings.   Dinner was 10 points.

Stats for Monday

  • 30 points
  • 45 minute treadmill workout
  • average blood sugar 123

Good news – I was able to reschedule Tony’s CT scan for today instead of tomorrow.  Hopefully after this test we’ll get back with his surgeon by the end of the week with a game plan.  Thank you for your continued support and prayers for my Tony! 😀