Italian Wedding Soup
- SERVES
- 8
- COOK TIME
- 10 Min
Traditionally served during the holidays, Italian Wedding Soup is a clear broth soup with dark, leafy greens and mini meatballs. These two ingredients are so close, you might even say they're married to each other! Try it for yourself and see why this soup is worth every last spoonful.
What You'll Need
- 6 (10-1/2-ounce) cans condensed chicken broth
- 6 cups water
- Meatballs, optional (see recipe below)
- 4 cups fresh chopped escarole
- 3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten
What to Do
- In a large soup pot, bring the chicken broth and water to a boil over high heat. If meatballs are desired, carefully add them to the broth and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until no pink remains.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the escarole, and cook 4 to 5 minutes, or until tender. Stir in cheese then gradually stir in beaten eggs, forming strands. Serve immediately.
Notes
For easy Italian recipes you will make again and again, we've compiled this collection of 35 No-Fail Italian Favorites, Plus 7 Classic Sauces you can make at home!
Meatballs for Italian Wedding Soup:
Yields about 6 dozen mini meatballs
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 egg
- 1 small onion, minced
- 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients; mix well then shape into 1-inch meatballs using a 1/2-teaspoon measure.
2. Add the meatballs to the soup and cook as directed above.
Instead of cooking the meatballs in the soup, they can be sautéed in a skillet for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned, before adding to the soup. It's your choice! For a nice finishing touch, sprinkle each bowl with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
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loisacat
Oct 01, 2013
meatballs for wedding soup are made with ground veal, not beef and sausage. and use cheese croutons, and sprinkle soup with parmesan cheese when serving,
MsKennedy1 7833882
Apr 02, 2013
I'e never used escarole efore,but I'll give it a test run wen my kitchen & basement get repaired, thanks 4 the rcipe
maddy51 1871515
Feb 24, 2013
If you can't find escarole, baby spinach will do just fine. Also, add some acine de pepe pasta to the soup. It makes it oh so good!!! My family's soup never had chicken in it if it had little meatballs in it.
drozdibob 7537844
Dec 22, 2011
I agree with janeinva. Not difficult to make your own good quality chick soup. Make a double batch of soup, using 1 batch for Wedding Soup, freeze the rest for homemade chicken noodle soup for another busy day. I agree also to preboil the escarole to remove bitterness. Not necessary if you substitute fresh baby spinach. Keep the meatballs small, very authentic style and do add the precooked pastina or orzo or any other very small pasta/pastini. Drizzling in the beaten egg while soup is simmering makes nice shreds of the cooked egg. My Aunt and her mother taught me to mix the shredded cheese with the egg when doing that step. (not sure why - it is so good so that's what I still do! Bless their souls) Delicious soup - makes any day special!!
lsutter47 2297449
Dec 14, 2011
This soup is great with 1cup of orzo pasta and baby spanish and beef broth
tancc160 9478081
Apr 23, 2011
This recipe should have mentioned that you must first, boil and drain the escarole, in a separate pan, because it tends to be rather bitter, boiling and draining removes the bitterness. To save time, I use store-bought frozen meatballs and I like to add shredded carrots for color. I also prefer to use chicken broth.
ellenjackb 5307277
Apr 07, 2011
I've made this before by adding beef broth and chopped spinach instead. Either way, it's a very light and delicate soup. Oh yes, that was low sodium beef broth. A few thinly chopped scallions would be good in it also.
janeinva 1641458
Apr 06, 2011
Nope - not real Wedding Soup - you need some chicken in it and canned broth is just not the way to go Fast isn't always the best Use the whole chicken strain the broth take some of the chicken off the bone and put in the soup - save rest of chicken for salad or casseroles then make the soup You'll have more flavor and taste - hey it's not that hard to do Meatballs are not an option but balls are way to big Use less than a teaspoon of meat per ball - and forget the sausage - not necessary Use ground beef and the other ingredients and you're pretty good to go If you like add some tiny pastina to the soup Cook small pastina C about min in boiling water drain and add to soup These changes will make it more authentic Sprinkle some grated Parm…Read More cheese on top before serving
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