Italian Wedding Chicken Meatball Soup
This Italian Wedding Chicken Meatball Soup is the kind of dinner that actually leaves you satisfied. It’s soothing, deeply flavorful, and hearty enough to count as a real meal, thanks to those little homemade chicken meatballs bobbing around in the broth. And if you’re short on time, frozen meatballs slide right in without anyone being the wiser.
Servings: 8 servings
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
Italian Wedding Soup
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes (can be adjusted for more heat)
- 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery
- 3-4 handfuls of baby spinach, ribonned or roughly chopped
- 8 cup chicken broth
- Hunk of Parmesan rind
- Sea salt + cracked pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup acini de pepe pasta
- Freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish
- Lemon wedges, for serving (optional but recommended!)
Instructions
Chicken Meatballs
- Place all the ingredients for the meatballs into a large mixing bowl. With your hands, mix until just combined. (Don't overmix.)
- Using a teaspoon or a melon baller scoop, form the mixture into small balls, about ¼ to ½ inch (roughly half the size of a standard meatball), and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet as you go.
- Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Once it’s shimmering, reduce to medium-low and add a few meatballs at a time. (Avoid crowding the pot; it will cause them to steam instead of brown.) Sear for 30 seconds to a minute, until lightly golden, then flip with tongs and brown the other side for another 30 seconds to a minute. Transfer back to the baking sheet and repeat with the rest; set aside.
Italian Wedding Soup
- Add a bit more oil to the pot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, then sprinkle in a pinch of salt. Cook until everything’s softened, then stir in the garlic and chili peppers. Let them sauté for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add the chicken meatballs back to the pot and pour in the chicken broth. Add the Parmesan rind and spinach, then bring it all to a low boil. Once it’s bubbling, reduce the heat to a low simmer.
- While the soup simmers, cook the acini de pepe in a separate pot according to the package directions. When the pasta is cooked, either stir it into the soup pot or spoon it into bowls, then ladle the soup over it.
- I like to finish each bowl with some freshly shaved Parmesan and a good squeeze of lemon.
Notes
Prep time includes making the meatballs, so using frozen meatballs will significantly reduce the time.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g
