Italian Wedding Soup is always a winning soup recipe, however, it can be a little time-consuming to make. This one-pot recipe using orzo and a mixture of ground beef, veal, and pork, takes all of the work out of making this soup. Forget about making itty bitty tiny meatballs, just brown the ground meat instead. All of the taste, none of the hassle.
There are times when I’m pretty good at being lazy. Don’t believe me? I think the fact that all of my Christmas decorations are still up after Valentine’s Day is a pretty good example, don’t you? I’ll eventually take them all down, but I’m in no real big hurry to scrounge around on my hands and knees in the attic for an entire day. As long as I get Christmas put away and Easter put out before our Annual Easter Egg Hunt for Money, I’m all good. And yes, I did just check the calendar to see when Easter is this year. It’s on April 21st, I’ve got plenty of time.
When it comes to soup, I’m also a pretty lazy person. The whole appeal of soup to me in the first place is that it’s easy to throw together, doesn’t take forever to cook, and makes enough to feed two people for quite a few days. So, it’s not too surprising that when it comes to Italian Wedding Soup, I’m not the girl who’s going to stand around in the kitchen making itty bitty teeny weeny meatballs. Hell to the no. I’m the girl who just browns some ground meat in a pot and adds everything in. After all, my soup doesn’t need to be pretty, it just needs to taste good. If I want pretty, I can just admire my Christmas decorations.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 1/2 Pounds Meatball or Meatloaf Mix (Equal Parts Ground Beef, Ground Pork, & Ground Veal)
- 1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion, Finely Diced
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 4 Carrots, Peeled & Finely Diced
- 3 Celery Ribs, Finely Diced
- 1 (10-oz.) Package Frozen Chopped Spinach
- 1 (48-oz.) Carton Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- 4 Cups Cold Water
- 3/4 Cup Orzo
- Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago Cheese (Optional)
Directions:
- Place the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot, over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ground meat and sauté until no longer pink, stirring often.
- Add the diced onion, salt, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and black pepper; sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the diced carrots, diced celery, frozen spinach, chicken broth, and water; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- When the soup comes to a boil, cover and then continue cooking for 20 minutes.
- Uncover, add the orzo, and then continue to cook uncovered until the pasta is done to your liking. (Approximately 10 to 15 minutes.)
- If desired, serve topped with grated Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago cheese.
Suggestions:
- I prefer my orzo to be on the soft side, so I cook the pasta in this soup a little bit longer than most people might. Feel free to use your own judgment.
- As this soup sits, the pasta will continue to soak up more of the liquid. You may need to add more water or stock when reheating.
- Normally, when I make soup, I only use broth. With this soup, I added water as well. I honestly don’t think you need to waste the money on using a second carton of broth and the soup still has a really great flavor.
- You can use whatever type of ground meat you prefer in this recipe. Ground beef, chicken, pork, veal, or turkey will all work well.
- This recipe makes a pretty decent amount of soup. If you don’t have a lot of people living in your household, eat half and freeze the other half for a busy weeknight.
Improvements:
- Garnish with freshly chopped parsley before serving.
- Add more crushed red pepper flakes to your soup if you prefer it spicy.
- For a rich and creamy soup, add a little bit of heavy whipping cream right at the end.
- CLICK HERE to see all of our other amazing soup, chili, stew, and chowder recipes.
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 1/2 Pounds Meatball or Meatloaf Mix (Equal Parts Ground Beef, Ground Pork, & Ground Veal)
- 1 Large Sweet Yellow Onion, Finely Diced
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/2 Teaspoon Finely Ground Black Pepper
- 4 Carrots, Peeled & Finely Diced
- 3 Celery Ribs, Finely Diced
- 1 (10-oz.) Package Frozen Chopped Spinach
- 1 (48-oz.) Carton Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- 4 Cups Cold Water
- 3/4 Cup Orzo
- Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago Cheese (Optional)
Directions:
- Place the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot, over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the ground meat and sauté until no longer pink, stirring often.
- Add the diced onion, salt, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and black pepper; sauté for 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the diced carrots, diced celery, frozen spinach, chicken broth, and water; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- When the soup comes to a boil, cover and then continue cooking for 20 minutes.
- Uncover, add the orzo, and then continue to cook uncovered until the pasta is done to your liking. (Approximately 10 to 15 minutes.)
- If desired, serve topped with grated Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago cheese.
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Soup Saturday Swappers is a group of friends who get together on the third Saturday of each month to share their favorite soup and stew recipes based on a theme chosen by one of the members. Visit our Pinterest board to find more great soup and stew recipes. This month’s “Italian Soups” themed Soup Saturday Swappers is being hosted by A Spoonful of Thyme.
- Colleen’s One-Pot Italian Orzo Wedding Soup by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
- Crock Pot Italian Chicken and Orzo Soup by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Italian Cabbage, Potato and Bean Soup by Home Sweet Homestead
- Italian Tomato Bread Soup by Sneha’s Recipe
- Pappa al Pomodoro by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Slow Cooker Lentil, Vegetable and Pasta Soup by A Spoonful of Thyme
- Spinach and Lentil Soup by Palatable Pastime