A Healthy, Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe to Kick Off the New Year
Brothy, full of dark, leafy greens and studded with moist, tender pork and chicken meatballs, our healthy Italian wedding soup recipe is everything your body needs right now (and nothing it doesn’t!). It’s warm, soothing and jam-packed with nutrients—lean protein in spades, vitamins A, K, B6 and C, calcium,and potassium in the Italian kale, and, because they’re made with carrots, even the meatballs themselves pack a little extra nutritional punch. Whether you’re fighting off a cold, or just trying to show your body some love after a few weeks of indulgence, this light, comforting Italian wedding soup recipe is here to help you out. For more meatball recipe ideas, check out our favorite Meatball Recipes!
What Is Italian Wedding Soup?
And while we’re at it, why do they call it “wedding soup”? The exact history of what we in the U.S. call Italian wedding soup is a bit murky, though it does seem to have originated in Italy. There, it’s known as “minestra maritata” which doesn’t exactly translate as “wedding soup”. Rather minestra maritata means “wedded soup” or “wedded broths”, referring not to a soup served at weddings, but instead likely a reference to the soup having traditionally been made with a medley of different broths. Versions of minestra maritata are found throughout southern Italy, and though some are classically served around Easter, this brothy soup, studded with meatballs and bitter greens—usually escarole—is mostly enjoyed as a winter food, particularly associated with Christmas or St. Stephen’s Day (Dec. 26th) in many places. So, TL;DR no, Italian wedding soup is not a soup served at weddings, and yes, it’s probably a recipe that originated in Italy!
Katie Parla has a nice little dive into the background of Italian wedding soup, if you’d really like to go deep. But, if you’re just hungry for some soup, read on for how to make a big pot of Italian wedding soup!
Healthy Italian Wedding Soup Ingredients
As we mentioned, there are versions of wedding soup from all throughout southern Italy, and they vary village to village, town to town, even family to family. When Italian immigrants brought the tradition of this soup over to the states with them, it morphed again based on what ingredients were available. While in Italy, the soup might have been made with myriad bitter greens, here it’s become traditional to use escarole. We’re opting for kale, because it’s so widely available and we love how sturdy it is—even simmered in broth, it keeps its toothsome quality, not to mention it’s excellent nutritional profile. With an eye to health, we’re not adding any pasta to our recipe—and in fact, that’s (arguably) how it would usually be made in Italy. Well, depending on who you ask. Without further ado, here’s everything you’ll need to make our easy Italian wedding soup recipe:
- Ground pork
- Ground chicken
- Carrots
- Onions
- Eggs
- Fresh garlic
- Fresh parsley
- Fennel seeds
- Dried oregano
- Chicken stock
- Italian kale (you could sub any dark, sturdy leafy green you’ve got on hand, but we love Italian kale, aka cavolo nero, most of all.)
- Cauliflower rice (totally optional!)
- Parmesan cheese (also optional, and not paleo or Whole30, but sooooo good)
How Do You Make Italian Wedding Soup From Scratch?
Not only is our wedding soup recipe super healthy, it’s gosh-darn easy, too. All said and done, you’ll need just about 30 minutes start-to-finish, so it’s a great weeknight recipe. The meatballs don’t need to be browned before being added to the broth—they actually poach in the broth itself, taking on the gentle savoriness of the broth, and in turn seasoning it with their pork-y, onion-y goodness. You might even call it a marriage(!) made in soup heaven. Here’s how the delicious nuptials come to pass:
- Gently mix the meatball ingredients together. We recommend using your hands for this, because to make sure your meatballs are super tender, it’s important not to overmix.
- Bring the broth to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, rolls the meatballs! Remember our wet hands trick? Keep a little bowl of water next to you while you roll the meatballs, and keep your palms a bit damp as you roll. This will help keep the meatball mixture from sticking to your hands.
- Add the meatballs carefully to the simmering broth.
- After about 10 minutes, swing by the stove and add the kale.
- Finish the soup with some cauliflower rice, if you’re so inclined, and serve! We like to serve it topped with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese (if you aren't doing paleo or Whole30) and red pepper flakes.
Tools You’ll Need
- Large stock pot
- Mixing bowls
- Sharp knife
- Box grater or a food processor with grating attachment
More Easy, Healthy Soup Recipes to Try
Dinnertime + This Soup: A Match Made in Heaven
We think this is the best Italian wedding soup recipe out there—healthy or otherwise! We hope you feel that way too. Try the recipe, and let us know how you like it, OK? Share a photo and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!
