Easy Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup
Make the meatballs the night before you want to have this soup and then putting it together in the morning is a breeze! I like to make a double batch of the meatballs so that I can put some in the freezer to use at a later date. You can add fresh or frozen spinach, whichever is more convenient, and if you have leftovers, this soup freezes well.
Equipment
- Slow Cooker 6-litre
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ¼ cup fine bread crumbs
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground pepper
- ¼ tsp fresh grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg (optional)
Soup
- 6 cups chicken broth
- ½-1 cup celery , finely chopped
- ¾ cup carrot , finely chopped
- ½ cup onion , finely chopped
- 2-3 cups fresh baby spinach substitute 1 block of frozen spinach
- 2 bay leaves
- 1½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ cup acini di pepe pasta or similar small dry pasta
- 1-2 tbsp Parmesan cheese rind (optional)
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese freshly grated for garnishing the soup
Instructions
Meatballs:
- I do this the night before I am going to make the soup but they can be prepared the same day.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Combine all the ingredients. Form small meatballs of uniform size and place them on the parchment paper.
- Put the meatballs in the oven for 10-15 minutes, turning them over once during the cooking time. Remove the meatballs and cool completely if you are making them the night before. Put them in the fridge overnight.
Soup:
- Put everything listed in the soup ingredients, except the spinach and pasta, into the slow cooker. Also add the cooked meatballs.
- Cook on low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Add the spinach and the pasta and cook for another hour.
- Remove the bay leaves and the Parmesan rinds.
- Serve soup topped with a spoonful of Parmesan cheese,
Notes
If you are using frozen spinach, thaw the spinach prior to adding it to the soup.Â
When making the meatballs, I like to double the recipe and then freeze half the meatballs. Then the next time I want to prepare this soup, the meatballs are already made which makes putting this soup together a breeze.
Nutrition
Calories: 226kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 24gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 1323mgPotassium: 647mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 3964IUVitamin C: 25mgCalcium: 176mgIron: 4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
So yummy and very easy to make especially if you have a busy day even better the next day as left overs! would highly recommend!