Did you know that Italian Wedding Soup has nothing to do with weddings? Funny, right?
It has to do with how the ingredients “marry” together – mini meatballs with the most flavorful broth packed with veggies, and hit with a citrus punch at the end. It's the perfect soup for a chilly day!
I like to serve mine with crusty bread and lots of parmesan grated on top – yum!
Featuring Balanced Bites ITALIAN and TEX MEX spice blends, this soup is easy to make and full of flavor.
Ingredients
FOR THE MEATBALLS
- 1 1/2 pounds ground meat, ½ pound each of ground pork, beef, and veal - or a combo of pork & beef if you can’t find veal
- 1 small yellow onion, pureed in a food processor
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg beaten
- 3 cloves garlic, grated or minced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ITALIAN Spice Blend
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Grated zest of 1 lemon divided (save approximately half for the soup)
FOR THE SOUP
- 1 tablespoon ghee butter coconut oil, or bacon fat
- 4 stalks celery finely diced
- 1 large yellow onion finely diced
- 4 carrots finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic grated or minced
- 3 tablespoons TEX MEX Spice Blend
- 48 ounces chicken bone broth
- 2 cups fresh spinach roughly chopped
- Reserved lemon zest from meatballs recipe
FOR GARNISH
- Freshly grated parmesan
- Coarse sea salt and coarsely cracked black pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Make the meatballs: In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients, mixing gently by hand until the spice mixture is evenly dispersed. (don’t forget to save half of the lemon zest for later!)
Gently form the meat into ½ ounce meatballs (mini!) and place them on a baking sheet - bake for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through.
While the meatballs are baking, melt the ghee in a large pot over medium heat. Add the celery, onion, and carrots and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Add the salt, pepper, and broth, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the cooked meatballs, chopped spinach, and remaining lemon zest to the pot and stir to combine. Heat briefly, just to warm the meatballs, then taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish each serving with freshly grated parmesan cheese, and some coarse salt and cracked pepper.
Time Saving Tip
Order a Balanced Bites Broth Box for ready-to-go homemade broth!
Our broth box contains 6-24oz bags of Organic broth. Choose from an all Chicken (which we recommend for this recipe), all Beef, or half and half box.