Easy Italian Wedding Soup- in under 30 minutes!

I fell in love with Italian Wedding soup when I was in University- at the cafeteria in U of C's Engineering building, of all places.

I wasn't an engineering student, but my best friend was. And she let me in on one of the best kept secrets on campus- they had amazing soup and it was cheap! Those words were music to a starving student's ears. I have yet to come across a version that was as good as that one, until I created this Easy Italian Wedding Soup @ only 4 Weight Watchers Smart Points (blue plan) per serving!

I don't know about you, but I don't have time for making little homemade meatballs for soup.  That is definitely not happening in this girl's world.

EASY Italian Wedding soup with frozen meatballs

Making meatballs is time consuming. And if I'm making meatballs, I'm going to make my Slow Cooker Sweet & Sour Meatballs for a special or holiday dinner.

Because making meatballs for a special occasion dinner is one thing, but it's an entirely different story for soup! And that's why I use frozen Italian meatballs. I buy a huge bag at Superstore for $10 and it will make a triple batch of this soup. It ends up being around $1.00 per serving. So, like the soup at the Engineering building cafeteria, this soup is also awesome and cheap!

And although you can make this soup in advance, I still like to make it when I get home from work (when the craving hits) and that's why I created this shortcut version.

Italian Wedding Soup History

You may wonder where the name Italian Wedding soup comes from? The term "wedding soup" actually comes from the Italian language phrase "minestra maritata", which means "married soup," in reference to the flavor produced by the combination or "marriage" of the greens and the meat. Although, it's more accurately translated as “wedded broths.” Despite of the name, this soup is not served at Italian weddings. Instead, the name refers to the dish’s unique flavors, betrothed as they are blended and simmered, achieving a brothy, meaty tasty union. If you want to learn more about the origin of this soup, click HERE or HERE.

Healthy Italian Wedding Soup

So if you want a quick and easy version of this soup that's also healthy, dig in because this soup is only 4 Weight Watchers freestyle smart points! And if don't think you have time for it, think again! This soup can be made in 30 minutes and tastes like it took hours.

Print

5 from 4 votes

Easy Italian Wedding soup

This Easy Italian Wedding Soup recipe is quick, easy healthy (@ only 4 WW smart points on the blue plan per serving) with no pre-cooking meatballs required!

Course dinner, lunch

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Italian wedding, soup

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 12 servings

Calories 158kcal

Author Terri Gilson

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 12 cups water
• ¼ cup + 2 tbsp chicken bouillon
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan
• 1.5 pounds bag frozen, pre-cooked Italian meatballs * or ⅓ a 1.8 kg bag
• 10 oz frozen chopped spinach
• 1 cup Acini de Pepe

Garnish

• parmesan cheese
• Italian parsley

Instructions

• Bring the water, bouillon, garlic, onion and frozen spinach to a boil in a large pot.
• Add the meatballs (from frozen) and the pasta and continue cooking at a low boil until both the pasta and meatballs are cooked (approx 20-25 minutes). Add Italian parsley and parmesan cheese.
• Serve immediately or freeze for later.

Garnish

• Sprinkle parmesan cheese as desired, as well as additional Italian parsley.

Notes

My Amazon Recommendations (affiliate links)

Nutrition Facts

Easy Italian Wedding soup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 158 Calories from Fat 63

% Daily Value*

Fat 7g11%

Saturated Fat 1g6%

Trans Fat 1g

Cholesterol 42mg14%

Sodium 313mg14%

Potassium 150mg4%

Carbohydrates 12g4%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 1g1%

Protein 14g28%

Vitamin A 2233IU45%

Vitamin C 7mg8%

Calcium 56mg6%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Calories: 158kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 313mg | Potassium: 150mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 2233IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg

SaveSaved!