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.
Easy Italian Wedding soup
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.
Sounds and looks delicious. I love Italian food but have yet to make this recipe, bring it on!!
Thanks, Charla – if you love Italian food, you’ll love this recipe!
Wedding soup is one of my favorites! This is such an easy recipe and so delicious!
I hope you enjoy it, Raia!
It’s such a delicious soup to make! We love the flavors of meatballs and spinach with the broth! It’s so good!
Thanks, Suzy. So glad you loved it!
Wow, I can’t believe this didn’t take hours to make. It looks super yummy and the flavors sound marvelous.
Thanks, Andrea! Yes, that’s what I love most about it – how quick it is to make 🙂
I’m all for a recipe that takes 30 minutes from start to finish, especially one that looks this delicious! Can’t wait to try this out!
Thank you, Farah – enjoy!