This is by far the best Italian wedding soup you will ever have. However, the preparation time required is not for the faint of heart.
It may be a decent choice to adapt to a slow cooker but I haven’t yet tried it. It does need some evaporation to occur to reduce the liquids down for this recipe.
For something a little different, try serving it in individual bread bowls.
- 14 cups water
- 1 whole chicken 4 to 5 pounds
- Salt and black pepper to taste about ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper
- 1 small onion minced
- 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned bread crumbs
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 pound hot Italian sausage casings removed
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Stock from above
- Chicken from above
- Meatballs from above
- 3 pounds fresh escarole washed, trimmed, and chopped
- 2 stocks celery washed, trimmed, and chopped
- 2 whole carrots washed, trimmed, and sliced
- 1 whole onion washed, trimmed, and chopped
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese optional
- 1 large egg beaten
- In a large soup pot add the water, chicken, salt and pepper. Cook over low for 3 hours.
- Remove chicken from pot. Cool the stock and drain the liquid through a small mesh colander into another large soup pot. Place the liquid on the side for later.
- Remove skin from chicken and discard. Remove meat from chicken and tear into small pieces. Place chicken on the side for later.
- Break off pieces of the mix and roll into ½ inch meatballs. If you are lazy you can roll into 1 inch meatballs (but they taste better when small).
- In a large stainless steel bowl combine all the ingredients (yes at once). Mix the contents of the bowl until consistent.
- Place meatballs on the side. Optionally, brown in a skillet for 5 minutes, turning often. Drain liquid and place meatball on side (healthy). Makes 10 to 11 dozen mini-meatballs.
- The stock is already in a large soup pot. Bring stock to a boil and add chicken, celery, carrots and onion. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 hours or until the vegetables are medium-soft.
- Add meatballs to the pot and cook for 60 minutes on medium. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the escarole. Cook for 30 minutes or until tender.
- Stir in the cheese (optional). Cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve hot. Taste better the next day!
Most people like to place their Wedding soup in a bowl and THEN put on the Parmesan cheese, to taste.
Enjoy
For more Italian-style comforting soups, keep your pot busy on the stove with these recipes:
About Lynne Jaques
Lynne is a stay-at-home mother of two boys. As a former US military officer and the spouse of an active duty US military member, Lynne enjoys traveling the world (although not the moving part!) and finding new cuisine and methods of preparing food. She also has the habit of using parenthesis way too much!
This is actually pretty much how I always make my soup, though I’m lazy and tend to do it in chunks over a day or two. Italian wedding is one of my two favorites so I’ve gotten my schedule down pat. I make the chicken, the stock, and the meatballs at different times. Then once my “parts” are done I combine them all into the soup. I’ve never had it with Parmesan before though, so I’ll definitely have to try that!
Zeedme,
Yes it can be quite time intensive. Breaking it up into pieces is a great idea!
Usually I like quick and uncomplicated recipes but this one actually sounds worth the effort. It looks simple, just takes time. Would love to hear from someone who tries it in a slow cooker though, I wonder if that would work as well? Either way it looks like a lovely recipe, thanks for sharing it.
Sometimes i can be a lazy one…the presentation seems to be calling…tempting me into putting laborious work in the kitchen, i need to power up my zeal for this and a hefty budget (at the butcher’s and grocer’s} in tow 🙂
I grew up in an Italian family, so this soup was extremely common for me. The meatballs were the best part, because you could literally taste the soup in them. I miss the days where I would come home to the smell of this soup. Thanks for the recipe!
Perfect soup. I agree with getting acquainted with slowcookers, they are especially helpful and easy, and they can be used for a multitude of dishes. I’ve always loved anything chicken broth related, especially semi-clear soups like this one. Of course, the cheese at the end is an absolute must for me.
This sounds manageable, especially when broken down into pieces, as stated by @zeedame. I tend to break any labor intense project into parts, and it makes things much easier, but, I’m sure historically, this was primarily made for special occasions, when additional steps/work are expected. It’s been years since I’ve had this, and your recipe sounds delicious, so I plan to try making it.
Hmmm, this looks interesting. I wonder why they call it this. The white cheese and mixture of meats probably. This one certainly will be filling. It would also be a good basis for a vegetable soup. The stock I’d cook with some veggies and then strain them out before adding fresh ones, The meatball recipe is very good. I was debating with a friend about different things that you can put in those to make them taste better. She’s going to like this mixture.
What an amazing recipe! It certainly looks like a lot of work to put the dish together, but the results appear to be well worth the work. The dish is simply beautiful. Pardon my ignorance, but I had never heard of Italian Wedding soup before, so I’m still in awe of it. This is a dish I’m definitely trying. I’ll be recruiting 2 of my girl friends to help me with the dish after the Thanksgiving Holidays, and we are making this dish happen. Thanks so much for this recipe. Fingers crossed! Wish me luck!
I love love LOVE italian wedding soup! My absolute favorite, I learned how to make it from my grandmother. So flavorful, it is always first choice on a cold day!
This looks pretty amazing and nourishing. You mentioned that it takes lots of patience to cook this soup, and I think that it could be a reason why the soup was named “Wedding Soup”. It’s reminiscent of the care and patience we need to put in our relationship with our significant other!
I love your recipe. I do not eat beef. Can I replace it with chicken mince or lamb? Is there a vegan option? I would love to hear your suggestion to make it more friendly for my restricted palate! I really wish I could attend an Italian wedding just for their lovely food!
I’m not sure about this. I like the idea, but those meatballs look a bit ‘anaemic’ for my particular taste.’