Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup
ShareA comforting and classic soup, packed full of vegetables and spicy mini meatballs.
It’s hard to pick a favorite soup. Growing up it was always chicken noodle. A basic but very classic soup that no one can resist. Once I got into making my own and getting more creative with them, putting my own twists on them and such, it got even harder to choose a favorite. I first shared an Italian wedding soup recipe just over two years ago. It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago. Time sure does fly. I’ve made it several times since as it’s easily become a favorite.
The cold has settled in, along with a bit of snow. I thought it’d be the perfect time to whip this up, with a few changes… because I can’t help myself. It was perfect before but it’s even better now. So that would make it doubly perfect, right? The biggest changed I made was to make mini meatballs. I love mini meatballs in soup. I promise, whether you’ve made an Italian wedding soup before or not, you need this one in your life. It’ll become a new favorite.
Not only has the weather been grey from rain and snow, but daylight savings time is over so it’s dark super early. Like 5 o’clock on the dot annoyingly nearly pitch black kind of dark super early. This meant getting to work first thing in the morning and remaining extra hopeful for a few pictures. I really need to get some lighting setup for the winter. It’s only November and I’m already freaking out about the super grey and dark days.
I totally get the snowbird thing now. Sunshine and happiness year round. Two homes. Just a magical world. Only I’m not 70 so it’s not happening.
I promise, whether you’ve made an Italian wedding soup before or not, you need this one in your life. It’ll become a new favorite. It’s full of flavor, spice and perfect array of textures and colors… and let’s not forget the mini spicy meatballs!
*Notes: 1. Meatballs may be prepared and cooked ahead if desired. 2. We like the meatballs with a nice kick but if you aren’t up for that, don’t use as much of the red pepper flakes. If you aren’t a fan at all then feel free to omit that completely.
Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
Soup ingredients:
- 2/3 C carrots sliced
- 2/3 C celery chopped
- 3/4 C onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1 pkg onion soup mix
- 7 1/2 C chicken broth
- 6 oz baby spinach chopped
- 1 1/2 C pasta
Meatball ingredients:* (see note)
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/4 C Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 C seasoned breadcrumbs
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
- 1/2 - 1 tsp red pepper flakes* see note
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Add prepared vegetables, seasonings, onion soup mix and chicken broth to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours.
- Meanwhile, prepare meatballs. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all ingredients, shaping small meatballs. (See this post for size reference). Place meatballs 1 inch apart. Bake for 10-15 minutes. Set aside.
- Add meatballs to slow cooker in the last hour of cooking. When 30 minutes remain, add chopped baby spinach and pasta. Gently stir and replace cover.
- Divide among bowls and enjoy.
Notes
Review:
As a preview to something amazing coming up, New West KnifeWorks offered one of their beautiful knives to review. Pay close attention here… you want to know about these knives. I splurged not too long ago and bought their Super Bread knife. So when they offered a knife for me to review, I was definitely excited.
This fierce and cute (yes knives can totally be cute… I’m a girl… sue me) knife is a must have for your kitchen. The Mr was the first to try it and I agree with everything he found. It’s balanced perfectly and feels great. Both of those are things I was always told to look for in a good knife. It’s true. A knife must feel good in your hand. But on top of that, it works beautifully on every chopping need you may have.
Do you remember this little fiasco cutting cheese. I mean really… cheese! The New West KnifeWorks Chopper doesn’t hesitate on cheese even the slightest bit. It works like a dream with fruit and veggies and clearly I could go on and on.
And being a girl, you know I love the handle options. Have you ever seen such beautiful handles? When ordering your knife, you get to choose the wood finish. So many pretty choices. I’m in love with this handle. Even better, I love that this is full tang and you can see the proof. Bonus points: 100% made in the USA.
*Disclosure: I was provided with a knife to review and use in my home. All opinions are my own.Â
My husband’s family is Sicilian – this recipe looks dead on!! Will need to make asap for hubby. :)
As a WI resident, I totally share your desire to turn into a snowbird! Since that’s not happening anytime in the next, oh, 4 decades, I’ll just curl up with this soup instead.
I don’t think I’ve ever had Italian wedding soup but this looks awesome!
You need to have it sometime!
Italian wedding soup is my ALL time fave! Being totally sick right now only makes me want this even more!!!
Wow, the knife is gorgeous and what a great recipe!
I have one of these knives on its way to me and I can’t wait to try it after your review. And this soup – amazing! The slow cooker spin is perfect!
I never think about making soup in the sloe cooker. I really need to give that a try
This looks so good! I love fall soups, I’ll literally make every recipe I can find! I also love when it gets dark at 5pm. My friends think I’m crazy… but it’s really just such a “cozy” time of year, I think! :)
This soup looks delicious! I have to make this soon, especially with my slow cooker obsession :-)
I love Italian wedding soup and this one looks like a keeper. I will be making this very soon, just a trip to the grocers and it’s on!
Italian wedding soup is one of my absolute favorites! I’ve never made a slow cooker version though, definitely need to put this on the to-do list.
I am totally making this!! Mmmmm
I made this soup yesterday and it was AMAZING! Extremely flavourful! Thanks for the recipe!
what kind of pasta did you use????
I used small shells but have also used ditalini in the past.
I just made this soup and it was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!….I used escarole instead of spinach. Thanks for the great recipe!
The meatballs are amazing soup is not done yet
Made this soup this afternoon! Absolutely delicious and so comforting to eat while laying in bed and fighting a cold!
Do you recommend only using a crock pot? If I make it on the stovetop, should I just add more liquid? I have a new dutch oven that I just love making soup in :)
This recipe is specifically written and timed for a slow cooker, so if you were to use your Dutch oven I wouldn’t have timing recommendations for you but you should keep the ingredient amounts the same.
Well, I ended up making it just like you wrote it yesterday in my crock pot. So good!! I made 126 teeny meatballs out of one pound of ground chicken, they were adorable :) Lots of flavor, a little salty for me, I probably will leave out the extra salt the next time. Thanks a lot …
I’m not usually a comment poster but I love this soup too much not to! I’m making it for the third time today. My boyfriend is a very picky eater and he also loves it! So delicious and so easy! Thanks so much for a great recipe, that’s a HUGE hit in our house!!
I’m so glad to hear it! Thanks so much for taking the time to share this :)
Made this for dinner last night. It was delicious!!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it :)
Very close to my recipe. I use escarole and shall have to try the spinach and chicken meatballs instead of ground beef. I like trying new things too!
Enjoy!! :)
This is my all time favorite soup! I’m actually having my mom make me mini meatballs so i can make italian wedding soup once the baby is here! :)
Such a great idea! :) Easy meals are a must.
Does the cooking time change if you double the recipe or will 4 hours still work?
Because the meatballs are already cooked, roughly 4 hours should still work. Just check how firm the vegetables are and judge from there. Enjoy!
Delicious! I used 99% fat free turkey for meatballs. I also added raw meatballs with veggies and broth in first step and cooked on low for 6-7 hours. Added spinach and pasta last half hour. Worked great and saved a step so I could be away for a while.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Did you cook the pasta before hand?
The pasta goes in uncooked.