Name: Italian Wedding Soup with Orzo
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 4 tablespoons olive oil (divided); 1 onion (medium, chopped in chunks); 2 carrots (chopped in chunks); 1 pound ground chicken or beef; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon dried tarragon; 1 teaspoon dried basil; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese; 1/2 cup bread crumbs; 32 ounces chicken broth; 1/2 cup orzo (heaping); 2 cups baby spinach (or more)

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There is something very satisfying about this Italian wedding soup with orzo recipe! It’s all in the flavorful chicken broth, the succulent meatballs and the combination of vegetables!

A spoon holding a meatball and vegetables held over a crock of the soup

Did you know that this soup used to be called minestra maritata which if translated, would mean married soup.

According to my research, they call it wedding soup because the meat and vegetables are perfectly balanced together, hence the wedding part. Also, it has the word Italian because it was a favorite of Neapolitans.

For many years, I thought this soup was served at Italian weddings, hence the name.

But, after my research, I realized I was too literal in my supposition. But you can see why I thought that, can’t you?

Can’t you?

It would be fun to serve this soup at a wedding, be it Italian or not. Though, it is definitely more hearty than your typical soup course.

In fact, you could eat this as a meal and we often do. Especially with some delish crusty bread!

How to make Italian wedding soup with orzo

Carrots and an onion cut in half on a orange board

Here is where I start. I heat my stock pot on medium and grab two carrots and an onion. I chop them both into chunks, dribble 2 tablespoons of oil in the pot and once the oil is heated, I place the veggies in the pot and sauté them for 10 minutes.

Time for the meatballs

As the veggies are sautéing, I start gathering the meatball ingredients.

Eggs, tarragon, onion and garlic powder and chicken on a grey table

In the background we have ground chicken. You can make this soup, with other types of meats for the meatballs, but I have to say that for this Italian wedding soup, I prefer chicken meatballs.

I also grab some eggs, garlic powder, onion powder, tarragon, basil and salt.

Not sure why I don’t learn this, but I only use one egg for a pound of ground meat and yet I always bring out two eggs. Just in case.

Do you do that? Let me know in the comment section below.

What aren’t pictured above are the parmesan cheese and the bread crumbs.

I get my medium/large mixing bowl and dump the ground chicken in it.

I crack ONE egg in it, eye the other egg a few seconds before moving on to measuring out one teaspoon each of the garlic powder, onion powder, tarragon, basil and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.

I also measure out 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese.

Once everything is sprinkled on the ground chicken, I roll up my sleeves and dig my hand into the mixture to combine it all.

I take a small amount of meat in my hand and roll it into a cute medium sized ball. I place the meatball on a plate and continue placing each meatball there until all of the chicken meat is used up.

Meanwhile, the veggies are done!

Overhead view of onion and carrots in a dutch oven

Make room for the meatballs

I use my wooden spatula to move the onion and carrots to the sides of the stock pot, leaving room in the middle of the stock pot for the meatballs.

I dribble 2 more tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and place each meatball on the heated olive oil. As they brown, I gently turn the meatballs, being careful not to break them. It takes about 10 minutes, maximum.

Next, I take out the chicken stock and orzo pasta.

Once the meatballs are browned, I pour the chicken broth into the pan and bring it to a simmer. I keep it simmering for 15 minutes before I put in a little more than a half cup of orzo in.

You can use as much orzo as you please, but I like just a little orzo in this recipe because this soup is all about the meatballs and vegetables. And the marrying of those ingredients.

🙂

Spinach makes you strong

At least that’s what Popeye would say. (If you don’t know Popeye, kids, google him.)

I let the orzo simmer for 8 minutes before dealing with the spinach. You could also use escarole lettuce instead of spinach in your Italian wedding soup, but I couldn’t find any that looked half way decent.

Spinach on the table both strewn and in the plastic container

I grab two HUGE handfuls of spinach and put them in the soup. I stir the spinach around and let it simmer for another 2 minutes.

Let’s see what the spinach looks like in the Italian wedding soup with orzo.

A red Dutch oven filled with a soup with meatballs and spinach in it

Yum, right?

Time to ladle the Italian wedding soup with orzo into two bowls for Christopher and I.

Two brown crocks filled with the meatball soup with a plate of bread in the background

Yum.

I hope you enjoyed this Italian wedding soup with orzo recipe.

Please feel free to leave me a comment. What is your favorite soup?

And as always, may all your dishes be delish!

If you’ve tried this or any other recipe on the blog, I’d love the hear what you thought about it in the comments below. I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more of my delicious food and delightful cocktails!