~ This delicious, hearty Crock-Pot Italian Wedding Soup is so quick and easy to make … in your slow cooker! Your whole family will love it! Bonus: it’s loaded with simple, healthy ingredients! ~
Every year on Halloween, there’s a phenomenon that occurs in our neighborhoods. Maybe you’ve noticed it in your town, too …
Just as the little ghosties and princesses and pirates and superheroes hit the streets for trick-or-treat, something else is running rampant out there on our streets, right along with them …
Pizza delivery cars!
They’re everywhere!
Our local pizza guys have confirmed this – Halloween is their busiest night of the year!
Huh!
And sure enough, a quick Google search turned up this stat on Pizza.com’s “Fun Facts” and USA Today: Across America, the top 5 days for pizza sales every year are Halloween, Super Bowl Sunday, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and the night before Thanksgiving.
It makes sense, too.
As trick-or-treat begins, parents are hurriedly jamming kiddos into costumes (and, at least in Ohio, trying to figure out how to get snowsuits under Cinderella gowns and skin-tight superhero bodysuits). Kids are too excited to endure a long, sit-down family meal. And everyone just has to snag some nourishment where they can as the doorbell merrily rings all night.
You need something quick and easy.
Something that anyone can grab a bite of as they dash by … you know, in between the donning of costumes, the constant stream of trick-or-treaters at your door, and the excited squabbling that arises as loot is divided and categorized (chocolate in this pile, gummies in that pile, “gross stuff I don’t like and want to trade with my sister” in another pile).
But that quick-and-easy meal doesn’t have to be pizza! (You don’t have to be a statistic, friends! 😀 )
We’ve got an even better idea!
This Italian Wedding Soup is practically effortless! It’s also deliciously warming, hearty, and really nutritious (to help counterbalance all the Reese’s Cups and Snickers and Jolly Ranchers that will be going down those tiny hatches later in the evening)!
It’s also a mega-kid-approved favorite!
Quick, easy and oh-so-good! The perfect alternative to pizza this Halloween!
But don’t be surprised when your family loves it so much (and you love how simple and healthy it is), that you find yourself making it lots of other nights, all year long (including some of those other top pizza delivery days)!
Happy Trick-or-Treating, friends! May all your snowsuits fit under your princess costumes this Halloween!
Mmmmmm … Soup! Here are Some More Crock-Pot Soup and Chili Recipes You’ll Love:
- Crock-Pot Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder
- Crock-Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Crock-Pot Crazy Pineapple Chili
- Top 10 Healthy Crock-Pot Chicken Soups and Chilis
Crock Pot Italian Wedding Soup
So quick and easy in your slow cooker! Plus, this delicious, hearty Italian Wedding Soup is loaded with simple, healthy ingredients!
Ingredients
- 2 (32-ounce) cartons fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 1 (12-ounce) package frozen turkey or chicken meatballs, thawed and cut into pieces (see note)
- 1 cup finely chopped matchstick carrots
- 1 cup frozen diced onions (see note)
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces whole wheat pasta (any small shape such as tubetti or elbows – see note)
- 3 ounces fresh baby spinach (about 1 1/2 cups)
- parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Combine broth, meatballs, carrots, onions, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in slow cooker and cook on low (6-8 hours) or on high (4 hours).
- Stir pasta into soup during last 15-20 minutes of cook time. (The exact cook time for perfectly cooked pasta can vary based on brand and pasta shape, so just check to be sure your pasta is done before serving.)
- Remove long stems from spinach and roughly chop spinach, if desired. Stir in spinach as you remove the soup from the heat, just before serving.
- Serve sprinkled with parmesan cheese.
Notes
Meatballs: Turkey and chicken meatballs come in a variety of sizes. We typically purchase meatballs that are about 1 1/2" in diameter. For that size, we find it works great to cut each meatball into about 12 pieces, but you can adjust this according to the size of the meatballs you purchase. Your goal is to make them appealingly bite-sized.
Onions: Just as we did in our recipe for Crock Pot Corn Chowder with Chicken and Bacon, in this recipe, we prefer to use frozen diced onions for two reasons. Of course, it saves the step of chopping the onions yourself. More importantly, however, the frozen onions break down better and become softer in the slow cooker, especially when cooking this soup quickly.
Pasta: Although elbows aren't the most traditional shape for Italian Wedding Soup, we have a difficult time finding many smaller pasta shapes at our market that are available in 100% whole wheat. (Plus, elbows are always a kid-pleaser!) Feel free to use any small pasta shape that you like.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 11 servings Serving Size: 1 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 91Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 595mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 6g
Nutrition calculation does not include parmesan cheese, since amounts of that for serving will vary. Nutrition information should be considered an estimate only, and may additionally vary depending on your choice of ingredients or preparation. No guarantees are made regarding allergies or dietary needs. Always consult a physician or dietician for specific advice and questions.
I love the idea of a healthy and easy soup instead or store bought pizza on Halloween! Italian wedding soup has always been one of my favorites as well! This soup looks fabulously delicious!
And this is exactly how my Hallowen experience was as a kid growing up in Toronto! -> “at least in Ohio, trying to figure out how to get snowsuits under Cinderella gowns and skin-tight superhero bodysuits” I was always so disappointed as a kid when we had to wear snowsuits under our pretty costumes!! I quickly forgot my disappointment when going door to door in my warm and cozy suit getting candy of course 🙂 Did you know trick or treating isn’t a thing here in Belgium? I was shocked when I had to explain to a couple people what it was! 🙂
Maybe you should be the spark to ignite a Belgium-wide Trick-or-Treating craze!?!?! You’d be famous! 😀
And really … if you’ve always loved Italian Wedding Soup, you’ve gotta try this version! I think you’ll really be surprised how delicious it is, given how ridiculously easy it is to make! I love when recipes let you score big, healthy flavor without a lot of effort! Hugs … 😀 ~Shelley
LOVE the stats on the busy days for pizza – I had NO idea. And any crock pot idea is GREAT with me! We are huge fans of the slow cooker and Italian Wedding Soup!
Aren’t those pizza stats so fun?!?! 😀 And yeah … you know Gretchen and I LOVE slow cooker recipes, too! Slow cooker + Italian Wedding Soup = Joy! Seriously, this wedding soup is so easy, yet so amazingly yummy! A couple of days ago, I was happily slurping some of this leftover soup one day for lunch, and just thinking all over again how much I loved it! Score another win for crock pot cooking!!! 😀 ~Shelley
Hey, I learned something today! It makes sense that Halloween would be a big pizza day. I guess I just never thought of that. I like your soup option much better though. this looks great! And, a strange comment maybe, your cutting board is very pretty! 🙂 Happy Halloween!
Yeah … look twice before you cross the road on Halloween … you’re likely to get clipped by a zooming pizza delivery car! 😀
And thanks for the compliment on the cutting board! I’ve had it for probably three or four years now and love, love, love it! (And you’re not the first of our readers to have commented on it!) I bought it from a wonderful local artisan who has a one-man shop called The Custom Cutting Block and exhibits at our town’s annual outdoor art show. He does amazing stuff! Gretchen’s actually now bought two of his boards, as well (they’re in photographs for our Easy Homemade Applesauce and our Hearty Fruit and Nut Salad, if you wanna take a peek). You can check out The Custom Cutting Block here: http://www.thecustomcuttingblock.com. I’ll warn you, though … once you look at his beautiful boards, you might find yourself owning one, too! 😀 ~Shelley
One reason to love the colder weather – I am so happy to cook using my crock pot.
Thank you for another really great reason to place it on the counter and fill it up!
So true! Isn’t it just great to come home out of the chill to a happily simmering slow cooker full of a deliciously hearty soup?!?! Mmmmmm … hope you love this one as much as we do! Happy fall! 😀 ~G&S
Mmmm love the meatballs, plus cheese! Orange and green look good together, too!
Gourmet Getaways
You’re so cute – leave it to you to notice how lovely orange and green look together (although they really kinda do, huh!?!?!). 😀 And yep – with the protein from the turkey meatballs and a bit of cheese, plus the whole-grain pasta, this soup really is hearty and filling enough to be a quick meal all by itself! Love that – such a great take on a comfort food classic! ~G&S