Crock-Pot Italian Wedding Soup
~ 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’m always intimidated for some reason of using spinach (any leafy veggie) in soup and I’m not that good or have been cooking that long! So I was just wondering what would happen if u put the spinach In at the beginning or slow cook process? Also how would microwaving leftovers of the Italian soup with the spinach be? Oh one more thing! Pasta is another intimidating thing all together both in slow Cooker any other time. But esp in slow cooker how do u know when it’s done? Over cooked pasta just isn’t good lol thank you for any help or advice you can give me
Made the soup for dinner this evening! Tasty and easy. Putting the spinach in when serving is a “souper” idea—I enjoyed the crunch of the greens.
Oh Sue! You’re so funny!! Love the pun! 🙂
It’s a speedy fast meal to start before a busy day … and then all comes together in a flash at dinner! We love how hearty it is … and how much our families all agree how yummy it is! 😀 Stay warm! Mmmm … hot soup is a great idea for this chilly weather! ~G&S
I don’t have to worry about any trick or treaters or rushing to get out the door, but I still just make a batch of this yummy looking soup anyway (so much better than pizza)! It looks so filling and hearty, yet completely healthy. I love your tip on the carrot bits…that makes it so easy to hide some carrots in so many different foods. You guys are so clever!
Oh! You could go trick-or-treating! Sure … why not?!? 😀 Lol!!
This soup is incredibly filling – and a total snap to make! (Don’t you just love a hearty meal that comes together in no time?!) And you can bet that we just love our families getting loads of veggies in this soup, too! It’s the carrots and spinach that make it so colorful! That little pop of color adds a ton of nutrition!! 🙂
You got me at spinach. I love the ease and the colors too!
Yay! We love that yummilicious superfood, too!! It’s so perfect in this soup … and with the carrots added in, this soup is just loaded with veggies!
And you are totally right about the colors!! We love to eat the rainbow!! 🙂 ~G&S
That was an interesting little insight into life in the USA on Halloween! In the UK, Halloween is a very commercial event, but it’s nowhere near as big as it is over there. Still, I love the idea of having this beautiful healthy soup this Halloween night – maybe with the pizza on the side (haha – naughty, I know!)
Happy Halloween!
Oh Helen! You’re so funny! This soup is so warming and hearty … you won’t need the pizza!
Halloween is definitely commercial here, too! But yes, it’s a really big deal! Lol! The kids just love going trick-or-treating! This year in Ohio, our Halloween was frigid! It was SO cold … we absolutely needed this super warm soup to keep us going! 🙂 ~G&S