~ 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.
My elderly mother has numerous health conditions. She loves Italian wedding soup, so I started to make this for her. I would cook up a batch in the crock pot and portion them into containers for her to use during the week. It’s a success! She loves it and fortunately this recipe is so easy that I have been making it weekly for her for months. Thank you so much!
Also – I have taken to using frozen chopped spinach instead of fresh. I put the frozen spinach in the refrigerator to thaw a bit when I’m first starting the soup. After the soup has been on for 3.5 hours, I take about 1/2 cup to 1 cup of frozen chopped spinach and put it in the soup for the last half hour. The stems are still on the spinach, but my mom says it tastes just the same as fresh spinach and it’s so much easier and time saving for me to use the pre-chopped frozen.
Oh Lisa – thank you! Your sweet comment just makes my heart so happy, as I imagine your caring generosity in stocking your mom’s fridge with this wedding soup! So beautiful. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that you took the time to tell me your story. I always feel like, one of the very best ways to show someone we love and care, is to prepare food for them that not only brings them joy, but also truly nourishes them. And, as we’ve had quite a few family and friends around us who are facing health problems recently, I truly see how much it can help them to have nutritious meals to lift their spirits – at the ready whenever they need them. It makes their lives a little easier, and it’s like a hug you can give them, each time they reheat a meal you’ve lovingly prepared ahead of time for them. If there’s any way that I can help you by pointing you in the direction of any of our other recipes that might fit your mom’s needs and be a good bet for batch cooking, I’d be delighted to try to help you!
And thanks for the great info on how you adapted the wedding soup with frozen spinach, to make it even easier! That’s great feedback for other readers who might want to try swapping in frozen spinach! Unfortunately (for me), although my husband absolutely adores fresh spinach, he just doesn’t like frozen, so I usually work in fresh (and only slightly cooked) spinach instead. But definitely – frozen spinach is still super-nutritious, and if your mom likes it and it makes your life easier – DEFINITELY go for it! 😀
Thank you again – and have a terrific week! ~Shelley
This sounds very similar to how my mom would make it, but in a slow cooker. I haven’t had this soup in forever, but now I’m craving it – looks delish!
Yes, this is definitely an adaptation of the classic, using the slow cooker and some handy shortcuts to make it uber-quick for busy nights. We have a beloved neighbor who has a truly classic recipe for Italian Wedding Soup that he often makes for his family gatherings … and generously shares some with us. It’s divine! But we absolutely love this shortcut version, too – and it’s perfect when time is tight (which is … well … pretty much all the time around my house LOL ;)! Hope you’ll love this version, too, Lauren – and that it’ll bring back fond memories of your mom’s Wedding Soup. 😀 ~Shelley
Wow, never heard of such a thing before – interesting! This soup looks really good though. Putting it on my to try list!
Oh goodness, Nart – if you’re never had Italian Wedding Soup before, you’ve GOTTA try this! Ours is definitely a shortcut, easy-peasy version of the classic, but it’s still super delicious (just a whole lot easier for busy nights)! It’s wonderful comfort food that my family just loves, every single time I serve it (which is often)! ~Shelley