Not your average Italian wedding soup! This healthy italian wedding soup with turkey meatballs is light and easy with low sodium and calories – much better than the canned stuff. But it still has plenty of flavor: lean ground turkey meatballs stuffed with herbs and cheese in a bath of carrots and onion and whole wheat couscous- and topped with rosemary and dill. It comes together in under and hour – and wedding soup is great for leftovers.
Recipe Inspo
I used to love wedding soup as a child and I would ask my mom to buy the canned kind at the store (remember Progresso). The little meatballs and pasta bits were delicious, but I learned that those cans are packed with a good amount of sodium. So I figured, why not make a homemade, healthy italian wedding soup? Making the meatballs is the most laborious part, but the rest of the recipe is a quick breeze.
Why do they call it wedding soup?
When I was young, I assumed this meant that Italian wedding soup was served at….weddings. To my disappointment, I have yet to be served this at a wedding LOL. The soup is from Italian origins (clearly), and it is more properly referenced as ‘married soup’ or ‘wedded broth’ to signify the delicious blend of the flavors. So really, it’s just a good soup!
Apparently wedding soup is also more common in Ohio and Pennsylvania. I was surprised some of my Chicago friends had no idea what this soup was! So if you’re unfamiliar, it’s basically just a turkey meatball soup.
Equipment needed to make healthy Italian wedding soup
Here’s what you need:
- A medium bowl – to mix our turkey meatball meat!
- A large sheet pan – to bake the meatballs.
- Aluminum foil or parchment paper to line the baking sheet – I find this is the easiest way to keep the meatballs from sticking to the pan and burning.
- A large pot – this can be a dutch oven or a standard pot, anything to make a bunch of soup.
- A large spoon or ladle
- A sharp knife – I like Zwilling brand.
- A cutting board
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this healthy italian wedding soup with turkey meatballs:
For our turkey Meatballs:
- lean ground turkey – you could also use ground chicken.
- white cheddar, finely shredded – you can substitute parmesan cheese as well.
- Italian bread crumbs – I buy these in a those cylinder packages. Any kind of bread crumb will work fine, but Italian crumbs have extra seasoning added.
- fresh parsley
- garlic
- 1 egg – this helps to bind our meatballs together.
- salt & pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil for your hands – coating your hands in olive oil makes the meatball making process a lot easier!
For the rest of the Italian wedding soup:
- olive oil
- carrots
- yellow onion, diced
- more garlic
- fresh rosemary – I like to drop them right into the soup, whole. You can easily remove them with a fork later.
- fresh dill
- 1 lemon
- whole wheat couscous – I used this instead of traditional small-cut pasta. The grains are pretty small but they soften in the soup and provide a hearty bite. You can also use Israeli or pearl couscous.
- chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 3 cups water
- Spinach – you can also use torn kale.
- salt & pepper
- white cheddar for topping
- extra dill for topping
How to make Healthy Italian Wedding Soup with Turkey Meatballs
Let’s make this soup together!
Step 1
Make the meatballs. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line your baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Grease the surface with a dab of olive oil. In a bowl, add the ground turkey, white cheddar, breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, parsley, and a pinch of salt and pepper. With a fork, mash together all of the ingredients until you have a consistent mixture.
Step 2
Coat your hands with some olive oil to make it easier to roll meatballs. This will prevent all of the meat from sticking to your hands. Take a teaspoon-sized portion of meat and roll it into a tight meatball. Place it on the baking sheet. Repeat this process until you run out of meat – it should produce around 40 meatballs. Space them out as much as possible.
Step 3
Bake the meatballs for 10 minutes. Then flip each meatball over (with tongs or a spoon) and bake for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Step 4
Make the soup. In a large pot, add the olive oil and let it heat over medium high heat for 30 seconds. Add the chopped carrot, garlic and onion. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and let the vegetables cook for 2-3 minutes, until lightly browned and the onions become slightly translucent.
Step 5
Pour in the broth and water. Add in the rosemary (whole) and the couscous. Add more salt if you’d like. Bring the soup to a bubbling boil and then bring it down to a simmer.
Step 6
Remove the rosemary with a fork. You can take the leaves off the stem and throw them back into the soup if you wish. Add the meatballs into the soup, along with the juice of 1 lemon and the chopped dill. Stir and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes. Then turn the heat off and add the spinach. Stir until the leaves have wilted and have assimilated into the soup. Serve with extra cheese and dill!
Recipe Storage & Leftovers
If you have room in your fridge, simply place a lid on top of your soup pot and chill it until ready to eat again. Then when you are ready to eat, place the pot on the stovetop and heat on medium heat for 4-5 minutes until it’s bubbling slightly.
You may need to add about 1/2 cup of water to your leftover soup before reheating. Soup can often congeal in the fridge when using chicken stocks and broths. But no worries. Just add a little more moisture to the pot and reheat as normal.
You can also transfer the soup to an airtight container and place in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can reheat individual bowls of soup in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, adding a 1/4 cup of water to each bowl.
Consume the soup within one week.
Other recipes to try
If you liked this healthy Italian wedding soup with turkey meatballs, try these other delicious soup recipes:
Delicata Squash and Ground Turkey Soup
Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup with Crunchy Chickpeas
Sheet Pan Carrot and Potato Soup with Crunchy Kale
Rate and review
If you tried this healthy Italian wedding soup with turkey meatballs, please leave a star review below with a comment. Feel free to tag me in your instagram stories too: @caroline_hoffman.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure here.
Italian Wedding Soup with Turkey Meatballs
Equipment
- 1 medium bowl to mix meatball meat
- 1 large sheet pan to bake meatballs
- aluminum foil or parchment paper
- 1 large pot can be a dutch oven or standard pot
- 1 large spoon or ladle
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 cutting board
Ingredients
Turkey Meatballs
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- ¼ cup white cheddar finely shredded
- ¼ cup Italian bread crumbs
- ¼ cup fresh parsley chopped
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 egg
- salt & pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil for your hands
Italian wedding soup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ⅓ cup carrots chopped into half inch pieces
- 1 cup yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 tbsp fresh dill chopped
- 1 lemon
- ¾ cup whole wheat couscous
- 2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 3 cups water
- 2 cups spinach
- salt & pepper
- white cheddar for topping
- extra dill for topping
Instructions
- Make the meatballs. Preheat the oven to 400°F and line your baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Grease the surface with a dab of olive oil. In a bowl, add the ground turkey, white cheddar, breadcrumbs, egg, garlic, parsley, and a pinch of salt and pepper. With a fork, mash together all of the ingredients until you have a consistent mixture.1 lb lean ground turkey, ¼ cup white cheddar, ¼ cup Italian bread crumbs, ¼ cup fresh parsley, 2 cloves garlic, 1 egg, salt & pepper
- Coat your hands with some olive oil to make it easier to roll meatballs. Take a teaspoon-sized portion of meat and roll it into a tight meatball. Place it on the baking sheet. Repeat this process until you run out of meat – it should produce around 40 meatballs. Space them out as much as possible.1 tbsp olive oil
- Bake the meatballs for 10 minutes. Then flip each meatball over and bake for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Make the soup. In a large pot, add the olive oil and let it heat over medium high heat for 30 seconds. Add the chopped carrot, garlic and onion. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and let the vegetables cook for 2-3 minutes, until lightly browned and the onions become slightly translucent.⅓ cup carrots, 1 cup yellow onion, 3 cloves garlic, salt & pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil
- Pour in the broth and water. Add in the rosemary (whole) and the couscous. Add more salt if you'd like. Bring the soup to a bubbling boil and then bring it down to a simmer.¾ cup whole wheat couscous, 2 cups chicken broth, 3 cups water, 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- Remove the rosemary with a fork. You can take the leaves off the stem and throw them back into the soup if you wish. Add the meatballs into the soup, along with the juice of 1 lemon and the chopped dill. Stir and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes. Then turn the heat off and add the spinach. Stir until the leaves have wilted and have assimilated into the soup.4 tbsp fresh dill, 1 lemon, 2 cups spinach
- Serve while hot and top with extra grated cheese and dill.extra dill, white cheddar
Nathan Fleischer
So delightful!
Paola
Sarà anche buona ma di italiano non ha nulla, soprattutto per un matrimonio.
hoffmacv
LOL i explain above that its not for a wedding!