There’s nothing more comforting than a bowl of homemade soup, filled with nourishing chicken broth, vegetables, and lean chicken meatballs.
For Christmas dinner, Bry’s mom made the most delicious Italian Wedding Soup. Seriously, I could have just eaten bowl after bowl, it was so perfectly flavorful without being overly salty. And being the good Italian mother she is, we were sent home with plenty of leftovers to enjoy for lunch the next few days. Once the soup was all gone, Bry and I knew we had to get the recipe from her. She was happy to share the recipe and now I am just as excited to share it with you.
This soup is so easy and will fill your house with the most delicious aromas The key to developing the flavor is to allow the broth to simmer all day. Yes, if you’re in a pinch you can cook it on high, but from personal experience it won’t taste quite the same.
The right amount of saltiness varies from person to person. I wrote this recipe per my sodium preference (which is quite light in salt), but Bry added a pinch more to his portion. So be sure to taste and adjust the seasonings as you go. You’ll also notice that kale is used instead of traditional escarole. I was happy with my mother-in-law’s substitution as I find escarole to be a bit too biter for my taste, but feel free to use either.
Other healthy swaps include using ground chicken rather than pork or beef, egg whites instead of whole eggs, and an option for oatmeal “breadcrumbs” instead of traditional breadcrumbs. I like using oats as they’re a whole grain and I can control the sodium content. Simply place oats in a food processor and pulse until it forms a coarse powder. Stir in any seasonings of choice, for this recipe I used a sodium-free Italian herb seasoning.
So here’s a toast to trying to make recipes as good as your mom’s! (the key word is “try”, as no matter how hard I try, it’s never quite the same as the original 😉 )
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I am so touch to be a part of this wonderful blog. I can’t take full credit for the recipes or it was passed down from my mom who was by far a superior cook. So thanks Kelli not only a tribute to me but to your late nana Vitiello. She would have been proud also.
Of course! The recipe deserves to be shared – thank you for letting me share it 🙂
This looks delish! I actually ordered wedding soup on one of my first dates with my now husband and I was so sure he was going to think I was crazy lol…it just sounded good though! ALSO the picture in your sidebar of you eating what I think is a s’more in your wedding dress…BEST PHOTO EVER!!! So joyful! LOVE IT!
Thanks Kylie! Haha “wedding” probably made him pause for a second on the first date, but looks like it ended up being a good sing of what was to come for your relationship 😉 And thank you! I hadn’t eaten anything the whole night, between pictures and trying to say hi to everyone that I was beyond excited to finally sit down and eat a s’more (thankfully it didn’t get on my dress).
I am LOVING the slow cooker lately, but I’ve never tried Italian wedding soup!! Sounds delicious, though!
Definitely give it a shot! It’s replaced chicken noodle soup as our go-to cold-weather dinner.
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