Chicken Meatballs in Soup
Enjoy a warm bowl of Italian Wedding Soup, with chicken meatballs in the soup recipe, along with sweet potatoes and kale. The mini chicken meatballs are tender; simmered in a delicious broth, with your favorite savory herbs and spices.
I love a good soup recipe, especially when it involves chicken meatballs! This Italian Wedding Soup is a hearty, classic soup made on the stovetop! Made with the most perfectly tender, juicy, chicken meatballs, the flavor is hearty and comforting. Not to mention, this recipe is great for hosting!
Chicken Meatballs in Soup
The Chicken Meatballs in Soup, with the kale and sweet potatoes, make this meal very healthy and delicious to serve for fall and holiday entertaining. We love to set out a big pot for “soup night” along with hot crunchy bread and an Arugula Pear Salad. The chicken meatballs are really the star of this soup recipe!
Read more: Chicken Meatballs in Soup
Why I love this recipe
- It’s healthy!
- You can replace the ground chicken for ground turkey.
- It comes together quickly for the perfect weeknight meal.
- Always a hit for a potluck, or a “soup night” gathering.
Gather these ingredients
First comes the easy chicken meatballs. You can replace the ground chicken for ground turkey. The dried spices really make these little meatballs!
Chicken Meatballs:
- Ground chicken
- Spices: Oregano + dried marjoram + dried thyme + dried basil + dried rosemary + paprika
- Fresh rosemary + parsley
- Black pepper
- Fennel seeds
- Salt
- Garlic powder
- Egg
- Olive oil
What is Italian Wedding Soup made of?
A typical Wedding Soup consists of green vegetables (usually endive and escarole or cabbage, lettuce, kale, and/or spinach) and meat (usually meatballs and/or sausage). We made our soup with chicken meatballs containing Italian parsley and Parmesan cheese,) in a clear, chicken-based broth.
Gather these ingredients to make the soup
- Chicken meatballs
- Garlic
- Sweet potatoes
- Kosher salt
- White onion
- Red pepper flakes
- Dry white whine
- Cannellini (white kidney) beans
- Fresh spinach
- Chicken broth
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh herbs
How to make Italian Wedding Soup with Chicken Meatballs
Make the meatballs:
This can be done ahead of time, and after baking, you can even freeze them so they are ready to make the soup.
Next, you add the ingredients together with a chicken broth and white wine, to make a hearty soup.
Delicious broth with veggies and meatballs and Parmesan cheese? You can’t go wrong.
- Over medium-low heat add olive oil and heat until shimmery. Add onions, sweet potato, chili flakes, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until ingredients are tender and aromatics are translucent.
- When aromatics are cooked down, add the white wine, and scrape the brown bits at the bottom of the skillet. Add in the chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Salt and pepper to taste, and make sure sweet potatoes are tender.
- Add the beans and meatballs to the broth and simmer some more. Finally, add the spinach and stir until leaves are wilted. Serve with fresh herbs and freshly shaven cheese.
Tips and substitutions:
- This is a low-cal chicken meatballs recipe with lots of veggies.
- Swap out the ground chicken for ground turkey, beef, or ground sausage.
- Pack it full of other veggies, like endive and escarole or cabbage or lettuce.
- Use regular kidney beans (in place of the white ones).
- Make ahead! This soup is easy to make the day before if you need to.
- It’s perfect for a potluck or gathering, a Friendsgiving meal, or even the day after Thanksgiving. So many options.
Serving
- This soup is popular served as an appetizer in small bowls.
- It’s also a great well-balanced meal that can be served as a main dish with salad and bread.
- Make ahead and bring to a potluck. Bring it in the slow cooker if you need to keep it warm.
- Add toppings like various kinds of Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs for toppings.
Delicious served as leftovers. Keep in the fridge covered for 2-4 days!
Be sure to check out these other chicken soup recipes!
- Chicken Bacon Sweet Potato Soup
- Italian Minestrone Soup
- Slow Cooker White Bean Basil Chicken Soup
- Elbow Macaroni Chicken Noodle Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
Get the Recipe:
Chicken Meatballs in the Soup
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 2 lb ground chicken
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp dried marjoram
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried rosemary, or 1 tsp fresh
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 egg, beaten
- 6 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
For the Soup:
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 3/4’’ cubes
- Kosher salt to taste
- 1 large white onion, coarsely chopped
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 15-oz can cannellini (white kidney) beans
- 3 handfuls spinach
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- Parmesan to garnish
- Fresh herbs
Instructions
Make the meatballs:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the meat and spices listed for the meatballs. Mix gently, just until combined, then portion out into 1 1/2’’ to 2 ‘’ thick meatballs onto wax paper.
- In a large pot, coat the bottom with a thin layer of olive oil, and heat over medium-high. When oil is hot, add the meatballs and brown each side—4-5 minutes per side. When meatballs are cooked and browned (the meat will not be as glossy as red meats that render more fat, but that’s okay!), turn off heat and remove from the pan. Repeat for any remaining meatballs. If the pan is black and crusty on the bottom, deglaze with water, and rinse before cooking onions and garlic.
Make the soup:
- Over medium-low heat in the same pan, add 4 Tbsp more olive oil and heat until shimmery. Add onions, sweet potato, chili flakes, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until ingredients are tender and aromatics are translucent—10-12 minutes.
- When aromatics are cooked down, add the white wine, and scrape the brown bits at the bottom of the skillet. Add in the chicken stock and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste, and make sure sweet potatoes are tender.
- Add the beans and meatballs to the broth and simmer for another 15 minutes. Finally, add the spinach and stir until leaves are wilted. Serve with fresh herbs and freshly shaven cheese. Enjoy!
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
made this for our church Christmas soup supper before Christmas Eve services. Was a Big hit for a light supper along with the cookie exchange.
this looks amazing and I want to try this for our home group potluck next week! My thought~~ i like making my own broth by using my instant pot to cook the bones of an organic rotissiere chicken. Do you think i could grind the cooked chicken from that for my meatballs? might be a weird consistency?