Italian-Style Wedding Soup has been my favorite kind of canned soup for quite a while now. I love the use of mini Italian meatballs in a brothy soup combined with small pasta, seasonings and lots of vegetables. It’s perfect.

After several years of eating the soup from a can, I finally decided to branch out and try to make it from scratch. The canned soup I used to eat was 4 WW SP per cup (and I was totally okay with that). This recipe uses lots of zero point foods, keeping it down to just 2 WW FreeStyle SP per cup! Because it makes 8 cups total, there will probably be leftovers. Since the soup reheats well, this can actually be a very good thing, especially at just 2 WW SP per cup!

My inspirations for this recipe.

I had two inspirations for this recipe, based on other soups I had tried in the past: The first was the canned version of Italian-Style Wedding Soup that I mentioned above, Campbell’s HomeStyle Italian-Style Wedding Soup. It uses cute little round pasta that is really fun to eat. The second inspiration was a recipe that I tore out of an old magazine several years ago that used a leek and kale as a couple of the vegetables in the soup. (If you aren’t familiar with how to cut and clean a leek, I go into more detail-with pictures-in this zero point Asian Chicken Soup recipe.)

How to get the perfect meatballs in Italian-Style Wedding Soup…

When shaping your meatballs, the meat can stick to your hands a little bit. To prevent that from happening, simply get your hands a little damp first.

There really is no perfect size meatball, since it is more of a preference thing. Having said that, I have tried several different Italian-Style Wedding Soups before, and my favorites have always been the ones that use really little bite-sized meatballs. You’d be surprised at how small you can make your meatballs for this recipe and have them turn out great. I don’t have an exact meatball measurement suggestion for you, but I will say that the meatballs that I made that were 1 tablespoon each felt too big to me after the soup was done cooking. Do whatever you like with that information.

The perfect pasta for Italian-Style Wedding Soup…

You can use any small pasta in Wedding Soup. The pasta I chose to use for this soup was the Acini di Pepe no. 78 pasta. It’s a super small round pasta that I think is really fun and is similar to what my canned soup used. Other small pastas that would work great in Italian-Style Wedding Soup are ditalini pasta or orzo. As with most pasta in soups, a little goes a long way since it bulks up in the soup. I recommend just using 1/3 cup pasta, but you can always do a little more or a little less if you like, and it will still turn out great.

Adjust the ingredients to your liking.

This is a nutrient-dense soup that your body will love you for. It uses ingredients like carrots, celery, kale, parsley, and leeks. If you are looking to bulk up the soup and pack in an extra boost of nutrients, you can always double up the carrots, celery, and kale.

• Not a fan of leeks or celery? Go ahead and leave them out.
• Love carrots? Maybe try using two.
• Trying to cut back on meat? Just use 1/2 pound instead of a full pound.
• Know what bone broth is? Use it if you want. Don’t know what it is? Don’t worry about it, and just stick to the fat-free chicken broth mentioned in the recipe.
• Parmesan cheese is not mentioned in the recipe because I don’t use it, but you certainly could. Sprinkling Parmesan cheese on top of Italian-Style Wedding Soup after it is cooked is quite common in many recipes.

You really can’t go wrong with this soup, so have fun with it, and make it your own.

Here is what you need to make it the way I did:

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 leek, chopped and rinsed (discard the green half and use the white half only)
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
6 cups fat-free chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning blend
1 pound 99% lean ground turkey
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1 egg
1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup Acini di Pepe no. 78 pasta
1 cup chopped kale

Here is what we did:

Heat oil in a large stockpot set to medium-high heat.

Add leeks, carrots, and celery to stockpot, and sauté vegetables until they soften, about 3-4 minutes.

Add broth and Mrs. Dash seasoning, and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine the turkey, oregano, garlic powder, parsley, egg, breadcrumbs, and Worcestershire sauce.

Using damp hands, form meat into cute little meatballs that are no larger than 1 tablespoon each. (Keep in mind that the smaller they are, the easier they are to eat. Don’t be afraid to make them little.)

Carefully drop the meatballs into the broth and cook 5 minutes.

Add in pasta and kale, and cook an additional 10-15 minutes.

Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

Makes 8 cups.
One cup is 3 Green, 2 Blue, and 2 Purple points.

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Print Recipe

Italian-Style Wedding Soup

3 Green, 2 Blue, and 2 Purple points per serving.

Makes: 8 servings.

Calories: 155

Author: Alisha Hughes

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 leek, chopped and rinsed (discard the green half and use the white half only)
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 6 cups fat-free chicken broth
• 1/2 tablespoon Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning blend
• 1 pound 99% lean ground turkey
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/3 cup Acini di Pepe no. 78 pasta
• 1 cup chopped kale

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large stockpot set to medium-high heat.
• Add leeks, carrots, and celery to stockpot, and sauté vegetables until they soften, about 3-4 minutes.
• Add broth and Mrs. Dash seasoning, and bring to a boil.
• Meanwhile, in a medium mixing bowl, combine the turkey, oregano, garlic powder, parsley, egg, breadcrumbs, and Worcestershire sauce.
• Using damp hands, form meat into cute little meatballs that are no larger than 1 tablespoon each. (Keep in mind that the smaller they are, the easier they are to eat. Don't be afraid to make them little.)
• Carefully drop the meatballs into the broth and cook 5 minutes.
• Add in pasta and kale, and cook an additional 10-15 minutes.
• Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.