This hearty wedding soup is packed with 34 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving, making it a nutritious, flavorful meal for home or on the go.

This hearty wedding soup is packed with 34 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving, making it a nutritious, flavorful meal for home or on the go.

Winter is coming and that means soup time in my house. One of my absolute favorite soup’s is wedding soup. I make a huge pot of it, them eat it throughout the week for lunches.

Wedding Soup Is Packed With Protein And Fiber

Wedding soup is one of my favorite meals because it is a balance of healthy carbohydrates, plenty of protein and a bit of fat for flavor, all mixed into one. It’s one of the few soups that’s packed with more protein than it is carbohydrates. There’s no shortage of vegetables in it, though. The combination of carrots, celery and spinach add loads of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients, but they are all low carbohydrate vegetables. The acini de pepe adds complex carbohydrates , which together with the vegetables supplies two serving of carbohydrates per serving. And, the serving size isn’t small. I calculated the nutrition facts for a 2-cup serving of soup, which is enough to make it a meal. Of course, you can cut your portion down to a serving, and serve it with a ½ sandwich or a piece of fruit, too.

The abundance of protein and fiber is what gives this soup its name. The combination of chicken breast and mini turkey meatballs provides between 4-5 ounces of protein per serving. That’s between 28-35 grams per bowl. Plus, each serving has 3 grams of fiber. That makes for a very hearty soup!

This hearty wedding soup is packed with 34 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving, making it a nutritious, flavorful meal for home or on the go

How To Make Hearty, Wedding Soup

To make this soup, start by pre-heating the oven to 375 degree. Get your baking sheet ready to cook the meatballs by lining it with foil, then spray with cooking spray.

Make The Mini Meatballs, First

I suggest making the mini meatballs, first. This is a very simple meatball recipe., since the mini balls will be mixed into the soup. If you are looking for more flavorful meatballs, you could use a different recipe. My other recipe for basic turkey meatballs is similar, but incorporates parsley in place of the salt. You can use that recipe, but roll them into smaller balls.

Combine the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and pepper together in a bowl, then roll the mixture into mini balls.  Place them on the baking sheet, and bake in the oven for ~12 minutes.

While the meatballs are cooking, begin to prepare the soup. Put the water, chicken broth, sliced carrots, sliced celery and pepper in a large pot. Stir and allow it time to boil.

Prepare The Chicken

While the water is warming, clean and trim the chicken breasts. Cut them in half, then add the chicken to the water. Simmer for 30 minutes. When the meatballs are finished cooking, add them to the broth.

After 30 minutes, remove the chicken and tear it apart into small pieces. Return the pieces of chicken to the pot with the celery, carrots and meatballs. Add the spinach and simmer for another 15 minutes.

This hearty wedding soup is packed with 34 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving, making it a nutritious, flavorful meal for home or on the go.

Make The Pasta Separately

While the soup is simmering, you can make the acini de pepe. Cook the pasta according to the package, being very careful not to do not overcook it. If you don’t plan on eating this soup right away, I suggest storing the acini de pepe in the refrigerator, separately. Then, add it right before you eat it. That helps to prevent the pasta from becoming mushy. Of course, it’s up to you. That recommendation comes from a woman that hates soggy food!

This hearty wedding soup is packed with 34 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving, making it a nutritious, flavorful meal for home or on the go.

When ready to serve, add even amounts of pasta to each bowl and pour the soup overtop of it. Sprinkle it with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

You can make this recipe your own by cutting back on the protein, or more vegetables. When I make this pot, I add the 8 cups that the recipe calls for, then split the pot between two and add another 4 cups of spinach to one of them. That’s because, I’m not a huge fan of pasta in my soup, but I love the vegetables.

This hearty wedding soup is packed with 34 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving, making it a nutritious, flavorful meal for home or on the go

Invest in a high-quality soup thermos and take a bowl of this hearty wedding soup with you wherever you go.

Calories & Nutrition Facts In Wedding Soup

The calorie and nutrition facts are for a 2 cup serving of this soup. This homemade wedding soup contains 280 calories, 27 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 34 grams of protein, 4 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 90 milligrams of cholesterol and 360 milligrams of sodium. It also provides 20% of the daily value for iron, 8% of the daily value for calcium and 8% of the daily value for potassium.

If you like this hearty wedding soup, you might also like my cream of chicken and mushroom soup with wild rice and my turkey, bean and pasta soup.

Hearty Wedding Soup

This hearty wedding soup is packed with 34 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving, making it a nutritious, flavorful meal for home or on the go.
Author: Heather Mangieri, RDN

Ingredients

  • 3 cups Water Soup
  • 64 oz Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth or Stock Soup
  • 3 Celery Stalks (chopped) Soup
  • 4 Carrots (peeled and chopped) Soup
  • 15 ounces Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (measured raw) Soup
  • 8 cups Fresh Spinach Soup
  • 1 cup Acini de Pepe Soup
  • 1/4 cup Pamesan Cheese Soup
  • 1/4 tsp ground pepper Mini Meatballs
  • 1 pound Lean Ground Turkey (7% fat) Mini Meatballs
  • 1 Egg (beaten) Mini Meatballs
  • 1/4 cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs mini meatballs
  • 1/8 tsp ground pepper mini meatballs
  • 1/8 tsp salt mini meatballs

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree. Line a baking sheet with foil, then spray with cooking spray. 
  • Start by making the mini meatballs. Combine the ground turkey, breadcrumbs, egg, salt and pepper together in a bowl. Roll the mixture into mini balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for ~12 minutes.
  • While the meatballs are cooking, begin to prepare the soup. Put the water, chicken broth, carrots, celery and pepper in a large pot and bring to a boil. 
  • While the water is warming, clean and trim the chicken breasts. Cut them in half, then add the chicken to the water. Add the sliced carrots and celery, the reduce the heat.  Simmer for 30 minutes.
  • When the meatballs are finished cooking, add them to the broth.
  • After 30 minutes, remove the chicken from the pot and tear it apart into small pieces. Return the pieces of chicken to the pot with the celery and carrots and meatballs. Add the spinach and simmer for another 15 minutes. 
  • Cook the pasta separate, according to the package (do not overcook). 
  • When ready to serve, add even amounts of pasta to each bowl and pour the soup overtop of it. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy.

Notes

  • Recipe Makes: 16 cups
  • Serving Size: 2 cups
  • Servings Per Recipe: 8 servings
 
  • Nutrition Facts (per serving): 280 calories, 27 g carbohydrates, 3 g fiber, 34 g protein, 4 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 90 mg cholesterol, 360 mg sodium, 20% DV for iron, 8% DV for calcium, 8% DV for potassium.
 
  • Meal Planning Servings: 2 CHO; 4 PRO; 1 FAT

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