Slow-Cooker Italian Wedding Soup

Kyra Williams for The Upside Blog

by | Updated: December 3rd, 2016 | Read time: 1 minute

It’s a joyous occasion when foods pair up perfectly! That’s the idea behind Italian wedding soup. While it sounds like a dish you’d expect brides and grooms to be spooning up at receptions, the name actually comes from the Italian phrase minestra maritata, or “married soup”—referring to the ideal match-up of vegetables and meat. This is a slightly lighter version than the traditional dish, with mini meatballs made from turkey and baked, not fried, plus loads of curly endive and chopped carrots to fill your bowl with healthy veggies.

Slow-Cooker Italian Wedding Soup

Slow-Cooker Paleo Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients

Meatballs
16 oz. 99% fat-free  ground  turkey  breast
1 small onion, diced
1 large egg
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup parsley flakes
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. sea salt
Ground black pepper, to taste

Soup
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 lb. curly endive
1 cup diced carrots
Ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. To make meatballs, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, combine all meatball ingredients; mix well. Shape mixture into 1” balls, place on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
  2. To make soup, add all soup ingredients to slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours. Stir in meatballs and serve.

 

Kyra Williams

Kyra Williams hasn’t always been fit. She used to be quite the opposite, in fact. During her college years, she lived on pizza and beer and packed on an unhealthy amount of pounds, due to total inactivity. One day, something clicked, and Kyra knew it was time to lose the weight. Since that time, she’s fallen so in love with fitness that she’s made it her life’s work to help others to make the changes they need to become fit, active and healthy.

Kyra is a self-employed, NASM-certified online personal trainer and nutrition expert, Crossfit Level One Trainer, USA Weightlifting and USA Powerlifting Coach, and she’s helped women all over the world through her online training services and training programs. For more info or to connect with Kyra, visit kyrawilliamsfitness.com.