Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup Freezer Meal
Slow cooker italian wedding soup
This slow cooker Italian wedding soup freezer meal is one of those recipes you enjoy eating for breakfast lunch and dinner!
This is by far the most incredible Italian wedding soup ever! I cant even order Italian wedding soup in restaurants because its not as good.
Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup is super easy and delicious!
The meatballs are best homemade but you can purchase pre-made meatballs if you like. Cooking in the slow cooker gives the broth and soup so much flavor!
Its like smelling grandmas Italian wedding soup cook all day long and looking forward to that bowl of soup at dinner. Full of love and comfort, but easy and fast to make! Freezer meals are amazing because they free up your time allowing you to live!
Making this fast freezer meal will free up your week to enjoy your family instead of stress out about cooking dinner.
Why you will love this slow cooker Italian wedding soup!
- Easy to Prep
- Extremely Tasty
- Healthy (Soy Free, Dairy Free, Preservative Free)
- Family Friendly
-
Great for Guests!
Why is it called Italian wedding soup?
Ingredients you will need for this Italian Wedding Soup.
- Ground Italian Sausage
- Chicken Broth
- Carrots
- Onion
- Celery
- Salt
- Bay Leaf
- Pepper
- Garlic Powder
- Acini di pepe
- Frozen or Fresh Spinach
- Optional: Parmesan Cheese (garnish)
What is Acini Di Pepe?
Can I use frozen pre-cooked meatballs?
Yes, If you do not want to make the meatballs from scratch you can use a pre-cooked frozen meatball. Though I like to make my own and this recipe calls for your own meatballs to keep it preservative free and a bit more clean.
I also find that pre-cooked frozen meatballs never taste as good as a homemade meatball.
How to make this Italian wedding soup recipe in the crock pot?
What kind of meat can I use?
What to serve with Italian wedding soup recipe?
Or if your looking for a low carb option your can serve a side salad or bowl of fruit on the side as well.
How to store this slow cooker Italian wedding soup?
Do I need a slow cooker for this recipe?
Can I use an instant pot instead?
*See FAQ’s and specific tips following recipe below. (so you don’t have to scroll for a million years to find the food 😉 ).
How do you make this Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup? 👇
Italian Wedding Soup
Equipment
- Slow Cooker or Crockpot
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Italian Sausage
- 6 cup Chicken Broth
- 3/4 cup Carrots diced
- 3/4 cup Onion diced
- 3/4 cup Celery diced
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 cup Acini di pepe
- 6 oz Frozen or Fresh Spinach
- Parmesan Cheese (garnish) Optional
Supplies for freezing:
- 1 Gallon Freezer Bag
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Roll sausage into tiny meatballs (I can usually make about 40 from one pound).
- Cook in preheated oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place in slow cooker.
- Add broth, carrots, onion, celery, salt, bay leaves, pepper, and garlic into slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
- Add pasta and spinach during last hour of cook time for low, half hour of cook time for high.
- Serve and enjoy! Optional: Garnish with parmesan cheese.
Freezer DIrections:
- Label Freezer bag with Recipe name, cooking from frozen directions and expiration date (todays date plus three months).
- Cook meatballs as instructed above and set aside to cool before placing into labeled gallon freezer bag.
- Add carrots, onion, celery, salt, bay leaves, pepper, and garlic into gallon freezer bag. Do not add broth until day of cooking.
- Add meatballs into gallon freezer bag when cool.
- Seal bag, removing as much air as possible and freeze for up to three months.
Cooking from Frozen Directions:
- Thaw overnight in fridge or in the morning in water (meal may not be 100% thawed but that is ok)
- Dump contents of gallon freezer bag into slow cooker
- Add broth to slow cooker
- Cook on low 8-10 hours or high 4-5 hours.
- Add pasta and spinach during last hour of cook time for low. Half hour of cook time for high.
- Serve and enjoy! Optional: Garnish with parmesan cheese.
Instant Pot Cooking Directions:
- Turn on saute setting, add 1 tbsp olive oil and saute the onion, carrots and celery for 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the remaining ingredients, except the spinach, and stir.
- Close lid and set steam release to the sealing position.
- Set pressure cooking to high pressure for 3 minutes. It may take a few minutes for your instant pot to come to pressure.
- After the cycle is done, turn off your instant pot and let natural release for 15 minutes. Then release the remaining steam or pressure.
- When your pin drops back down open lid and add in your spinach. It may need to be stired in and sit for a few minutes to incorporate into the soup. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- See FAQs for answers to common questions and substitute recommendations.
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Tag @My_FamilyDinner or #MyFamilyDinner
How freezer meals will change your life.
Makes homecooking Easy
Only spend one hour in the kitchen for a whole week of dinners. Day of, throw your freezer meal in the slow cooker or instant pot and enjoy dinner!
feel confident
Knowing you have a fool proof systen for something that is easy and works gives you confidence in the kitchen. So wether you're a seasoned chef or occational home cook the method of freezer cooking will work for you!
Eat Healthier
Because you're prepping the freezer meals with fresh foods you're eating healthier. Anytime you cook at home instead of eating out you get the benefits of healthier food.
Enjoy less stress
Have you ever felt the pressure of forgetting about dinner, or having to cook at the end of a long day?! No more, just grab something out of the freezer and you're good to go.
Frequently asked questions
No problem! Just throw the freezer meal in your slow cooker and you’re all set. If it doesn’t fit thaw it for a few minutes in warm water. (You may need to add an extra 30 minutes cook time if completely frozen when cooking).
You can use a gluten free pasta, or no pasta to make this recipe gluten free.
Omit the parmesan cheese garnish for dairy free.
Make your own homemade broth for a lower sodium dish.
Use homemade ground turkey for the meatballs for low fat.
Whether you make this Italian wedding soup recipe in the instant pot or slow cooker you can switch it up with the pasta.
Acini di pepe is by far my first choice. But sometimes you cannot find it. In this case here are some good alternatives.
- Orzo
- Pastina
- Small Stars
- Israeli-style couscous
- Tapioca Pearls
A serving size assumes 1 1/2 cups of instant pot Italian wedding soup at 421 kcal per serving.
Absolutely. There are detailed cooking instructions for instant pot Italian wedding soup in the recipe above.
If you’re interested in an instant pot cheat sheet for cook times click here!
I like using frozen spinach. It’s easy to pop into the soup, doesn’t have to be chopped and I don’t worry about it going bad in the fridge if I buy it fresh.
However this choice is totally up to you. Fresh kale or spinach will go really well in this soup if you do not want to buy frozen, or if you prefer one vegetable over another.
Don't forget to pin this recipe and save it for later! 👇
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