This Italian Wedding Soup has quickly become a go-to in my kitchen as I work to reverse prediabetes and make every meal count. It’s warm, hearty, and bursting with flavor — all while keeping my blood sugar steady. Plus, it’s loaded with fresh veggies and tender, protein-packed meatballs.
✨ High in protein
✨ Low in refined carbs
✨ Packed with fiber-rich greens and veggies
Whether you’re eating for blood sugar balance, managing prediabetes, or simply want a cozy, satisfying soup made with real ingredients, this recipe delivers.
☕ If you’d like to support my channel, you can buy me a coffee here:
https://buymeacoffee.com/justjana 💛
👇 Full Recipe (Serves 4):
Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
MEATBALLS
8 oz. lean ground beef
8 oz. ground pork
* Healthier – Substitute ground turkey instead of ground pork
1/2 cup fresh white bread crumbs* (from fresh bread, not dried)
* Healthier – Substitute wheat bread or whole grain crackers instead of white bread
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh oregano (or 3/4 tsp dried)
1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan
1 large egg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
NOTE: I double or triple this recipe and freeze
Add beef and pork to a large mixing bowl. Add in bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, parmesan, egg, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Gently toss and break up the mixture with your hands to evenly coat and distribute. Shape mixture into tiny meatballs, about 3/4 inch to 1 inch, and transfer to a large plate.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook until browned, turning occasionally (to brown on 2 or 3 sides), about 4 minutes total. Transfer meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels while leaving oil in the skillet. Repeat process with remaining meatballs (note that meatballs won’t be cooked through at this point; they’ll continue to cook through in the soup).
SOUP
1 Tbsp olive or avocado oil
1 1/4 cups chopped carrots (I use 2 cups because we love carrots)
1 1/4 cups chopped yellow onion (I use about 3/4 to 1 cup onions)
3/4 cup chopped celery
4 cloves garlic, minced (1 1/2 Tbsp)
5 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth (you may want to use more)
* Add in some low-sodium beef broth for a better taste
1 cup dry orzo pasta
* Healthier – Substitute Cauliflower Rice or Barley instead of the Orzo
6 oz fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
Finely shredded parmesan, for serving
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions, and celery, and saute until veggies have softened, about 6 – 8 minutes. Add garlic and saute 1 minute longer. Pour in chicken broth, season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, and bring the mixture to a boil. Add in pasta and meatballs, reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through, about 10 minutes, while adding in spinach during the last minute of cooking.
Serve warm, sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese.
🧮 Why It Works for Prediabetes:
High in protein from lean meatballs, packed with fiber from fresh veggies and spinach, and made with fewer refined carbs. This balanced combination keeps me full, satisfied, and helps support steady blood sugar.
💬 Let me know if you give this a try, or how you make it your own!
Disclosure: This description contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting my channel!
🛍️ Foods I Love and Products I Use in My Kitchen:
🟤 🌻Organic Ground Flax Seed https://amzn.to/46H1s38
Ground Chia Seeds: https://amzn.to/4eKOvr9
🌾 Pearled Barley: https://amzn.to/3GdNwDa
Green Split Peas: https://amzn.to/4lAh1hz
Organic Quinoa: https://amzn.to/44xx0WS
Bush’s Best Reduced-Sodium Black Beans: https://amzn.to/3G04LI8
🧂🖤 Salt and Pepper Grinder Set: https://amzn.to/448d2mz
🍔🔨 Masher for Hamburger Meat: https://amzn.to/4lowQaS
🍗 Chicken Shredder Tool (Twist Style): https://amzn.to/4epYy4Z
🍳 My Favorite 10-inch Frying Pan: https://amzn.to/4kbLJwb
🍳 My Favorite 12-inch Frying Pan: https://amzn.to/4nF2DXc
Fine Mesh Strainers: https://amzn.to/4nxMG55
📖 My Journey: In 2023, I was diagnosed with prediabetes, but I didn’t take it seriously. By early 2025, my A1C was 6.0. That’s when I committed to real change — healthier meals, more movement, and mindful eating. I’m five months into my journey and already seeing real results. This soup is just one example of how eating with purpose can be healing and delicious.
👍 Like, subscribe, and tap the 🔔 for more home cooking, healthy recipes, and updates on my prediabetes journey.
#ItalianWeddingSoup #SoupSeason #SoupLovers #ComfortFood #OnePotMeal #HealthySoup #DiabetesFriendly #Prediabetes #BloodSugarFriendly #LowCarbSoup #HealthyComfortFood #EasyDinnerIdeas #MealPrepFriendly #HealthyLiving #WholesomeMeals
[Music] Homemade Italian wedding soup has to be my favorite soup. If you have your meatballs done in advance, you can have this delicious soup ready on the table in 30 minutes or less. That’s how fast it can be. I’m pre-diabetic and attempting to reverse it. And while this is a fairly good recipe with the combination of protein from the meatballs and fiber from the veggies, with just two small swaps, you can make this recipe even better. If you’re also trying to reverse pre-diabetes, if you take your orzo and substitute that for a whole grain or beanbased pasta, that would work. And also instead of the white bread crumbs in your meatballs, you could use almond flour or high fiber crackers instead. So make it your own for whatever your needs are. Hi friends. Today I’m going to make a homemade Italian wedding soup. And it’s very easy to make. And these are all the ingredients that you need. I’m pre-diabetic and this is okay. But there are some substitutes you can use to make it a little healthier. You’re going to need meatballs. And these are frozen. These are homemade and they’ve been frozen. Um, and I will put the recipe for that in my description. And I used beef and pork and they’re delicious. But if you’re pre-diabetic, um, you could try all lean ground beef or a combination of lean ground beef and turkey would be a little healthier. You want some low sodium chicken broth, some orzo pasta. Now, this is not the best choice for being pre-diabetic, but you could substitute whole wheat orzo. You could do barley, cauliflower rice, or chickpea pasta if you’d like. You need some shredded Parmesan cheese. And you just want to go real light on this. Uh, you need avocado oil, some ground flax seed, minced garlic, an onion, baby spinach, some carrots, and some celery. Now, I will be back when I have these all cut up and measured out. Okay, here we go. I have all of my ingredients prepped and ready. Now, this these meatballs, this is about one lb of a mixture of lean ground beef and pork. Um, and the soup is really fast and quick and easy to make. If you have your meatballs ready, use frozen, homemade. I like to make several batches ahead of time and freeze them. So, I I have just grabbed one of my packages out of the freezer. Um, the recipe calls for about 28 oz of reduced sodium chicken broth. I always tend to use a little bit more than that. It’s up to you. The shredded parmesan is just used to sprinkle on your soup when you’re done. So, use as much or as little as you want. Ground flax seed. This is about a tablespoon and a half. Again, use what you want or none at all. I have one tablespoon of olive oil or I think I’m using avocado oil tonight. This is 34 of a cup of chopped up celery. one small onion chopped up. Now, my carrots. This is about two cups of um finely cut up carrots. The recipe calls for one and 14 cups, but we like more. Um and then my um garlic. This is about a tablespoon of minced garlic. One cup of orzo. and 6 oz of chopped up baby fresh spinach. Again, use whatever you’d like. And I will be right back and show you how to put this all together. Okay, your first step in making this soup is you want to take your olive oil or avocado oil in your soup pan. And you want to add your onions. And you want to add your carrots. And you want to add your celery. And now what you want to do is simmer this for about 6 to 8 minutes until your veggies start to soften up. After about 8 minutes, when your veggies have starting to soften up a little bit, you want to add in your garlic. And you’re just going to continue simmering only for about one more minute. Okay. Next, you want to add in your chicken broth. And I’m adding two 32 oz containers of reduced sodium chicken broth to start. And you want to bring this to a boil. Okay, now I’m checking the amount of broth and I think I’m going to want a little more. And although the recipe only calls for chicken broth, I find it tastes really good if you put in a little beef broth. So, I’m going to put in a little beef broth as well. Not a whole lot. And probably another half of container of chicken broth. Okay. And what you want to do is bring this to a boil. All right. My broth has come to a boil and now I’m adding in my one cup of orzo and I’m also adding in my meatballs which have now thawed out because like I said I made homemade meatballs and froze them and my recipe for those will be in the description. And the key to your meatballs when you make your meatballs and you cook them, you only want to cook them about 34 of the way done because they will finish cooking in your soup. And now you want to cover your soup and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Okay, your last step is to add in your grand flax seed if you wish to use this. And if you do, you want to sprinkle it in slowly or else it will clump up. Give that a stir. And then you want to add in your spinach. And give that a stir. And continue letting that simmer for about 1 minute. And just like that, your soup is done. [Music] [Music] [Music]
1 Comment
Looks great. Don’t know where to find the recipe for the meatballs, but I love Italian wedding soup and this seems pretty straightforward.