Gluten-Free Italian Wedding Soup (Paleo, Whole30)
This easy Italian Wedding Soup is the perfect combination of meat and vegetables for a full, balanced meal. Plus it's dairy-free, low carb, keto, Paleo and Whole30 friendly!
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 286kcal
Ingredients
For the soup:
- ½ medium yellow onion or 2 large shallots
- 2 carrots
- 2 celery stalks
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, plus more as an optional garnish for drizzling over the soup
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, plus more as necessary
- 2 quarts (8 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 head escarole (see notes)
For the meatballs:
- ½ pound (8 oz.) lean ground beef (90-93%)
- ½ pound (8 oz.) ground pork
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder or 3 peeled, minced garlic cloves
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Peel and dice the onion. Peel, trim (cut the ends off) and dice the carrots. Trim and dice the celery.
- Heat one tablespoon oil in a large pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion, carrots and celery, plus the dried thyme and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir occasionally until softened, about 5-6 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth and water to the pot. Turn the heat to high and bring the broth to a boil.
- While you wait for the broth to boil, make the meatballs: In a large mixing bowl, add the beef, pork, egg, nutritional yeast, parsley, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Use your hands to blend everything together. Or add everything to the bowl of a stand mixer and blend using the paddle attachment on low speed.
- Using a small cookie scoop or spoons, scoop out a scant tablespoon of the mixture onto a baking sheet. Set a glass of warm water next to the baking sheet and use it to get your palms damp. Then roll each meatball between your palms until it's shaped like a ball. You'll have to re-wet your hands every 5-6 balls or otherwise the mixture gets sticky.
- Trim off and discard the root end of the escarole and chop into roughly 1" pieces.
- Once the broth has reached a boil, carefully drop in the meatballs (I like to start in the middle and make my way around the pot in ever-widening circles) and then the greens.
- Reduce the heat to medium so the broth is at a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes (starting from the time you dropped in the meatballs and veggies).
- Taste the broth. If you used low-sodium chicken broth, it will probably need more salt and pepper. I usually add about 1/2 teaspoon more salt and 1/4 teaspoon more pepper.
- Ladle into bowls and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, if desired.
Notes
Substitutions and variations
- As I mentioned above, you can substitute ground turkey for the ground pork. I recommend a ground dark meat turkey if you can find that.
- Also, if you can't find escarole, any hearty green will do, such as kale (discard the stems), Swiss chard (chop the stems and add with the carrots, onion and celery), spinach or dandelion greens. You can also use 1/2 of a green or red cabbage, sliced thin.
- When I don't have as much time, I skip the onions, carrot and celery entirely. I just add the broth and water to the pot and bring it to a boil while I make the meatballs and prep the greens.
- If you want a bit of spice, add red pepper flakes either to the carrot/onion/celery mixture or to the meatballs.
- To make it even heartier, add 1 pound peeled, diced potatoes to the broth along with the meatballs and greens.
Nutrition
Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 675mg | Potassium: 900mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 5305IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 97mg | Iron: 3mg