If you’ve ever made Ina Garten’s Italian wedding soup, you know what makes it different from every other version out there: chicken meatballs instead of beef, a generous hand with fresh dill, and a broth that tastes like it simmered all afternoon even when it didn’t. It’s cozy without being heavy — the kind of soup that feels like a hug and a nice restaurant at the same time.
This is my slow cooker take on that idea. Same flavor philosophy, none of the standing over the stove. You brown the meatballs, everything else goes in the crock, and six hours later you’ve got dinner. If you liked what the crockpot did for my Easy Ina Garten Butternut Squash Soup, you’re going to love this one.
One honest note before we start: this isn’t Ina’s recipe copied out. It’s my own adaptation, written in the spirit of hers, reworked for a slow cooker. If you want her original, it’s in Cooking for Jeffrey — worth owning.
Why the slow cooker works here
Wedding soup is deceptively simple: broth, greens, tiny pasta, tiny meatballs. There’s nowhere to hide. What the slow cooker does beautifully is give the aromatics time to melt into the broth, so by hour five you’ve got something with real depth instead of chicken stock with vegetables floating in it. It’s the same magic behind my Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup — low, slow, and completely hands-off.
The trick is knowing what not to put in early. Pasta and spinach go in at the very end — otherwise you end up with mush and sad grey leaves. More on that below.
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- Ground Chicken: Stays tender and light; dark meat keeps it moist
- Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage: Brings built-in fennel and seasoning without extra work
- Panko Breadcrumbs: Keeps the meatballs airy instead of dense and heavy
- Grated Parmesan: Adds salty, nutty depth right into the meatball itself
- Fresh Dill: Ina’s signature move — bright, herbal, unexpectedly perfect here
- Garlic: Sharp aromatic backbone that keeps the meat interesting
- Egg: Binds everything so the meatballs hold their shape
- Whole Milk: Softens the panko and keeps the texture from toughening
- Kosher Salt: Seasons from the inside out, not just the surface
- Black Pepper: Gentle heat that balances the rich chicken and cheese
- Olive Oil: For browning — builds the flavor base in the skillet
For the soup
- Olive Oil: Starts the vegetables and carries all their aromatic flavor
- Yellow Onion: Sweet, savory foundation every good soup broth needs
- Carrots: Natural sweetness and color; dice small for even cooking
- Celery: Fresh, slightly peppery note that rounds the broth out
- Garlic: Deepens the broth as it slowly cooks all day
- Chicken Stock: The entire soup — use the best you can find
- Dry White Wine: Deglazes the skillet and adds brightness to the broth
- Bay Leaves: Quiet background depth; remove them before you serve
- Orzo: Tiny pasta that makes it feel like a meal
- Baby Spinach: Wilts in minutes; add at the very end
- Fresh Dill: Stirred in last so the flavor stays bright
- Lemon Juice: Wakes up the whole pot; don’t skip it
- Salt and Pepper: Season at the end, after the broth reduces
Instructions
Step 1: Make the meatballs. Combine everything except the olive oil in a large bowl and mix with your hands until just combined — overworking makes them tough. Roll into balls about an inch across. You’ll get somewhere around 40. Put them on a sheet pan as you go.
Step 2: Brown them. Heat a film of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high and sear the meatballs in batches, turning to get color on two or three sides. They don’t need to cook through — the slow cooker handles that. This step takes about 15 minutes and it’s the one thing I won’t let you skip. Browning is where the flavor lives.
Shortcut option: arrange them on a parchment-lined sheet pan and roast at 400°F for 15 minutes. Less babysitting, nearly as good. And if you’re truly out of time, store-bought frozen meatballs work — that’s exactly what I do in my Easy Slow Cooker Meatball Vegetable Soup.
Step 3: Build the base. In the same skillet, add the olive oil, onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 6–8 minutes until softened, then add the garlic for one more minute. Pour in the wine and scrape up every brown bit stuck to the pan — that’s free flavor.
Step 4: Load the slow cooker. Vegetables and wine into the crock, then the stock and bay leaves. Nestle in the meatballs. Cover and cook on LOW for 6–7 hours or HIGH for 3–4.
Step 5: The last 20 minutes. Stir in the orzo, turn the cooker to HIGH, and cover. Let it cook 15–20 minutes, until the pasta is tender.
Step 6: Finish. Fish out the bay leaves. Stir in the spinach and let it wilt — about 2 minutes. Add the fresh dill and lemon juice, then taste and adjust salt and pepper. That lemon at the end is small but it wakes the whole pot up.
Serve in wide bowls with a snowfall of Parmesan and a piece of crusty bread.
Tips that actually matter
Cook the pasta separately if you’re planning on leftovers. Orzo keeps drinking broth overnight, and by day two you’ll have wedding soup risotto. Cook it on the stove, store it apart, and add it to each bowl. This is the same trick that keeps the rice from turning to paste in my Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup.
Don’t skimp on the stock. With this few ingredients, boxed store-brand broth will taste exactly like boxed store-brand broth. Homemade is best; a quality boxed stock is fine.
Freeze the meatballs raw. Make a double batch, freeze half on a sheet pan, then bag them. They go into the cooker straight from frozen — just add an hour. Leftover meatballs are also excellent simmered in Ina Garten’s Marinara Sauce and piled on a roll.
Dill is not optional. I know it reads unusual in an Italian soup. Trust it. It’s the thing people can’t identify and can’t stop eating. Ina leans on dill constantly — it’s all over her veggie dip and her tartar sauce too.
Common questions
Can I use ground beef or turkey? Yes. Beef makes a heartier, more traditional soup; turkey behaves a lot like chicken. Chicken plus sausage stays the most tender.
What greens work besides spinach? Escarole is the classic choice and holds up better — add it 30 minutes before serving instead of at the end. Kale works too; give it the same 30 minutes.
Can I skip the browning entirely? You can, and the soup will still be good. But the broth will be paler and flatter. If you’re short on time, use the oven method.
How long does it keep? Four days in the fridge, three months in the freezer (without the pasta).
What if I don’t have a slow cooker? Simmer it on the stove in a Dutch oven for about 45 minutes before adding the pasta and greens. You’ll lose a little depth, but not much.
Make it a meal
A loaf of crusty bread and a simple green salad with lemon vinaigrette is genuinely all this needs. If you’re feeding people, start them off with Ina Garten’s Spinach Artichoke Dip while the soup finishes — it buys you twenty minutes and nobody complains.
Serves 8 generously.
More cozy recipes you’ll love
- Easy Slow Cooker Matzo Ball Soup — same set-it-and-forget-it comfort, different classic
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup — creamy, nutty, made for cold nights
- Ina Garten’s Beef Stroganoff — rich, saucy, over buttered egg noodles
- Ina Garten Stuffed Peppers — weeknight easy, dinner-party pretty
- Ina Garten Osso Buco — when you want the house to smell incredible
Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup
Description
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 3/4 lb ground chicken
- 1/2 lb sweet Italian chicken sausage, casings removed
- 2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, for browning
For the Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced small
- 3 carrots, diced small
- 3 celery stalks, diced small
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 10 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup orzo, dried
- 5 oz baby spinach
- 3 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the 3/4 lb ground chicken, 1/2 lb sweet Italian chicken sausage, 2/3 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 3 tablespoons fresh dill, 2 cloves garlic, 1 large egg, 3 tablespoons whole milk, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Mix by hand until just combined and roll into 1-inch meatballs.
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs in batches, turning to color two or three sides. They do not need to cook through.
- In the same skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 yellow onion, 3 carrots, and 3 celery stalks. Cook 6 to 8 minutes until softened, then add 4 cloves garlic and cook 1 minute more. Pour in 1/2 cup dry white wine and scrape up the browned bits.
- Transfer the vegetables and wine to the slow cooker. Add 10 cups chicken stock and 2 bay leaves, then nestle in the meatballs.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours.
- Stir in 1 cup orzo, switch to HIGH, cover, and cook 15 to 20 minutes until tender.
- Remove the bay leaves. Stir in 5 oz baby spinach and let wilt about 2 minutes. Add 3 tablespoons fresh dill and the juice of 1/2 lemon. Season with kosher salt and black pepper to taste.
- Serve in wide bowls topped with extra Parmesan.
Equipment
- 6-quart slow cooker
- Large skillet
- Sheet Pan
- Large Mixing Bowl
Notes
Nutrition
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