Crockpot Italian Wedding Soup

Crockpot Italian wedding soup with homemade meatballs your whole family will love. With carrots, celery and escarole in your pot, it cooks all day by itself! Just like our Instant Pot Italian wedding soup but low and slow.

You know I’m all about easy recipes, especially those that cook all by themselves and are inexpensive to make! If you’re up for an amazing dinner idea you’ve got to try this. It costs less than $10 & is definitely one of our very favorite crockpot recipes! (affiliate links present)

Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

If you don’t have a lot of time we share how to cook frozen meatballs in it too. Either way you make it is delicious!! With just a few ingredients, little bitty noodles and packed with as many vegetables as you want. Great when you aren’t feeling good but can be enjoyed year round.

This is a healthy option for dinnertime, just pair it with some easy dinner rolls and you’re ready to serve it up. I made this first when it was snowy outside it was such a feel good comfort food that my kids asked for it again.

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

Especially when the weather cools down I love slow cooker soup recipes to eat dinner. I also call it a real win because everyone in my family gobbles it up AND it only costs about $10 for the entire recipe! That is right, especially when I can find these pastina noodles on sale I load up!

Fresh produce used here like carrots and celery are usually the cheapest of them all and available year round too. They get nice and tender, so much that even a toddler could enjoy a few when it is meal time.

From the grocery store you will need some chicken stock, this fun star-shaped Pastina, onion and carrots from the produce aisle, and if you want to add some greenery pick up a small bunch of escarole. Italian Sausage is incredible if you want to make from scratch.

Like I said, I used raw sausage links for this one. I just sliced the skin off and used the meat inside. You could alternatively buy a roll of Jimmy dean regular or spicy sausage instead. With the other added ingredients they come out great.

Ingredients

1. Chicken broth is the base for the liquid in there, stock works too
2. Carrots peeled and cut into dials, the thinner the softer they will become
3. Escarole is the greenery
4. Pastina shaped pasta or orzo pasta needs a very short cooking time right in the broth, no need to cook the pasta separately.
5. Onion sliced or diced in there
6. Frozen meatballs, no need to defrost, a family favorite for ease

With Homemade Meatballs

1. Sausage
2. Egg
3. Bread crumbs
4. Parmesan cheese
5. Salt and pepper

with Frozen Meatballs

I am famous for cooking pressure cooker frozen meatballs and putting them in all the things. Smothered in sauce as an appetizer, they are great to add into this dish too. I have directions for homemade meatballs below but if you’re in a hurry those work great too. NO defrosting necessary, they will get tender just by throwing them in as is.

What is a good substitute for escarole?

I mean you can leave the whole thing out if you really wanted to. Other options would be to slice kale, that would be the closest. Fresh spinach leaves is better than frozen spinach for the texture of the dish but comprable.

Vegetarian option

You could leave the meat out entirely and use vegetable broth for this version. First we’re going to prep everything that will then go into our slow cooker. Cut your carrots, dice your onion, and take the casing off of all 6 of your Johnsonville sausages.

I then make meatballs just like I would make my meatloaf. Except I shape them into small spoon-sized bites. Cook them either on a baking sheet or on the stovetop.

It’s a great flavor “swap” from using ground beef  because it adds an incredible flavor that permeates throughout this easy Italian wedding soup recipe. Once all that is done you’re going to add it all (excluding your Barilla pasta and escarole) into your slow cooker with your chicken broth.

When do you add noodles to soup?

These small noodle bits don’t take long so about 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve, add your choice of noodles, Pastina or acini de pepe is great. If you choose to add escarole add it now too. You want to add it right before it’s being served to maintain the great al dente taste Barilla offers…it makes this totally incredible.

You can even ask my kids, it’s their favorite! After all, it’s Italy’s #1 choice of pasta so it’s perfect for this Italian soup. 😉

How to Make Italian Wedding Soup in Crock pot

1. Take the casing off your sausages, or use half and half beef and pork ground sausage instead.
   • If you are using frozen mini meatballs you would skip the homemade steps here and below.
2. In a large bowl combine ingredients for meatballs; your egg, bread crumbs, parmesan, onion powder and any other seasonings you’d like.
3. Add the meatballs and bake on a baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.
   1. You can also cook them on the stovetop over medium high heat with a bit of olive oil.
4. Once cooked, add meatballs to slow cooker.
5. Add other ingredients other than escarole and small pasta
6. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
7. 15 minutes before serving, add the pasta and submerge greens into liquid so they soften.
8. Serve this with our refrigerated biscuit pull apart bread and enjoy.

Other simple soup recipes you’ll love

• Chicken soup in Crockpot is perfect even when you’re not sick
• Crockpot French onion soup gets 10 thumbs up here
• Our Instant Pot lasagna soup is always a hit