Vegan Italian Wedding Soup
By the Gracious Vegan
A soup with meatballs in it just looks fun. Unfortunately many vegan meatballs fall apart or get water-logged if put into a soup. My Best Vegan Meatballs don’t do that. They hold up well in this soup as well as in sauces of all kinds. The combination of spinach and meatballs is brilliant! This soup keeps well in the refrigerator for at least a week.
Makes about 8 cups (5 servings)
Water-sauté the following ingredients in a Dutch oven or other large soup pot until soft, about 8 minutes. (Start with about 3 Tablespoons water and add more as needed.) (What is water-sauté?)
3/4 cup finely diced yellow onion
2 medium carrots, diced
1 large stalk celery, diced
Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
7 cups vegetable broth (as close to a “chicken-type” flavor as possible, as opposed to a tomato-type or carrot-type flavor)
Once the broth boils, add the pasta and bring to a simmer – cook the pasta for 7-8 minutes, or until it is just tender.
1/2 cup dry small pasta such as orzo, stars, tubetini (whole wheat preferred)
Once the pasta is tender, add the following ingredients and simmer them for a minute or two.
12 ounces Gardein or other frozen vegan meatballs, or a batch of homemade Best Vegan Meatballs (you may prefer not to use the whole batch)
2 teaspoons dried dill (or 3 Tablespoons minced fresh dill)
Salt and pepper to taste
Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for a minute, until the spinach is just wilted.
7 ounces fresh spinach, trimmed of any long stems
Once you ladle the soup into bowls, optional to sprinkle on some
Timing: About 30 minutes, if the meatballs are already made