Italian Wedding Soup (Keto, No Pasta, 5.8g Net Carbs)
- Total time
- 45 minutes
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Net carbs
- 5.8g
- Calories
- 336
Italian wedding soup is the soup I make when I want something light that still eats like dinner. A clear, lemony chicken broth. Dozens of tiny meatballs. A tangle of greens. The only thing standing between it and a keto kitchen is the little pasta, and that turns out to be the easiest part to change.
Here the pasta is replaced with riced cauliflower, which soaks up the broth and gives every spoonful the same small, soft bite. The meatballs are all beef, bound with egg and Parmesan instead of breadcrumbs, and baked on a sheet pan while the soup gets going. A bowl comes to 5.8g net carbs, and dinner is on the table in 45 minutes.
The name has nothing to do with weddings, by the way. It comes from an Italian phrase about a “married” soup: meat and greens that go well together. That marriage is the whole recipe. Get the meatballs tender and the broth bright, and it works.
Why This Keto Italian Wedding Soup Works
Small meatballs, baked, not fried. Twenty little meatballs from one pound of beef cook through in 10 minutes in a hot oven. No batches, no splatter, and they hold their shape in the broth instead of breaking apart.
Parmesan does the job of breadcrumbs. Most meatballs lean on bread to stay soft. Here the egg and a few tablespoons of Parmesan bind the beef, and the cheese adds a salty, nutty flavor that seasons the broth as they simmer.
Cauliflower rice stands in for the pasta. The traditional soup uses tiny pasta shapes. Riced cauliflower is close to the same size, cooks in five minutes and keeps the carbs low. It goes in at the end, so it stays tender rather than mushy.
Lemon at the finish. A tablespoon of lemon juice, stirred in off the heat, lifts a rich broth and makes the whole pot taste brighter. Do not skip it.
Recipe Overview
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Serves: 6 (about 1½ cups each)
- Net Carbs: 5.8g per serving
Ingredients
For the meatballs
| Ingredient | Quantity | Notes |
| Ground beef | 1 lb | 80/20, for juicy meatballs |
| Parmesan cheese | 3 tbsp | Finely grated |
| Egg | 1 large | Whisked |
| Garlic powder | ½ tsp | |
| Onion powder | ½ tsp | |
| Salt | ½ tsp | |
| Black pepper | ¼ tsp | |
| Italian seasoning | 1 tsp | Dried |
| Red pepper flakes | ¼ tsp | Optional heat |
For the soup
| Ingredient | Quantity | Notes |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp | |
| Butter | 1 tbsp | |
| Yellow onion | 1 small | Diced |
| Carrot | ¾ cup | Peeled and diced |
| Celery | 3 stalks | Diced |
| Garlic | 3 cloves | Minced |
| Italian seasoning | 2 tsp | Dried |
| Salt | ½ tsp | Plus more to taste |
| Black pepper | ½ tsp | |
| Bay leaves | 2 | Removed before serving |
| Chicken broth | 6 cups | Low-sodium if you can |
| Riced cauliflower | 2 cups | Fresh or frozen |
| Kale | 3½ oz | About half a bunch, stems removed, chopped |
| Lemon juice | 1 tbsp | Fresh |
To serve
| Ingredient | Quantity | Notes |
| Parmesan cheese | ¼ cup | Finely grated |
| Fresh parsley | 2 tbsp | Finely chopped |
Use 80/20 beef. All-beef meatballs made with very lean meat turn dry and firm. The fat in 80/20 keeps them tender, and most of the extra stays on the parchment.
Choose your broth carefully. It is most of the soup, and regular boxed broth is salty. Low-sodium broth lets you season it yourself at the end, which matters here because the Parmesan adds salt too.
Recipe Timing
| Stage | Time |
| Dice the vegetables and roll the meatballs | 15 minutes |
| Bake the meatballs (while the soup starts) | 10 minutes |
| Sauté the vegetables and garlic | 6 minutes |
| Bring the broth to a boil | 5 minutes |
| Simmer, adding the meatballs and cauliflower rice for the last 5 minutes | 15 minutes |
| Wilt the kale and finish with lemon | 4 minutes |
| Total | 45 minutes |
The meatballs bake at the same time as the vegetables cook, so the oven time does not add to the total.
How to Make Italian Wedding Soup, Step by Step
1. Mix and roll the meatballs
Heat the oven to 400°F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a bowl, combine the ground beef, Parmesan, whisked egg, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Mix with your hands just until everything is evenly combined. Do not overwork it, or the meatballs turn dense.
Roll the mixture into 20 small meatballs, about an inch across, and set them on the sheet pan. Damp hands stop the mixture sticking.
2. Bake them
Bake the meatballs for about 10 minutes, turning them once, until browned and cooked through. Leave them on the pan until the soup is ready for them.
3. Cook the vegetables
While the meatballs bake, heat the olive oil and butter in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables soften. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more, until fragrant.
4. Add the broth and simmer
Pour in the chicken broth, add the bay leaves and bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer gently for 10 minutes. Then add the baked meatballs and the riced cauliflower and simmer for 5 minutes more, until the cauliflower is tender and the meatballs are hot through.
5. Wilt the kale and finish
Fish out the bay leaves. Stir in the kale and cook for about 2 minutes, just until it wilts and turns bright green. Take the pot off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Taste before you add more salt; the broth and Parmesan may already be enough.
Ladle into bowls and top each one with grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.
Tips and Variations
- Keep the meatballs small. About an inch across is right for a soup spoon. Larger ones need a few more minutes in the oven.
- Use spinach instead of kale. Stir in two packed cups of baby spinach at the very end; it wilts in under a minute.
- Try escarole. It is the classic green in many versions of this soup. Chop it and give it 3 to 4 minutes in the broth.
- Make the meatballs with ground chicken or turkey. Use dark meat so they stay moist, and bake them until cooked through.
- Add more heat. Double the red pepper flakes in the meatballs, or pass more at the table.
- Stretch it with more vegetables. A diced zucchini added with the cauliflower rice makes the pot go further.
What to Serve With Italian Wedding Soup
With meatballs, greens and broth all in one bowl, it is a complete dinner on its own. If you want something more, a simple green salad with an olive oil and lemon dressing suits it, and a few slices of good cheese on the side never hurt.
For a soup night with two pots, pair a small bowl of it with French onion soup under its broiled cheese crust. And if you like these meatballs, our keto meatballs in marinara turn the same idea into a main course.
Storage and Reheating
Fridge: cool the soup and keep it in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The cauliflower rice softens more as it sits, which is fine.
Freezer: freeze it for up to 2 months. The kale darkens a little after freezing, but the flavor holds. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Reheat: warm it gently in a pot over medium heat until steaming. Add a splash of broth if it has thickened, and a squeeze of lemon to wake it up.
Make ahead: roll the meatballs up to a day early and keep them covered in the fridge, or bake them and freeze them. Frozen baked meatballs can go straight into the simmering broth; give them a few extra minutes to heat through.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Italian wedding soup keto?
The traditional soup is not, because it has pasta and breadcrumbs in the meatballs. This version swaps the pasta for cauliflower rice and binds the meatballs with egg and Parmesan, so a 1½-cup bowl has 5.8g net carbs.
What meat is in this Italian wedding soup?
All beef. Many recipes mix two or three meats in the meatballs; here one pound of 80/20 ground beef does it alone, and the fat keeps the meatballs tender. Ground chicken or turkey works too.
Can I cook the meatballs right in the soup?
You can drop raw meatballs into the simmering broth and cook them for 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked through. Baking them first browns them, which adds flavor, and keeps the broth clearer.
Why is my cauliflower rice mushy?
It cooked too long. Add it only for the last 5 minutes of simmering, and if you plan to have leftovers, you can cook it separately and add it to each bowl.
More Low-Carb Soups to Try
- Beefy Keto Minestrone — ground beef, cauliflower and Italian vegetables in a tomato broth.
- Keto Chicken Noodle Soup — chicken thighs and vegetables in broth, with hearts of palm noodles.
- Keto Broccoli Cheese Soup — creamy cheddar and broccoli soup, ready in 30 minutes.
- Low Carb Chicken Mushroom Soup — chicken, three kinds of mushrooms and three cheeses in a creamy soup.
Recipe Card
The full ingredient list and the method in short are in the card below.
Keto Italian Wedding Soup
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large soup pot
- Sheet pan
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef 80/20
- 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 1 large egg whisked
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning dried
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes optional
For the soup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 3/4 cup carrot peeled and diced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning dried
- 1/2 tsp salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 bay leaves removed before serving
- 6 cups chicken broth low-sodium if you can
- 2 cups riced cauliflower fresh or frozen
- 3 1/2 oz kale about half a bunch, stems removed, chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice fresh
To serve
- 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
Instructions
Make the meatballs
- Mix: Heat the oven to 400°F and line a sheet pan with parchment. Combine the ground beef, 3 tbsp Parmesan cheese, egg, garlic powder, onion powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1 tsp Italian seasoning and the red pepper flakes, mixing just until even.
- Roll and bake: Roll into 20 small meatballs, about 1 inch across, set them on the pan and bake about 10 minutes, turning once, until browned and cooked through.
Make the soup
- Sauté: While the meatballs bake, heat the olive oil and butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, celery, 2 tsp Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper and cook 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Simmer: Add the chicken broth and bay leaves, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add the meatballs and riced cauliflower and simmer 5 minutes more, until the cauliflower is tender.
- Finish: Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the kale and cook about 2 minutes until wilted. Off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and season to taste.
Serve
- Serve: Ladle into bowls and top with the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and the parsley.
Notes
Keep cooking
