Italian Wedding Soup Orzo

Last Updated on December 21, 2024 by Jess

Soup is nearly my favorite thing in the world to cook. It’s incredibly flexible. It generally involves chopping a ton of vegetables, which is something that is very cathartic for me. And most of all, it reheats and serves so well. While thinking about some of my favorite soups, I got to thinking that it would be fun to turn some of them into bakes or skillets. And in this, Italian Wedding Soup Orzo was born. 

I like to “shop” our pantry and try to keep many recipes with things we have on hand. If you open our fridge, you will always see carrots and celery (part of the base in so many soups, you see a theme right?). We have a ton of ground Italian venison in our freezer and I always have orzo. I even had spinach on hand after making my spinach and blueberry salad

I got to work making an orzo dish that has a feel of risotto in the way the orzo is prepared. The family was definitely pleased with the way it all came together: A soup without the broth!  I hope you like it as much as we did! 

Your Ingredients for Italian Wedding Soup Orzo

  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage (we use our Italian venison)
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup bread crumbs 
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

For the orzo:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil 
  • ½ cup celery, diced
  • ½ cup onion, diced
  • ½ cup carrots, diced
  • 2 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon orzo
  • 1 ¼  cup orzo
  • 4  cups chicken stock, warmed 
  • 1 cup chopped spinach
  • 3 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese
  • ½ teaspoon pepper

Your Steps to Italian Wedding Soup Orzo

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix Italian sausage, egg, bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese (salt and pepper, if wanted). Mix until well combined. Form into 1 inch diameter meatballs. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through. 

Meanwhile, begin to prep the orzo. Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook until softened, about 5-8 minutes. Add the butter and garlic. Once the butter has melted, add the orzo and toast for 4-5 minutes, stirring often. From here, add the chicken stock in half cup increments, stirring very often. Once each ½ cup has been absorbed, add the next ½ cup, cooking about 15-18 minutes, until the orzo is al dente. (Think risotto) 

From here, add just a bit more stock and stir in the spinach, parmesan cheese, and pepper. Cook until the spinach is wilted. Plate the orzo and top with baked meatballs. 

Italian Wedding Soup Orzo

This Italian Wedding Soup Orzo has all the feels and flavors of Italian Wedding Soup without the broth to go with it.
3 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 4 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Orzo

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ cup celery diced
  • ½ cup onion diced
  • ½ cup carrots diced
  • 2 garlic clove minced
  • 1 tablespoon orzo
  • 1 ¼ cup orzo
  • 4 cups chicken stock warmed
  • 1 cup chopped spinach
  • 3 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese
  • ½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix Italian sausage, egg, bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese (and salt and pepper, if wanted). Mix until well combined. Form into 1 inch diameter meatballs. Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through.
  • Meanwhile, begin to prep the orzo. Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onion, celery, and carrots. Cook until softened, about 5-8 minutes.
  • Add the butter and garlic. Once the butter has melted, add the orzo and toast for 4-5 minutes, stirring often.
  • Add the chicken stock in half cup increments, stirring very often. Once each ½ cup has been absorbed, add the next ½ cup, cooking about 15-18 minutes, until the orzo is al dente. (Think risotto)
  • Add just a bit more stock and stir in the spinach, parmesan cheese, and pepper. Cook until the spinach is wilted. Plate the orzo and top with baked meatballs.
Keyword carrots, Italian meatballs, Italian sausage, Italian Wedding Soup, meatballs, orzo, orzo and meatballs, orzo dish, pasta dish, spinach
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Looking for other delicious dinner ideas?

Check out my cooking page for some inspiration, or perhaps some of these hand picked ideas will tickle your fancy!

Pistachio Torte

Last Updated on January 7, 2024 by Jess

Sometimes you have those recipes that you revisit every few years and think, “Oh my gosh, why don’t I make this more often?! It’s so simple to make and is beyond delicious.” Pistachio Torte is one of those recipes in our household (Well, at least for me. Read on.)

At Thanksgiving, I asked the Mr what dessert he would like and without hesitation, he said, “Pistachio Torte!” He knows how good it is, and I simply forget. 

I pulled out the handwritten recipe, and giggled as it had minimal directions with it. (My friend Claire has told me it’s reminiscent of a recipe on The Great British Baking Show.)That’s okay, I have been cooking and baking long enough to know how to roll with the punches. And my goodness, I did forget how good it was and immediately resolved to share it out here so that everyone else can have this treat in their back pocket when they need to bring a dessert. 

A quick story

Before we start creating, I have to share another short funny story to go with this: I know this recipe came from my mother in law. It’s a go to for her (along with black raspberry torte). After we ate it for Thanksgiving, I asked my mom, dad, and sister how they felt about me making it for our Christmas celebration. My sister’s response was, “I am for it,” and my mom asked if I needed a recipe. This the conversation that followed:

Me: “No, I don’t need the recipe. If you have it, I must have given it to you because I got it from Matt’s mom.” 

My Mom: “I have had that recipe well before you were even a twinkle in our eyes.” (Sends the recipe in her handwriting) 

It was IDENTICAL to the recipe I got from my mother in law. There is about 15 years difference in age for our moms, so it seems odd that they would have been reading the same publications;  I can’t help but wonder where the recipe was that they both have it and it’s exactly the same. But that means it must be good, right? 

I’ve talked long enough. We are reading to start baking and creating right? Let’s go! 

Your Ingredients for Pistachio Torte

  • 1 cup flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup butter, soften
  • 2 teaspoons white sugar 
  • ¼ cup finely chopped nuts
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 8 ounces cool whip, divided
  • 2 packages pistachio pudding (3.4 ounces)
  • 2 ½ cups milk 

Your Steps to Pistachio Torte

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside. 

In a medium bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Add flour, white sugar, salt, and chopped nuts. Mix until well combined. Press into the prepared baking pan. It will seem thin and as though you don’t have enough. You do. I promise (But if you want a thicker crust, I have done it in a 7 by 11 inch pan too). Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned. Allow to cool. 

Once the crust has cooled, Add the cream cheese to a large bowl and cream with a hand mixer. Add powdered sugar and 4 ounces of the cool whip. Spread on top of the cooled crust. 

Combine the pudding with the milk and mix according to package directions (I do this right in the same bowl, but you do you). Spread the pudding on top of the cream cheese layer. Allow to set just a few minutes. 

Finally, spread the remaining cool whip on top of the pudding and top with additional nuts if you care to. Serve up immediately or this dessert is a great one that can be prepped a few days ahead. Either way, you are sure to bring smiles to a lot of people’s faces.

Pistachio Torte

This layered pistachio torte is the perfect dessert for your next get-together. A quick crust, cream cheese filling, and pistachio pudding layer make a delicious treat!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 people

Equipment

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup flour
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup butter soften
  • 2 teaspoons white sugar
  • ¼ cup finely chopped nuts
  • 8 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 8 ounces cool whip divided
  • 2 packages pistachio pudding 3.4 ounces
  • 2 ½ cups milk

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9 by 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Add flour, white sugar, salt, and chopped nuts. Mix until well combined. Press into the prepared baking pan.
  • Bake for 8-12 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned. Allow to cool.
  • Once the crust has cooled, Add the cream cheese to a large bowl and cream with a hand mixer. Add powdered sugar and 4 ounces of the cool whip. Spread on top of the cooled crust.
  • Combine the pudding with the milk and mix according to package directions. Spread the pudding on top of the cream cheese layer. Allow to set just a few minutes.
  • Spread the remaining cool whip on top of the pudding and top with additional nuts if you care to. Serve up immediately or this dessert is a great one that can be prepped a few days ahead.
Keyword cream cheese, dessert, pistachio, pistachio pudding, tortes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Other favorite desserts

Check out my baking page for all sorts of treats. But let me share some of my favorites below!