Whole30 Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
This Whole30 Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup is easy to make and delicious. It is packed with tender meatballs, veggies, and nourishing bone broth! Gluten free, grain free, dairy free.
Typical Italian Wedding Soup has meatballs made with breadcrumbs and tiny, pearl-shaped pasta. I wanted to create an easy version that could be made in the Instant Pot, as well as a version that is paleo-friendly! This soup is incredibly easy to make, and it is packed with veggies. I used frozen cauliflower rice in place of the pasta, and it makes a great substitute.
What You Need to Make This Whole30 Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
For the meatballs:
- Ground Pork
- Ground Beef – I like the combination of using 2 types of meat, but you can certainly use one or the other.
- Almond flour
- Egg
- Coconut aminos
- Nutritional yeast
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Salt
For the soup:
- 6 cups of chicken broth – I used Bare Bones bone broth. You can use this link and code MARYWL15 to get 15% off your first order on barebonesbroth.com!
- Frozen cauliflower rice – I prefer the texture of this compared to fresh cauliflower rice.
- Raw spinach
- Italian seasoning
- salt
Feel free to top with some parmesan cheese!
How to Make This Whole30 Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
For the Instant Pot:
Combine the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix well using your hands. Form into small meatballs (about 3/4 inch in size). Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in your Instant Pot on sauté mode. Add half of the meatballs and cook them for 3-4 minutes until they’re browned on all sides. Repeat with the remaining meatballs. Transfer them to a plate.
Add the remaining tbsp of oil to the pot and add the carrots, onion, celery and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes until they begin to soften. Add in the broth, Italian seasoning, and meatballs. Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Manually release the pressure.
Press “sauté” and add in the frozen cauliflower rice and spinach. Stir and cook for 5 minutes until the caulirice is heated through and the spinach and wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!
For the slow cooker:
Combine the meatball ingredients in a bowl. Form into 3/4 inch meatballs. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan on the stove. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Set them aside. Add the additional tbsp of olive oil to the pan and sauté the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic for 3-4 minutes. Add the meatballs and the veggies to the crock pot, along with the broth, salt and Italian seasoning. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. During the last hour of cooking, stir in the frozen cauliflower rice and spinach. Serve and enjoy!
For the stove top:
Form the meatballs. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Remove them from the pot and set aside on a plate. Next, add in the remaining oil and the carrots, onions, celery, and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the meatballs back to the pot along with the broth, salt, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add in the frozen cauliflower rice and spinach. Stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Looking for some other Instant Pot Recipes to enjoy? Check these out!
Whole30 Buffalo Ranch Chicken Chowder
Whole30 Instant Pot No Bean Chili
If you try this Whole30 Instant Pot Italian Wedding soup, make sure to tag me on Instagram – I love seeing your creations!
Happy cooking!
xo,
Mary
*This post contains affiliate links. This means if you use one of my links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Mary’s Whole Life!
Whole30 Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
Meatballs
- ½ lb ground beef
- ½ lb ground pork
- ¼ cup almond flour, can sub 1 1/2 tbsp coconut flour for nut free
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
Soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced onion
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 6 cups chicken broth, I used Bare Bones bone broth
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1.5 cups frozen cauliflower rice
- 2 cups raw spinach
Equipment
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Combine the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix well using your hands. Form into small meatballs (about 3/4 inch in size). Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in your Instant Pot on sauté mode. Add half of the meatballs and cook them for 3-4 minutes until they’re browned on all sides. Repeat with the remaining meatballs. Transfer them to a plate.
- Add the remaining tbsp of oil to the pot and add the carrots, onion, celery and garlic. Cook for 4-5 minutes until they begin to soften. Add in the broth, Italian seasoning, and meatballs. Lock the lid and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Manually release the pressure.
- Press “sauté” and add in the frozen cauliflower rice and spinach. Stir and cook for 5 minutes until the caulirice is heated through and the spinach and wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!
Stove Top Instructions
- Form the meatballs. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large dutch oven or soup pot. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Remove them from the pot and set aside on a plate. Next, add in the remaining oil and the carrots, onions, celery, and garlic. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the meatballs back to the pot along with the broth, salt, and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add in the frozen cauliflower rice and spinach. Stir and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Combine the meatball ingredients in a bowl. Form into 3/4 inch meatballs. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan on the stove. Brown the meatballs on all sides. Set them aside. Add the additional tbsp of olive oil to the pan and sauté the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic for 3-4 minutes. Add the meatballs and the veggies to the crock pot, along with the broth, salt and Italian seasoning. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. During the last hour of cooking, stir in the frozen cauliflower rice and spinach. Serve and enjoy!
18 Comments on “Whole30 Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup”
Love making this soup. I always add some hot sauce, red pepper flakes and this seven pepper seasoning that I have in the soup to kick up the spice level. My husband loves when I make it. Definitely on repeat in my house
Thank you!!
OMG ! Made this soup today , absolutely amazing! I didn’t think I could have meatball soup again , but I can now ,,, it’s 32 here in Boston , so this is perfect
Thanks Suzanne!
So flavorful and easy to make. The kids are enjoying it too. Perfect dinner for a cold and dreary Michigan winter day.
Thank you Kiersten!
Can you just used ground pork for the meatballs if I don’t have ground beef?
Sure – any type of ground meat works!
This is an amazing recipe! I love how the cauliflower rice mimics the mouth feel of Orzo! I began adding the Italian seasoning to the meatballs as well as to the soup and I love it even more. One caution was that one time I used a packaged chicken bone broth that had salt in it so it came out a bit salty. It was still good but I could have left out the extra salt. I’ve taken to making a double batch of meatballs and freezing half of them to make cooking my next batch half prepped. Thank you so much Mary for this awesome recipe.
Thank you for the tip! I appreciate it!
Very tasty.
I make this over and over again!
This was great! I actually used the whole can of biscuits. Next time I might cut back on the Italian seasoning just a tad like another person said. Overall, easy and tasty recipe.
This soup was delicious and came together quickly. I made it on the stovetop. Delivered that flavorful taste the first night. I often think soup should taste better after seasoning over night.
Really yummy filling and easy!! Love it!!
Everyone loved this! My teenage (picky eater) daughter actually went back for seconds (which she never does) and said she hoped there was leftovers. I haven’t made Italian Wedding Soup since being diagnosed celiac six years ago, and this version is way better than the original recipe!!
Mary’s meals two nights in a row at my house. This was amazing, can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow. I doubled the meatball recipe and put some aside for later in week. Loved it!!!!
This is so flavorful and delicious and easy! Mary’s recipes are the best!!