Easy & Delicious Venison Italian Wedding Soup

Venison Italian Wedding Soup is a must make this Fall/ Winter if you hunt and have ground meat in your freezer! This soup is basically an elevated chicken noodle soup but with little flavour bomb meatballs and fresh parmesan. True perfection.

Every year when cooler weather rolls around, my husband starts asking for Italian Wedding Soup. It is always one of our favourites and being that we always have ground meat in the freezer from hunting, I figured, why not use Venison for this soup. However, I didn’t know it would turn out this amazing!

This Venison Italian Wedding Soup starts out with little homemade venison meatballs full of Italian spices and fresh parmesan cheese. You then fry those up until golden perfection. Next, you make broth soup full of the usuals like garlic, onion, carrot and celery. Add in Italian seasoning and the little pasta of your choosing. Finally, stir in those flavour packed meatballs and top with more fresh parmesan and freshly squeezed lemon.

If you love a good chicken noodle soup, then I promise you will love this one! Serve it up hot with fresh sourdough or even a gooey grilled cheese. Whether you have ground venison, moose, elk, or even beef in your freezer, this is the perfect soup to make all winter long.

Tips for making Venison Italian Wedding Soup

1. I recommend using ground venison or wild game meat that has 10-20% pork fat or pork butt added to it. Venison is extremely lean, so adding just a bit of pork fat helps bring more flavour and keep the meat tender and juicy.
2. When cooking the meatball, you don’t have to full cook them before adding them to the soup. I like to cook them so they are still a bit pink inside. That way, when I add them into the soup they continue to cook full but stay nice and juicy and not over cooked.
3. Depending on what kind of pasta you use, you make need a bit of extra broth. Once the pasta is tender, add in any additional broth if needed for your desired soup thickness.
4. Do not skip the toppings! The freshly grated parmesan, chopped parsley and fresh squeezed lemon juice, add such delicious flavour to this Italian Wedding Soup. They are a must!

Venison Italian Wedding Soup Ingredients

Ground Venison– As mentioned above, you can use ground venison or any other ground rd meat you like.

Bread Crumbs– You can use panko or traditional style read crumbs. Use gluten free if you need.

Parmesan– Fresh parmesan is added to the meatballs and on top of the soup. Don’t use the crumbled parmesan.

Onion– White or yellow onion work best.

Garlic– As always, opt for fresh minced garlic if you can for the best flavour.

Carrots & Celery– These help develop the flavour of the soup. You won’t even. notice the celery.

Broth– Chicken broth, homemade or store-bought is what you need for this soup. If you use a no salt added broth, you will need to add extra salt to your soup.

Pasta- This Italian Wedding Soup can be made with any small shaped pasta you like. Even a pearl couscous is great. Can sub with gluten free noodles if needed.

Italian Seasoning– Using Italian Seasoning gives you all the flavours you need while keeping the spices nice and simple.

Fresh Herbs– Fresh chopped parsley and basil go into the meatballs for vibrant flavour.

Spinach– You can use spinach or a chopped kale. Whichever you prefer.

Lemon– Fresh squeezed lemon juice brings another level of flavour enhancement to the soup. Do not skip this!

The Steps

1. Start by mixing together the first 9 ingredients in a large bowl. I like to do this by hand to get everything gently mixed.
2. Once the meat mixture is all cobined, spoon the mixture into little meatballs roughly a couple tsps each in size. Roll them into balls and place on a baking tray.
3. Next, you are going to cook the meatballs in a skillet with a couple tbsp of oil over medium heat for about 5-7 minutes. You want them to get a golden exterior, but they do not have to be fully cooked inside.
4. Turn off the heat, then set the pan of meatballs aside.
5. For the soup, add the onion carrots and celery to a large pot with a couple tbsp of oil. I\
6. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, then add in the garlic, Italian season and salt & pepper. Continue to cook for another minute.
7. Then, pour in the chicken broth and water. Stir.
8. Place the meatballs gently into the soup pot and add in the dry pasta.
9. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer for about 15 minutes or until the pasta is tender.
10. Finally, stir in the spinach until wilted then remove from the heat.
11. Serve hot topped with fresh parmesan, chopped parsley and a wedge of fresh squeeze lemon juice. Enjoy!

If you give this recipe a try, leave a comment or review below!

Looking for more cozy recipes to make with Venison?

https://cmbarndominium.com/the-best-venison-shepherds-pie/

https://cmbarndominium.com/best-ever-venison-lasagna-soup/

https://cmbarndominium.com/chipotle-pineapple-venison-with-corn-avocado-salsa/

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