dinner · entree · one pan

Italian Wedding Supper Skillet

One of my favorite places to eat in college was Olive Garden.

That’s a weird statement, I know. But listen, my small little town didn’t have much to choose from. And as a broke college student, you couldn’t get a much better deal than OG’s unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks.

My go-to was the Zuppa Toscano. That soup had a stranglehold on me in my college years. It’s creamy, salty, and incredibly filling. Devour a few bowls with some salad and a metric ton of breadsticks and you won’t need to eat for the rest of the day.

There is one soup I always hoped Olive Garden would start selling, though: Italian Wedding Soup. It’s one of the best soups you can eat and it checks all the boxes: protein, veggies, and carbs. I’m surprised Olive Garden never added it on the menu.

This skillet supper is like the classic soup but, well, in skillet supper form. I had a craving for Italian Wedding Soup but it’s already far too warm in Oklahoma to keep cooking soups so I converted it into a skillet meal.

This really hit the spot.

It takes all the best parts of the soup (meatballs, pasta and veg) and adds just a few ingredients (pasta water, cream of chicken soup) to create a sauce-based dinner instead of a broth-based soup.

Enjoy this skillet supper recipe. It will likely fill you up more than Olive Garden’s soup, salad and breadsticks deal!

Italian Wedding Supper Skillet

  • Servings: 4-6
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

A hearty one-pan skillet meal with meatballs, pasta, peas, carrots and spinach.

Ingredients

  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 TBS. olive oil
  • 1/2 of a 26 oz. bag of frozen Italian meatballs
  • 1/2 a 12 oz. bag of peas and carrots
  • 1 (12 oz) bag frozen spinach
  • 1 (10.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 (16 oz) bag of shell pasta
  • 2 tsp. oregano
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 cup pasta water
  • Freshly grated parmesan, for topping
  • Directions

    1. In a large skillet (cast iron preferable) heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until tender, about 4-5 minutes.
    2. Stir in frozen meatballs, peas and carrots, and spinach. Let frozen meat and veggies cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occassionally.
    3. Meanwhile, cook past according to package instructions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of past water.
    4. In meatball skillet, stir in soup, chicken broth, oregano, salt and pepper. Let mixture simmer, uncovered, for about 10-15 minutes or until meatballs and veggies are cooked through.
    5. Stir in pasta and pasta water. Let cook for an additional 3-4 minutes. Top with freshly grated parmesan.

    Leave a Reply