If you are looking for a new recipe to try in the slow cooker this Italian meatball soup would be perfect for you. It is easy to make and can be prepared in around 10 minutes and then just leave it to cook!
Disclaimer: Just Average Jen is not connected with any weight loss plan. Please check nutritional values and/or syns yourself.
Enjoying this recipe on Slimming World
If you are following Slimming World or trying to lose weight then there is no reason that you can not enjoy this recipe. Whilst it is not syn free it is low in syns and full of flavour so I am sure you will enjoy it.
The best red wine to use for this recipe to ensure it is full of flavour and low in syns is 10-12% alcohol red wine. This makes the total syns for the whole recipe as 6 syns, so 1.5 syns per person (approx).
If you want to ensure the meatballs used in the recipe are syn free you have two choices. One is to use Slimming World meatballs from Iceland. These are syn free and easy to buy.
The other option is to make yourself meatballs with 5% fat beef mince. There are some 5% fat ready-made meatballs in the supermarkets which can potentially be syn free but you do need to check they do not have any other ingredients such as breadcrumbs etc.
If you are adding parmesan on top of the finished recipe you will need to syn this however the syn values really do depend on how much parmesan you choose to have.
Parmesan syns
If you want to use parmesan to really top off this Italian meatball soup recipe then you need to syn the parmesan cheese, here are the syn values you need to consider.
25g Parmesan cheese, grated is 5 syns approx.
30g Parmesan cheese, grated is 6 syns approx.
If you prefer to use Parmigiano reggiano, grana padana fresh parmesan this a great choice as a level tablespoon as this is just one syn approx.
Personally, I wouldn’t use as much as 30g of parmesan but if you choose to then you can sometimes use this as your healthy extra a choice.
Other recipes you might enjoy
If you would like to see all my slow cooker recipes be sure to check out my slow cooker recipe guide.
For other pasta recipes, you definitely need to see my compilation of pasta recipes with so many from lasagne and spaghetti and meatballs to fruit pasta and everything in between! You can actually eat like an Italian and stay slim.
Another meatball based recipe you may like is Moroccan meatballs.
For other filling soups why not consider hearty vegetable pasta soup or my selection of winter soups?
If you like Italian food this Italian sausage pasta from a fellow blogger is definitely worth trying too and I am assured it is worth it!
Low-fat Italian meatball soup in the slow cooker
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 hours
- Total Time: 7 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 Portions 1x
- Category: Main meal
- Method: Slow cooker
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Low Fat
Description
This Italian meatball soup is perfect for all the family and easy to make on a budget with quick easy preparation and the slow cooker doing the rest for you!
Ingredients
70g carrots, matchstick cut
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 brown onion, chopped
1 cup frozen Italian vegetable mix or chunky frozen stir fry vegetable mix (ideally with baby corn, sugar snap peas etc)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or mixed herbs
Salt & pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
350g frozen meatballs
900ml beef stock
230ml water
145ml dry red wine
2 x 425g cans chopped tomatoes with basil
250g dry ditalini pasta (if you can’t get this then macaroni would work well too)
125g fresh spinach, ribbon cut
Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Instructions
Combine all ingredients except spinach, pasta, and parmesan in the slow cooker
Cook on low for 6-7 hours
Stir in pasta, cook on high for 15 minutes or until pasta is tender
Add spinach, cook until wilted
Garnish with parmesan, serve, and enjoy!
Lockdown means I still haven’t managed to find ditalini pasta, so used macaroni as suggested. This was a hit with the whole family – in fact, it’s become a weekly staple in our house!