Name: Oven-Baked 4-Ingredient Wedding Soup Pasta
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Ingredients: 12 ounces dry ditalini pasta; 16 ounces frozen fully cooked Italian-style mini meatballs (about 1 inch across); 5 ounces fresh baby spinach (roughly chopped); 8 ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella (shredded (about 2 cups), divided)

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The first scoop of Oven-Baked 4-Ingredient Wedding Soup Pasta comes out in strands of melted mozzarella. Under those golden spots are little browned meatballs, folds of dark green spinach, and ditalini that stay firm enough to hold their shape. The short tubes catch bits of spinach and cheese, so a serving spoon can bring up a little of everything at once.

The meatballs, greens, and tiny pasta come from Italian wedding soup. Here they go into a casserole with mozzarella, some folded through the noodles and the rest scattered across the top. The edges turn golden while the pasta in the middle stays soft enough to scoop into shallow bowls.

The timing is easy to coordinate once the water’s on. Warm the meatballs in the baking pan while the pasta boils, then wilt the spinach right in the pasta pot. A splash of the cooking water carries the meatball drippings through the noodles and gives the ditalini enough moisture to finish in the oven.

Ingredients

12 ounces dry ditalini pasta
16 ounces frozen fully cooked Italian-style mini meatballs, about 1 inch across
5 ounces fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
8 ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups), divided

You’ll also need 3 quarts of water for boiling the pasta. Set aside ¾ cup of that cooking water before draining. Most batches need ½ cup in the pan, with the rest handy if the noodles could use another splash.

What to look for at the grocery store

Ditalini are the little hollow tubes that look like short pieces of macaroni. Twelve ounces is three-quarters of a standard 1-pound box, so use a scale if you’re working from an open package. The pasta expands as it cooks, and starting with a full pound would crowd out the meatballs and leave less cheese for each bite. If you find both ridged and smooth ditalini, either works. The ridges pick up a little extra cheese when you stir the pasta in the pan.

Italian-style mini meatballs do most of the seasoning here. Look for a bag labeled fully cooked, with small meatballs you could comfortably eat in one bite. Check the package size too. Some family bags hold enough for nearly two casseroles. An Italian-style blend with garlic, herbs, and pepper gives the mild mozzarella and spinach plenty of flavor. The small size also helps the heat reach the centers while the pasta bakes.

Fresh baby spinach fits the size of the dish once you’ve chopped it. Stack a loose handful on the cutting board and run your knife through it a few times. Leave pieces big enough to see among the noodles. A 5-ounce container might look like a lot beside the dry pasta, but the leaves collapse in the last few seconds of boiling. If you’re washing loose spinach, give it a good rinse and drain it in the colander before you use the colander for the pasta.

Low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella gives you the pale gold topping and those strands across the serving spoon. Look for a firm block in the cheese case. It’s easy to run through the large holes of a box grater, especially straight from the fridge. Shreds from the block melt smoothly into the warm pasta. The soft mozzarella sold in liquid releases more water, so save that for a dish where its milky texture can shine. Divide your shreds into two roughly equal piles before you start cooking.

Set out a wide pan and a measuring cup

Use a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan. There’s enough room to spread the meatballs out for their first trip into the oven, and the finished pasta will sit in a shallow layer. That gives the cheese plenty of exposed surface when the foil comes off. It also gives you room to fold everything together at the edges without rolling meatballs over the rim.

An oven-safe ceramic casserole dish of the same size works, too. Warm the meatballs on a rimmed metal sheet pan, then move them and their drippings into the room-temperature ceramic dish. Assemble the casserole there. Since the ceramic starts out cooler, it may take a few extra minutes for the center to reach temperature. Set out a dry trivet if you’re bringing the hot dish straight to the table.

A 5-quart or larger pot leaves room to stir the ditalini and add the spinach at the end. Set a heatproof measuring cup beside the colander before the water comes to a boil. It’s easier to remember to scoop out the cloudy water when the cup is right there by the sink. You’ll also want foil, a wide spoon or spatula for folding, and an instant-read thermometer.

How to make oven-baked wedding soup pasta

Get the oven and water ready. Set a rack in the upper-middle position and heat the oven to 400°F. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. While you wait, chop the spinach, shred the mozzarella, and pull off a sheet of foil large enough to seal around the edges of the pan. Set a trivet near the stove so you have a spot for the hot pan when it comes out.
Give the meatballs a head start. When the oven is hot and the water is boiling, spread the frozen meatballs in the baking pan and put them in the oven for 10 minutes. Leave a little space between them so the sides warm evenly. The meatballs will finish heating after you add the pasta. Any seasoned drippings that collect in the bottom of the pan can stay right there for the noodles.
Boil the ditalini and wilt the spinach. As soon as the meatballs go into the oven, stir the pasta into the boiling water. Cook it for 2 minutes less than the package’s al dente time. When about 30 seconds remain, scoop out ¾ cup of the cooking water. Stir in the chopped spinach for those last 30 seconds, pressing the leaves into the hot water with your spoon until they turn bright green and soften. Drain the pasta and spinach together. Give the colander a shake to clear out water caught in the little tubes.

Fold everything together while the pasta’s hot. Set the pan of meatballs on the trivet. Tip in the drained pasta and spinach, then pour ½ cup of the reserved water around the pan. Fold in half the mozzarella, about 1 cup. Work across the pan with a wide spoon, loosening the drippings as you turn the noodles. Spread out the meatballs and use the edge of the spoon to tease apart any bunches of spinach. If the pasta looks dry as you fold, add a tablespoon at a time from the remaining water until the noodles have a light sheen.
Cover, then uncover. Level the surface with the back of the spoon and scatter the remaining mozzarella evenly over it. Tent the foil above the cheese and crimp it around the sides of the pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, then lift the foil away from you to release the steam. Bake uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes more, until the cheese is melted with scattered golden spots and the center of the casserole and a couple of meatballs near the middle reach 165°F. A probe inserted into the middle of a meatball from the side is easier to position than one pushed straight down.

Let the pan settle for 5 minutes. Give the cheese a few minutes to settle around the noodles before serving. Slide a wide spoon down to the bottom of the pan to pick up the tender pasta underneath the top layer. The first scoop near a corner will have some of those browned bits of cheese along the edge.

What to check as it bakes

The noodles feel firm when you drain them

That’s right for this casserole. Bite into a piece at the stove and it should give, with some firmness in the center. The ditalini will absorb more liquid under the foil. Pasta that’s already soft enough to serve can get mushy by the time the cheese takes on color. If the shape you bought has just one time on the box, use that time as your starting point and taste a piece near the end of the shortened boil.

The cheese has browned before the center is hot

Lay the foil back over the top and return the pan to the oven. Check again after about 3 minutes and continue until the center reaches 165°F. This can happen in an oven with strong top heat. Press the thermometer into the pasta in a couple of spots near the middle and check a meatball there too. The outer edges can be bubbling while the middle is still catching up.

There’s a little liquid at the bottom

Give the casserole its full rest before deciding how much liquid is left. The hot pasta will take up some moisture as it sits, and a spoonful from the center should be glossy. If water still pools after resting, use a slotted spoon to serve. For the next batch, shake the colander a little longer and start with the measured ½ cup of reserved water. Chopped spinach can hold more water than it looks like it does when you tip it into the pan.

Swaps that keep the bake at four ingredients

Small shells or elbow macaroni can stand in for ditalini. Use 12 ounces dry and check the new box for its cooking time. Small shells hold pieces of spinach in their cups, while elbows give you a softer, more familiar macaroni texture. In either case, look for a shape that will nestle between the meatballs on a spoon.

Frozen chopped spinach works when the crisper is empty. Weigh out 5 ounces while it’s frozen and prepare it according to the package directions. Let it cool enough to handle, press out the liquid in a fine-mesh strainer, and break up the squeezed spinach as you fold it into the drained pasta. It’ll spread through the dish in smaller flecks than chopped fresh leaves. Add it at the pan and use the last 30 seconds in the pot to finish cooking the pasta on its own.

Fully cooked Italian-style chicken or turkey mini meatballs give the same bite-size portions with a lighter flavor. Use the same weight and choose a similar size so the pasta and meatballs heat together. Some lean meatballs leave very little juice behind in the pan. Check how the noodles look after the first fold and use a spoonful of the remaining pasta water if they need it.

If the freezer case only has regular-size meatballs, warm them from frozen according to the package directions and cut them into quarters before assembly. The pieces will sit neatly between the ditalini. When you turn the pasta in the pan, tuck some of the cut meatballs just below the surface to keep the exposed edges from drying out.

Low-moisture part-skim mozzarella can replace the whole-milk block ounce for ounce. It still gives you a melted cap. Expect a firmer layer as the pan cools, especially on a reheated portion. Serving the casserole while the cheese is still warm gives you the best stretch with either block.

Making a smaller pan or getting a head start

For three portions, halve the ingredients and use an 8-inch square metal pan. That’s 6 ounces of ditalini, 8 ounces of meatballs, 2½ ounces of spinach, and 4 ounces of mozzarella. Start with ¼ cup of the reserved cooking water. Keep the oven at 400°F and check a few minutes early during the uncovered bake. The temperature at the center will tell you when the smaller pan is ready.

For a double batch, use two 9-by-13-inch pans and divide the meatballs, pasta, spinach, and cheese evenly between them. Each pan gets its own ½ cup of cooking water. A single deeper dish will bring the top close to the heat while the center takes longer to warm. Give the two pans room for air to move around them and check both centers separately.

To do the chopping and grating in advance, keep the spinach and mozzarella in separate covered containers in the fridge. If you rinsed the spinach, dry the leaves before storing so water doesn’t collect in the bottom of the container. Measure the dry pasta and leave the meatballs frozen until the oven is ready. You can have everything lined up before the water comes to a boil.

Storing and reheating

Refrigerate. Spoon leftovers into shallow, covered containers and refrigerate at 40°F or below within 2 hours of cooking, or within 1 hour if the room is above 90°F. Refrigerated portions keep for 3 to 4 days. Packing single servings makes it easier to reheat just what you need, especially if the casserole is headed to lunch the next day.

Freeze. Portion the casserole into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 2 months for best texture. A thin, flat portion thaws more evenly than a deep block of pasta. Thaw overnight in the fridge. The noodles will be a little softer after thawing, and the cheese will settle back around them when it reheats.

Reheat. For an oven portion, spread the pasta in a shallow oven-safe dish, add a splash of water, and cover loosely. Heat at 350°F. Start checking after about 15 minutes and keep heating until the center reaches 165°F. For the microwave, use a microwave-safe cover, heat in short bursts, and stir or shift the meatballs between bursts so they warm evenly. Let the portion stand briefly before checking for 165°F in several spots.

What to serve with it

The pasta and meatballs make the casserole substantial enough for dinner on its own. If you’re putting out a side, crisp romaine with sliced cucumber and a lemony dressing is good alongside the melted cheese. Roasted broccoli works well too, especially if you want another vegetable with a little browning. Bread is handy for catching the soft pieces of cheese that stay behind in the bowl.

At the table, use the side of the serving spoon to break through the cheese in a couple of places. It makes it easier to lift a bowlful of pasta and leave some of the golden top for the next scoop.