Italian wedding soup soothes and nourishes! It’s made with bite-sized meatballs, spinach, and pasta in a flavorful broth with fresh Parmesan!
It’s easy to make ahead of time and this soup freezes well.
A Simple Rustic Soup
- Simple and rustic, Italian wedding soup is easy to make on the stove or in a Crock Pot.
- This soup is hearty enough as a full meal for dinner, or a smaller serving makes a perfect side with an Italian salad.
- Double the recipe because this recipe makes great leftovers and can be frozen.
- Prepare a day or two ahead of time to allow the flavors time to ‘marry’, perfect for a quick weeknight meal.
- This Italian wedding soup recipe is packed with leafy greens, herbs, and garlic for maximum flavor and health.
Ingredients in Italian Wedding Soup
Meatballs – A combination of lean ground beef and pork has great flavor in these mini meatballs. Ground turkey or chicken is another great option. An egg mixture with bread crumbs helps hold the meatballs together.
Broth – We prefer chicken broth in this recipe. Vegetable or beef broth can be substituted.
Vegetables – Typical Italian wedding soup is made with spinach, but you can use other leafy greens like cabbage, endive, escarole, or kale. Carrots, onion, and celery add great flavor to the broth.
Pasta – The tiny pasta in Italian wedding soup is called acini de pepe and it is about the size of grape seeds. It’s the perfect choice for this soup, but other tiny pasta shapes are also appropriate, such as ditalini or orzo. In a pinch, you could add or substitute potatoes cut into cubes.
Wine – White wine elevates the flavor but can be left out. This Italian wedding soup recipe is super flexible to adjust to taste.
How to Make Italian Wedding Soup
- Combine the meatball ingredients in a large bowl per the recipe below and form into 1” meatballs.
- Brown them in a large soup pot, then set aside.
- In the same pot, sauté the vegetables and garlic until softened.
- Deglaze the pot with white wine, add in the broth, pasta, and meatballs, and simmer.
- Stir in spinach and serve with Parmesan cheese.
Italian wedding soup can be served anytime! It is widely documented that the name comes from an Italian phrase, “minestra maritata”, which literally means “married soup” because the ingredients marry as they cook.
In most American restaurants and recipes, this soup usually consists of mini meatballs, a tiny pasta, and often a green like spinach. We add in garlic, veggies, and herbs.
Top it all off with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
We love this recipe with crusty bread for dipping and a side salad.
Store Italian wedding soup in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to three months. Thaw in the refrigerator, or reheat straight from the freezer in the microwave or on the stovetop. Add some fresh spinach to the reheated soup if you want to refresh its appearance.
More Fave Soup Recipes
Italian Sausage Soup
Italian Bean Soup
- Homemade Tomato Soup (Fresh Tomatoes)
- Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
- Ham Bone Soup (Slow Cooker)
- Skinny Potato Soup
- Vegetable Soup Recipe
Did your family love this Italian Wedding Soup recipe? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Italian Wedding Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 8 ounces ground beef
- 8 ounces ground pork
- ½ cup fresh breadcrumbs see notes
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Soup
- 1 medium yellow onion minced
- 2 large carrots peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 9 – 10 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup dried acini di pepe pasta or ditalini, orzo
- 5 ounces baby spinach fresh, chopped
- shredded Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
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Add all meatball ingredients except olive oil to a large mixing bowl. Gently mix until fully combined. Shape into small meatballs, about 1 inch in diameter.
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Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add about half of the meatballs and cook for about 3 minutes per side, turning to brown all over. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
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Reduce heat to medium and add onions, carrots, and celery to the Dutch oven, adding additional oil if needed. Cook for 6 minutes, or until softened. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant. Season with pepper and dill.
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Add wine and deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil.
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Add pasta and meatballs to the pot and cook 8-10 minutes, until pasta is tender and meatballs are cooked through. During the last minute of cooking, add spinach and let it wilt. Taste, and season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
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Serve hot, sprinkled with shredded Parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Soup
Cuisine American, Italian
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Absolutely delicious! My whole family loved it and we will definitely be making this again.
For your soups, what is the typical serving size? Range will do.
This soup is approximately 1 ½ to 2 cups per serving.
I love all your recipes!
Under Nutrition, could you please start adding serving size to your recipes?
Thank you for your suggestion, Ester! As we retest recipes we do add them in.
I was short on time so instead of making the meatballs I browned 1 lb of sweet italian sausage. It was delicious. I am making it again for Christmas and taking the time to make the meatballs. I hope this short cut can help another busy mom.
This was delicious! I will definitely be making it again soon.
So glad you loved it, Erin!
This is now my favorite soup recipe! Because I do my best to eat gluten free, I subbed gf elbow macaroni for the pasta. It turned out amazing. I would love to see more gluten free recipes on the site if possible. Your recipe site is go-to for affordable, delicious food. The recipes are well test and reliable. Kudos!
this recipe was so yummy!! I was craving vegetables with a brothy kind of soup and this hit the spot. Pork makes my family feel a bit yukky so I did half beef half chicken mince and it still tasted so good!
Glad you enjoyed it, Samantha!