Our Italian wedding soup recipe combines homemade meatballs, spinach, and a rich and savory broth. It’s so good that I have a hard time eating only one serving!
My Italian wedding soup recipe is inspired by the Italian-American classic with a flavorful broth with small pasta, mini meatballs, and spinach. While it might not be traditional Italian fare, it’s delicious. We even enjoyed it two nights in a row recently!
You’ll make this soup from scratch, but don’t worry about it being too complicated. It’s simpler than you’d think and absolutely worth the effort for one of the tastiest bowls of soup I’ve had in a while! For more Italian-inspired soup recipes, see our tortellini soup or this sausage potato soup.
Key Ingredients
- Ground Meat: I love combining ground pork and turkey for these meatballs. The pork makes them really juicy, and the turkey keeps them light. You can use your favorite ground meat, beef, turkey, pork, and chicken.
- Meatball Mixture: These meatballs call for ingredients similar to our Italian meatballs. You will need breadcrumbs, milk (dairy or non-dairy), and an egg to keep them moist in the middle. Then, you’ll stir in parmesan cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper so they taste great.
- Pasta: Any small pasta shape works, although we like to use Ancini di Pepe if I can find it. Orzo or pearl couscous are great substitutes.
- Veggies: I love a base of vegetables in this wedding soup, so I add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and fresh spinach leaves to the broth. As a substitute for spinach, consider kale or escarole.
- Broth: I use chicken stock for this soup, but a rich vegetable broth would be lovely.
- Fresh Herbs: Right before serving, I love stirring fresh green herbs in the soup and especially enjoy fresh parsley and dill.
How to Make Italian Wedding Soup
Making our Italian wedding soup is really easy! You’ll start with the meatballs, which are quick and easy to put together. Just mix everything until blended and then form into small meatballs.
Grab the soup pot you plan to cook your soup in and use it to brown the meatballs. This is my favorite tip for the best Italian wedding soup. Scraping up those tasty browned bits from the bottom adds incredible flavor to the broth. Trust me, you don’t want to miss that extra flavor!
When the meatballs are browned on all sides, transfer them to a plate and continue making the soup. You’ll saute the veggies first, add stock, simmer, and then finish with the pasta, browned meatballs, and spinach. It all goes quickly!
Before serving, stir in a handful of fresh herbs, and then enjoy! This soup truly is delicious. My whole family loves it!
If you love meatballs as much as we do, I highly recommend looking at our spaghetti and meatballs, these Swedish meatballs, or our juicy meatball recipe!
Easy Italian Wedding Soup
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Our Italian wedding soup recipe marries homemade meatballs, spinach, and a rich and savory broth. The type of ground meat you use is up to you. Ground beef, pork, turkey, and chicken all work well. You can use one or combine two types of meat for a more complex and tasty meatball. When we make this recipe, we love to combine ground pork and ground turkey. The pork makes the meatballs super juicy and rich, and the turkey keeps them light. I love the combination!
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
For the Meatballs1 pound (450g) ground beef, pork, chicken, turkey, or a combination; we prefer a 50-50 blend of pork and turkey
1/2 cup (35g) panko breadcrumbs or homemade breadcrumbs
1/2 cup (118ml) milk, dairy or non-dairy
1 large egg
1/4 cup (14g) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, 1/2 ounce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
For the Soup2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
2 celery ribs, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced, 2 teaspoons
1 bay leaf
8 cups (1.8L) chicken stock
1/2 cup (113g) small pasta like Ancini di Pepe, orzo, or pearl couscous
4 cups (113g) baby spinach, substitute kale or escarole
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Handful of fresh dill, optional
Directions
- Prepare the Meatballs
1Stir breadcrumbs and milk in a large bowl and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the egg, parmesan cheese, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir until well blended.
2Add the ground meat, and use a fork or your fingers to gently mix everything until combined. Try not to overmix for the most tender meatballs.
3Wet your hands and form the mixture into ½-inch balls (about 2 teaspoons). You should get about 35 meatballs. A small cookie scoop is useful here (see our video).
4Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the bottom of a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Place the meatballs into the hot oil and cook until browned on all sides, about 10 minutes. Depending on the shape or size of the pot, you may need to do this in two batches. Transfer the browned meatballs to a plate.
- Make the Soup
1Check the bottom of the pot used to brown the meatballs. If there is a lot of oil/fat left, remove most of it.
2Place the pot back over medium heat, and then add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring every few minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften, 5 to 6 minutes.
3Stir in the garlic and bay leaf. Cook, stirring the garlic around the pan, for about 1 minute.
4Pour in the stock and bring to a low simmer. Use a spoon to scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot.
5Taste the soup, then adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. You may need 1/2 or more teaspoons of salt, depending on the stock used.
6Simmer the soup for 20 minutes, then add the pasta and browned meatballs. Simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes or until the pasta is cooked.
7Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Italian wedding soup can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months. If you plan to freeze the soup as a make-ahead meal, leave out the pasta, as it can become mushy when thawed and reheated. When reheating, add dry pasta and cook fresh.
- Dairy-free meatballs: Substitute the milk for unsweetened dairy-free milk and the cheese for 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast.
- Gluten-free meatballs: Substitute the bread crumbs for crushed gluten-free cereal or crackers
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We included 8 ounces of turkey and 8 ounces of pork for the meatballs.
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loved the soup
I just made this recipe and received rave reviews from the family. Very flavorful. Will definitely add to my repertoire! Thanks!
This soup is delicious as are all of your soup recipes. However, I did substitute spicy Italian sausage for the hamburger and it gave it major awesome flavor!!!
Hi Ms. Frida, if you would like to add tomato we would recommend adding the tomato when you add the broth.
Delicious and comforting recipe! It’s definitely a keeper and so frugal, we love it!
Thanks so much for your recipes – my family has really enjoyed many of them. Regarding the Italian Wedding Soup – wondering how this soup tastes the next day vs. the day made. Wondering how well this would hold. Some soups actually get better the next day so inquiring about this one. Thanks so much! Looking forward to making it.
It does taste amazing the next day, just keep in mind that as the pasta sits in the broth, it will soften. I don’t mind this, but it’s something to be aware of.
I’d love to try this recipe, but live on my own, so can I freeze the leftovers?
Yes, absolutely.
I finally made the Italian Wedding Soup, love the combination of vegetables, herbs plus the meatballs ( turkey) tender and flavorful. Will do it again
this soup was delicious. First time making it and my husband and I both loved it. The meatballs were really tender and everything about it was really good! Definitely will make it again.thank you!
So glad you loved it 🙂