Making an impressive Italian appetizer or entree, depending on when you want to have it, is much easier than most would assume. With a recipe like this one for Italian Wedding Soup, you can stop the cravings and make something you and everyone else around you will absolutely love. I’m also a huge fan of this Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe!
Italian Wedding Soup is, by far, one of my favorite soups of all time. I’ve always ordered it at every Italian restaurant I visit, and there’s a reason for that – it’s THAT good. But I never knew how to make it at home until now. If you love this soup as much as I do and are looking for a new recipe to try, this classic Italian soup won’t disappoint you. It’s hearty, flavorful, and full of ingredients that are actually super good for you.
What You’ll Need
If you want to make Italian Wedding Soup, you’re gonna need quite a few ingredients, but I promise it’s worth it. Be sure to make a list for the grocery store!
- Beef – You will use the beef when preparing the miniature meatballs for the soup (ground turkey can also be used).
- Pork – The pork flavor goes perfectly with the beef and makes the meatballs even juicier.
- Bread Crumbs – When preparing meatballs, you will need bread crumbs and can use your favorite brand or whatever you already have on hand.
- Egg – The large egg keeps everything together and works as a great binding agent for the meatballs.
- Chicken Broth – You can’t have this soup without the broth. Chicken broth works best for this recipe.
- Minced Garlic – Add natural flavor to this soup by mincing some garlic cloves and tossing them into your pot with the other ingredients.
- Pasta – Use acini de pepe pasta in this recipe to ensure the pasta doesn’t take away from the broth or the meatballs in this dish.
A few other ingredients that will complete this recipe include vegetables like carrots, yellow onion, celery, olive oil, and baby spinach.
Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe Tips
Want to ensure this Italian Wedding Soup is the best you’ve ever tasted? If so, I have a few recommendations!
- Brown your meatballs in a skillet on the stovetop for a minute or two on each side. Browning them gives them this naturally delicious flavor and makes the soup taste even better.
- Keep the meatballs relatively small. Remember – you’re making homemade soup, not pasta, so you don’t need giant meatballs. I like to keep them as tiny as possible!
- Don’t be afraid to sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. I’m a cheese lover, so I think this is the perfect way to top this soup before serving. The flavor of the parmesan cheese goes great with the flavorful broth and savory meatballs.
Wedding Soup Recipe Variations
- You can use any kind of meat you want for the meatballs, such as a combination of chicken and pork, turkey, or anything else that you like best. Of course, using different meats may change the overall taste of the Italian Wedding Soup slightly.
- If you don’t have spinach available, you can use kale. I personally prefer spinach, but kale will work when you’re in a pinch and need something to take the place of the spinach.
- You can use a lower sodium version of the chicken broth if need be. Don’t have broth on hand? Combine chicken bouillon with water to prepare a broth, and then add it to your pot of soup.
Which Type of Pasta is Best to Use for Italian Wedding Soup?
I think acini de pepe is the best pasta to use in Italian Wedding Soup. However, if you don’t have it or can’t find it in your grocery store, orzo is the next best option! It’s best to use a small type of pasta for this recipe because you don’t want it to take up too much space to the point that you’re only tasting pasta and not able to enjoy the broth and meatballs as much as you’d like. Another option is Ditalini.
How to Store Italian Wedding Soup
Keep your Italian Wedding Soup in an airtight container and place it in the fridge. You can store it for up to five days or place it in the freezer, where you can store it for up to two months.
More Top Rated Soup Recipes:
- Cabbage Roll Soup
- Cheeseburger Soup
- Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup
- Asian Chicken Noodle Soup
- Reuben Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/2 cup fresh white bread crumbs
- 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Soup
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 5 (14.5) ounce cans low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup acini de pepe or orzo pasta uncooked
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves
- shredded parmesan for serving
Instructions
- Add all meatball ingredients except olive oil to a large mixing bowl. Gently mix until combined. Shape the mixture into 1 inch meatballs.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in large pot over medium high heat. Add about half the meatballs and cook about 3 minutes per side, turning to brown all over. Transfer to plate. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
- Add 1 Tablespoon olive oil to the same dutch oven and reduce heat to medium low. Add the diced onion, carrots and celery and cook 5 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook about 1 minute. Season with salt, pepper.
- Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- 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 cook until wilted.
- Serve hot, topped with shredded Parmesan cheese.
Last Step:
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8 comments on “Italian Wedding Soup”
Been making this recipe for years. Best ever, sometimes i use escarole and spinach together. I make about 220 small meatbals. My sons family loves it so i make 4 gallons at a time and they freeze 2 gallons and eat one. I freeze 1 gallon for myself. The best ever.
FANTASTIC!!!!!!! Loved this soup recipe. Best ever! thanks so much
Can never have enough
I’m looking forward to making this soup, looks delicious! I find spinach to be a little bitter in soup, can I substitute escarole instead and how much.
Hi Karen. I haven’t tried that but it should work fine if that’s a better taste for you. You could start with 2 or 3 cups.
Karen it’s usually escarole. My husband and his family are from Naples and I thought it was spinach too but a very large extended family corrected me. I say use whatever you enjoy eating
Escarole is always used in Italian wedding soup.
I will do this one, seems simple & looks like my Aunt’s Wedding Soup from when I was growing up. My Mom’s family was from Naples.