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This Italian wedding soup recipe is an irresistible classic with tender meatballs and a gorgeous broth! Pasta and fresh spinach round out this tasty soup.
I think you’ll also like my Minestrone Soup and Italian Meatball Soup recipes next.
Why you’ll love it
There aren’t many soups out there that match the cozy factor of Italian wedding soup. Homemade meatballs, plenty of love put into it, and an incredibly flavorful broth… yes please. This beloved soup is straightforward to make and filling without being heavy.
It’s called Italian wedding soup not because of anyone’s nuptials. In Italian “minestra maritata” literally means “married soup”; however, it refers to the marriage of flavors, namely the vegetables and meatballs. This traditional soup actually dates back to even before the tomato arrived in Italy. The more you know!
What you’ll need
For the meatballs
- Panade – the mixture of seasoned Italian breadcrumbs and milk keeps the meatballs moist and juicy
- Meat – we’re using a combo of Italian sausage and ground beef
- Parmesan – freshly grated parm adds irresistibly cheesy flavor
- Egg – to bind everything together
- Salt & pepper – very important to bring out the flavors
For the soup
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Onion, celery, carrots – the base of a good soup. I like sweet (Vidalia) onion.
- Garlic – a generous amount to infuse aromatic goodness
- Chicken broth – added savory flavor
- Italian seasoning – my absolute favorite all-purpose blend of dried herbs. It comes in a single jar.
- Pasta – acini de pepe is the traditional tiny, round pasta for this soup
- Spinach – a pop of freshness
Helpful tips
- The oil in the pot needs to be very hot so the meatballs don’t stick when you’re browning them. Heating the pot for 4-5 minutes over medium-high heat prior to adding the meatballs in should do it.
- It’s best to handle meatballs with a delicate touch and not over-mix them so they stay tender for the best Italian wedding soup. You should be able to see individual meatball components when you look at them.
How to make Italian wedding soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Make the panade using the breadcrumbs and milk in a prep bowl. Add the remaining meatball ingredients, mix, then form 1″ meatballs. Transfer to a couple of plates. In a large pot, sear the meatballs until lightly browned, working in two batches, then transfer them to a plate.
Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery in the soup pot. Stir in the garlic, and cook another minute. Add in the broth, Italian seasoning, and meatballs. Bring to a boil.
Once boiling, add in the pasta. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring every so often. Stir in the spinach until wilted. Season with salt & pepper. Serve with extra parm if desired.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- Cooking tongs are the easiest way to turn the meatballs while you’re searing them.
- A sturdy ladle is useful for dishing up this soup with less mess.
- I used my 5.5 quart Staub Dutch oven for making this.
- Store the other half of your onion in this handy onion saver.
Substitutions and variations
- If you can’t find acini de pepe pasta, orzo can make a good substitute.
- This soup is traditionally made with escarole instead of spinach, so if you can find it, feel free to use it. It takes longer than spinach to soften, so I would add it in at the same time as the pasta.
- Don’t have Italian-style breadcrumbs? Add 1/2 teaspoon of Italian seasoning to the meatball mixture.
What to serve with Italian wedding soup
- A slice of crusty bread or Garlic Bread is all you need to make it a complete meal!
- But it’s also delicious with a side salad. Try mixed greens with my Creamy Balsamic Dressing or this Homemade Italian Dressing.
Leftovers and storage
- This soup will keep 3-4 days in the fridge. The pasta will soak up some of the broth the longer it sits, however, so you may want to add some more chicken broth when reheating leftovers if needed. Alternatively, you can cook the pasta separately and add it into portions when reheating if you plan on having lots of leftovers.
- This soup can be frozen for up to 3 months, but if you’re planning on freezing the entire batch, I would add the pasta and spinach in when reheating.
If you made this simple wedding soup recipe, please leave a star rating and review below! Questions? Talk to me. You can also find me on Instagram.
Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1/2 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound Italian sausage
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese + more for serving
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pepper to taste
Soup:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 sticks celery chopped
- 3 medium carrots peeled & chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup uncooked acini de pepe pasta or orzo
- 1 (5 ounce) package fresh baby spinach see note
Instructions
- Add the breadcrumbs and milk to a large prep bowl. Using a fork, mash together until smooth. Add in the remaining meatball ingredients. Mix together, using your hands, taking care not to overwork the mixture. Form 1" meatballs (about 1 tablespoon each, making 40-45 meatballs). Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet or a couple of large plates.
- Prep the soup ingredients. Add the olive oil to a soup pot or Dutch oven, and heat it over medium-high heat until the pot is HOT (important so the meatballs don't stick). Sear the meatballs in two batches for about 5 min/batch until they're nicely browned on the outside. They will finish cooking in the soup. Transfer meatballs to a plate once seared.
- To the soup pot, add the onions, celery, and carrots. Sauté for 7-8 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in the broth, Italian seasoning, and meatballs. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.
- Once the soup is boiling, add in the pasta. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, pot uncovered, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the spinach, let it wilt, and season the soup with salt & pepper if needed. Serve with extra freshly grated parmesan cheese on top of bowls if desired.
Notes
- Escarole is traditionally used in this recipe, so you can swap it for the spinach if you prefer/can find it. It needs longer to soften, so I would add it in at the same time as the pasta.
- See blog post for more tips, FAQ, and step-by-step photos!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi
Can you use panko instead of bread crumbs?
Sure!
This soup turned out so yummy. I made a few changes by swapping ground beef to ground chicken, added a potato and used kale instead of spinach. My family loved it too. Thanks for sharing such a great soup recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Lena!! 😀 Thank you!
Could I make this soup, store it in the fridge, and then reheat it in a crockpot to serve for brunch the next day?
That should be fine, but pasta in soups does tend to soak the broth up and puff up a bit, so you may want to do a test run ahead of time to ensure it turns out the way you want it to, or add the cooked pasta separately just before serving.
This was delicious! While I hate to be that person who rates a recipe 5 stars and then talks about changes they made, I did make one modification that I thought I’d pass along. I needed to make this GF and could not find a tiny GF pasta shapes locally. So, I used short grain brown rice instead. It still tasted great.
I’m so glad it worked out!
Delicious! I followed the recipe with the exception of celery. I didn’t have any and I didn’t want to venture to the grocery store.
So happy you enjoyed it, Tracey!! 😀 Thanks for your review!
5/5 – it was delicious
Yay!! I’m thrilled to hear that, Di! 😀
Of course I had to put my own spin on this recipe, but what a hit!! Everyone loved it and had multiple helpings. I doubled the meat to ~1# each of ground beef and hot Italian sausage. I only had shaved parmesan, which worked out beautifully. I also doubled the vegetables, but did not double the broth and it turned out perfectly. This recipe is definitely on the short list!
That’s awesome!! So glad it’s a new favorite, Keri! Appreciate your 5-star review!
Substituted turkey meatballs baked in the oven. Soup was delicious! Next time I’ll try it with escarole.
Fantastic!! Glad you enjoyed it, Kelly. Thanks for your review!
5/5 is an UNDERSTATEMENT. I come from a traditional Italian family & this was a complete win. Even my 3 year old who is in a picky phase had 2 bowls! We prefer spinach over traditional escarole so we appreciated using that instead. I didn’t add any additional salt at the end since the broth is salty itself. The only question I had was can we freeze it?
Thank you Salt & Lavender Blog for all the amazing recipes! My family thanks you!
Oh wow that makes me so happy, Christina!! I appreciate your review! Yes, you can freeze it. More specific instructions are in the “storage & leftovers” section of the blog post if you want to freeze an entire batch. 🙂
I couldn’t stop eating! This is such a beautiful dish, marrying all the ingredients together 😉 as it lives up to its name. The broth is tasty, and hearty but not heavy. It’s my first time mixing Italian sausage meat into ground meat and I’m not going to eat plain meatballs ever (haha). I am new to your blog and this is the 2nd recipe I’ve tried (the first was the Lemon Orzo Salad with Chicken) and I am coming back for more. Thank you so much for sharing these delicious recipes.
I’m thrilled you enjoyed it, Sandra!! 😀 Thanks so much for your kind comment! Let me know what else you make.
This recipe is a total winner. I’ve tried other wedding soup recipes from Instagram to old family recipes, and this one is hands down the VERY BEST!! I first made it for my husband who is very picky. He kept going back and back for more! He told everyone about it, and I now get random calls from his friends and other people asking for the recipe! So easy to make! This recipe is a gift!
Oh wow!! That makes me so happy!! 😀 Thanks for taking the time to write me a review!