Italian wedding soup nourishes the belly and soul and is easy to make.
Made in just one pot, this Italian Wedding Soup recipe is filled with mini-meatballs, pasta, and veggies, in a delicous broth.
You’ll Fall In Love With Italian Wedding Soup Because…
- Wholesome ingredients mean this is filled with goodness in every bite.
- It’s easy to make and needs just one pot.
- Prep this recipe up to two days ahead, and the flavors will continue to blend.
- Italian wedding soup is a cozy ‘marriage’ of flavors; everyone loves it.
What You’ll Need to Make Italian Wedding Soup
- Meatballs: I love the flavor of meatballs made with ground beef and pork, but if you have only ground beef (or ground turkey), you can use all beef.
- Broth: Boxed broth makes this easy. Low-sodium varieties work well, too.
- Vegetables: Celery, carrots, and onions add a savory flavor to the broth.
- Greens: Spinach is added to Italian wedding soup for a bit of freshness—it can be replaced with kale or escarole.
- Pasta: Use a smaller pasta shape like acini de pepe or ditalini for this recipe.
Variations & Ingredient Swaps
- Replace white wine with additional chicken broth if you like.
- Stretch this meal a bit further and add flavor by adding extra vegetables and 2 cups of broth.
- Save time by using frozen meatballs, adding them in Step 5.
- No tiny pasta? Small dice a few potatoes, or use white rice or a can of cannellini beans instead. Anything goes!
How to Make Italian Wedding Soup
- Make Meatballs: Mix meatball ingredients (recipe below) and shape into small meatballs. Brown them and transfer them to a plate.
- Cook Vegetables: Soften the veggies and add the seasonings.
- Simmer Pasta: Add the broth, pasta, and meatballs and simmer until the pasta is tender.
- Serve: Stir in spinach before serving. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
We love to serve wedding soup with crusty artisan bread, crescent rolls, or dinner rolls.
Storage & Freezing
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days. The pasta will absorb additional broth as the soup sits—add extra water or broth if needed.
Freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to four 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.
More Italian Soup Recipes
Did your family love this Italian Wedding Soup recipe? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Italian Wedding Soup
Italian Wedding Soup is a hearty, comforting dish with homemade meatballs, pasta, and fresh spinach in a flavorful broth.
Equipment
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 8 ounces lean ground beef
- 8 ounces lean ground pork
- ½ cup fresh bread crumbs 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 or additional chicken broth
- 9 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup acini di pepe or other small pasta suach as ditalini or orzo
- 5 ounces baby spinach fresh, chopped
- shredded Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
- Add ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, egg, salt, oregano, and pepper to a large mixing bowl. Gently mix until fully combined. Shape into small meatballs, about 1 inch in diameter.
- 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 so they can brown on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
- 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.
- 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.
- Add pasta and meatballs to the pot and simmer for 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.
- Serve hot, sprinkled with shredded Parmesan cheese.
Notes
If preferred, you can prepare and bake the meatballs up to 48 hours ahead of time. Place the meatballs on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake at 350°F for 14-16 minutes or until they are cooked through.
Spinach can be substituted for kale if desired. Kale will need longer to cook and should be added with the pasta.
If you don’t have acini de pepe pasta, try other tiny shapes such as ditalini, orzo, or even elbow macaroni.
Keep Italian wedding soup in the fridge for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge, or reheat directly from the freezer using the microwave or stovetop. If you’d like to give the reheated soup a fresh look, toss in some fresh spinach.
*To make fresh breadcrumbs use a blender, food processor or Magic Bullet, to process a slice of bread or bun into crumbs.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 376 | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 94mg | Sodium: 2003mg | Potassium: 670mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 6580IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 198mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Soup
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Delicious. The homemade meatballs make a huge difference. I baked mine in the oven using Holly’s instructions in NOTES. I halved the recipe as it is just me and my husband (empty nesters). Changes I made were – only using ground beef and omitting the white wine.
Congratulations, a really excellent récipe and hearty meal which was enjoyed by everyone, even my 3 and a half yeard old grandson.
I actually cheated a little by spicing Up the meatballs with a little salt, garlic poder and a little tumeric.
Thank you for such good recipes
I made this tonight and it was a hit! The meatballs were perfect. Thanks for the suggestion of using the blender for fresh bread crumbs!
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!