Italian Wedding Soup

Published January 30, 2017. Updated April 16, 2019

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.

Best Italian Wedding Soup! I used to be intimidated to make Italian Wedding Soup. I have no Italian lineage and my mom never made it growing up, so for whatever reason it seemed easy to mess up.

But I’m here to tell you it is so easy to make and following this simple recipe people may likely think it was passed down from an Italian Grandmother.

Closeup overhead image of Italian Wedding Soup in a large white bowl.

Tips for the Best Italian Wedding Soup

This is my idea of the best Italian Wedding Soup! What makes it the best you’re likely asking? It’s a number of things so here we go:

  • Searing the meatballs is a game changer in my opinion. Why just simmer them in broth them when you can brown them first add add all that flavor?
  • Make the meatballs small. This is soup, not a big bowl of pasta.
  • Use fresh herbs. They really add great flavor.
  • Stick with the combination of the two meats.
  • Use fresh bread crumbs. Again we’re building better flavor. The texture of dry would throw this recipe off anyway.
  • Don’t be skimpy with the garlic. This is an Italian soup. I like to use 4 cloves here.
  • Bring on the parm! The shredded parmesan will really compliment the soup nicely. It may not be pictured as a finishing garnish, but don’t leave it off!
  • Stick with tiny pasta, I love how it sets this soup apart.

 

Two white bowls filled wit Italian Wedding Soup set over a gray surface.

Want to see how easy this Italian Wedding Soup recipe is? Watch the video!

What Pasta to Use for Italian Wedding Soup?

I like this best with acini de pepe. Acini de pepe are just those tiny little round pasta that can usually be found by the other pastas at the grocery store. If you can’t find them orzo will work here as well.

Italian Wedding Soup in a large white enameled pot. Soup includes meatballs, bits of pasta, carrots, celery, spinach and broth.

Can I Substitute Other Greens Here?

I prefer the flavor of the spinach best here but kale, endive or escarole are other greens commonly used in Italian Wedding Soup and they would work fine in this recipe.

If using one of those previously listed I’d recommend adding them along with the pasta as they’ll need a longer cook time. The spinach cooks almost instantly whereas those others wont.

This soup might require a little more prep than some of your average soups (such as grinding up fresh bread crumbs and shaping and browning the tiny meatballs) but the extra steps and extra pan are so worth it in the end. Hope you love it too!

Italian Wedding Soup. Two servings shown in a white bowl with a white pot half full in the background.

More Soup Recipes You Might Like

16 Quick & Easy 30 Minute Recipes! (plus weekly recipe updates)

4.95 from 252 votes

Italian Wedding Soup

The BEST Italian Wedding Soup! Filled with homemade browned meatballs, fresh veggies and tiny bits of pasta. Total comfort food any day of the year!
Servings: 6
Prep25 minutes
Cook25 minutes
Ready in: 50 minutes

Ingredients

Meatballs

Soup

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/4 cups 1/4-inch diced carrots
  • 1 1/4 cups diced yellow onion
  • 3/4 cup 1/4-inch diced celery
  • 4 cloves garlic , minced (1 1/2 Tbsp)
  • 5 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup dry acini de pepe or orzo pasta**
  • 6 oz fresh spinach , chopped
  • Finely shredded parmesan , for serving

Instructions

  • For the meatballs:
  • Add beef and pork to a large mixing bowl. Add in bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, parmesan, egg, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
  • Gently toss and break up mixture with hands to evenly coat and distribute. Shape mixture into very small meatballs, about 3/4 inch to 1 inch and transfer to a large plate.
  • Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook until browned, turning occasionally (to brown on 2 or 3 sides), about 4 minutes total.
  • Transfer meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels while leaving oil in skillet. Repeat process with remaining meatballs (note that meatballs won't be cooked through at this point, they'll continue to cook through in the soup).
  • For the soup:
  • While meatballs are browning, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions and celery and saute until veggies have softened about 6 - 8 minutes, add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
  • Pour in chicken broth, season soup with salt and pepper to taste and bring mixture to a boil. Add in pasta and meatballs, reduce heat to light boil (about medium or medium-low).
  • Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through, about 10 minutes, while adding in spinach during the last minute of cooking. Serve warm, sprinkle each serving with parmesan cheese.

Notes

  • *I recommend using bread such as a La Brea french loaf. Just grind up a slice in a food processor to fine crumbs. Save the remaining bread for serving (slathered with butter of course) or freeze for another later use.
  • **If you like a more brothier soup you can reduce pasta to 3/4 cup. Note that as the soup sits the pasta will absorb more broth so you can add more broth to thin the soup as desired.
Nutrition Facts
Italian Wedding Soup
Amount Per Serving
Calories 396 Calories from Fat 180
% Daily Value*
Fat 20g31%
Saturated Fat 6g38%
Cholesterol 85mg28%
Sodium 362mg16%
Potassium 911mg26%
Carbohydrates 25g8%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 29g58%
Vitamin A 7490IU150%
Vitamin C 16.6mg20%
Calcium 190mg19%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

Leave a Comment

Rate this recipe




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

533 Comments

  • Rachel

    This is the best soup. Made four soups for family Christmas. It was the one everyone liked. It was new for this year. They like my others too. But had not had this one. All want it added again.

  • Shannon Duffy

    I made this for a large group the day after Thanksgiving for lunch with some nice local bread. It turned out fantastic. Everyone loved it. One trick I did was roll out the meatball mix between two pieces of parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thick. Removed top layer of paper and using a pizza knife cut a grid yielding 1″ squares and made tiny meatballs out of each square. It took a while but was worth it. The drippings from the meatballs were awesome and the broth was delicious. I used a head of escarole (rough chop into 1″ pieces and grilled) and a large bag of spinach (also 1 ” chop) sauted with the onions and carrots. Use fresh parsley and fresh oregano. I’ll be making this again for sure.

  • Meghan L Lavery

    I’m about to start prepping this and I don’t have orzo!! I just cant get myself to go back out to the supermarket, has anyone used another pasta or rice? Currently in my house I have: brown rice, cous cous, quinoa, basmati rice and gluten free spiral pasta. Help!

  • archman

    Never cook acini de pepe in the soup, creates too much starch. Cook separately, rinse then add to the soup.

  • Judith Castro

    Absolutely delicious!!! Everyone at work loved it, even people that are not into soups. My only substitution was organic chicken stock in place of chicken broth. My husband is already asking when I’m going to make it again.

  • Lamar Watson

    This is an awesome soup ! we will be making it again and again! Cant wait to share with family next time. only change we made was we made homemade chicken broth. Served with a crusty bread for dipping.try this recipe,you wont be disappointed

  • Charlene

    The prep time here is way off. It took me 2.5 hours ,but I also did not have a large skillet available , (only have a medium sized one)so I had to cook the meatballs 3 seperate times. No fresh parsley@3 local supermarkets today so I used fresh Cliantro instead(slightly less than recipe called for as it is a bit stronger than parsley)as well as added a mox of some shredded romano & parmesean bc I couldn’t find fresh romano. 1st time I ever made it , so I’m sure it won’t take as long next time.