This Italian wedding soup recipe has homemade meatballs, tender greens, and pasta in the most perfect, comforting, savory broth.
Every time I make this Italian wedding soup, I fall in love with it all over again. The meatballs are perfectly tender and juicy on the inside, and the broth is incredibly flavorful.
Making this soup is 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 like this, you may enjoy our turkey meatball soup with orzo.
Key Ingredients
- Ground Meat: You can use your favorite ground meat, such as beef, turkey, pork, or chicken. I love combining ground pork and turkey for the meatballs. The pork makes them really juicy, and the turkey keeps them light.
- Meatball Mixture: These Italian wedding soup meatballs require ingredients similar to those used in 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 to add lots of delicious flavor.
- Pasta: Any small pasta shape works, although we prefer to use Acini di Pepe if available. 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. I love homemade chicken stock, bone broth, or this vegetable broth.
- Fresh Herbs: Right before serving, I love stirring fresh green herbs in the soup and especially enjoy fresh parsley and dill.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Italian Wedding Soup
Tip 1: Making the meatballs. These meatballs are incredibly easy to prepare. Mix everything until blended and then form into small meatballs. I use a small cookie scoop to portion them out, then roll them with damp hands until smooth.
Tip 2: Brown the meatballs in the soup pot. To add lots of flavor to your soup’s broth, brown your meatballs in oil directly in the soup pot you plan to use for making your soup. As they brown, they will leave little bits of stuck meat and spices on the bottom of the pot. 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!
Tip 3: Finishing the soup. When the meatballs are browned on all sides, transfer them to a plate and continue making the soup. You’ll sauté 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!
More Italian-Inspired Soups
- Veggie Tortellini Soup
- Sausage and Potato Soup
- Easy White Bean Soup
- Simple Tomato Soup
- Minestrone Soup
Easy Italian Wedding Soup
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Our Italian wedding soup combines homemade meatballs, spinach, and a rich, savory broth. The type of ground meat you use is up to you. Ground beef, pork, turkey, and chicken all work well. 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.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
For the Meatballs1 pound ground beef, pork, chicken, turkey, or a combination; we prefer a 50-50 blend of pork and turkey (450g)
½ cup panko breadcrumbs or homemade breadcrumbs (35g)
½ cup milk, dairy or non-dairy (118ml)
1 large egg
¼ cup (14g) finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, ½ ounce
½ teaspoon dried oregano
¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
For the Soup2 tablespoons olive oil or avocado oil
½ medium onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
2 celery ribs, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced, 2 teaspoons
1 bay leaf
8 cups chicken stock (1.8L)
½ cup small pasta like Acini di Pepe, orzo, or pearl couscous (113g)
4 cups baby spinach, substitute kale or escarole (113g)
½ 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. Place 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.
2Stir in the garlic and bay leaf. Cook, stirring the garlic around the pan, for about 1 minute.
3Pour 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. Taste the soup, then adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. You may need ½ or more teaspoons of salt, depending on the stock used.
4Simmer 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.
5Stir in the spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: This 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.
Nice recipe! You may wish to correct “ancini” to “acini” though, as that’s the correct name for this delightful small pasta. I have happy childhood memories of dishes made with this and with pastina (my mother’s go-to for little ones who were under the weather).
Hi Paula, Thanks for pointing that out. I did fix the mistake.
This soup was delicious. I used a mixture of pork, lean ground beef and turkey for the meatballs and they were so tender and flavorful. I love that your recipes are not complicated and have ingredients that are typically in the pantry.
That’s wonderful to read, Janis. Thank you for coming back!
Good job.
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 🙂