This Italian Wedding Soup Recipe is a warm, comforting meal. The tender mini meatballs go perfectly with the pasta and broth. It’s one of the best, flavorful soups to make for fall.
Soups and stews are such a great way to meal prep. If you want some hearty recipes, try my Cowboy Stew Recipe or my Easy One Pot Lasagna Soup.
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Why this Italian Wedding Soup Recipe is a Keeper
This delicious soup recipe is pure comfort. It’s easy to make, uses familiar ingredients, plus it’s often a family favorite.
- Cozy Comfort: Italian wedding soup combines tiny meatballs, broth, veggies and tiny pasta. It’s truly a comforting soup.
- Simple Ingredients: Everything for this delicious recipe is easy to find at the grocery store.
- Weeknight Friendly: The meatballs cook right in the hearty soup which saves time.
- Family Favorite: Mild flavors, pasta and meatballs make it a hit with kids and adults.
- Serve the Bowl of Soup With: Serve with Air Fryer Garlic Bread, Grilled Panzanella Salad (Tomato Salad with Bread) or Marinated Italian Green Beans.
Why is it Called Italian Wedding Soup?
Also known as “minestra maritata“, it is called Italian Wedding because of the marriage of flavors.
What Reader’s Are Saying…
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“This is the best!!!! We love it…. thank you for sharing!!”
~ Donna
Ingredient Notes for Making Italian Wedding Soup
All of the required ingredients to make the soup are easy to find at the store, but some of the ingredients may be around the kitchen already.
This is an overview of key ingredients. Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Ground Turkey: Ground turkey makes great meatballs. I prefer to use homemade meatballs, but you can always swap for store-bought.
- Vegetables: You will need an onion, carrots, celery, garlic and baby spinach.
- Acini de Pepe: Acini di pepe pasta is a type of small pasta. It’s most closely related to pastina.
Variations and Substitutions for this Soup Recipe to Try
Easily customize recipes for Italian wedding soup by experimenting. The Barefoot Contessa has a great recipe too. Take it to the next level by using different ingredients to try different versions of Italian wedding soup.
➡️ Swap the Greens: Replace spinach with escarole or kale.
➡️ Try Different Pasta: Substitute orzo or ditalini if acini di pepe isn’t available.
➡️ Ground Meat: Make a heartier version by using ground beef meatballs. You could also make meatballs by making them with ground beef and pork or chicken.
➡️ Use Homemade Chicken Stock: You can also replace the broth with beef stock, or use homemade stock to cook the meatballs.
➡️ Add Extra Veggies: Stir in more diced carrots or celery for added flavor.
Special Equipment Needed for Wedding Pasta Soup
You will need a couple different kitchen items to make Italian wedding soup just right.
- Large Soup Pot or Dutch Oven: Make sure you use a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients. You could also use a Dutch oven.
- Grater: Use a cheese grater to grate the onion, garlic, lemon peel and parmesan cheese.
How to Make Italian Wedding Meatball Soup
This recipe comes together in 3 quick and easy steps. This traditional Italian wedding soup is so good, it’s one of my favorite recipes.
These are just highlights. Get the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions in the recipe card below.
- Make Meatballs: Mix together the ground turkey, All Purpose Seasoning, garlic, grated onion, lemon zest, parsley, bread crumbs, egg, milk and parmesan in a large bowl. Form small meatballs and set aside.
- Cook Veggies and Fry the Meatballs: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery, and cook until soft, then add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Gently add the meatballs into the hot liquid, and cook until done.
- Cook the Pasta and Top: Add the pasta into the pot and allow to cook. When pasta is al dente, add the spinach and simmer until spinach is just wilted. Remove from heat and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh parsley and parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Prep Ahead and Short Cut Tips for Italian Soup
There are a few things you can prepare this pot of soup ahead of time, or short cuts you can take.
➡️ Make the Meatballs: Roll the meatball mixture up and refrigerate them up to a day ahead. I like to make mini meatballs to help try to cut down the cooking time.
➡️ Prep the Greens: Wash and chop the greens early so they’re ready to add.
➡️ Chop Aromatics: Dice onion, carrots, and celery and store them in the fridge.
➡️ Short Cut: Use frozen premade meatballs if you’d prefer to not make your own.
Alternate Cooking Methods for this Favorite Recipe
This recipe is best on the stove, but here’s how to make it in the crock pot.
- Slow Cooker Method: Brown meatballs first, then add all ingredients except pasta and greens to the crockpot. Cook on low 6 hours, add pasta and greens during the final 30 minutes.
What Pasta is Best for Italian Wedding Soup?
For this soup, the best pasta is something tiny, quick‑cooking, and able to float around the bowl without overwhelming the meatballs and greens. Shapes like acini di pepe, orzo, ditalini, or pastina are ideal because they stay suspended in the broth and give you that classic, delicate texture the soup is known for. Acini di pepe is the most traditional.
How to Store, Reheat and Use Leftovers
If you store your leftovers the right way, they can be just as good as they were fresh.
- Storing: Keep leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: Freeze it without the pasta. The tiny pasta absorbs liquid and turns mushy after thawing. Cook and add the pasta fresh when serving. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or run the container under hot tap water until the soup releases. Transfer to a pot and bring to a simmer, partially covered, adding more water or broth if necessary.
- Reheating: Warm gently on the stovetop. Add a splash of broth if the pasta absorbed liquid.
- Using Leftovers: Serve with crusty bread or turn leftovers into a quick lunch the next day.
Expert Tips for Making Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
My grandmother always use to make this soup. She would let me help roll the meatballs and stir in the spinach. Here are some tips to make it the best.
➡️ Small Meatballs in Batches: Keep them bite-sized for authentic texture. If you make a ton for meal prep, you may have to bake the meatballs in two batches.
➡️ Cook in Broth: Simmering the meatballs directly in the brothy soup adds flavor.
➡️ Don’t Overcook Pasta: Add pasta near the end of so that pasta is tender still when it’s time to eat.
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Traditional Italian Wedding Soup
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Ingredients
Soup:
- 1 small Onion, chopped
- 2 medium Carrots, diced
- 2 stalks Celery, diced
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon Olive oil
- 6 cups Chicken stock
- 5 ounces Fresh baby spinach, washed and dried, coarsley chopped
- Fresh chopped parsley
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Pepper
- ¾ cup Acini de Pepe pasta, or any small pasta
- Parmesan cheese, Fresh grated
Meatballs:
- ¾ pound Ground turkey
- 2 teaspoons Grated onion
- 2 cloves Garlic, grated
- ¼ teaspoon Lemon zest, fresh grated
- All Purpose Seasoning, to taste
- 1 Tablespoons Parsley, fresh chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Bread crumbs
- 1 Egg
- 1 Tablespoon Milk
- 3 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all of ingredients for the meatballs, mix well. Scoop one Tablespoon of the mixture and form small meatballs. Set aside.
- In a large pot over medium high heat, add the olive oil. When the pan is hot add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes, until vegetables are softened. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
- Add the meatballs and let them cook in the hot liquid for about 10 minutes. Add the pasta and let it cook for the required time on the package directions. Two minutes before the pasta is finished cooking, add the spinach and cook for two minutes.
- Remove soup from heat and add fresh parsely and grated parmesan cheese before serving.
Christina’s Notes
- Keep the Meatballs Small: Bite‑sized meatballs give you that classic texture, and if you’re making a big batch for meal prep, just bake them in batches so they brown evenly.
- Simmer in the Broth: Letting the meatballs cook directly in the soup infuses the broth with flavor and keeps the meatballs tender.
- Add Pasta at the End: Stir the pasta in toward the end of cooking so it stays perfectly tender by the time you’re ready to serve.
- Scale the recipe: Simply adjust the serving size in the recipe card and the ingredients will update automatically.
- Make your own All Purpose Seasoning: When a recipe calls for All Purpose Seasoning, you can use my homemade All Purpose Seasoning recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- Meat doneness: I always use a meat thermometer to test for doneness when cooking meat.
- Use unsalted butter: I use unsalted butter so I can control the salt level in the recipe.
- Preheat the oven: Unless otherwise noted, always preheat your oven before baking.
For more helpful information about this recipe, such as variations, substitutions and other pro-tips, check out the blog post.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided are estimates. It is recommended that you verify this information with your own trusted resource.
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This recipe is my personal adaption of an ethnic-inspired recipe. It is not intended to be an authentic recipe. I’ve recreated this recipe because I enjoy the flavors and I want to encourage my readers to expand their tastes and try new flavor combinations. The recipe, ingredients, and processes may have been adapted to make the recipe accessible to the average American. I have provided links to authentic versions of the recipe in the post above. I encourage you to visit these pages and learn more about the traditional version(s) of this recipe.
This is the best!!!! We love it…. thank you for sharing!!