Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
A simple recipe for classic Wedding Soup that comes together so quickly as a one-pot soup. Italian wedding soup is known for its flavorful meatballs with vegetables, spinach, and pasta in a delicious broth.
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Hey, hey! Valentina with Valentina’s Corner sharing our traditional Wedding Soup Recipe.
What is Italian Wedding Soup?
Wedding soup gets its name from an Italian phrase which is translated to “married soup”. It is a reference to the flavors coming together so well, like a marriage.
Meatballs in a hearty broth with acini di pepe pasta, greens, and vegetables. It’s a little like the Italian version of Chicken Noodle Soup. The recipe comes together so quickly, making it a great recipe for busy evenings.
How to make Wedding Soup?
If you are looking for a soup that is so easy to make yet tastes wonderful, this is it! The process and ingredients are so simple:
- Prep and saute the Italian meatballs.
- Saute the vegetables until tender.
- Add chicken broth and pasta, boiling 5 minutes.
- Return meatballs to soup and season.
- Add fresh spinach and cook just until wilted.
Tips for the BEST Italian Wedding Soup-
- Start with a Great Base: For the best taste, use Homemade Chicken Stock.
- One-Pot Soup: Though we prefer cooking the meatball in a Dutch oven for a one-pot soup, you can easily bake the meatballs.
- Pasta Varieties: In the traditional soup, acini di pepe pasta is used. If your local grocery store doesn’t carry the pasta, you can easily substitute with orzo or ditalini.
- Spinach Substitute: If you don’t like spinach, you can substitute it for kale like we use for Zuppa Toscana and cook an extra 5 minutes.
- Brown the Meatballs: When sauteeing the meatballs, you just want to brown them on all sides. The meatballs don’t need to cook all the way through, they will finish cooking once added to the soup.
- Meat Substitutions: Ground beef and pork are traditional, but you can use a combination of any ground meat for the meatballs. Try sausages as we used in our White Bean Sausage Kale Soup.
How to Shape Meatballs:
You can make large meatballs and yield about 18-20 meatballs or shape mini meatballs and get about 35-40 meatballs. The mini meatballs will take less time to cook.
- Portion meatballs by using a trigger release ice cream scoop.
- Dip hands in cold water and with wet hands, roll each portion of meat into a ball. This will keep the meat from sticking to your hands.
Don’t feel intimidated to try this Classic Italian Wedding Soup Recipe. It truly is so easy to make and kids love the meatballs.
More Hearty Soup Recipes to Enjoy:
If you enjoy warm, comforting soups in the cooler months, these are sure to become new favorite soup recipes for you.
- Creamy Carrot Soup – so silky and tastes gourmet
- Potato Soup – creamy and loaded
- Pasta e Fagioli – famous restaurant copycat
- Creamy Vegetable Soup – so satisfying
- Chicken and Potato – creamy but light
Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
Ingredients
For the Italian Meatballs
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 3 Tbsp whole milk
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning
For the Wedding Soup:
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
- 5 oz fresh spinach, coarsley chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup dry acini de pepe pasta, or orzo
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ tsp salt, or to taste
- ½ tsp ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine together the ground pork, beef, egg, garlic, parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, milk, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Shape into 18-20 meatballs (or 35-40 mini meatballs).
- In a Dutch oven, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium/high heat. Once the oil is hot, add half of the meatballs. Cook until the meatballs are browned, turning occasionally. Remove the meatballs to a separate dish and repeat with remaining meatballs.
- Add 1 Tbsp butter with onions and carrots and sautee until soft and golden (6-7 minutes), then add the minced garlic and saute another minute.
- Pour in the broth and add the pasta, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the meatballs back to the soup, season with salt and pepper to taste, and keep at a low boil for an additional 7-9 minutes, or until pasta is cooked to your desired doneness.
- Add the spinach and cook another minute, or until spinach is wilted. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Valentina Ablaev
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Fantastic recipe! My supermarket didn’t have ground pork so I used ground beef for the meatballs. The soup came out flavorful, with a good mouthfeel and simply delicious. Even my husband, who thinks all Italian wedding soups are bland, said it was unreal. Will definitely make again!
Hi Inga! That’s wonderful to hear. So glad you loved it!
The only thing I could say is missing is some celery. This is a beautiful soup. Husband loved it.
We love all your recipes and if ever in doubt of what we want to eat, we come to your pages and youtube.
Thank you for your trust, Cyndi. Sure, feel free to try adding some celery next time.
Hey Natasha,
So I’ve tried this and some other recipes from Valentina’s Corner and feel like its overpowered by one specific flavor…. In this soup, its the beef broth, in a bacon chicken pasta, it was the ranch powder that goes into the recipe (don’t remember if you have it on your blog or not). Anyways, any suggestions or tips so its not so pungent and strong? It almost ruins the whole dish…
Hi Natalya! Did you mean chicken broth? This recipe uses chicken broth instead of beef (although both would work fine). By chance did you use stock instead of broth? Stock has a richer and deeper flavor than broth. I haven’t had this problem using chicken broth but if you feel it’s overpowering, you could reduce the broth and replace it with water to help mellow it out. You may need to add some additional salt or seasoning to replace some of the flavor if it’s too bland. I hope that helps.
Oh, yes! The chicken broth, sorry about that. Ok, I will have to do that next time, add more water to mellow out the flavors and then season it to taste.
I cook my chicken first to make the broth then I pan fry the meat balls and when the chicken is cooked I debone it cut it up and put it back into the broth and finish the soup from there.
Sounds good, thanks a lot for sharing that with us!
Do you make the soup in the same pan after frying the meatballs? Without draining what’s left in the pan after frying?
Hi Joan! That’s right! That’s where a lot of the flavor remains! I hope you love this recipe!
Can I substitute the pork/beef with ground turkey? Any recommendations for adjustments to recipe for this substitution?
Hi Christy, I haven’t tried this with turkey to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
Yes, absolutely. The meatballs will be a little grainy. You might try mixing the turkey with some full fat pork for better texture. But if you’re looking for low fat, turkey will work.
This soup is just so delicious. I made no changes. This will be in my soup rotation forever. Thank you for a great recipe!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Felicia!
I think I made a boo boo, I used baby spinach instead of regular spinach.
I hope you still love it!
I have made this soup before but I was wondering if you can freeze this soup? with or with out the pasta in it
Hi Donna, to be honest, I haven’t tested this by freezing it. If you happen to experiment I would love to know how you like this recipe!
I freeze this soup all the time. Always have a supply in my freezer. I also use the traditional escarole, not spinach. My mother-in-law, direct from Italy, always said no to spinach not a traditional ingredient. She also only used Pecorino romano in the tiny meatballs. Never precooked them, dropped them in the hot soup to cook.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Shirley!
If you want to freeze this soup, cook the pasta separately and do not add the spinach. Just freeze the broth, meatballs, and other vegetables together. When ready to use, cook fresh pasta and add fresh spinach.
I was so upset when I saw this recipe called for spinach not escarole! I’m glad someone else substitutes in escarole lol
I didn’t have acini Di Pepe, so used orzo pasta. Excellent soup, will make it again and again. It’s freezing cold here where I live in Ontario Canada so this is the perfect soup weather! I love your recipes!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for the wonderful review, Angie!
Natasha, I have cooked many of you meals and my family and I love them! I’d like to cook this soup this week but know the one thing my won’t eat is the acini de pepe. Could I substitute with white rice?
Hi Tiffany, I haven’t tried rice in Wedding soup but that may work, if You experiment we’d love to know how you like that!
It’s not traditional, but will work ok. Cook the rice separately then add to the soup.
I am trying to decide if I should make wedding soup or your meatball soup! I may need to make both. I went to your website looking forward wedding soup and found your mom’s meatball soup. Oh my- what wonderful choices.
I hope you give both a try soon, Bridget!
Do you think ground venison could be used in place of the beef/pork?
Hi Denise, I saw someone post a recipe online that had a blend of ground venison with pork and it’s probably a good idea to combine them so the meat balls aren’t too dry or tough. I haven’t tested this as a venison meatballs soup though to make a specific recommendation.
Do you think the taste of the soup will be different if I use canola oil instead of olive oil?
Ho Cocosana, we prefer it with olive out. Canola oil will likely come through in taste. I hope you love this recipe!
can you make this ahead of time without the pasta soaking up the broth or something else going wrong?
Hi MP, leftovers of this soup do keep well, but the pasta will absorb some of the liquid and it gets a little thicker but it’s still very enjoyable the next day.
So… could I make the soup part ahead and make the pasta the day I plan to serve it and add it then?
Hi, yes that could work well so the pasta doesn’t get too soft.
Wonderful 😀
Thanks, Sue!
This soup is delicious!! And easy to make. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
You’re welcome, Diana! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
This is a delicious soup. I have had wedding soup before but your recipe is just the best.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Love this soup! These meatballs are great! Great soup for the rainy weekend we have ahead!
The perfect soup recipe for this rainy weather! I’m glad you loved it!
Well this soup is just delicious. I have tried other recipes but this one knocks it out of the park. The meatballs were so tender. This is the third recipe of yours that I have tried and they all rock! Whenever I want to try a new recipe this is the site I go to. Thank you, Natasha, for all that you do.
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you for that great feedback, Carol!
Natasha, made the Italian Wedding Soup..it was delicious.
On New Years Eve I made the shrimp Alfredo. My husband doesn’t like shrimp so I made his half chicken alfredo. It was outstanding, rivaled Olive Garden. Thanks for the fresh, tasty, simple but great recipes.
I loved reading your story, your BIO. We too, came to this country and enjoy the tasty meals. My granddaughters 19, and 17 are avid followers of you.
Wow, I am happy to hear that you and your family are loving the recipes! Thank you so much for sharing that with us.
I made this for supper and it was delicious! We ate every bite of it. Such flavor, texture and so easy to make. Not to much spice and not greasy either.
Thank you for your nice feedback, Marilyn!
Hi Natasha!
Just made this soup and my husband and I both loved it! Very tasty! It’s definitely a keeper!
Thank you!!!
You are most welcome, Joanne. Thanks for sharing you and your husband’s great feedback with us!
I have Chinese baby bok choy and want to replace it for spinach.
Hi Beata, I have not tried that yet to advise. If you do an experiment, please share with us how it goes!
Could this soup be put in a crock pot and set on warm for the afternoon?
Hi Tara, I haven’t tried that. That should be ok for a couple hours but make sure not to continue boiling it because the spinach and pasta will get mushy.
Love your videos and easy recipes
Thank you so much!
Hi! None of my local stores supply acini de pepe. Would couscous work?
Hi Ashley, I haven’t tested this with couscous to advise although one of our readers did report they used couscous in place of pasta and loved it!
Hi,
I’m pretty sure you could substitute Israeli couscous. I use it in my soups and it’s great!
Karen
We just love this soup. Delicious
Thank you so much, Barb. I’m glad you love this soup!
I used 2 chicken broth boxes since each has approximately 4 cups each but it was a bit too much liquid. Next time I’ll do 1 cup of orzo pasta and it shouldn’t be so runny and feel “too empty” lol it also felt a little too salty so I’ll opt for low sodium broth and cut back on the recipe measurements too.
Hi Kris, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! It’s a great idea to add more pasta to bulk it up even more and salt to taste.
This is delicious! 100% fun to make! Thank you for the recipe! I followed your recipe exactly except I added hot pepper flakes to meat balls and Tabasco to the soup part I will be making this all winter! Thanks again♥️
That’s a nice addition to the recipe, it will give the soup a nice kick! Thanks for sharing that with us, Lori.
This is delicious! 100% fun to make! Thank you for the recipe! I followed your recipe exactly except I added hot pepper flakes to meat balls and Tabasco to the soup part I will be making this all winter! Thanks again♥️
Great addition to this soup. Lori. I am so glad you enjoyed it!
Made this soup for dinner tomorrow. My house smells amazing! Thanks Natasha for a great new recipe. 😊
You are most welcome. I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for sharing!
Natasha when I was a young girl we had a Russian landlady and she taught My mom to make this wonderful bread in a turkey roaster. I was a child then so I didn’t pay attention to how it was made and both my mom and the landlady are deceased now. Would you know how to make that bread . I rember it had egg and a little sugar in it and the top had egg wash over it.
Hi Sylvia, I’m not sure what you are referring to but we do have some traditional bread recipes posted in our Bread archives
My recipe calls for Escarole but I can never find it, so I use spinach.. Glad to see it in a recipe!
I’m so glad! I hope you love this recipe, Janet!
Love you sweetheart you are so adorable omg l love you recipes
You’re so nice! Thank you!
Love you sweetheart you are so adorable omg l love you recipes
Thank you for that wonderful compliment!
As Italian Wedding Soup is my absolute favorite soup, I can not wait to try making it! Thanks Natasha!
I hope you love this recipe, Tina! It is so good!
I made it today, skipped the potato and used couscous instead of pasta, just didn’t have them. We all enjoyed it, thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Olga! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Where did you read potato in the recipe?
Natasha, I made this soup today. It is my husbands favorite and after 41+ years of marriage I have never made it. I cheated and used Kirkkand’s frozen Italian meatballs which worked out just fine. I sautéed them per recipe instructions just like they were made fresh. This soup is amazing and so flavourful! Seasonings are perfect and right on. This is a keeper in our family. Not to mention how easy it is to make. Thank you for all you do. This Canadian loves all your recipes. I have never had one fail ever!
Hi Jeannette, so great to read your wonderful comments and feedback. Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us. I hope you and your husband will love every recipe that you try!
Sounds delicious, always loved this soup. I am laid up right now, with a hip replacement, but will try if tor sure when I am better.
Thank you.
I hope you will like it! Get well soon and stay safe always.
Can you use frozen spinach instead of fresh?
Hi Dianne, we love using fresh but frozen will work too if that’s what you have on hand.
Looks so delicious, can’t wait to try it!
I hope you love this recipe Katie!
Do you think if I left out the spinach this could be frozen for use later? It looks so good. I’ve been bringing meals to my parents during covid and am looking for something new to bring them.
Hi Lucinda, to be honest, I haven’t tested this by freezing it. If you happen to experiment I would love to know how you like this recipe!
I’m sure your soup tastes very good , however it isn’t true Italian Wedding soup. The real name being Escarole Soup, it has chopped escarole instead of spinach. To make a more flavorful stock I use a combination of chicken and beef. Also sprinkling each bowl of soup with Parmesan cheese is a must!
Thanks for your input and for sharing that with us.
I have made this soup a few times with store bought meatballs, but this is by far the best recipe! I plan on making this all winter long.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing that with me!
My Mom used to make this for us when we were kids. I made this today for my kids and they loved it just the same. Glad to pass on a tradition.
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m all smiles
HUGE fan of acini de pepe. It’s a terribly underutilized pasta but it’s so great in soups, salads and all sorts of other great dishes! Delicious soup. Love it. Meatballs taste really great!
I’m so happy you enjoyed the wedding soup! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review.