Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

Easy Italian Wedding Soup

In every season, soup can be just right. In the colder months, it’s heartier type soups whereas in the warmer months, it’s the light, brothy type of soups. This easy wedding soup is somewhere in between.

Made with mostly pantry staple ingredients in about 30 minutes, just like our orzo chicken soup. It’s got the perfect combination of broth, basic veggies, pasta, and meatballs. It’s filling enough to enjoy on its own or easily paired with a green salad, such as Green Goddess Cobb Salad.

Italian Wedding Soup Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Mirepoix – onions, celery, carrots
• Garlic
• Chicken broth – make your own or buy good quality tasting broth
• Water
• Pasta – small shaped, such as ditalini 
• Meatballs – homemade or store-bought
• Fresh spinach
• Parsley

How to Make the Best Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

Step 1: Cook the veggies – The soup base is your basic mirepoix, made up of onions, celery, and carrots. You can chop them up yourself or even better pick up diced veggies at the store to save on prep time.

Heat olive oil in a large dutch-oven and cook the mirepoix with a pinch of salt over medium heat until the onions are soft, about 5-7 minutes, while stirring occasionally. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Step 2: Add the liquids and pasta – Next, add the chicken broth and water. Use good quality broth as it will make a big difference in the taste of the soup. Don’t forget to season the broth with salt.

When the broth is simmering, add pasta and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered. You want the pasta partially cooked before adding the meatballs.

Step 3: Add the meatballs – Drop meatballs one by one to the simmering pot of soup and continue to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Cook time will depend on the size of the meatballs. I used 2-inch frozen turkey meatballs, which took 5 minutes to cook.

Step 4: Finish with spinach and parsley – In the last minute or so of cooking, add spinach and stir until wilted. Then stir in the chopped parsley.

Tips for Making the Best Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

• If using homemade meatballs, sear them in a skillet to lock in flavor before adding them to the soup. We love using this trick in many of our soup recipes, such as Dutch oven beef stew.
• If you plan on having leftovers, cook the pasta separately. Then, add it to your soup just before serving. This prevents it from absorbing too much broth and becoming mushy.
• Adjust the cooking time as needed depending on the size and type of meatball you use.
• For the best taste and texture, buy a block of parmesan cheese, and grate it yourself. Pre-shredded varieties contain anti-caking agents that prevent them from melting as easily.
• Garnish with fresh herbs right before serving for an extra punch of color and flavor.

Italian Wedding Soup Recipe Easy Storage

Leftover Italian wedding soup stored in an airtight container will stay fresh in the fridge for 3-5 days. I do not recommend freezing this soup as the taste and texture change once thawed.

Reheat the soup with the pasta in a pot over medium heat on the stove or in the microwave in 30-second increments. Add an extra splash of broth as needed to freshen it back up.