Classic Italian Wedding Soup Recipe (2024)

This Classic Italian Wedding Soup Recipe is nutritious and comforting. It's full of my Nonna's Italian meatballs, vegetables, and acini de pepe pasta. Grab a warm bowl of soup and get cozy. This tasty soup is a timeless family favorite!

Serve with a warm loaf of No Knead Italian Focaccia Bread or Italian No Knead Ciabatta Bread.

Classic Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

In Italy, this soup is traditionally served with broth, meatballs, leafy greens, and sometimes an egg in the broth. Then it is topped with parmigiano cheese. I add a few more veggies in my recipe to brighten the soup. I top it with freshly grated parmigiano cheese and serve it with homemade bread. It is a humble soup that is loved by all.

This savory soup has delicious Italian flavors, and I use my Nonna's polpette recipe, which is 100% authentic Italian. It is genuinely heartwarming and feeds a crowd. Serve it any time of the year for a delicious and hearty soup.

Easy Italian soup recipes, you will love Simple Artichoke Soup Italian Recipe, Tomato Soup Recipe (Easy), BEST Zuppa Toscana Soup Recipe.

Simple Ingredients

Fresh vegetables, a good broth, and homemade meatballs go a long way to give this delicious soup a rich flavor.

Soup

• Extra Virgin olive oil
• Yellow Onion, chopped
• Carrots, chopped
• Celery, chopped
• Garlic cloves
• Chicken stock, vegetable stock, or bone broth of choice
• Acini di pepe pasta (or any small pasta variety- suggestions)
• Fresh baby spinach
• Freshly grated parmigiano for topping (parmesan cheese)
• Kosher salt and Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Meatballs

• 1 recipe for Italian Meatballs

See the recipe card for quantities.

How to Make Classic Italian Wedding Soup Recipe Step-by-Step Instructions

We start this soup with a simple Italian soffritto, the best base for most sauces and soups in Italian cooking. This is a hearty meal the whole family will love.

Make the Italian meatballs. Cover and set aside. You can make them and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 24 hours in advance.
Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions, and celery and saute until veggies are soft, about 8 minutes; add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.

Pour in chicken broth, season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, and bring the mixture to a boil.

Add the meatballs, and reduce heat to a light boil (about medium or medium-low).

Cover and cook, occasionally stirring, until the meatballs have cooked through and are tender, about 10 minutes.

Bring salted water to a boil in a separate small pot and cook the pasta according to package directions (about 8-10 minutes). Drain and add the cooked pasta to serving bowls, then add the hot soup on top of the cooked pasta.

Alternatively, you can cook the pasta in the soup and add at the same time as the meatballs.

See Also

20 Classic, Simple Recipes I Love to Make Over and Over Again | Wit & DelightPastina Recipes - Tried & TrueItalian Wedding Soup RecipeChicken Pastina Soup Recipe - Blissfull Kitchen

Meatballs for Classic Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

We are using my Nonna Laura's Famous Polpette recipe for this Italian wedding soup. You can see the recipe for the meat variations in the meatballs (you can use ground turkey or ground chicken or the traditional mixture of ground beef, ground pork, and, if you can find it, ground veal).

These super tender meatballs are made with egg, parmigiano cheese, parsley, salt and pepper, and homemade breadcrumbs (stale bread) soaked in milk. Oh my! They are so delicious. I wrote a story about making them with my Nonna.

You can also leave out the meatballs in this recipe and make it vegetarian.

Frying or Boiling Meatballs for Soup

There are three ways to add homemade meatballs to Italian wedding soup. The first is frying them in a pan with olive oil to get a nice crust and then adding them to the soup to finish cooking.

Alternatively, roast the meatballs on a greased cookie sheet to get a crispy exterior crust. People fry the meatballs to seal the moisture before adding them to a soup recipe- I find it makes them tough in texture.

The other way, and the way I like best, is to cook them right in the soup: this yields nice, tender meatballs.

Make Meatballs Ahead of Time

I always make a double batch of the meatballs and freeze them for a busy weeknight.

To freeze meatballs:Place them on a baking sheet in one layer so they aren’t touching, and place them in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer-safe container with a tight lid. Freeze for up to 2 months. Add frozen meatballs to the broth when ready to use and simmer until warm. You can also add them to homemade tomato sauce.

Best Pasta for Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

The pasta that works best for Italian wedding soup is a small pasta variety. Here are options for you to consider for adding to the soup.

• Acini di Pepe
• Orzo
• Little stars or pastina
• Ditalini Pasta
• Small Shells
• Small pasta tubes
• Macaroni Shells (elbows)

I recommend cooking the pasta separately and adding a spoonful to the bottom of the bowl before adding the soup.

You can also leave out the pasta in this recipe, which is still delicious.

Soup Variations and Substitutions

There are so many variations of Italian wedding soup. Traditionally, this soup calls for bitter greens such as escarole or broccoli rabe, popular in the Napes region of Italy.

Greens. I like to use baby spinach for simplicity and a sweeter taste. Feel free to use kale, cabbage, or other hearty greens.

Pasta. Replace the pasta with beans. For a low-carb version of this soup, use a can of cannellini beans or white beans instead of the pasta. Drain and rinse the beans, and add to the broth at the same time you add the greens. Other options include grains such as rice, farro, or barley; cook them separately and add them to the soup.

Spices. I like to keep the spices simple to none and let the broth, homemade meatballs, and vegetables do the flavoring. If you wish- add a few dashes of dried herbs, such as an Italian blend, thyme, red pepper flakes, or oregano.

Cheese. Instead of the parmigiano cheese, you can add a bit of freshly grated pecorino romano cheese.

Meat. Traditionally made with meatballs, this Italian Wedding Soup can also be made with Sweet Italian sausage or Spicy Italian Sausage. Simply fry it with the soffitto before adding the liquid to the soup.

Egg. Some versions of Italian wedding soup have two scrambled eggs added to the hot broth. If you want this addition- scramble two eggs in a bowl and add them to the hot broth when adding the leafy greens. Stir the egg vigorously in the hot liquid. They egg will cook in the hot broth.

Origins of Italian Wedding Soup

The name Italian Wedding Soup isn't what we call it in Italian cuisine. I am from Italy, and I'd never heard of "Italian Wedding Soup" until I came to the U.S.A.!

Italian Wedding Soup is an old-world Neapolitan soup from la cucina povera (poor kitchen) called 'ministry marital,' which translates to “married soup,” not wedding soup. In Italy, we do not make this soup for weddings. The 'wedding' refers to the 'marriage' of inexpensive meat and leafy greens that make up the main ingredients in this Italian soup.

How to Store Leftovers

Store leftovers: Place any leftovers in a tight-lid container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cook the pasta before it is ready to eat and add that fresh.

Reheat leftovers: Reheat the desired amount in a saucepan over medium-low heat until warm. Add additional water or broth if necessary.

FAQs

More Classic Italian Soup Recipes

• Pasta e Ceci
• Pasta fa*gioli
• Vegetable Soup (minestrone soup)
• Zuppa Toscana
• Italian White Bean Soup
• Pasta Soup
• Leek Soup

Make sure to leave a⭐️star ratingon the recipe card and comment below if you make the recipe. I love to connect with you through my recipes.

I would love for you to tag me on Instagram@cucinabyelena so I can see your delicious Italian recipes. To get more ideas,follow me on Pinterest.

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