Italian Wedding Soup
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The Best Italian Wedding Soup! A traditional, delicious and hearty Italian soup made with mini beef and pork meatballs, fresh veggies and tiny acini di pepe pasta in a simple savory broth.
Looking for a tomato-y meatball soup? Try my comforting homemade Meatball Soup recipe, likely to be another family fav!
A Dependable Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
I used to be intimidated to make Italian Wedding Soup. I have no Italian lineage and my mom never made it growing up, so for whatever reason it seemed easy to mess up.
But I’m here to tell you it is so easy to make, and following this simple recipe and this foolproof step by step guide people may likely think it was passed down from an Italian Grandmother.
Everyone will be thoroughly impressed and completely satisfied with this homestyle soup! And people will be raving about those homemade, herb flecked, bite size meatballs. They may be a bit of rolling to get so many, but so worth it.
This quickly became a reader favorite recipe, try for yourself and see why!
Tips for the Best Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
This is my idea of an authentic Italian Wedding Soup! Here’s the tips and tricks to make it the best:
- Searing the meatballs is a game changer in my opinion. Why just simmer them in broth them when you can brown them first add add all that flavor?
- Make the meatballs quite small, that way they’re easier to eat in soup form plus you’ll get them more evenly dispersed throughout the soup.
- Use fresh herbs. They really add great flavor.
- Stick with the combination of the two meats for authentic flavor.
- Use fresh bread (for bread crumbs). Again we’re building better flavor and don’t want to use bread crumbs that have been sitting on the shelf for months plus have additives. The texture of dry would throw this recipe off as well.
- Don’t be skimpy with the garlic. This is an Italian soup. I like to use 4 cloves here.
- Bring on the parm! The shredded parmesan will really compliment the soup nicely. It may not be pictured as a finishing garnish, but don’t leave it off.
- Stick with tiny pasta, you’ll love how it sets this soup apart.
Ingredients Needed
- Lean ground beef: Use 80 to 90% lean ground beef.
- Ground pork: If you can’t find ground pork you can use an additional 8 oz. ground beef.
- Fresh bread crumbs: Use stale bread that’s blitzed, not shelf stable dried bread crumbs.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley is best.
- Oregano: This can be fresh or dried. Over the past few years it’s become harder to find fresh oregano at local grocery stores so the recipe has been adapted to include the dried option.
- Parmesan: Use authentic Italian Parmigiano Reggiano for quality flavor.
- Egg: This is a critical ingredient to help bind the meatballs.
- Salt and black pepper: This will be used to season the meatballs and the soup as well.
- Olive oil: Needed for sautéing veggies and browning the meatballs.
Watch the video!
How to Make Italian Wedding Soup
Make the mini meatball mixture: Add beef and pork to a large mixing bowl. Add in bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, parmesan, egg, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
Gently toss and break up mixture with hands to evenly coat and distribute. Shape mixture into very small meatballs, about 3/4 inch to 1 inch and transfer to a large plate.
Brown meatballs in batches: Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook until browned, turning occasionally (to brown on 2 or 3 sides), about 4 minutes total.
Transfer meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels while leaving oil in skillet.
Repeat process with remaining meatballs (note that meatballs won’t be cooked through at this point, they’ll continue to cook through in the soup).
Saute vegetables: While meatballs are browning, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions and celery and saute until veggies have softened about 6 – 8 minutes, add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
Add broth, pasta and meatballs: Pour in chicken broth, season soup with salt and pepper to taste and bring mixture to a boil. Sti in pasta and meatballs, reduce heat medium low.
Simmer soup: Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Finish with spinach and parmesan: Add in spinach during the last minute of cooking. Serve warm, sprinkle each serving with parmesan cheese.
Tips for the Recipe
Bread tip: I recommend using a hearty rustic bread for the breadcrumbs. Just grind up a slice in a food processor to fine crumbs. Save the remaining bread for serving (slathered with butter of course) or freeze for another later use.
Meatballs: Cook the meatballs in two batches so they have room to brown. I know it takes a bit of patience but the end result pays off.
Pasta and broth: If you like a more brothy soup you can reduce pasta to 3/4 cup. Note that as the soup sits the pasta will absorb more broth so you can add more broth to thin the soup as desired.
Boost flavor: For the absolute best flavor use homemade chicken stock. If you have a parmesan rind on hand you can simmer that with the soup for added flavor. You can also add fresh basil to the soup if you want more herby flavor.
What Pasta to Use for Italian Wedding Soup?
Acini di pepe is the first choice. They are tiny little round pasta that can usually be found by the other pastas at the grocery store.
Is there a substitute for acini de pepe? If you can’t find them orzo, ditalini, pastina (stars), or even macaroni will work here as well.
Can I Substitute Other Greens?
Mostly likely prefer the flavor of the spinach best here but kale, endive or escarole are other greens commonly used in Italian Wedding Soup and they would work fine in this recipe.
If using one of those previously listed I’d recommend adding them along with the pasta as they’ll need a longer cook time. The spinach cooks almost instantly whereas those others wont.
How to Store Italian Wedding Soup
Italian Wedding Soup will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Note that the pasta will absorb more broth as it rests. If needed add more broth to the soup to thin it back out to your liking.
What to Serve with Italian Wedding Soup
- No Knead Bread
- Breadsticks
- Garlic Bread or Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Side salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Caprese Salad
More Italian Soup Recipes to Try
Follow Cooking Classy
Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 8 oz. lean ground beef
- 8 oz. ground pork
- 1/2 cup fresh white bread crumbs* (from fresh bread not dried)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp minced fresh oregano (or 3/4 tsp dried)
- 1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan
- 1 large egg
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
Soup
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/4 cups chopped carrots
- 1 1/4 cups chopped yellow onion
- 3/4 cup chopped celery
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (1 1/2 Tbsp)
- 5 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup dry acini di pepe or orzo pasta**
- 6 oz fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
- Finely shredded parmesan, for serving
Instructions
For the meatballs:
- Add beef and pork to a large mixing bowl. Add in bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, parmesan, egg, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
- Gently toss and break up mixture with hands to evenly coat and distribute. Shape mixture into very small meatballs, about 3/4 inch to 1 inch and transfer to a large plate.
- Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook until browned, turning occasionally (to brown on 2 or 3 sides), about 4 minutes total.
- Transfer meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels while leaving oil in skillet. Repeat process with remaining meatballs (note that meatballs won't be cooked through at this point, they'll continue to cook through in the soup).
For the soup:
- While meatballs are browning, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions and celery and saute until veggies have softened about 6 - 8 minutes, add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
- Pour in chicken broth, season soup with salt and pepper to taste and bring mixture to a boil. Add in pasta and meatballs, reduce heat to medium-low.
- Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through, about 10 minutes, while adding in spinach during the last minute of cooking.
- Serve warm, sprinkle each serving with parmesan cheese.
Notes
- *I recommend using a hearty rustic bread. Just grind up a slice in a food processor to fine crumbs. Save the remaining bread for serving (slathered with butter of course) or freeze for another later use.
- **If you like a more brothy soup you can reduce pasta to 3/4 cup. Note that as the soup sits the pasta will absorb more broth so you can add more broth to thin the soup as desired.
- If you have a parmesan rind on hand you can simmer this with the soup for added flavor.
- Makes about 12 cups.