Italian Wedding Soup
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Tender meatballs, veggies, and pasta in a rich and flavorful broth, Italian wedding soup is a meal unto itself.
Photo by Johnny Miller (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
My kids love anything with meatballs in it (especially mini meatballs), so there’s always excitement at our house when Italian wedding soup is on the menu. The name “wedding soup” comes from the Italian phrase minestra maritata—or “married soup”—which is a reference to the way the flavors combine, like a happy marriage. Wedding soup is traditionally made from a rich, long-cooked homemade chicken stock. To save time and mimic the same rich flavor, I use a combination of high-quality store-bought broth fortified with wine and lots of veggies. For the meatballs, my secret is to add ground Italian sausage to the beef mixture, which adds tons of flavor without the need for lots of other seasonings.
The most tedious part of this Italian soup recipe is rolling the little meatballs (the recipe makes 50!), so I usually get the kids to help. The soup is hearty and truly a meal unto itself. Serve it with warm garlic bread or focaccia and a Caesar salad, and dinner is served!
Table of Contents
“This soup is perfect for a cold evening meal, and a real crowd pleaser.”
What You’ll Need To Make Italian Wedding Soup
- Egg: Helps bind the meatballs, giving them structure and tenderness.
- Fresh chives and sage: Add a subtle onion and earthy flavor to the meatballs.
- Garlic: Lends savory flavor to the meatballs.
- Lean ground beef: Forms the base for tender, flavorful meatballs.
- Italian sausage: Adds tenderness, spice, and extra rich flavor to the meatballs.
- Parmigiano Reggiano: Adds a sharp, nutty flavor to the meatballs and also to the finished soup.
- Italian seasoned bread crumbs: Helps bind the meatballs while adding extra seasoning.
- Olive oil: Used to sauté the vegetables and adds richness to the soup.
- Yellow onion, carrots, and celery: The classic trio for a flavorful soup base.
- Chicken broth and beef broth: Provides a rich and hearty base for the soup. Note that the recipe calls for regular (not low-sodium) chicken and beef broth. I find the soup to be a bit bland with the low-sodium varieties, but if you special dietary considerations, go ahead and use low-sodium and season to taste before serving.
- Dry white wine: Adds a touch of acidity to balance out the richness of the broth.
- Bay leaf: Infuses the soup with a subtle, earthy flavor.
- Small pasta (like ditalini, orzo, or pearl couscous): Gives the soup heartiness and texture.
- Fresh spinach: Stirred in at the end, adding color and a touch of freshness. Chard or escarole would make excellent substitutes.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by making the meatballs.
In a large bowl, beat the egg with the chives, sage and garlic.
Add the ground beef, sausage, Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and salt.
Mash with your hands until evenly combined.
Roll the mixture into tablespoon-size balls (about 1 inch in diameter) and place on a greased oven-safe rack. (If you don’t have an oven-safe rack, it’s fine to cook the meatballs directly on the baking sheet; it’ll just be a little harder to get rid of the fat as it tends to collect around the meatballs.)
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through. Set aside.
To make the soup, heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery.
Cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, beef broth, water, wine, bay leaf, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.
Add the pasta and cook, uncovered, at a gentle boil until the pasta is al dente, 8 to 10 minutes (or according to package directions).
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Reduce the heat to low and add the spinach and meatballs.
Simmer for a few minutes, until the spinach is wilted and the meatballs are warmed through. Ladle into bowls and serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Make It Ahead
If you’d like to make this soup part of your rotation and want to shave off a little time for the next time around, double the recipe for the meatballs and freeze half. That way, all you’ll have to do is make the soup and add the meatballs to it as directed in the recipe. (They may take a few extra minutes to warm through if you’re adding them directly from the freezer.)
Video Tutorial
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Italian Wedding Soup
Tender meatballs, veggies, and pasta in a rich and flavorful broth, Italian wedding soup is a meal unto itself.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ lb 85 or 90% lean ground beef
- ½ lb sweet or hot Italian sausage, removed from the casings
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- ⅓ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 6 cups high-quality chicken broth, such as Swanson (do not use low-sodium)
- 2 cups high-quality beef broth, such as Swanson (do not use low-sodium)
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup dry white wine (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper (okay to use black pepper)
- 1 cup small pasta such as dittalini
- 4 oz fresh spinach, stems trimmed and roughly chopped (once prepped, you should have about 3 packed cups)
- Parmigiano Reggiano, for serving
Instructions
- Make the meatballs: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set an oven-proof roasting rack over top. Spray the rack generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg with the chives, sage and garlic. Add the remaining meatball ingredients and mash with your hands until evenly combined. Roll the mixture into tablespoon-size balls, about 1 inch in diameter (it will make approximately 50 meatballs), and place on the prepared rack. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, start the soup. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the chicken broth, beef broth, water, wine, bay leaf, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, uncovered, at a gentle boil until the pasta is al dente, 8 to 10 minutes (or according to package directions). Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Reduce the heat to low and add the spinach and meatballs. Simmer for a few minutes, until the spinach is wilted and the meatballs are warmed through. Ladle into bowls and serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be frozen for up to 3 months but wait until you reheat the soup to add the pasta. Defrost the soup in the refrigerator for 12 hours and then reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat until simmering, add the pasta, and cook until the pasta is tender.
Nutrition Information
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- Calories: 359
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Sugar: 5 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 23 g
- Sodium: 930 mg
- Cholesterol: 83 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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The flavor of the meatballs is wonderful however the soup is lacking. I’m not a big fan of bay leaves and that’s all I could taste. I did follow the recipe as written. I ended up adding some tried basil and thyme. I’ll try it again but use all chicken broth and maybe some bouquet garni. * I’m a huge Jenn fan and this was my first disappointment!
amazing soup! unfortunately didn’t have regular broth in my pantry, just low sodium (and your right, the soup needs regular broth) however I compensated by throwing in a couple of Parmesan rinds, worked great! many thanks for the recipe.
Oh my goodness. This soup was well worth the effort! I made it in stages on a snow day with stir-crazy kids. This soup was amazing. My boys ate it quickly and silently, when suddenly my 4yo pops his head up with, “I beat everybody! Can I have another bowl?” Both of my kids gladly ate 2 bowls, and my husband was still talking about the meatballs days later. Will definitely be making this again!
Delicious! I doubled up on the meatballs and tossed half in the freezer for the next delicious batch!
Well Jenn, you have again taught this ooooold seasoned cook a thing or two. I have been making Italian wedding soup many years. I have always used only chicken broth, no beef broth. Also, in the past, I used only seasoned Italian sausage for making small meat balls. Your recipe was soooooo much better than mine. Family raved, best Italian wedding soup ever. I made one small variation from yours. I added a can of white beans. Thanks Jenn. Moral to story is you are never too old to learn new ways.
As with every recipe Jenn posts, this one is fabulous even with the changes I had to make to accommodate my gluten-free hubby. While shopping to make this soup, I couldn’t find little GF macaroni, so I substituted 2 cans of Goya Cannelloni Beans (about 4c total), drained and rinsed. I couldn’t find fresh sage either but thought I had plenty of dried at home. That turned out to be a senior moment, so I used thyme instead, which was perfect. I added the optional white wine, and topped each serving with freshly ground Parmesan-Romano. No surprise: rave reviews. The meatballs were especially hard not to gobble up, and this is possibly the best recipe for meatballs, ever (even using GF bread crumbs). So it’s a great soup BUT …
I’m a seasoned cook, and I can’t figure how I could have made this with 30 minutes prep and 30 minutes to cook. The meatballs alone took me nearly an hour (I didn’t have my grandson’s around to help me). Removing the stems from the baby spinach also took about 30 minutes. Fortunately, my husband stepped was my sous chef for the diced onions, carrots, and celery (usually about 10 minutes for me to make this amount of mirepoix).
To be fair to those who decide to make this — and it really is worth the time — I suggest you figure on closer to 2 hours total if you start with the meatballs and once they’re in the oven, work on everything else. The results are truly swoon-worthy.
Hi Robin, so glad you enjoyed the soup and I’m sorry that it took you much longer than the recipe indicates! I know that everyone’s timing is a bit different, but I think I will retest the recipe to see if I need to adjust the prep time. I appreciate your honest feedback!
How much is one serving of this soup?
Hi Kayla, I’d guesstimate each serving would be about 1.5 cups give or take.
Can you use ground turkey or chicken and chicken sausage? I’m dying to try this soup but need to limit my beef intake due to colitis. Also I see that some people use escarole instead of spinach. Thoughts?
Yes, Debi, you can use a combination of ground turkey and turkey sausage. And If you like escarole, it’s perfectly fine to use that instead of the spinach. Hope you enjoy!
Unbelievably yummy! Followed the recipe except I used homemade beef stock . Thanks for the great recipe.
What a simple and delicious recipe! This was so easy. To save little time, rather than roll the meatballs by hand, I used a small ice cream scoop which I use for scooping out cookie dough to shape the meatballs. This was a great time saver. I love your cookbook, please keep the recipes coming!