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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This soup was really delicious. I had to improvise a bit, but it didn’t matter at all. I didn’t have chives or sage, but mixed italian turkey sausage with ground beef , egg and the cheese and bread crumbs. They were really good. I also used 12 ounces of spinach to boost the vegetables up. Definitely a great recipe.
Can ground chicken or ground turkey be used in place of the ground meat and sausage? Would extra seasonings be needed? Also, will a strong homemade chicken broth be a good substitute for adding beef broth? Making chicken broth in an Instant Pot is easy, fast and the broth flavor is strong. Thank you.
Hi Marcia, You could use ground turkey here in place of the ground meat and sausage, but the meatballs won’t be nearly as flavorful as the sausage definitely adds a lot of flavor and moisture to them. I would suggest adding some additional seasoning (like parsley, oregano, garlic) to the meatball mixture to up the flavor a bit. And, sure, the homemade chicken broth will work nicely. Enjoy!
This is now my husband’s favorite soup, and he LOVES soup. I made it once and he kept asking for it until I made it again. I want to try the suggestion to make more of the meatballs and freeze them to have on hand so I can make this soup more quickly. And I will admit that I used homemade chicken broth because I had a stockpile of that premade and in the freezer already. I also served a small portion of this as a first course to guests, and it was a hit. A winner!
I don’t watch much tv, but doubling this recipe and rolling 200+ tiny little meatballs while netflixing was worth every moment. So tender, the soup was so flavorful, and having a second vat in the freezer for later was great when guests popped in a few weeks later. I used homemade chicken stock and followed your recipe exactly, with the exception of leaving the noodles separate in order to not be mushy. Everything of yours I’ve tried is spot on. Thanks for the great meals!
Made this for my friends who spend most Friday evenings around our table. We all agreed that this was one of the BEST soups yet! Thanks, Jen, for recipes that are are as tasty to the palate as they are appealing to the eye. Looking forward to your cookbook.
I made this for Christmas Eve dinner and it was delicious! I did add a can of cannellini beans per my mother-in-law’s request and it was a home run! Thanks for all of your great soup recipes! Happy New Year Jenn!
This is about the 4th or 5th recipe I’ve tried for Italian Wedding Soup. I just deleted the other recipes from my cooking software and this is the go-to recipe. Nice job. Couple things different… I used 1 teaspoon ground sage as I didn’t have sage leaves. I forgot to put the parm reg in the meatballs but they seemed forgiving! Lastly, I added 2 tablespoons cream to the eggs. I’ve learned that cream softens the texture of meatballs. Also switched up the order of things. Mixed all meatball ingredients together except egg & cream. Added them last. And used anci di pepe pasta. Very good flavor. Thank you 🙂
Hi Cindy –
I have also used light cream or 1/2 & 1/2 in the my meatloaf and it turns out great!
This is the first time I’ve made Italian Wedding Soup, and it was delicious! Definitely will make again – everyone loved it, even one of my kids who doesn’t usually like soup. The only substitution I made was 1 small shallot finely minced in place of the chives in the meatball (I can’t always find chives @ my supermarket). Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. Delicious!
I have never cooked my own soup dish before. Since I had such a confidence with your recipes from my previous attempts (about 15 so far – Love all of those by the way..) I thought I will give this a try. Came out just as you showed in the picture and was delicious. Shared with friends of ours and they loved it too. The only substitution I did was the Ground Lamb in place of Beef. The time in the oven was increased by 4 minutes to get a good browning.
This recipe is DELICIOUS! My whole family loved it, highly recommend.