Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe | All Things Mamma (2024)

Italian Wedding Soup is a classic soup recipe perfect for a chilly day. With chicken meatballs, pasta, and loads of veggies, it’s hearty, satisfying, and packed with flavor!

Soup season is upon us! After a summer full of grilled chicken, corn-on-the-cob, and fresh fruit, it’s time to move on to soups, stews, casseroles, and other warm comfort food dishes. If you’re not excited about the cooler weather yet, this Italian Wedding Soup will definitely help get you in the mood for fall!

Italian Wedding Soup gets its name from the Italian phrase minestra maritata. The literal translation means “married soup” and refers to the marriage of greens and meat in the dish. While there are many variations of this soup, the one common denominator is that it’s always full of flavor!

Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

This particular version of Italian Wedding Soup features homemade chicken meatballs, pasta, spinach, and veggies, all in a flavorful broth. While some soups leave you hungry for more, this is one recipe that will leave you feeling full and satisfied. You can serve it on its own as a meal and no one will ask for a grilled cheese or cheese sandwich afterward — promise!

At its most basic, Italian Wedding Soup is a combination of greens and meat in clear broth. As a result, there’s a lot of room here for you to customize the recipe with your own favorite ingredients. For instance, you can swap the spinach for kale, escarole, or chard, use sausage instead of meatballs, or even substitute pre-made meatballs. Have fun making the recipe your own!

Ingredients

See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

For the Meatballs:

• Ground chicken
• Chicken sausage – Remove the casings, then crumble the sausage.
• Breadcrumbs – I use plain, unseasoned breadcrumbs.
• Garlic
• Fresh parsley
• Parmesan cheese – Grate your own, or use store-bought.
• Italian seasoning
• Egg
• Heavy cream
• Salt
• Black pepper

For the Italian Wedding Soup:

• Yellow onion
• Carrot
• Celery
• Garlic
• Dry white wine – Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, and Chardonnay are all dry white wines that can be used for cooking.
• Chicken stock – Use store-bought or homemade chicken stock.
• Thyme
• Bay leaf
• Small pasta – Such as tubetini, acini de pepe pasta, or orzo.
• Baby spinach – Or another green that you like in your soup!
• Parmesan cheese

Variations

Here are a few ways to tweak this easy Italian wedding soup that work well.

• Use ground beef, ground turkey, or sausage in place of ground chicken to make the meatballs.
• Buy premade meatballs to save time. Look for meatballs that are pre-cooked and nice and small. Small meatballs are best so that they fit on your spoon and can be eaten in one bite.
• Use kale in place of spinach for a subtle flavor difference.
• Omit the wine, and substitute more chicken stock for an alcohol-free recipe.

How to Make Italian Wedding Soup

1. Prepare: Preheat your oven to 350ºF, and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
2. Make the Meatballs: Combine the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl; stir until combined. Roll the mixture into 1-inch meatballs, and place them onto the prepared pan. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until they’re lightly browned.
3. Start the Soup: Set a Dutch oven over medium heat, and add a few tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, sauté the vegetables and garlic for 5 to 6 minutes or until they’re softened. Deglaze the pot with the white wine, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pot, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Add the thyme, bay leaf, and chicken stock, and bring the soup to a boil.
4. Finish: Once the soup is boiling, add the pasta and meatballs.Cook for about 8 minutes or until the pasta is tender and the meatballs are cooked through. Season with salt and pepper. Then, stir in the spinach in the last minute of cooking, and cook just until it’s wilted.
5. Serve: Ladle the soup into bowls, and top with the grated Parmesan cheese.

How to Store Italian Wedding Soup

If you have Italian Wedding Soup leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This soup can also be frozen for up to 2 months; store it in a freezer bag or airtight container. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

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