This Italian wedding soup is easy to make with juicy meatballs, pasta, tender veggies, and spinach then cooked in a flavorful broth. This ‘marriage’ of ingredients is a classic!
Easy Italian Wedding Soup
This recipe for Italian wedding soup is a popular soup made with tender veggies, leafy spinach, teeny tiny pasta, and those unmistakable meatballs, in a delicious broth!
It’s more brothy than meatball soup but is still nice and hearty like my Italian sausage soup! My kids love meatballs in their soup and the only thing they love better is when I make copycat Olive Garden breadsticks to go with it. A true comfort meal any night of the week!
Rich and hearty soup recipes are some of our favorite meals including sausage and tortellini soup, pasta e fagioli or minestrone soup, next!
Ingredient Notes
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Meatballs: I use 80% lean ground beef in this recipe. More often than not, I have a batch of my homemade meatball recipe saved in the freezer, so I’ll toss those in and save time.
- Grated Parmesan cheese: I highly recommend freshly grated from a block rather than pre-shredded. It just tastes better!
- Breadcrumbs: Italian-style breadcrumbs are great in this recipe. They absorb moisture and hold the meat together nicely. You can also make your own homemade breadcrumbs and or use Panko breadcrumbs.
- Italian seasoning: This will be used in the meatballs but can also be used in the soup if you don’t have fresh herbs on hand. This is the recipe for homemade Italian seasoning I keep on hand using just a few simple dried herbs.
- Chicken broth: You can be flexible here and use either homemade chicken stock, low-sodium chicken broth, or whatever you have on hand. You’ll be adding salt to taste later on, so if your broth is already salted, you’ll just add less (or none) later.
- Pasta: Any teeny pasta will do! I use orzo but you can use acini de Pepe pasta or ditalini if preferred.
- Spinach: Handfuls of fresh baby spinach are added and wilted down. It’s a signature part of this soup adding loads of nutrients and color!
How to Make Italian Wedding Soup
In a large bowl, combine the meat, egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, chopped yellow onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and herbs. Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to scoop out enough to make 1″ balls. Then brown the meatballs over medium-high heat on the stovetop.
In a large pot sauté the celery onions and carrots over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic in to cook for 1 minute, season with salt and pepper then pour in broth and bring to a boil.
The meatballs will have been mostly (if not all the way) cooked when browned at the beginning, so throwing them for a few minutes at the end while the pasta cooks and spinach wilts are all it needs.
Cook on low for 2-3 minutes until everything has cooked through. Taste a bit and season with salt and pepper if needed. Top with Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs and serve while hot!
Tips and Variations
- I highly recommend reading up on how to properly cut an onion or learning how to mince garlic. It helps to avoid big chunks of either one in one little meatball!
- If you like more broth in the soup, reduce pasta to 3/4 cup or add an extra cup of broth or water.
- You can substitute the beef meatballs for turkey meatballs, chicken meatballs, or all pork. My favorite is to combine 1/2 pound of ground beef and 1/2 pound of ground pork. It creates juicier meatballs. You can also do 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 ground turkey to cut back on fat.
- Frozen meatballs would make this soup even easier! They are already cooked but may take longer to cook in the soup from frozen.
- If you don’t have any fresh spinach on hand, you can also use frozen spinach, kale or escarole. Even swiss chard or collard greens would be appropriate substitutes.
- Finish off the soup with a squirt of lemon juice to brighten up the flavors!
Storage
Keep leftover soup stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Pop it in the microwave to heat up or use the stove. You might find you need to add a bit more water or broth to it as the pasta will have absorbed some of the liquid.
Looking for more beefy soup recipes? Check out my albondigas soup, one-pot cheeseburger soup, and hamburger soup!
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Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
Video
Ingredients
Meatballs
- ¾ pound 80% lean ground beef , could sub with ground pork
- 1 large egg , beaten
- ¼ cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ¾ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley , or 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Soup
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup diced carrots
- ½ cup diced celery
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- Salt , to taste
- Ground black pepper , to taste
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 1-2 cups water , see note
- 1 cup dry orzo pasta , or acini di pepe
- 2-3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or herbs , can sub for 1-2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 4-6 ounces baby spinach
- Grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
Meatballs
- In a large bowl, combine 3/4 pound meat, 1 egg, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, 1/4 cup onion, 2 teaspoons garlic, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 2 Tablespoons parsley or 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning.
- Use a small cookie scoop or spoon to scoop the meat mixture. Form into 1-inch balls.
- In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook until browned, turning halfway through. Remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate.
Soup
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup onions, 1 cup diced carrots, and 1/2 cup celery. Sauté until they have softened, about 5 minutes. Add 1 Tablespoon garlic and cook 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour in 32 ounces broth and 1-2 cups water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium low. Stir in 1 cup orzo and 2-3 Tablespoons parsley. Simmer 5 minutes. Add in the meatballs and 4-6 ounces spinach and simmer 2 to 3 more minutes, or until the pasta and meatballs are cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
- Top with parmesan cheese and fresh herbs, if desired.
Notes
- You can use 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and onion powder if you do not have fresh garlic cloves and onions.
- If I have pork on hand, I like to use 1/2 pound ground beef and 1/2 pound ground pork. It creates juicier meatballs. You can also do 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 ground turkey to cut back on fat.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
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Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Love the combination of flavors from meatballs, orzo pasta, and veggies in this great Italian soup. It turned out so hearty and comforting. Highly recommended!
So many great flavors in one soup! Glad you enjoyed :)
Italian wedding soup is one of our favorites! We really liked the addition of the veggies in this recipe.
Definitely a great way to add in some extra veggies :)
I am so happy I made this, it’s delicious!! And I have leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch!
So glad to hear you enjoyed the soup! :)