Made with homemade meatballs, tiny pasta, spinach, and a wonderfully flavored broth, this easy Italian Wedding Soup recipe is light, but filling. Perfectly satisfying on a cold dreary day.

This soup is an all-in-one dish, but nobody would blame you if you wanted to serve it with a side or garlic bread or glorious popovers!

Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

Italian Wedding Soup is hearty, delicious, warm-your-soul soup! The broth is very easy to make and quite light, while the meatballs and pasta give the soup substance.

I always like to keep a batch of homemade Italian meatballs stocked in the freezer for soups like this – as long as there’s meatballs in the freezer, this is an easy soup recipe to whip up anytime as the remaining ingredients are pantry staples. Then all you need is 30 minutes to get a steaming bowl of Italian wedding meatball soup on the table.

What is Italian Wedding Soup?

Italian Wedding Soup is a brothy soup made with a combination of chicken and beef broth, meatballs, small pasta, and spinach or other greens. Contrary to the name, it is not served at Italian weddings. Instead, the name comes from the Italian phrase “minestra maritata” which translates to “wedded soup”. It’s said to be a reference to how well the different flavors come together, like a marriage.

Ingredients Needed

Here are ingredients for homemade meatballs, in addition to the wedding soup ingredients.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

For the Meatballs

• Ground beef – Choose lean ground beef so they’re not overly greasy.
• Onion & Garlic – For wonderful aromatics and flavor.
• Seasonings – Salt, pepper, and fresh parsley.
• Parmesan – Grate Parmigiano-Reggiano fresh off the block if you can, for optimal flavor.
• Milk – Makes the meatballs tender.
• Egg – Helps hold everything together.
• Bread crumbs – Acts as a binder. Italian-seasoned to give the meatballs more flavor.
• Olive oil – Used to brown the meatballs.

For the Soup

• Sweet onion, carrot, celery, & garlic – Vegetables added to give flavor, texture, and color to the soup.
• Olive oil – Used to sauté the vegetables.
• Seasonings – Crushed red pepper flakes and oregano flavor the broth, along with a bit of salt and pepper.
• Broth – A mixture of chicken broth and beef broth are both used. The chicken broth helps to lighten up the broth, while the beef broth has a richer flavor.
• Apple cider vinegar – This helps enhance the other flavors.
• Acini de pepe pasta – My favorite little itty bitty pasta and traditional for this soup. It plumps up and looks a little like tapioca.
• Baby spinach – Fresh, not frozen.
• Meatballs – Ideally you’ll make them fresh (as listed above), but store-bought is fine, too. They should be about 1-inch round. Thaw if using frozen.
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano – For serving

Soup Variations

From texture to flavor, there are a few ways to switch up this easy soup recipe.

• Make the soup brothier. If you like a more brothier soup, you can reduce pasta to 1/4 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.
• What pasta goes in Italian wedding soup? We prefer acini de pepe pasta for this soup, but if you can’t find it, pearl couscous, orzo, or ditilani can be used instead. Cooking time might need to be adjusted.
• Swap beef meatballs for turkey. Ground turkey can be used instead of beef, if preferred. You can also use a mixture of ground pork and ground beef.
• Can I use frozen meatballs? Absolutely. I like to keep homemade meatballs on hand so I can use them in recipes like this, but you can use any brand of store-bought meatballs. I would look for ones that are Italian-seasoned.
• Try other greens. Kale, endive, and escarole are often used in Italian wedding soup. Feel free to sub one in for the spinach, though you’ll want to add them while the soup is still simmering.

How to Make Italian Wedding Soup

You can use freshly made meatballs, cooked frozen homemade meatballs, or frozen store-bought meatballs to make your soup. I like to make them from scratch for optimal flavor, plus it’s so easy to do. Once the meatballs are ready, this Italian Wedding Soup comes together quickly.
(Scroll below to the printable recipe card for details and measurements.)

• Make the meatballs. Combine the meatball ingredients and form into 1-inch balls, brown on all sides, then bake in the oven to cook through.
• Sauté the vegetables. Sauté the onion, carrots, and celery until the onions are softened and translucent. Add in the garlic followed by the red pepper flakes, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Prepare the broth. Add the chicken broth, beef broth, and vinegar. Bring to a boil.
• Add the remaining ingredients. Once boiling, add in the cooked meatballs and acini de pepe pasta. Simmer for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the spinach until wilted.
• Serve. Serve into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Serving Suggestions

With pasta, meatballs, and veggies, Italian wedding soup is really an all-in-one dish and stands on its own as a complete meal. If you want to do a soup and salad combo, you can also serve it with a simple side salad or caesar salad. Or serve it up with a slice or two of crusty dutch oven bread.

How to Store & Reheat

Italian wedding soup can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days and can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. However, the pasta absorbs more broth as it sits so I recommend either cooking the pasta separately and adding it just before serving if you plan on having a decent amount of leftovers.

More Soup Recipes:

• Matzo Ball Soup
• Hungarian Mushroom Soup
• Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Meatball Soup
• Minestrone Soup
• Zuppa Toscana

I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!