Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

This super tasty Italian wedding soup recipe is loaded with meatballs, veggies, escarole, and pasta simmered in delicious chicken stock. You won’t believe how delicious and comforting this soup is.

It’s that time of year when soup is the main entrée. Like in my Scotch Broth Soup or my Minestrone, it’s comforting, hearty, and perfect for those cold wintery days.

Italian Wedding Soup

Italian wedding soup is an Italian American dish adapted and popularized by Italians who immigrated to America. It consists of meatballs in a broth-based soup with vegetables, pasta, and greens.

It originally stems from the Italian word minestra mariata, meaning “wedded broths.”  Italian Americans adapted it to wedding soup. However, it’s more about marrying flavors in a broth instead of serving them at weddings in Italy, which it is not.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Beef – You can use 80/20, 85/15, 90/10, or 96/4 ground beef.
• Pork — Freshly ground or pre-packaged ground pork is needed. You can also finely mince a pork shoulder or cut it into medium-sized chunks and process it in a food processor or meat grinder.
• Onion — You can use white, yellow, or sweet onions in the meatballs and soup.
• Herbs – Flat leaf or curly parsley can be used in the meatballs and soup. In addition, you can also add 2 tablespoons of minced fresh rosemary and/or 3 tablespoons of minced fresh basil.
• Cheese — Finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano can be used in the meatballs. I also like to use it as a garnish at the end.
• Bread — Italian bread helps keep the meatballs moist and tender. Honestly, you can use any whole loaf of white bread.
• Eggs – Large eggs that are chilled or at room temperature will work for binding.
• Vegetables — I used carrots and celery in the soup. To make it heartier, feel free to add other root vegetables like rutabaga or parsnips.
• Stock – Chicken stock or brodo should be used.
• Greens – Escarole is the traditional green to use. However, baby spinach or kale will also work.
• Pasta – Acini di pepe is the standard pasta for wedding soup, but pearl cous cous can also be used.

How to Make Italian Wedding Soup

1. Add ground beef, pork, small diced yellow onions, finely minced garlic, parsley, grated parmesan cheese, eggs, water-soaked and squeezed-out Italian bread, salt, and pepper to a large bowl.
   
2. Mix with your hands until combined and form into small ping-pong-sized balls.
3. Place on a sheet tray and bake until browned and cooked through. You can also pan roast in some oil and cook through, finish in an oven, or simmer in the soup broth at the end. Set them aside until it’s time to serve the soup.
   
4. Add the mirepoix to a large pot with some oil on low heat to sweat the vegetables for about 15 minutes. Stir frequently.
5. Add the chicken stock and simmer on medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
   
6. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water and set aside.
7. Now that the wedding soup is completed, this is how you serve it.
   
8. Add some of the soup broth with vegetables to a bowl. Place in some escarole. Add in some cooked acini di pepe. Place in some meatballs. Grate in Parmesan cheese and serve
   

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make Ahead: You can make the soup two days ahead and keep the meatballs, broth with vegetables, and acini di pepe separate.

How to Store: Place it in a lid container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can freeze I covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it for one day in the fridge before reheating it.

How to Reheat: Place your desired wedding soup into a small pot and heat over low heat until hot.

chef notes + tips

• This recipe makes quite a few meatballs, which I did on purpose to freeze half the batch.
• For a slight variation to this soup, use my Meatball Recipe, which has a few more herbs.
• I prefer to cook, cool, and keep the pasta separate before adding it to each bowl served so as not to overcook it when it’s sitting on the stovetop in the soup.
• I add the escarole to each bowl served so that it does not wilt in the soup while sitting on the stove.

More Soup Recipes

• Clam Chowder
• Pork Confit and Split Pea Soup
• Broccoli Cheddar Soup
• Zuppa Toscana
• Chicken Dumpling Soup Recipe

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Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

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5 from 39 votes

This super tasty Italian wedding soup recipe is loaded with meatballs, veggies, escarole, and pasta simmered in delicious chicken stock.

Servings: 12

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

For the Meatballs:

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 2 pounds ground pork
• 1 peeled small diced yellow onion
• 4 finely minced cloves of garlic
• ¼ cup finely minced parsley
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 loaf Italian bread soaked in water and squeezed
• 5 eggs
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

For the Soup:

• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 peeled medium diced yellow onion
• 3 finely minced cloves of garlic
• 4 stalks medium diced celery
• 4 peeled medium diced carrots
• 128 ounces chicken stock
• 2 heads escarole or 8 cups packed baby spinach
• 1 pound cooked and cooled acini di pepe
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400°.
• Meatballs: Combine all of the ingredients together in a large bowl until thoroughly mixed in and form small ping pong sized meatballs and set them on sheet trays lined with parchment paper.
• Bake in the oven at 400° for 22-25 minutes or until lightly browned and cooked through.
• Freeze ½ of the meatballs and set the other ½ aside.
• Soup: Add the olive oil to a large soup pot along with the onions, garlic, celery and carrots and sweat over low heat for 15 minutes. Do not brown them.
• Add in the broth and simmer over low to medium heat for 15 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper.
• To Plate: Place some of the broth and vegetables into a bowl. Add in some of the cooked and cooled acini di pepe along with a small handful of escarole, and 5-6 meatballs.
• Grate on optional parmesan cheese.

Notes

Make Ahead: You can make the soup two days ahead and keep the meatballs, broth with vegetables, and acini di pepe separate.

How to Store: Place it in a lid container and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can freeze I covered for up to 3 months. Thaw it for one day in the fridge before reheating it.

How to Reheat: Place your desired wedding soup into a small pot and heat over low heat until hot.

This recipe makes quite a few meatballs, which I did on purpose to freeze half the batch.

For a slight variation to this soup, use my Meatball Recipe, which has a few more herbs.

I prefer to cook, cool, and keep the pasta separate before adding it to each bowl served so as not to overcook it when it’s sitting on the stovetop in the soup.

I add the escarole to each bowl served so that it does not wilt in the soup while sitting on the stove.

Nutrition

Calories: 644kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 32gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 108mgSodium: 688mgPotassium: 965mgFiber: 6gSugar: 15gVitamin A: 5292IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 132mgIron: 4mg

Course: Appetizer, Soup

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Chef Billy Parisi