Italian Wedding Soup (Authentic Italian Recipe)
Updated Oct 31, 2025, Published Feb 16, 2023
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Looking for a cozy, homemade soup that’s full of flavor and tradition? This Authentic Italian Wedding Soup is a family favorite made with tender Italian meatballs, leafy greens, and a rich, flavorful broth. I add a few extra vegetables like carrots and celery to brighten it up, but it stays true to its classic roots. It’s simple to make, nourishing, and always a hit around the table.
Warm up with more Italian soups like this sausage white bean soup and my Tuscan ribollita soup.
Quick Look at This Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Servings: 4-6 people
- Dietary Info: Nut-free; gluten-free adaptable; contains dairy
- Method: One-pot stovetop soup
- Technique: Homemade meatballs simmered in broth with soffritto and greens
- Flavor & Texture: Savory, brothy, tender meatballs, soft greens, and fresh Parmigiano kick
Why you’ll love this family favorite!
This is a soup that brings back a lot of memories. In Italy, it’s traditionally made with a clear broth, tender meatballs, leafy greens, and sometimes a bit of egg mixed into the broth.
It’s always finished with a sprinkle of Parmigiano cheese. In my version, I add a few extra vegetables like carrots and celery to brighten the flavor a little more.
The meatballs are made using my Nonna’s recipe—simple, authentic, and full of flavor. It’s a humble soup, but one that everyone loves. This best Italian wedding soup recipe is comforting, easy to make, and perfect for feeding a crowd any time of year.
If you want to try more easy Italian soup recipes, try this zuppa Toscana soup recipe or pasta fagioli next.
Made With Amore,
“This soup is amazing!!! I make it all the time, especially in the winter, because its just that good! SO much better than canned. I use Elena’s sausage meatball recipe for the meatballs and I make the soup as described. It’s so easy too. Delicious!”
– Kelly
Table of Contents
Simple Ingredients
Fresh vegetables, a good broth, and homemade meatballs go a long way to give this delicious soup a rich flavor.
- Meatballs: I highly recommend making my Italian meatballs. They’re super tender meatballs made with egg, parmigiano cheese, parsley, and homemade breadcrumbs soaked in milk. Oh my! They are so delicious. You can also use store-bought or frozen meatballs to save some time.
- Small Pasta: Acini di pepe pasta is the traditional option, but you can use any small pasta variety you want.
- Stock: Chicken stock, vegetable stock, or bone broth all work in this soup. You can even make a homemade broth, like in my pastina soup recipe, if you have the extra time.
- Baby spinach: Adds a pop of color. You can also use escarole, kale, or arugula, though the flavor and texture may be different.
See the recipe card for the full list of ingredients with quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
There are so many variations of Italian-style wedding soup. Traditionally, this soup calls for bitter greens such as escarole or broccoli rabe, popular in the Naples region of Italy.
- Skip the Pasta: For a low-carb version of this soup, use a can of cannellini beans or white beans instead of the pasta, like in this sausage white bean soup recipe. Drain and rinse the beans, and add to the broth at the same time you add the greens. You can also use grains such as rice, farro, or barley instead of the pasta. Cook them separately and add them to the soup.
- Spicy: Add a pinch or two of red pepper flakes.
- No Meatballs. You can also make Italian wedding soup without meatballs. I suggest cooking sweet Italian sausage or spicy Italian sausage with the Italian soffitto before adding the liquid to the soup.
- Lighter: Swap the traditional meatballs for turkey meatballs, Italian chicken sausage, or ground turkey. You can even cook ground meat with homemade Italian sausage seasoning to give it more flavor.
- Add Egg: Some versions of this soup add scrambled eggs to the hot broth. To make it this way, scramble two eggs in a bowl and add them to the hot broth when adding the leafy greens. Stir the egg vigorously in the hot liquid and it will cook in the hot broth.
- Vegetarian: Leave out the meatballs to make vegetarian wedding soup. For more protein, add some beans when you add the greens.
How To Make Italian Wedding Soup
We start this reicpe for Italian wedding soup with a simple Italian soffritto, the best base for most sauces and soups in Italian cooking. This is a hearty meal the whole family will love. To get started, make the meatballs and set them aside.
- Cook the onions, carrots, and celery in a pot with olive oil until the veggies are soft. Add the garlic and saute a minute longer.
- Add the chicken broth and season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the meatballs and reduce the heat to a light boil. Cook for ten minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
- If you want to cook the pasta in the soup, add it now and cook until al dente.
- Add the fresh spinach and stir to wilt.
- Serve up bowls of the hot soup with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Serve with a warm loaf of no knead Italian focaccia.
My Pro Tip
Recipe Tip
- Grate Fresh Parmiggiano Reggiano Cheese: Use the real deal Parmesan cheese here and grate it fresh. It makes such a difference. You should always grate your own cheese for the best flavor and texture.
- Meatball Time Saver: Make a double batch of regular or Italian sausage meatballs when you make them to freeze some for later. Place the meatballs on a baking sheet in one layer so they aren’t touching, and place them in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer the meatballs to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months. Add the frozen meatballs to the broth when ready to use and simmer until warm.
- Cook the Pasta Separately: Especially important when you will have leftovers and want to store the soup. Pasta in soup continues to soak up the liquid as it’s stored, making the soup thicken and the pasta very soft.
- Store leftovers: Place any leftovers in a tight-lid container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Cook the pasta before it is ready to eat, and add it to your bowl of warm soup.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, it freezes great, but I do recommend taking some extra steps to ensure the best results. You will want to freeze the soup without the pasta. Place the cooled soup in an airtight container or a plastic bag with a few inches left at the top for the soup to expand when it freezes. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, thaw the frozen soup in the refrigerator and make fresh pasta, and add it to the warm soup.
It’s an old-world Neapolitan soup from ‘la cucina povera’, or poor kitchens, called ‘minestra maritata’. This name translates to “married soup,” not wedding soup. In Italy, we do not make this soup for weddings. The ‘wedding’ refers to the ‘marriage’ of inexpensive meat and leafy greens that make up the main ingredients in the soup.
The pasta that works best for Italian wedding soup is a small pasta variety. Some common options I recommend are acini di pepe, orzo, little stars or pastina, ditalini pasta, small shells, small pasta tubes, or macaroni shells.
I recommend cooking the pasta separately and adding a spoonful to the bottom of the bowl before adding the soup.
There are three ways to add homemade meatballs for soup. The first is frying them in a pan with olive oil. This gives them a nice crust before adding them to the soup to finish cooking. Alternatively, you can bake the meatballs on a greased cookie sheet to get a crispy exterior crust. Meatballs are often cooked before adding them to soup to seal in the moisture, but I find that it makes them tough in texture. My favorite method is to cook the meatballs right in the soup, as it keeps the meatballs very tender.
Warm the soup on the stove over medium-low heat just before serving. Cook fresh small pasta and add it to the warm soup. You can also reheat individual servings in the microwave. Add additional water or broth if the soup thickens during storage.
Serving Suggestion
Enjoy a bowl of traditional Italian wedding soup as a main dish paired with some Italian ciabatta bread or homemade rye bread for dipping.
You can also pair it with a sandwich or salad for a heartier meal. Try this crispy rice salad or greens topped with an Italian Parmesan vinaigrette, and for a sandwich, I love this caprese sandwich recipe.
Save room for dessert, like these Italian zeppoles or these chocolate crinkle cookies.
More Italian Soups to Love
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Homemade Italian Wedding Soup Recipe (Authentic)
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup onion, chopped
- 3 large carrots, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 10 cups chicken stock
- ½ cup uncooked acini di pepe pasta, or any small pasta variety- suggestions in blog post
- 4 cups fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup freshly grated parmigiano for topping, parmesan
- Kosher salt and Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 recipe Italian meatballs
Instructions
- Make the Italian meatballs. Cover and set aside. You can make them ahead of time and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 24 hours in advance.
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions, and celery and saute until veggies are soft, about 8 minutes; add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
- Pour in chicken broth, season the soup with salt and pepper to taste, and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the meatballs, and reduce heat to a light boil(about medium or medium-low).
- Cover and cook, occasionally stirring, until the meatballs have cooked through and are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add the spinach during the last few minutes of cooking.
- Bring salted water to a boil in a separate small pot and cook the pasta according to package directions (about 8-10 minutes). Drain and add the cooked pasta to serving bowls, then add the hot soup on top of the cooked pasta. Alternatively, you can cook the pasta in the soup and add at the same time as the meatballs.
- Serve warm. Sprinkle each serving with freshly grated parmigiano cheese and serve with bread.
Notes
- Always use freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano for the best flavor and texture. It makes all the difference—skip the pre-shredded stuff!
- Make a double batch of meatballs and freeze half for later. Freeze them on a baking sheet in a single layer, then transfer to a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. Just drop the frozen meatballs into the hot broth and simmer until warmed through.
- To keep the soup from getting too thick, especially if you plan on leftovers, cook the pasta separately and add it to each bowl when serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoyed trying your recipe last night. Everyone loved it! I used my own recipe for meatballs (included a mixture of Isernoโs Italian chicken sausage and ground beef) and I browned up 4 oz of pancetta lardons with the veg, added a couple bay leaves, added a Parmigiano rind and a couple cans of cannellini beans and used ditalini. So I guess you could say I made different version adding some of our favorite things to it! But your recipe was a great guide – thank you!
I love that you added your own touch! It all sounds delicious and happy I could guide in the right direction :). Many more yummy recipes to try!
This soup was one of our favorites growing up – Mamma used Escarole for the greens and made it after she made a huge pot of either chicken or turkey soup. I’m so glad to see that you dropped the meatballs right into the soup, rather than partially cooking them beforehand as this makes the meatballs so much more tender. This is also how she made regular meatballs for the Sunday sauce. Thank you for this delicious recipe, Elena!
You are most welcome. I am glad this yummy soup brought you comforting memories and filled you up in the best way. Yes, the meatball trick is the best!