Italian Wedding Soup
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Freezer-friendly Italian wedding soup! With make-ahead juicy, chicken meatballs, all the feel-good veggies, and pasta. The coziest soup ever!
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Why you’ll love Italian wedding soup
- Fancy weeknight meal. Italian wedding soup is perfect for busy weeknights, prepping the meatballs ahead of time, but also fancy enough for dinner parties and weekend company without any of the fuss.
- Cozy soup vibes. As the weather starts to cool down, warm up with the coziest bowl of soup, made with the most flavorful, rich broth, juicy, tender meatballs, hearty sneaked-in veggies and short cut pasta, all finished with a little sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan on top.
- Freezer-friendly recipe. Make a big batch of soup to freeze for later for a rainy day. Freeze in individual servings for super convenient grab-and-go dinners for months to come!
what is Italian wedding soup?
Known as minestra maritata meaning “wedded soup”, Italian wedding soup is the holy matrimony between meat, vegetables, and pasta in a chicken broth. Ironically, Italian wedding soup is not relevant to weddings in Italy.
italian wedding soup VS. minestrone
Both Italian wedding soup and minestrone are Italian soups, but Italian wedding soup typically includes meatballs as a hero ingredient, whereas minestrone is traditionally a vegetable-based soup with hearty beans, often times without meat.
How to make italian wedding soup
- Make the meatballs.
- Combine the ingredients. Combine the ground chicken, chicken sausage, Panko, Parmesan, egg, oregano, basil, parsley, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
- Mix gently. Gently fold in the ingredients just until combined. Overworking the meat will lead to tough, dense meatballs.
- Form the meatballs. Portion and roll the mixture into 3/4-to-1-inch meatballs. Pro tip: keep your hands slightly wet with water.
- Flash-freeze the meatballs if making ahead of time. Place the uncooked meatballs on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper, freezing for 1 hour until solid. Transfer the meatballs to an airtight, resealable freezer bag, and freeze up to 1 month.
- Brown the meatballs. Place a Dutch oven over medium heat and add olive oil until it shimmers. Work in batches and cook the meatballs in a single layer, letting them cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes to develop a crust. Set aside.
- Sauté the aromatics. Add the onion, carrots, and celery; stirring until tender. Then stir in the garlic until fragrant.
- Simmer. Stir in the chicken stock and bay leaves, then bring the soup to a simmer. Add the ditalini pasta, thyme, rosemary, and browned meatballs. Continue to simmer until the pasta is tender and the meatballs are cooked through (reaching an internal temperature of 165°F).
- Add the greens. Stir in the spinach, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper; stirring until the spinach wilts.
- Serve. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan and serve warm with homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping, and dunking!
Make-ahead and freezing italian wedding soup
Make-ahead (flash-freeze meatballs)
Place the uncooked meatballs on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper, freezing for 1 hour until solid. Transfer the meatballs to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date, and freeze up to 1 month.
Freeze
Let the soup cool completely. Portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Label, date, and freeze up to 3 months. Lay the bags flat in a single layer in the freezer (this will help them freeze quickly).
Reheat
Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat gently over low heat until warmed through, adding freshly cooked pasta when serving.
what to serve with italian wedding soup
Tools For This Recipe
Italian Wedding Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Ground beef, ground pork, or ground turkey are all excellent substitutes.
Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb and can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store. Similar to traditional breadcrumbs, Panko serves as a binder to hold the meatballs together. But its larger, flakier texture creates a crispier, crunchier, lighter crust on the meatballs.
Yes! The meatballs can be prepped, assembled, and stored in the freezer (uncooked) for up to 1 month.
You can use either chicken broth or chicken stock but always season, to taste, as store-bought broth is often saltier than store-bought stock. Broth is made from meat and vegetables while stock is often lower sodium and thicker than broth, and is made from bones and vegetables.
Kale, cabbage, swiss chard, and collard greens can be used instead.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days, gently reheating on the stovetop until warmed through.
Absolutely! You can freeze without the pasta (or else they will get mushy) for up to 3 months.
Italian Wedding Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup ditalini pasta
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 3 cups baby spinach, chopped
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
For the chicken meatballs
- ½ pound ground chicken
- ½ pound chicken sausage, casing removed
- ⅓ cup Panko
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the stockpot. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock and bay leaves; bring to a boil.
- Stir in ditalini, thyme, rosemary and meatballs; reduce heat and simmer until pasta is tender and meatballs are cooked through, about 9-12 minutes.
- Stir in spinach, lemon juice and parsley until spinach has wilted, about 2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, garnished with Parmesan, if desired.
For the chicken meatballs
- In a large bowl, combine ground chicken, chicken sausage, Panko, Parmesan, egg, oregano, basil, parsley and garlic powder; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 3/4-to-1-inch meatballs, forming about 25-30 meatballs.
Equipment
Notes
- Prep the meatballs ahead of time. The meatballs can be assembled up to 1 day in advance and placed in the fridge until ready to use. The uncooked meatballs can also be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month (once flash freezing), thawing overnight in the fridge. For a quicker shortcut, substitute frozen mini meatballs.
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Short cut pasta works best. Ditalini, orzo, acini di pepe, or a small shape pasta is ideal for easy eating and balanced proportions.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Kale, spinach, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
- Finish with lemon juice. Freshly squeezed lemon juice will elevate the soup, adding a refreshing, bright flavor and balancing out all the saltiness and richness of the soup.
- Store pasta separately for leftovers. When planning for leftovers, store the cooked ditalini pasta separately from the soup to prevent it from soaking up all the broth.
Did you make this recipe?
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The most amazing soup… I went by the recipe to a tee…but I used ground turkey..1 lb, and turkey sausage 1 lb…little more meatballs… but the soup was so wonderful… and thick….lots and lots of prep… but was so worth it
Just fabulous. Didn’t have pork so just used chicken for meatballs. They were a little soft to form but were delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Just made yesterday. Very good and easy recipe. I used only chicken as I had no sausage. Used orzo as pasta. Delicious. Thanks!
An excellent recipe as always!
This was seriously delicious. . I didn’t have celery but it was amazingly yummy. We served it with a side of garlic bread. I absolutely loved it. ❤️ Thanks.
Easy to follow directions……I made ground beef meatballs as that’s what I had.. and I also had orzo so used that as well….. served it with fresh baked bread…….thanks!
Looks delicious – if trying to keep it gluten-free, what would you recommend for the acini di pepe substitution? I can easily find a panko sub for the meatballs, but the size and texture of the acini di pepe look great. Thanks!
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
So good – delicious and satisfying!
Awesome!
This is amazing! Made the recipe just as written, except I tossed a parmesan rind into the soup since I had one in the freezer instead of adding grated. The lemon really makes this soup sing. This is a
definite keeper. Thank you!!!!
Awesome!
I loved this soup! I used ground pork and pork sausage instead of chicken because that’s what I had on hand. And I think I added an extra splash of lemon juice, but otherwise followed the recipe. It was really good!!
That’s great!
This was fabulous! The meatballs were tasty, veggies cooked perfectly, etc. You know it’s a winner when your kid is trying to steal spoonfuls as you’re putting it in a thermos for her lunch 😉
Awesome, Gwen!
This looks delicious and perfect for a fall day like today in New England! What kind of chicken sausage did you use? There are so many different flavors! Thank you 🙂
I actually did not use a particular brand – I found it at the meat counter at Whole Foods. 🙂
This looks darn good. I wonder the motive behind the name. Anyways, can tofu be used for this recipe? I think that would give it a different touch.
Yes, of course!
Would this work with ground pork? I have a pound of it in my freezer (Prime Now sent me the wrong item) and I have no idea what to do with it!
Yes, absolutely!
made the meatball soup and it was delicious !
It’s the best!
Is it possible to make this in the Instant Pot pressure cooker?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
This looks delicious! Do you think it would hold up ok if frozen? Thanks – Love your site!! Every time I make one of your recipes, it’s a winner 🙂
Yes, you can certainly freeze but I would recommend freezing without the pasta and cheese. Hope that helps!
That photo is making me so hungry! I have never seen that pasta before, really want to get hold of it and experiment with it. Thanks so much for sharing (:
This is a great recipe, especially since all the veggies are nice n ripe thanks to the summer sunshine! Gonna have to crank up the AC after eating some soup tho
What if you don’t use chicken sausage. How much total ground chicken would I use. This looks delicious
You can substitute the same amount for the chicken sausage. 🙂