Italian Wedding Soup
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Simple ingredients, big comfort—this Italian wedding soup recipe is one you’ll want on repeat all season long.
Photo by Johnny Miller (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
My kids love anything with meatballs, so this Italian wedding soup recipe is always a hit at our house. Made with a rich broth, greens, tiny pasta and mini meatballs, it’s a meal unto itself. The name comes from the Italian phrase minestra maritata, or “married soup,” a nod to the way the flavors combine, like a happy marriage.
The traditional recipe can be a bit of a project, but I save time by using store-bought broth fortified with wine and plenty of veggies. For the meatballs, my secret is adding ground Italian sausage to the beef mixture—it packs tons of flavor without the need for extra seasoning.
Rolling the mini meatballs is the most time-consuming part, but I usually recruit the kids to help. To save even more time down the road, you can double the meatball recipe and freeze half—you’ll be glad you did! Serve with warm garlic bread and a Caesar salad.
“Wonderful recipe! Tastes as great as it looks.”
What You’ll Need To Make Italian Wedding Soup
- Lean ground beef and Italian sausage: Form the base of the meatballs, adding tenderness, spice, and rich flavor.
- Egg and Italian seasoned bread crumbs: Bind the meatballs and give them a light, tender texture.
- Fresh chives, sage, and garlic: Lend subtle onion, earthy, and savory notes to the meatballs.
- Parmigiano Reggiano: Adds sharp, nutty flavor to both the meatballs and the finished soup.
- Olive oil: Used to sauté the vegetables and adds richness.
- Yellow onion, carrots, and celery: The classic aromatic trio for a flavorful soup base.
- Chicken and beef broths: Create a rich, hearty base (use regular, not low-sodium, for best flavor).
- Dry white wine: Adds a touch of acidity that brightens the broth.
- Bay leaf: Infuses the soup with a subtle, earthy aroma.
- Small pasta (like ditalini, orzo, or pearl couscous): Gives the soup heartiness and texture.
- Fresh spinach: Stirred in at the end for color and freshness; chard or escarole also work well.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Start the meatballs. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, chives, sage, and garlic with a fork — this helps evenly distribute the flavor before you add the meat and breadcrumbs.
Step 2: Mix in remaining meatball ingredients. Add the ground beef, sausage, Parmesan, breadcrumbs, and salt. Use your hands to gently mash and mix until everything’s evenly combined — don’t overwork it or the meatballs will be dense.
Step 3: Roll and bake. Shape the mixture into tablespoon-size balls and arrange them on a greased, oven-safe rack set over a baking sheet. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until lightly browned and cooked through. Set aside while you start the soup.
Step 4: Start the soup. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened and just starting to turn golden, about 8 minutes.
Step 5: Add the liquid and seasoning. Pour in the chicken broth, beef broth, water, and wine, then add the bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot for extra flavor.
Step 6: Add the pasta. Stir in the ditalini and cook, uncovered, at a gentle boil until the pasta is al dente, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Step 7: Finish the soup. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed. Reduce the heat to low, then add the meatballs and spinach. Simmer for a few minutes, just until the spinach wilts and the meatballs are heated through.
Video Tutorial
More Italian Recipes to Bring to Your Table
Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¾ lb 85 or 90% lean ground beef
- ½ lb sweet or hot Italian sausage, removed from the casings
- ½ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
- ⅓ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 6 cups high-quality chicken broth, such as Swanson (do not use low-sodium)
- 2 cups high-quality beef broth, such as Swanson (do not use low-sodium)
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup dry white wine (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper (okay to use black pepper)
- 1 cup small pasta such as dittalini
- 4 oz fresh spinach, stems trimmed and roughly chopped (once prepped, you should have about 3 packed cups)
- Parmigiano Reggiano, for serving
Instructions
- Make the meatballs: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set an oven-proof roasting rack over top. Spray the rack generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat the egg with the chives, sage and garlic. Add the remaining meatball ingredients and mash with your hands until evenly combined. Roll the mixture into tablespoon-size balls, about 1 in (2.5 cm) in diameter (it will make approximately 50 meatballs), and place on the prepared rack. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned and cooked through. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, start the soup. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Add the chicken broth, beef broth, water, wine, bay leaf, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook, uncovered, at a gentle boil until the pasta is al dente, 8 to 10 minutes (or according to package directions). Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Reduce the heat to low and add the spinach and meatballs. Simmer for a few minutes, until the spinach is wilted and the meatballs are warmed through. Ladle into bowls and serve with grated Parmigiano Reggiano.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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It was delicious! I’m not a huge soup fan, but I will save this into my favorites and make again!
Hi Jenn
Made this soup recipe today and my family absolutely loved it. Also, shared the soup with my older neighbor and she thought it was just delicious! Thanks sooo much for sharing your recipe. It is outstanding!
I love your recipes! Everything I have tried has been fantastic. For this soup, my macaroni kept sticking to the bottom of my Le Creuset Dutch oven. Any idea why? Thanks!
Hi Rachel, So glad you like the recipes! If the pasta was sticking to the bottom, it probably just needed a few stirs to distribute it throughout the pot.
Delicious just as written!
We are all sick so I ordered the groceries to make this soup. It was OUTSTANDING. All 3 kids loved it and both adults. I didn’t have white wine or chives so I left those out.
I made this soup for dinner last night and it was fabulous! The only thing I did different was to cook the pasta separately from the soup. I then add some to each bowl when I serve it. I find it keeps the pasta from bloating as there’s only 2 of us. Go ahead and try the recipe, you won’t be disappointed!
A family member recently turned 93 and I made this soup for his birthday present. He loves beef and soup and completely loved this gift! I made it exactly as written with the exception of subbing scallions for chives, and included the dry wine. My husband went crazy for this too. Thanks again for another great recipe!!
He is turning 96 tomorrow and this will be his gift–again!!
96 – WOW! And what a nice tradition. Wishing him a very happy birthday! 🥳
We loved this soup!
Homemade meatballs are always the best and I really liked your addition of sage.
I added beans to make it heartier as other reviewers said, which was fine but completely unnecessary.
This is a really nice light soup that I will be making again.
Thank you!
Another winner of a recipe — although not as hearty as other of Jenn’s soup selections — felt like we needed a sandwich to round this out for dinner. Fabulous flavors though.
The recipe sounds great, but I have to ask about adjustments. My daughter has celiac so I plan on using GF pasta. But I was wondering if I could use anything to replace the wine?
Thank you!
I can’t rate it yet, b/c I haven’t made it
Hi Stephany, it should be fine to use gluten-free pasta and if you choose not to use the wine, no need to replace it with anything else. Hope you enjoy!