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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This soup was really delicious. I had to improvise a bit, but it didn’t matter at all. I didn’t have chives or sage, but mixed italian turkey sausage with ground beef , egg and the cheese and bread crumbs. They were really good. I also used 12 ounces of spinach to boost the vegetables up. Definitely a great recipe.
Can ground chicken or ground turkey be used in place of the ground meat and sausage? Would extra seasonings be needed? Also, will a strong homemade chicken broth be a good substitute for adding beef broth? Making chicken broth in an Instant Pot is easy, fast and the broth flavor is strong. Thank you.
Hi Marcia, You could use ground turkey here in place of the ground meat and sausage, but the meatballs won’t be nearly as flavorful as the sausage definitely adds a lot of flavor and moisture to them. I would suggest adding some additional seasoning (like parsley, oregano, garlic) to the meatball mixture to up the flavor a bit. And, sure, the homemade chicken broth will work nicely. Enjoy!
This is now my husband’s favorite soup, and he LOVES soup. I made it once and he kept asking for it until I made it again. I want to try the suggestion to make more of the meatballs and freeze them to have on hand so I can make this soup more quickly. And I will admit that I used homemade chicken broth because I had a stockpile of that premade and in the freezer already. I also served a small portion of this as a first course to guests, and it was a hit. A winner!
I don’t watch much tv, but doubling this recipe and rolling 200+ tiny little meatballs while netflixing was worth every moment. So tender, the soup was so flavorful, and having a second vat in the freezer for later was great when guests popped in a few weeks later. I used homemade chicken stock and followed your recipe exactly, with the exception of leaving the noodles separate in order to not be mushy. Everything of yours I’ve tried is spot on. Thanks for the great meals!
Made this for my friends who spend most Friday evenings around our table. We all agreed that this was one of the BEST soups yet! Thanks, Jen, for recipes that are are as tasty to the palate as they are appealing to the eye. Looking forward to your cookbook.
I made this for Christmas Eve dinner and it was delicious! I did add a can of cannellini beans per my mother-in-law’s request and it was a home run! Thanks for all of your great soup recipes! Happy New Year Jenn!
This is about the 4th or 5th recipe I’ve tried for Italian Wedding Soup. I just deleted the other recipes from my cooking software and this is the go-to recipe. Nice job. Couple things different… I used 1 teaspoon ground sage as I didn’t have sage leaves. I forgot to put the parm reg in the meatballs but they seemed forgiving! Lastly, I added 2 tablespoons cream to the eggs. I’ve learned that cream softens the texture of meatballs. Also switched up the order of things. Mixed all meatball ingredients together except egg & cream. Added them last. And used anci di pepe pasta. Very good flavor. Thank you 🙂
Hi Cindy –
I have also used light cream or 1/2 & 1/2 in the my meatloaf and it turns out great!
This is the first time I’ve made Italian Wedding Soup, and it was delicious! Definitely will make again – everyone loved it, even one of my kids who doesn’t usually like soup. The only substitution I made was 1 small shallot finely minced in place of the chives in the meatball (I can’t always find chives @ my supermarket). Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. Delicious!
I have never cooked my own soup dish before. Since I had such a confidence with your recipes from my previous attempts (about 15 so far – Love all of those by the way..) I thought I will give this a try. Came out just as you showed in the picture and was delicious. Shared with friends of ours and they loved it too. The only substitution I did was the Ground Lamb in place of Beef. The time in the oven was increased by 4 minutes to get a good browning.
This recipe is DELICIOUS! My whole family loved it, highly recommend.