Italian Wedding Soup
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Italian Wedding Soup – an American-Italian soup with spinach and orzo studded with delicious meatballs. So simple, quick and always a big hit! Try it today and in less than 30 minutes you’ll have a drool worthy dish, I promise!
Italian Wedding Soup
Italian wedding soup is one of my favorites because it’s so easy to make! Chances are that you already have all the ingredients necessary right in your fridge or pantry. We Romanians have our own meatball soup but this Italian wedding soup is a bit different because it has spinach in it.
I won’t say which is my favorite here, you’ll just have to try both and decide for yourself! If you do just be sure to top it with freshly grated Pecorino Romano ad some cracked black pepper. It will rock your world, I promise.
Is This Soup Served At Italian Weddings?
One might think that the name of this soup implies that it’s served at Italian weddings, but actually it has nothing to do with weddings. It’s said to get its name from the marriage of ingredients, the meat, greens and noodles, because together they are a marriage made in heaven. Huh, the more you know!
What Is Orzo?
Orzo is a small cut pasta that tastes heavenly in light little dishes just like the one I’m writing out for you all today. It packs some good protein and pairs well with a good variety of veggies.
Ingredients In Italian Wedding Soup
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Meatballs
- Beef – Ground beef extra lean is what we will be using today.
- Egg – The binder for our meatballs.
- Herbs – Chopped fresh parsley.
- Milk – Feel free to use any kind of milk you’d like.
- Bread crumbs – Use any you have on hand, I do love to use Panko personally.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper
- Cheese – Freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Soup
- Olive oil – We want a nice neutral tasting oil for this soup.
- Veggies – Carrots chopped up nice and fine and spinach packed down and roughly chopped
- Pasta – I prefer to use orzo as a tiny little chewy addition, but other small shaped pasta will also work.
- Liquids – Low sodium chicken broth is needed to make up the flavorful liquid base of our soup, be sure to find low sodium as we want to control our salt.
- Cheese – Pecorino Romano freshly grated – believe me this ingredient is necessary.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper.
How To Make Italian Wedding Soup
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Make the meatballs: Add all the meatball ingredients to a bowl and mix well using your clean hands until well incorporated. Shape into mini meatballs, about 3/4 to an inch and place them in a bowl. Set aside.
- Saute the carrots: Heat the olive oil in a soup pot or large Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and saute for a couple minutes or until tender.
- Assemble the soup: Add the meatballs and chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Stir in the spinach, orzo, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cool for about 10 to 15 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the orzo is fully cooked.
- Serve the soup: Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with grated Pecorino Romano Cheese or Parmesan cheese.
What Can I Serve Italian Wedding Soup With?
This delicious soup is perfect for a rainy day or a beautiful day for celebrating, like a wedding, and everything in between. I personally like to just serve it up with some Dinner Rolls or some crusty Bread. But if you’d like to turn it into a full spread here’s some perfect accompaniments!
- Italian Roasted Mushrooms And Veggies
- Lemon Garlic Roasted Chicken Legs
- Roast Chicken
- Creamy Garlic Parmesan Mushrooms
- Meatball Parmesan
What Else Can I Use In Italian Wedding Soup
I improvised today by adding some carrots, which is by no means traditional but just because it isn’t traditional doesn’t mean it’s not delicious!
- Feel free to add diced potatoes for a heartier soup.
- Ground veal, ground pork, or ground turkey and chicken are great additions to our meatball, feel free to substitute or combine any of them with the ground beef.
- Feel free to incorporate celery and onion to form a mirepoix.
- If you can’t find Orzo acini de pepe will work perfectly!
Tips For Making The Best Italian Wedding Soup
- Sear the meatballs before adding to the soup if you’d like to add some nice complexity to your dish.
- Be sure your meatballs are small, don’t think pasta meatballs think soup meatballs.
- Use fresh bread crumbs if you’l like to really set these meatballs off, just slice up some nice crusty bread and blend a slice in the food processor till it’s reduced to crumbs.
Storing Italian Wedding Soup
In an airtight shallow container this dish will keep for 3 – 4 days in the fridge, just be sure it is cooled before storing. You can also freeze this dish, just store it cooled in a shallow airtight container and it will keep for 4 – 6 months. Just allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating on the stove when ready to eat.
Craving More Delicious Soup? Try These Recipes:
- Beef Barley Soup
- Lemon Rice and Chicken Soup
- Brazilian Shrimp Soup
- Albondigas Soup
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Beef Lentil Soup
- Baked Potato Soup
Looking for more recipes? Follow on... My Newsletter Pinterest Facebook Instagram
Italian Wedding Soup
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 30 mins
Serves: 6
Italian Wedding Soup - an American-Italian soup with spinach and orzo studded with delicious meatballs. So simple, quick and always a big hit! Try it today and in less than 30 minutes you'll have a drool worthy dish, I promise!
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef extra lean
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup parsley fresh, chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
Italian Wedding Soup
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium carrot chopped
- 8 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 2 cups spinach packed down and roughly chopped
- 1 cup orzo dry
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp pepper or to taste
- Pecorino Romano cheese freshly grated, for serving
Instructions
Meatballs
- Add all the meatball ingredients to a bowl and mix well using your clean hands until well incorporated. Shape into mini meatballs, about 3/4 to an inch and place them in a bowl. Set aside.
Italian Wedding Soup
- Heat the olive oil in a soup pot or large Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add the carrots and saute for a couple minutes or until tender.
- Add the meatballs and chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Stir in the spinach, orzo, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cool for about 10 to 15 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the orzo is fully cooked.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with grated Pecorino Romano Cheese or Parmesan cheese.
Video
Recipe Notes
You can make the meatballs before and freeze them in a freezer bag until ready to use.
Instead of orzo, the soup is also sometimes made with acini de pepe. Orzo can also be substituted with acini de pepe.
For the meatballs you can use half ground pork or half ground beef. You can even just use ground chicken or ground turkey for a healthier version.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 391kcal (20%)Carbohydrates: 31g (10%)Protein: 30g (60%)Fat: 16g (25%)Saturated Fat: 5g (31%)Cholesterol: 86mg (29%)Sodium: 959mg (42%)Potassium: 721mg (21%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 2975IU (60%)Vitamin C: 6.8mg (8%)Calcium: 175mg (18%)Iron: 3.8mg (21%)
Alessandra says
Hi, made this before and loved it! Wanted to make a double batch to freeze, you mentioned in the notes section the meatballs can be made before and frozen, do you freeze them raw and then drop into soup frozen, or are they frozen after cooked? Thanks!
Nicole Beaulieu says
Yes you can freeze them raw! They’re nice and small so it won’t take much longer for them to cook in the soup. Take one out and break it in half to test the doneness to make sure they’re fully cooked once they’ve boiled in the soup.
Elizabeth Tarlow says
Jo, I Love your recipes & I’m so glad that I found your site!!! This soup looks and sounds amazing & I’m looking forward to fixing it! Do you think that I could substitute Quinoa for the Orzo? Thanks in advance 🙂
Nicole Beaulieu says
You can give quinoa a try! It will likely take a little longer to cook.
Eileen Schmidt says
Jo, I love your blog and your recipes. I can’t wait to try this Italian wedding soup. I’m so glad it contains spinach, not kale, my least favorite vegetable. Keep up the good work.
Joanna Cismaru says
Thanks, Eileen!!
Al Fano says
acini di pepe means berries of the pepper (spice) plant
Jennifer Gardenswartz says
I’ve followed a billion IWS recipes, but this one is the best! I accidentally threw in a bit too much orzo, so I’ll be more careful next time. Quick and delicious! Thanks Jo!
Nicole Beaulieu says
Thank you very much, we’re so glad you love this recipe!
Judi Collier says
Loved the flavor. Added garlic to my meatballs – yummy, however some fell apart. Any idea why?
Joanna Cismaru says
Usually they fall apart because there’s too much breadcrumbs, so you could try decreasing that a bit or maybe adding another egg.
JoEllen Hamlin says
I’ve made this soup numerous times and for many friends. I use 50/50 ground pork/beef, and
Acini de pepe pasta. I’ve also used frozen spinach or fresh swiss chard chopped.
Highly recommended.
Gwen Gordon says
Made it! Absolutely amazing! I added a little sausage to my meatballs AND a few cauliflower raviolis I was staring at…. thank you!
Gwen says
Love your recipes! I gave a try on the bread in a pot😩. I think I let it ‘rise ‘ too long —- that matters, right?
Nicole Beaulieu says
It will start to deflate if it’s left too long
Amy says
I love your recipes, Jo!!! Thank you so very much for sharing your love of cooking!!! =)
Fenne Kieken says
Thanks for the five star rating! So glad you are enjoying the recipes and thanks for posting your comment and being a part of our Jo Cooks community
Lori P says
Are eggs deliberately listed twice? Am presuming you meant 1 large egg total.
I’ve also only ever had canned Italian Wedding Soup. As much as I enjoy that, I’m sure this is in a whole other category of wonderful!
Fenne Kieken says
Thanks, the recipe has been updated.
Lori P says
I should have watched the video first, which does show only 1 egg. Nevertheless, thanks for fixing this.
Fenne Kieken says
Hey, call us out anytime…. have a great day!
Heather Grimm says
I miss the old recipe. Is there a way to get the old version back? It seemed to be more flavorful. However, I do enjoy the addition of the carrots.
Joanna Cismaru says
Hi Heather,
That’s the only difference really, is the carrots, skip those and you have the old recipe back. 🙂
Ginger Gibbons says
H Jo Cooks, Love your site and recipes. In the above recipe for the wedding soup, it lists two eggs. I did watch the video and you did put one egg in mixture. one or two eggs, but I assume one. Thanks Ginger from Buffalo
Fenne Kieken says
Thanks we have updated our recipe.
Eliana says
What kind of meat can I substitute pork with?
Joanna Cismaru says
You could just use ground chicken or turkey.
TigerKim says
Love this soup — but only ever had it canned! Thanks for a real recipe!
Gail says
Looks wonderful! I feel like I’d want to cook the meatballs a little bit before adding them to the broth?
jo says
Hi Gail, You can cook the meatballs first but it’s not necessary. 🙂
Easy Italian Recipes says
Hi! Your Italian wedding soup was nominated as one of the “Best Italian Wedding Soup Recipes on the Net”. To vote for it, please visit http://easyitalianrecipes.org/soup-recipes/best-italian-wedding-soup-recipes-on-the-net-vote-for-your-favorite/ (your recipe is positioned at #177).
Joyce says
in my Italian family we use escarole not spinach and ancini di pepe instead of orzo
Sueann says
Hello!~ I followed your recipe and everything came out perfectly! My boyfriend loved it but I’m not sure if he liked the “wedding” part of it! Thank you!!
jo says
Hi there, glad you liked it. 🙂
Tres Delicious says
What a mouthwatering delectable italian kind of soup. Looks enticing.
Dave at eRecipeCards says
well you do learn something every day.. Love the colors. And new story to go with the dish (but i am a romantic, I will miss the imagery of a wedding soup).