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Italian wedding soup is warm and comforting and filled with tender chicken meatballs, veggies, and acini de Pepe. This classic Italian soup will become an instant family favorite!
We love a good warm bowl of soup at our house. It’s perfect for cold winter days and, to be honest, I cook soups all year long because I love them so much! You need to try this chicken tortellini soup, this Pasta e Fagioli, or this broccoli cheese soup!
A Reader’s Review
I found this recipe through Pinterest and it is my FAVORITE recipe, possibly ever! My family loves this soup. I’ve made it for a work luncheon also and it was eaten up so fast! I had lots of requests for this recipe. Thank you so much! It’s amazing!
Italian Wedding Soup
We absolutely love traveling to new cities and trying out different foods. We recently went to a new Italian restaurant as a family and the waitress told me all about this Italian Wedding Soup and that it was her favorite. I can’t believe that I had never heard of Italian wedding soup before. It honestly became one of my favorite soups with the first bite.
There is so much to love about this delicious soup. My favorite part was the chicken meatballs that were hidden throughout and the tiny acini de pepe pasta inside. The pasta and chicken meatballs make this so filling, plus it is packed with veggies. All you need are some delicious rolls or breadsticks and you have yourself an entire meal that will fill anyone up! Plus, this soup is actually really simple! It comes together within 30 minutes and has so much delicious flavor. You are going to LOVE it!
Ingredients in Italian Wedding Soup
This Italian wedding soup is full of flavor, comfort and all blended together for perfection! It’s simple and the ingredients list is short! See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.
The Meatballs
- Ground chicken and sausage: These are the meat that you combine to make the meatball. Remove the casing on the sausage before mixing the sausage in.
- Breadcrumbs: This the gives the meatballs some texture.
- Egg: The egg will bind the meats and the seasonings together so that you can form them into balls.
- Italian seasoning: You can use storebought Italian seasoning or you can try out my 5 minute homemade Italian seasoning!
- Salt and pepper: Use these to season the soup to your preferred taste.
The Soup
- Olive Oil: This is to cook your vegetables in!
- Vegetables: Onion, carrots and celery and spinach. Chop these up to be as small or as large as you like. Just make sure they are similar in size so that they cook evenly.
- Garlic Cloves: If you don’t have fresh cloves on hand then you can use minced garlic. 1/2 teaspoon equals about 1 clove of garlic.
- Chicken Stock: This gives the base of the soup a rich flavor.
- Uncooked Acini di Pepe Pasta: This is the pasta that you will use for this classic recipe! They are like little tiny pieces of dough. If you don’t have them or can’t find them then orzo will also work.
- Parmesan: This will be sprinkled on top of this Italian wedding soup!
How to Make Italian Wedding Soup
You will love this simple comfort soup that is filling and delicious! Bite after bite of this soup leaves you wanting another bowl filled to the brim!
- To make the meatballs: In a medium sized mixing bowl, add the ground chicken, chicken sausage, bread crumbs, egg, Italian seasoning and salt and pepper. Stir until combined. Then, roll into one inch meatballs making about 25-30.
- Cook soup and add meatiballs: In a large pot add the olive oil, onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Add in the chicken stock, pasta and meatballs and bring to a boil. Then, you will reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until meatballs are cooked through and pasta is tender. Stir in spinach and allow to wilt. Season with salt and pepper and then top it with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
What is Acini de Pepe Pasta?
The name in Italian means “seeds of pepper.” They are known as a symbol for fertility and that is why they are used in Italian wedding soup. They are also sometimes referred to as Pastina, (Italian for “tiny dough”) but some pasta makers distinguish pastina as smaller than acini di pepe.
Can you freeze Italian Wedding Soup?
Yes! This soup works great as a frozen meal! You can freeze it in individual sizes or family sizes to reheat on those days you just need something warm and comforting.
- How to Freeze: Place the cooled soup in an airtight container or a plastic bag (make sure to leave a few inches for the soup to expand when it freezes). Label it with the date. It can stay frozen for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: To reheat this soup, it is best to either thaw it by storing it in the refrigerator over night. When you are ready to eat it then you will warm the soup back up on the stove or in the microwave just before serving.
More Savory Soups to Try
Soup is a go-to recipe for me during the winter months, There is just something so comforting and delicious about them when it’s cold and dreary outside. Here are a few more of some delicious soup recipes that you MUST TRY! They are all pretty different so there should be something for everyone. Enjoy!
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Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
The Meatballs
- 8 ounces ground chicken
- 8 ounces ground chicken sausage (casings removed)
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper
The Soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup onion (chopped)
- 3 large carrots (chopped)
- 2 stalks celery (chopped)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 10 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 cup uncooked acini di pepe pasta (orzo will also work)
- 4 cups spinach (chopped)
- 1/2 cup parmesan
Instructions
To make the meatballs:
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the ground chicken, chicken sausage, bread crumbs, egg, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. Stir until combined. Roll into one-inch meatballs making about 25-30.
- In a large pot add the olive oil, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until tender. Add in the chicken stock, pasta, and meatballs and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until meatballs are cooked through and pasta is tender. Stir in spinach and allow to wilt. Season with salt and pepper and top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this recipe & make it pretty often! I have a hard time finding the pasta, so I use orzo instead. I also substitute frozen Italian Turkey meatballs. Quick & easy! Plus so delicious!!
Saw this recipe on FB this morning! Sounded perfect for this cold February day. Picked up all the ingredients and prepared the soup. Easy, nutritious and delicious!
I could not find chicken sausage, but did find bulk breakfast Turkey sausage. I mixed that with the ground chicken and other ingredients. Very nice flavor! 👍🏻
Would have love to try this but I couldn’t get past all the pop up ads.
Sounds like a great recipe but I need to know how many it serves. Can anyone help?
This serves about 8 people, 1 1/2 cups of soup each.
Baked the meatballs a little before putting them in the soup. 400 degrees for 15 min then turn and another 15 min
This is my most favorite recipe I’ve ever found on the internet. Everyone in my family loves this soup! I use chicken broth instead of stock, but I follow the recipe exactly other than that. Thank you for this delicious soup.
Great recipe…made my meatballs a little bigger than yours but just guessed…still wonderful!!!!
This is my new favorite soup! It was hard to find the acini di pepe pasta so I used orzo instead. Next time I make it, I am using ground turkey instead. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us!! I love it.
Classic is ot use escarol as your green.
To: Erin – (3/17/19): If you have a problem finding chicken sausages, you can easily type in “how to season gr. chicken to taste like chicken sausage” into your browser. You will immediately find the spices & amounts to use & mix into a lb. of gr. chicken. No doubt that ‘everyone’ has these spices in their pantry. I do this all the time. Very easy, honey. Also – WOW, could Heather Lampman, on 10/15/19, could have been any ‘snootier’ with her comment? If someone has nothing constructive or helpful to contribute, they should just SHUTTIE! 😶
I found this recipe through Pinterest and it is my FAVORITE recipe, possibly ever! My family loves this soup. I’ve made it for a work luncheon also and it was eaten up so fast! I had lots of requests for the recipe. Thank you so much! It’s amazing!
Great recipe! Meatballs were tender and soup had lots of flavor.
Very delicious soup and easy to make. I loved the chicken meatballs for the healthier option versus beef and pork like most call for. I also doubled the amount and froze for a quick throw together for next time. The other thing I did that I saw in another recipe was add a dollop of basil pesto (I had store bought on hand) and I will tell you it was over the top good!
so do you cook the meatballs first or do you add them directly into the soup to boil?
No, you do not have to cook them ahead of time. They will cook through in the soup.
Very good soup! I made it with sweet Italian sausage and ground chicken, worked just fine. I did bake my meatballs for about 20 minutes on 350 before adding to soup. Easy to make and delicious on a cold rainy day! Making again this week! 💙
Easy and delicious! This recipe also lends itself to substitutions, if you can’t get to the grocery store. I saw the pin and had to make it, even though I had no ground chicken, chicken sausage, or kale. I did have ground beef and rainbow chard, however, so used those instead. This was tasty and savory without being heavy. I imagine it would have tasted even better with the addition of sausage, but everyone loved it and had seconds. My husband even had thirds! Perfect for a cold day! A definite keeper! Thanks!
This soup turned out amazingly delicious. I used kale for the greens and baked the meatballs in the oven for a total of 20 minutes (turning halfway through baking) prior to adding to the broth and they were wonderful. Otherwise, I followed the instructions as written. I will be making this soup time and time again! Thank you for a great recipe!