Hearty & Flavorful Italian Wedding Soup with Tender Sausage Meatballs

There’s nothing quite like a comforting bowl of homemade soup, and this Italian Wedding Soup recipe is a true classic that delivers on warmth, flavor, and satisfaction. Featuring delicate, tender Italian sausage meatballs, a vibrant medley of fresh vegetables, and tiny pasta simmered in a rich, savory chicken broth, this soup is a complete meal in itself. It’s a cherished family recipe that has been perfected over the years, incorporating small tweaks that we believe elevate it to an extraordinary level of deliciousness.

What makes this particular Italian Wedding Soup recipe stand out? It’s the thoughtful balance of ingredients and techniques designed for maximum flavor and ease. Whether you’re a seasoned cook or just starting your culinary journey, you’ll find this recipe straightforward and incredibly rewarding. It’s become my go-to version, and after countless batches and minor adjustments, it consistently earns rave reviews.

Why This Italian Wedding Soup Will Become Your Go-To Recipe

You’re going to fall in love with this Italian Wedding Soup for so many reasons. It’s not just a meal; it’s an experience!

• Effortlessly Delicious: Despite its rich flavor, this recipe is surprisingly easy to follow, making it perfect for a comforting weeknight dinner or a special occasion.
• Budget-Friendly: Made with readily available and economical ingredients, it’s a fantastic way to feed a crowd without breaking the bank.
• Packed with Flavor: From the savory Italian sausage meatballs to the aromatic vegetables and seasoned broth, every spoonful is a burst of exquisite taste. The choice of Italian sausage adds an incredible depth that sets this recipe apart.
• Incredibly Versatile: Easily customizable with your favorite greens or pasta shapes, it adapts beautifully to what you have on hand or what your family prefers.
• Hearty & Wholesome: Loaded with protein from the meatballs and essential nutrients from the vegetables, it’s a wholesome meal that truly satisfies.
• Perfect for Meal Prep: The meatballs can be made and frozen ahead of time, significantly cutting down on prep when you’re ready to make the soup.

The Meaning Behind “Italian Wedding Soup”

The name “Italian Wedding Soup” often sparks curiosity. It might conjure images of grand Italian weddings, but the truth is charmingly simpler. The term is a direct translation of the Italian phrase “minestra maritata,” which literally means “married soup.” This beautiful name refers to the harmonious “marriage” or perfect combination of flavors created by the blending of rich meats and fresh, vibrant greens in the broth. It’s not about being served at weddings, but rather about the beautiful synergy of its core ingredients.

Traditionally, minestra maritata would be prepared with a long-cooked chicken stock, often simmered for hours to extract every ounce of flavor and nutrient. While the authentic depth of a homemade stock is undeniable, I find that a good quality store-bought chicken stock or bone broth works wonderfully for this recipe, especially since I don’t typically add shredded chicken. Using a high-quality ready-made stock allows for a quicker preparation without sacrificing the rich, flavorful base that is essential to this classic soup.

Essential Ingredients for Your Italian Wedding Soup

Crafting this soulful soup requires a few key components, divided into the meatballs and the soup base itself. Using fresh, high-quality ingredients will always yield the best flavor.

For the Meatballs:

• Italian Sausage: Choose sweet or mild, depending on your preference. The sausage truly elevates the flavor of the meatballs, providing a depth that’s hard to achieve with plain ground meats.
• Pecorino Romano Cheese: A salty, sharp Italian cheese that adds incredible umami. Parmesan cheese is a great alternative if Pecorino Romano isn’t available.
• Italian Bread Crumbs: Help bind the meatballs and keep them tender.
• Fresh Italian Parsley: Minced, it adds a touch of fresh, herbaceous flavor.
• Egg: Acts as a binder for the meatballs.

For the Soup:

• Unsalted Butter: For sautéing the aromatics and building the flavor base.
• Aromatics: Onion, carrots, celery, and garlic form the classic “soffritto,” providing a sweet and savory foundation for the broth.
• Chicken Stock or Broth: The backbone of the soup. Use a good quality brand, or bone broth for an even richer profile.
• Seasonings: Kosher salt and black pepper, adjusted to taste, are all you need.
• Tiny Pasta: Acini di pepe is traditional, but other small pasta shapes like ditalini or orzo work beautifully.
• Fresh Greens: Spinach or kale wilted into the hot soup adds color, nutrients, and a slight bitterness to balance the richness. Escarole is the traditional choice.

Versatile Substitutions to Customize Your Soup

One of the beauties of Italian Wedding Soup is its adaptability. Feel free to experiment with these substitutions to tailor the recipe to your taste or what you have on hand:

• Broth Options: While chicken stock is standard, I’ve found that using chicken bone broth adds an even deeper, more complex flavor and a silky mouthfeel due to its higher collagen content. Just remember to taste before adding salt, as bone broths can vary significantly in sodium.
• Meatball Variations: Traditionally, meatballs for Italian Wedding Soup are made with a mix of ground beef and ground pork. However, I highly recommend using Italian sausage (sweet or mild). The sausage brings an incredible boost of savory flavor and seasoning to the meatballs, permeating the broth with its delicious essence. This depth of flavor is so significant that you don’t even need to brown the meatballs before adding them to the soup, saving you an extra step!
• Greens Galore: While the traditional green for “minestra maritata” is escarole, I’ve had great success with both fresh spinach and kale. Both wilt beautifully and add a lovely vibrant color and texture. I like them equally, but escarole offers a slightly more bitter note that some traditionalists prefer.
• Added Richness: For an extra layer of richness and a slightly thicker texture, you can occasionally stir in a couple of beaten eggs at the very end of cooking, much like a stracciatella. This creates delicate, silky ribbons of egg throughout the soup.
• Pasta Choices: The classic tiny pasta used in Italian Wedding Soup is Acini Di Pepe (sometimes spelled Acini De Pepe), which are like small peppercorns. However, if you can’t find it, or simply prefer another shape, ditalini (small tubes) or orzo (rice-shaped pasta) are excellent and popular alternatives that cook up beautifully in the broth.

Crafting Your Simple Italian Wedding Soup: Step-by-Step

Making this soup is a straightforward process, broken down into preparing the flavorful meatballs and then assembling the rich broth.

For the Tender Meatballs:

To start, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. This will prevent sticking and make cleanup a breeze.

In a large bowl, combine the Italian sausage, grated Pecorino Romano cheese, Italian bread crumbs, fresh minced Italian parsley, and the egg. It’s crucial here to mix gently and only until all ingredients are just combined. Overworking the meat mixture can lead to tough meatballs, and we’re aiming for deliciously tender ones!

Next, shape the mixture into small 1/2-inch balls. Consistency in size ensures even cooking. Place these miniature meatballs on your prepared sheet pan. Once formed, cover the sheet pan with plastic wrap and freeze the meatballs for approximately 30 minutes to an hour. This crucial step helps them firm up, ensuring they retain their perfect spherical shape and don’t fall apart when added to the simmering soup.

Pro Tip for Meal Prep: I often double or triple the meatball recipe and freeze them in a zip-top freezer bag after the initial firming on the baking sheet. This way, I have a stash of prepped meatballs ready to go whenever a craving for this comforting soup strikes, significantly cutting down on future cooking time!

For the Flavorful Soup Base:

In a large dutch oven or a sturdy soup pot, melt the unsalted butter over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté these aromatic vegetables until they are tender and slightly softened, which usually takes about 8 to 10 minutes. This step is vital for building a deep flavor foundation for your soup. Once the vegetables are tender, stir in the minced garlic and cook for just 1 minute more until fragrant. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Pour in the chicken stock (or broth), add the kosher salt and black pepper. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. This allows the vegetable flavors to meld beautifully with the stock, creating a rich broth.

After simmering, taste the broth and season it to your preference with additional salt and pepper. The amount you’ll need will depend largely on the sodium content of the stock or broth you’re using. If you started with a low-sodium stock, you’ll likely need to add more salt.

Combining & Finishing the Soup:

Carefully add the frozen meatballs to the simmering broth. Cover the pot again and continue to simmer for about 5 minutes. The meatballs will cook through quickly in the hot liquid, infusing the broth with their delicious flavor.

Now, add your chosen tiny pasta (Acini di pepe, ditalini, or orzo) to the soup. Simmer for an additional 6 to 8 minutes, or according to the package instructions, until the pasta is tender but still “al dente” – firm to the bite. Overcooked pasta can become mushy and soak up too much broth.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the fresh spinach (or kale). The residual heat from the soup will be enough to quickly wilt the greens, adding freshness and vibrant color without overcooking them.

Serve your Italian Wedding Soup immediately, garnished generously with freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese or Parmesan cheese. A crusty bread on the side makes for a perfect meal!

A Note on Cooking Pasta for Leftovers:

For any soup that includes pasta, I often prefer to cook the pasta separately and add it directly to each serving bowl. This prevents the pasta from absorbing excessive amounts of broth and becoming mushy, especially if you anticipate having leftovers. Pasta continues to soak up liquid as it sits, turning what was once a rich broth into a thicker, less soupy consistency. By keeping the pasta separate, your leftover soup will remain as delicious and brothy as the day you made it.

More Delightful Soup Recipes to Explore

If you love hearty and flavorful soups, here are some other recipes you might enjoy:

• Sicilian Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
• Tuscan White Bean Soup
• Root Vegetable Soup
• Easy Ham and Potato Soup
• Vegetable Dumpling Soup