Italian Wedding Soup

By Sarah On February 3, 2015 | Updated: February 15, 2025

This hearty Italian wedding soup is packed full of juicy Italian sausage meatballs, tender pasta, and lots of veggies in a rich broth. Top bowls with lots of Parmesan and serve with thick bread slices for dipping.

You are cordially invited to the ultimate wedding. It’s conveniently in your soup pot today!

Italian wedding soup is a staple at Italian restaurants for very good reason. This humble soup may look simple, but it’s packed full of so much aromatic goodness that’s pretty much a hug in a bowl.

A very large bowl with lots of Parmesan on top and lots of bread nearby for dipping, please.

You might be wondering where the term “wedding soup” comes from. Italian wedding soup was originally known as “minestra maritata” which refers to the flavorful marriage of meat and vegetables in a rich broth.

There are many variations of Italian wedding soup, but my version is following more along the lines of Italian-American since we’re using tiny homemade meatballs, pasta, and a variety of vegetables.

This Soup features…

Juicy Italian sausage meatballs
Soft carrots, celery, and baby spinach
Tender pasta cooked in a rich seasoned broth

Making the Soup

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

Italian sausage
Panko breadcrumbs
Egg
Garlic
Dried oregano
Dried basil
Olive oil
Yellow onion
Carrot
Celery
Chicken broth
Pasta
Spinach

Choosing Your Pasta

I recommend going with a short cut of pasta such as acini de pepe, small shells, orzo, ditalini, or elbows. A smaller shape of pasta will cook to the same size as the vegetables making this soup easy to eat.

Tips for Perfect Soup

Sear the meatballs – this will hold the meatballs together in the soup and set the flavor base.
Cut vegetables in uniform size – ideally, you want all the vegetables around the same size so they cook evenly.
Simmer soup 8-10 minutes – this simmer time will cook the pasta and finish cooking through the meatballs.
Add spinach at end of cooking – adding the spinach after simmering will prevent it from getting overcooked.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on this soup.

Use a different meat – try using ground pork or beef in place of the Italian sausage. Be aware, you may need to use a little additional salt.
Try different vegetables – try kale, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, mushrooms, or sweet pepper.
Use another pasta – any small shape of pasta works great in this soup.

Storing and Freezing Soup

This soup stores well in refrigerator up to 6 days. Reheat leftovers in individual servings in microwave 2-3 minutes or over medium heat on stovetop for larger portions. If after storing you find that the pasta has soaked up too much of the broth, add a few extra splashes as needed to thin soup.

To freeze soup, allow to cool completely then store in a freezer-safe container, leaving about an inch of open air on top, and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw completely in refrigerator before reheating or reheat from frozen over low heat on stovetop.

Every part of this soup just screams COZY! The meatballs cook up so freaking juicy and are the perfect compliment against the tender vegetables and tiny pasta.

Please do this soup up the right way and top with entirely way too much Parmesan and serve with thick bread slices. You’ve just gotta!

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

Try these other classic soups next!

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5 from 5 votes