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Italian Wedding Soup is a complete meal with tender meatballs, vegetables and pasta all in a delicious broth.
Over the holiday break we attended a wedding that had a soup and sandwich bar. A fun idea. There were several different selections of soup and I went for the Italian Wedding Soup – it was a wedding after all! The mother of the bride had made all the soup herself! I had never had Italian Wedding Soup before and it was delicious.
This is a traditional Italian-American soup that contains green vegetables (in this case spinach) and some kind of meat (pork). According to Wikipedia, “The term “wedding soup” is a mistranslation of the Italian language phrase “minestra maritata (“married soup”),” which is a reference to the fact that green vegetables and meats go well together.”
Ingredients
- Spinach
- Carrots
- Onions
- Garlic
- Orzo Pasta
- Chicken broth
- Sage
- Parmesan Cheese
- Meatballs
How To Make Italian Wedding Soup
Meatballs
- Combine pork, breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese, garlic, Worcestershire sauce and sage in a bowl.
- Mix to combine.
- Form into 1 inch meatballs and place on a cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350 until cooked through, about 7 to 10 minutes.
Soup
- Heat oil in pan over medium heat.
- Sauté onion and carrots and cook until softened, about 4 minutes
- Add garlic, Worcestershire sauce and sage, cook 1 minute
- Add chicken broth and water.
- Bring to a boil
- Cover and reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender.
- Add in orzo pasta and cook until pasta is tender, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add in meatballs.
- Mix in spinach right before serving.
- Garnish with Parmesan and Serve.
Tips
- I made and baked my meatballs first and then added them to the soup. I think the flavor is better if they are baked before adding to the soup.
- You can always use premade, frozen meatballs. They will be larger, but will do in a pinch. No need to bake them, just add them to the soup broth and simmer until heated through.
For a few other of my favorite soup recipes check out these:
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Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. ground pork
- 3 Tbsp Italian Breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup Orzo pasta
- 2 cups baby spinach chopped
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 3 carrots finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce divided
- 1 tsp dried sage divided
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
Meatballs
- Combine pork, breadcrumbs and 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 tsp sage in a bowl,. Mix to combine.
- Form into 1 inch meatballs.
- Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 until cooked through (approx. 7-10 minutes)
Soup
- Heat oil in pan over medium heat.
- Add onion and carrots and cook until softened, about 4 minutes
- Add 2 tsp garlic and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 tsp sage. Cook 1 minute
- Add chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil
- Cover and reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender.
- Add in orzo pasta and cook until pasta is tender (about 6-8 minutes)
- Add in meatballs.
- Add in spinach right before serving.
- Garnish with Parmesan
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Nutrition Facts:
Emilie Leblond says
Hi Leigh Anne,
Approximately how many servings does this recipe produce?
Raia Torn says
Stopping by via the Eat/Create/Link Party. Looks good! I actually had Italian Wedding Soup at my wedding, so it brings back fun memories. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Monica says
Hi Leigh Anne, I often visit your site and enjoy the recipes. This one looks really good- and I’m still surprised that you’ve never had or heard of Italian Wedding soup! This Jersey girl is thinking “whaddya kidding me?” 🙂 So glad it is now part of your eating/cooking experience!
Leigh Anne says
Monica, I know – where has this soup been all my life!!?? I grew up in a town with a strong Italian influence too!!