Go Back
–+ servings

Italian Wedding Soup

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Servings: 64 Meatballs
I’ve read that Italian Soup originated in Naples and that its original name is “minestra maritata” which means married soup, and that the name refers to the marriage of ingredients in the soup. Traditionally the soup has consisted of leafy greens like swiss chard or kale and a rich meat broth with beef or ham hock. I’ve taken the concept of marrying the ingredients and added the more Americanized version that includes meatballs.
Of course, I had to try this one – I mean it’s a soup that’s associated with little meatballs. I will admit that making the little soup meatballs is more of an effort and takes a little longer than some of my other recipes where you’re only making 15-25 meatballs, but I think this soup is totally worth it. The best thing is that this soup is so comforting and serves a good amount of people, and once you have the meatballs rolled out the rest is pretty easy to throw together.
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1/2 lb ground beef
  • 1/2 lb ground sausage
  • 1 cup plain breadcrumbs
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped well
  • 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • salt & pepper to taste

Wedding Soup

  • 1 cup onion diced
  • 3 carrots sliced
  • 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
  • 2 8 oz packages of mushrooms diced
  • 2 stalks of celery diced
  • 3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 3 tbs of butter
  • 8 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 cup acini de pepe pasta

Serving Suggestion

  • Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
  • In a bowl combine ground meat, breadcrumbs, eggs, fresh parsley, parmesan cheese, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Place your meatballs on a greased baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake for 18 mins.
  • In a pan you can toast the acini de pepe pasta – this is optional – you can put the pasta in a dry pan over medium heat and toast it until it’s brown. Depending on the heat this can take about 5-7 mins. Set aside once brown.
  • While the meatballs are cooking in a pot add the sliced carrots, diced celery, diced mushrooms, onion, garlic and butter and simmer for about 12 mins.
  • Once the meatballs are cooked, drain the excess grease on a plate lined with a paper towel. You can set these aside until the pasta is cooked
  • Add the chicken broth and the pasta to the pot with the vegetables and cook the pasta according to the package.
  • Once the pasta is done you can add the meatballs to the soup. Let the meatballs simmer to warm through and serve when convenient.