This delicious Italian wedding soup features mini sweet-and-spicy Italian sausage meatballs in a flavorful broth with accents of acini de pepe, bites of vegetables, and Parmigiano Reggiano flavor. This classic Italian soup is made with a lot of love and is full of flavor!

A bowl of Italian wedding soup arranged on a wooden board with slices of bread, a block of Parmigiano Reggiano, and a dark gray napkin placed around it.

I’ll admit that growing up, Italian wedding soup never really enticed me. I always found it a little bland and boring, so this was an opportunity to change my own mind about this classic Italian soup.

The meatballs: the star of the show in Italian wedding soup is the meatballs. My goal for these was to have them be flavorful and release flavor throughout the whole soup as well. After several rounds of testing, I found that using half a pound each of spicy and sweet Italian sausage made for the perfect balance of flavors. You can, of course, use ground beef, chicken, pork, or turkey, but sausage has so many added seasonings that really level up the flavor without requiring much effort.

The broth: To avoid a bland-tasting soup, I added a sprig of fresh rosemary (herbs are generally not used beyond the meatballs). I then added white wine for depth of flavor and a Parmesan rind to infuse Parmigiano Reggiano into every bite. These simple changes really leveled up the entire soup!

I really think you and your family will enjoy this one! It’s comforting, so flavorful, and requires a little bit of effort, but is worth it in the end. 💛

One reader, Sarah, made this: “My husband is Sicilian and is obsessed with every recipe I’ve made from this site. It’s the perfect compromise between healthy and soul-filling.” ★★★★★

Ingredients

The meatballs: for protein, you’ll need half a pound each of spicy Italian sausage and sweet Italian sausage (I’ve used pork and chicken sausage in testing, both are great options). For flavoring, you’ll need Parmigiano Reggiano (or Pecorino Romano), fresh parsley, fresh garlic, an egg, and soft breadcrumbs to provide structure and bind the ingredients.

The vegetables: to create a flavorful broth, you’ll need a traditional Italian soffritto – onion, celery, and carrots, and then fresh garlic, and escarole for some greens!

Flavorings: to develop even more flavor, you’ll need dry white wine (I used Pinot Grigio), Parmigiano Reggiano rind, a fresh rosemary sprig to infuse flavor into the soup, and onion and garlic powder.

How to Make It

A collage of three images showing steps for making Italian wedding soup. The first image, labeled step one, is a bowl with all the ingredients for meatballs in it. The second image, labeled step two, is two hands rolling small meatballs. The third image, labeled step three, is the mini meatballs being browned in a stainless steel pan.

1

Make the meatballs. In a large bowl, mix together all of the meatball ingredients together until completely combined.
2

Form the meatballs in 1 inch sizes. Divide the meatball mixture and form into 1 inch sized meatballs (you can do even smaller if you prefer). Roll and shape, then place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper until finished.
3

Brown the meatballs. Heat a large sauce pan on medium to low heat. Once the pan is heated, drizzle 3 Tablespoons of olive oil and slightly brown the meatballs for 1-2 minutes per side. Only cook them for a golden color, not too much browning should happen in this step. Then transfer them to a plate with paper towels to soak up the oils.

A collage of three images showing how to make Italian wedding soup. The first image, labeled step four, is diced vegetables being sauteed in a cast iron pot. The second image, labeled step five, is broth and soup ingredients being added to the pot with the sauteed vegetables. The third image, labeled step six, is chopped escarole being added to the finished soup.

4

Saute the vegetables. In a large pot or Dutch oven, saute in 2 Tablespoons of olive oil the diced onion, carrots, and celery for a few minutes until soft. Add a generous sprinkle of salt while they cook. Then add the minced garlic for the last 30 seconds. Deglaze the pan with white wine, and add the meatballs cook with the wine for 1-2 minutes.
5

Add remaining ingredients and simmer. Add the rosemary sprig, acini de pepe, parm rind, garlic and onion powder, and chicken stock. Season with a generous sprinkle of salt and a pinch of black pepper. Let the soup simmer for 20-25 minutes partially covered.
6

Add the escarole. Stir in the chopped escarole after the simmer time is up, let it cook for 3-5 minutes. Then taste the broth, season with more salt if needed until the flavor is just right then serve the soup with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano.

Recipe Variations

Greens – a popular choice for greens in a classic Italian wedding soup is escarole (a slightly bitter green). I like to use this along with spinach! But if you can’t find esarole, you can replace it with spinach, kale, or arugula. I recommend chopping the greens into small pieces to make the soup easier to eat!

Different meat for the meatballs – I tested this recipe with ground chicken, pork sausage, and chicken sausage. I found that using half spicy and half sweet sausage had the best flavor! You can still use unseasoned ground meats such as beef, turkey, chicken, or pork. If you do not use sausage, I recommend adding 1/2 teaspoon of dried fennel seeds to the meatballs for a little more flavor.

Pasta choices – Acini di pepe is the most popular pasta for this soup because of its small peppercorn-size, but you can also use other bite-sized pasta, such as pastina or ditalini!