This Italian Wedding Soup recipe is easy to make, and equally as delicious.
This one’s a staple in my house (we love our soups around here). Homemade juicy and flavorful Italian sausage and beef meatballs, tender carrots, fresh wilted spinach, and gluten-free pasta. *If not dining gluten-free, you can simply switch out the pasta for your favorite wheat brand and use wheat breadcrumbs in the meatballs. Topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Serve it all by itself or pair it with crackers, crusty bread, garlic bread, or gluten free dinner rolls.
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What Is Italian Wedding Soup?
Italian Wedding Soup traditionally consists of leafy greens and meat. The origin of the name derives from a mistranslation of the phrase “minestra maritata” which means “married soup”. In this case, the word “marriage” refers to the flavor that results from the combination of leafy greens and meat together and has nothing to do with weddings. The meatballs in Italian Wedding Soup are traditionally made with a combination of beef and pork, and in this case Italian pork sausage.
If you're going for a lighter, healthier route you can swap the beef and pork meatballs for ground turkey or chicken.
What Do I Need To Make This Italian Wedding Soup Recipe?
- Carrots
- Celery
- Yellow onion
- Chicken broth
- Beef broth
- Baby spinach
- Your favorite shape gluten-free brown rice pasta, or regular pasta. I use Jovial gluten-free brand from Thrive Market. Tip: If not dining gluten-free, you can use regular wheat pasta or pearl couscous. Great options are mini shells, orzo, or ditalini.
- Mild Italian pork sausage
- Ground beef
- Parmesan cheese
- Parsley
- Basil
- Minced garlic
- Italian seasonings
- Gluten-free plain dried breadcrumbs. I use the brand 4C Foods.
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving
- Egg
- Fresh lemon juice, optional
How To Make Homemade Meatballs:
- Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray, or cover it with parchment paper. This is where we’ll set the meatballs down as they’re being rolled.
- Combine ground beef, Italian sausage, and seasonings in a medium-sized mixing bowl until evenly distributed. Add in egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate into the mixture.
- For large meatballs: Pinch off 1-2 tbsp. of the meat mixture and roll into balls. Place on the greased/lined baking sheet. For small meatballs: Pinch off 2 teaspoon of the meat mixture and roll into balls. Place on the greased/lined baking sheet.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or nonstick frying pan over medium heat. along with 1 tbsp. of oil and 1 tbsp. of butter.
- Brown the meatballs on both sides until golden. Set pan aside. Meatballs should still be raw in the center; they will finish cooking in the soup.
Italian Wedding Soup Recipe:
- Prepare the meatballs; set aside.
- Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until shimmering.
- Add in carrots, celery, and onion. Cook until slightly soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, and cook 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth, beef broth, water, and seasonings. Turn up the heat to high and bring it to a boil.
- Add in the meatballs. and boil 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the uncooked pasta. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly al dente. Tip: You can either cook the pasta in the soup or cook it separately and place it in bowls at each serving. If using gluten-free pasta, it’s important to cook the pasta to just al dente. Sometimes if gluten-free pasta is overcooked in soups, it will swell, taking up a lot of the soup and breaking into smaller pieces.
- Add spinach, and allow to wilt for 1-2 minutes until vibrant green in color.
- Season to taste. Optional: Add in a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.
- Serve with freshly grated Parmesan on the top. Pair with crackers, crusty bread, rolls, garlic bread, etc.
Notes on Italian Wedding Soup:
- If you're going for a lighter, healthier route you can swap the beef and pork meatballs for ground turkey or chicken.
- Add a squeeze of lemon juice just before serving the soup to give it a little zip of citrus.
- You can swap the pasta shells in this recipe for any shape of gluten-free (or wheatful) pasta, or even rice, orzo, or couscous.
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Italian Wedding Soup Recipe with Homemade Meatballs
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Yield: 6 servings
Homemade juicy and flavorful Italian sausage and beef meatballs, tender carrots, fresh wilted spinach, and gluten-free pasta. *If not dining gluten-free, you can simply switch out the pasta for your favorite wheat brand and use wheat breadcrumbs in the meatballs. Topped with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
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Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- ½ lb. ground beef
- ½ lb. mild Italian sausage
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp Italian seasonings
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- ½ cup gluten-free breadcrumbs I used the brand 4C Foods for GF breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper to taste
For the Italian Wedding Soup:
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced into coins
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup high-quality gluten-free dried brown rice pasta I used Jovial brand
- 5 oz. baby spinach
- salt and pepper to taste
- grated parmesan cheese for serving
- 1-2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (optional)
Instructions
For the Meatballs:
- Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray, or cover it with parchment paper. This is where we’ll set the meatballs down as they’re being rolled.
- Combine ground beef, Italian sausage, and seasonings in a medium-sized mixing bowl until evenly distributed. Add in egg, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate into the mixture.
- For large meatballs: Pinch off 1-2 tbsp. of the meat mixture and roll into balls. Place on the greased/lined baking sheet. For small meatballs: Pinch off 2 teaspoon of the meat mixture and roll into balls. Place on the greased/lined baking sheet.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or nonstick frying pan over medium heat. along with 1 tbsp. of oil and 1 tbsp. of butter.
- Brown the meatballs on both sides until golden. Set pan aside. Meatballs should still be raw in the center; they will finish cooking in the soup.
For the Italian Wedding Soup:
- Prepare the meatballs; set aside.
- Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until shimmering.
- Add in carrots, celery, and onion. Cook until slightly soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, and cook 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth, beef broth, water, and seasonings. Turn up the heat to high and bring it to a boil.
- Add in the meatballs. and boil 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the uncooked pasta. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until slightly al dente. Tip: You can either cook the pasta in the soup or cook it separately and place it in bowls at each serving. If using gluten-free pasta, it’s important to cook the pasta to just al dente. Sometimes if gluten-free pasta is overcooked in soups, it will swell, taking up a lot of the soup and breaking into smaller pieces.
- Add spinach, and allow to wilt for 1-2 minutes until vibrant green in color.
- (Optional) Stir in freshly-squeezed lemon juice.
- Season to taste.
- Serve with freshly grated parmesan on the top. Pair with crackers, crusty bread, rolls, garlic bread, etc.
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