Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe: Tradition made simple.


Make this easy Italian wedding soup recipe today! A beautiful marriage of greens, pasta, meatballs, and egg in a savory broth.

This recipe really takes me back! There was a time in my life when Italian wedding soup was present on a daily basis. Back in my pastry chef days, almost every party we catered began with a steaming bowl of this comforting dish.

The cooks in the main kitchen would make it entirely from scratch, even the chicken stock! It was so garlicky and fragrant, and we would ladle it out carefully, making sure every bowl had plenty of meatballs and a hot dinner roll to go with, plus a spoonful of parm to go on top.

So it’s very iconic for me and I’m happy to be sharing my own version with you today. But like so many of the other soup recipes I have here, I’ve kept it really simple and easy. So you don’t have to make your own chicken stock, unless you want to!

If you love soup as much as I do, you may want to also check out my clam chowder recipe, my easy tomato soup, and my 7-fishes cioppino.

Table of Contents

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Here’s Why You’ll Love This

  • Comforting: A hot, steamy bowl will warm and restore you.
  • Hearty: This wedding soup recipe is loaded with meat, veggies, and pasta.
  • Easy: Once the meatballs are done this soup is stupid-simple. You’ll have it made in 10 minutes or less!

Ingredients You’ll Need

Ingredients for making Italian wedding soup, with text labels.Ingredients for making Italian wedding soup, with text labels.

Meatballs: Use frozen meatballs or my favorite versatile and easy meatball recipe! The meatballs in this soup should be quite small so they’re easy to scoop up on your spoon.

Olive Oil: I like to use extra-virgin olive oil when I’m making Italian food, but you can use any kind of oil you like.

Onion: Adds a little sweetness to the soup.

Seasonings: Salt, pepper, and garlic add a perfect balance of flavors to this wedding soup recipe.

Chicken Stock: The basis of the soup. Use store-bought or homemade; it’s up to you!

Egg: It’s traditional to stir beaten egg into the hot broth. It creates thin ribbons of cooked egg all throughout.

Greens: I’ve used escarole here but any kind of leafy, slightly bitter fresh greens will work.

Pasta: A smaller noodle is best. I’ve used ditalini here but pastina or orzo would also be really good. You can cook it right in the broth or separately, as I’ve done here.

In Photos: How to Make Italian Wedding Soup

Sauteeing an onion in olive oil with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.Sauteeing an onion in olive oil with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Step 4: Heat the oil in a pot until shimmering, then add the onion, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook until the onion has gone soft and translucent.

Adding chicken stock and egg to sauteed onion.Adding chicken stock and egg to sauteed onion.

Step 5: Add the chicken stock, bring it up to a simmer, and stir in the beaten egg.

Adding meatballs, escarole, and pastina to broth.Adding meatballs, escarole, and pastina to broth.

Step 6: Stir in the cooked meatballs, escarole, and pasta, allowing everything to warm through, and serve!

Helpful Tips & Tricks

  • For more info on the meatballs click here: Easy Meatball Recipe.
  • I’ve used escarole here, but you can swap in any kind of fresh greens you like. Spinach would also be very good!
  • I prefer chicken stock over chicken broth. It’s a little heartier and more flavorful. But you can use broth too if you like!
  • Once your meatballs, pasta, and onion are cooked you can do the rest in the crockpot or slow cooker!
  • If you want a big batch so you can keep leftovers in the fridge, you may want to hold the pasta in a separate container so it doesn’t get soggy.
  • This wedding soup is so good topped with a pinch or two of parmigiana reggiano! I also like it with a hunk of crusty bread. Try it with my pan de cristal, ciabatta loaf, focaccia bread, or French baguette.
Overhead image of two bowls of wedding soup Italian.Overhead image of two bowls of wedding soup Italian.

More Soup Recipes:

A bowl of Italian wedding soup with bread in the background.A bowl of Italian wedding soup with bread in the background.

Italian Wedding Soup

Make this easy Italian wedding soup recipe today! A beautiful marriage of greens, pasta, meatballs, and egg in a savory broth.

For the Meatballs:

  • 1 pound (453.59 g) meatloaf mix, (or use ground beef, pork, veal, turkey, or chicken)
  • 15 ounces (425.24 g) ricotta, (I prefer whole milk ricotta but part skim works too)
  • 1/2 (55 g) onion, medium (cooked until tender and translucent)
  • 1/2 cup (54 g) breadcrumbs, (I like plain dry breadcrumbs)
  • 1 bunch (57 g) fresh parsley, finely minced (or substitute another type of herb)
  • 1 (44 g) egg, large
  • 1 teaspoon (6 g) kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon (1.5 g) garlic powder, (or a few cloves of fresh chopped garlic)
  • 1/4 teaspoon (0.5 g) ground black pepper

To Make the Wedding Soup:

  • Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat until shimmering, then add the chopped onion, salt, garlic powder, and pepper.
  • Saute until the onion is soft and translucent (approx. 5 minutes).

  • Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a low simmer.

  • Stir in the beaten egg.

  • Add the escarole, meatballs, and cooked pasta, stirring to combine.

  • Bring back to a simmer, allowing all the add-ins to warm through, then serve with a fat pinch of parmigiana reggiano on top.

To Make the Meatballs:

  • Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

  • Place the meat, ricotta, onion, breadcrumbs, herbs, egg, salt, garlic, and pepper in a large bowl and lightly toss to combine.

  • Roll about 1 tablespoon of the mixture into balls and place them in an oven-safe baking dish.

  • Bake the meatballs until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (approx. 30 minutes).

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 435kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 135mg, Sodium: 935mg, Potassium: 585mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 2153IU, Vitamin C: 15mg, Calcium: 184mg, Iron: 4mg




  • Allie is the creator and owner of Baking a Moment. She has been developing, photographing, videographing, and writing and sharing recipes here since 2012.



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