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Italian wedding soup with chicken meatballs is pure comfort in a bowl—hearty, cozy, and packed with flavor. Made from scratch, this soup brings together juicy little chicken meatballs, tender pasta, baby spinach, and a savory broth for a match made in culinary heaven. No surprise it’s called minestra maritata—“married soup”—because the way the meat and veggies come together is downright romantic. It’s one of my all-time favorite soups, and I have a feeling it’s about to become one of yours too.
This traditional Italian soup is made with pasta and spinach along with aromatic hints of lemon, fresh parsley, paprika, basil and garlic for an incredible flavor.
Also try chicken parm meatballs, Italian inspired French onion soup or maybe whip up an antipasto salad or strawberry fields salad to go with your soup.
Why You’ll Love It
Full of fresh flavors: Freshly made meatballs and fresh vegetables give this wedding soup lots of appeal.
Really delicious: Moist, tender chicken meatballs pair with pasta, fresh veggies, and carefully chosen seasonings to give the soup an amazing flavor.
A traditional Italian recipe: Italian wedding soup is a classic Italian dish.
Chicken Meatball Soup Ingredients
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Ground chicken: The protein for your chicken meatballs.
Acini de pepe: A type of pasta. The name translates to mean ‘peppercorn”, “seeds of pepper” or “grape seeds” in Italian. The reason this pasta is added to Italian wedding soup with chicken meatballs is it’s a fertility symbol. It’s also good in cold salads.
Breadcrumbs: I used Italian-style breadcrumbs.
Egg: To bind the meatballs.
Seasonings: Use parsley, garlic powder, basil, onion powder, paprika, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to flavor your meatballs. Italian seasoning adds flavor to the soup mixture.
Parmesan cheese: To add a complementary flavor to the meatballs.
Chicken broth: The basis of the soup.
Vegetables: Fresh spinach, onion, carrots, and celery add color, nutrients and flavor.
Lemon: Adds zesty flair to the dish.
How to Make Chicken Italian Wedding Soup
A complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Make the meatballs: Combine the ground chicken with breadcrumbs, cream, cheese, egg, and the spices then shape this mixture into 1-inch meatballs.
Sear them: Melt the butter with the oil in a soup pot then sear the meatballs all over before removing them from the pot.
Cook the veggies and garlic: Add the vegetables and seasonings to the pot next and cook them for a few minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more. Add more ingredients: Add the vinegar, lemon juice and chicken broth. Add the meatballs back in and cook for a while then add the pasta and cook until just al dente.
The finishing touches. Add the spinach and parsley to the soup just before you serve it.
Substitutions and Variations
Acini de pepe pasta: You can also use orzo pasta or another tiny pasta in this classic Italian wedding soup.
Chicken: You can use ground turkey or pork to make the meatballs instead.
Vegetables: Try kale or escarole instead of spinach but bear in mind you’ll have to add them when adding the pasta since they take longer to cook than spinach does. Add beans: Consider adding a drained can of cannellini beans to make the soup more filling.
Serving Suggestions
Appetizers: Serve a bowl of Italian wedding soup with some garlic bread or farinata with peperonata on the side.
Main dishes: Enjoy Caprese chicken with roasted artichokes.
Dessert: Finish off with lemon granita and Italian cream buns.
How to Store Chicken Meatball Wedding Soup
Store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator in a sealed container for a few days.
Freeze: Another option is to freeze it in portions and use it up within 2 or 3 months for the best result.
Thaw: Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.
Reheat: Warm it up gently in a pan on the stove.
Top Tips
Use authentic ingredients: It’s worth using acini de pepe pasta and freshly shredded parmesan cheese for the most authentic flavors.
Season to taste: The amount of salt and pepper to add at the end depends on the seasonings in your choice of chicken broth.
Don’t overcook the spinach: Add it just before serving the soup. You don’t need to wilt it first, it will wilt a little anyway as the soup is hot. The same applies to the fresh parsley.
Chicken Meatball Soup FAQs
Since Italian wedding soup with chicken meatballs is so freshness oriented, I’d definitely recommend making the meatballs yourself. If you must use the store-bought kind or even frozen meatballs in your mini meatball soup though, make sure they’re Italian style.
Chicken broth is the best choice for a traditional Italian soup. If you were to sub vegetable or beef broth, for example, the flavour would be completely different, so I’d strongly recommend sticking with chicken broth.
Delicious Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
Italian Wedding Soup with Chicken Meatballs
Equipment
- Pot Large
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 1 Pound ground chicken
- 1/2 Cup breadcrumbs, Italian style
- 1/3 Cup parmesan cheese, freshly shredded
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon parsley, freshly chopped
- 1 Teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 Teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon red pepper flakes
For the Soup:
- 8 Cups chicken broth, 4 Pints
- 3 Cups baby spinach, fresh
- 1 1/4 Cups acini de pepe pasta, dried
- 1 onion, yellow, chopped
- 1 1/2 Cup carrot, chopped
- 3/4 Cup celery
- 1 lemon
- 2 Tablespoons garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons parsley, freshly chopped
- 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 Teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 Teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 Teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed
Instructions
Make the Meatballs:
- In a bowl mix together the ground chicken, breadcrumbs, heavy cream, parmesan cheese, egg, and all of the spices until fully combined.
- Spoon a small amount of the chicken mixture into the palm of your hand. Roll the mixture into a ball about 1” in size. Set the ball down on a tray then repeat until all of the mixture has been formed into meatballs.
- In the bottom of a soup pot, melt the butter and oil over medium high heat. Working in batches as to not overcrowd, sear the meatballs on all sides. Once all sides have been seared remove the meatballs from the pot.
Sauté the Vegetables:
- Once all of the meatballs have been seared, leave the pot on the heat and pour in the carrots, onions, celery, and soup seasonings (except for the fresh parsley).
- Sauté the vegetables for 5 minutes, then add in the garlic and sauté for another 5 minutes.
Make the Soup:
- Pour in the white wine vinegar, juices from ½ of the lemon, and chicken broth, bring to a light boil.
- Add the meatballs back into the soup and let it boil for a couple of minutes minutes.
- Add the acini di pepe pasta and cook until tender.
- Carefully taste the soup and add in any additional seasoning as preferred. Depending on the type of chicken broth you used, you may need to add extra salt at this time.
- Add in the spinach and fresh parsley just before serving.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and a slice from the remaining ½ of the lemon.
Notes
Season to taste: The amount of salt and pepper to add at the end depends on the seasonings in your choice of chicken broth.
Don’t overcook the spinach: Add it just before serving the soup. You don’t need to wilt it first, it will wilt a little anyway as the soup is hot. The same applies to the fresh parsley.
Nutrition
I can’t recommend this chicken meatball Italian wedding soup recipe enough. This soup with acini de pepe pasta boasts juicy homemade meatballs, rich flavors and it’s really easy to make too! Serve with some crusty bread and this classic soup will be met with rave reviews. This delicious soup is a traditional Italian Easter, Christmas or San Silvestro feast. Many are surprised that it has nothing to do with Italian weddings!
Other Recipes to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
This recipe is tasty and simple to whip up! It’s a hit with my family every time.
I made this soup last night and so good!
Very tasty, we all enjoyed this soup
Looks just so good! Great that you used chicken