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This Italian wedding soup is the kind of cozy, no-notes dinner you actually feel satisfied after. It’s soothing, deeply flavorful, and hearty enough to count as a real meal, thanks to those little homemade chicken meatballs. And if time is not on your side? Frozen chicken meatballs slide right in, and no one has to know.
Italian wedding soup, but designed for those trying to kick red meat to the curb. That’s what we’re serving up with this recipe. It’s light, nourishing, and still just as flavorful as a classic wedding soup. Yes, even with ground chicken meatballs.
Looking for more ground chicken recipes? You’ll love this tender and juicy chicken burger (I swear). For light and healthy comfort food, check out my chicken lettuce wraps and Buffalo chicken bowls.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s easy, but you’ll feel incredibly accomplished
- It’s high in protein
- There’s room for flexibility with ingredients and heat
- It’s even better leftover and reheated
- It can be served as a starter or a whole meal
Ingredients You’ll Need
A quick look at the essentials before we dive into the recipe card:
- Chicken meatballs: I walk you through making from-scratch meatballs in this recipe, but if you want a shortcut, frozen chicken meatballs will do.
- Parmesan rind: Adding a parmesan rind to your soup as it simmers on the stove top infuses the broth with flavor and richness.
- Acini de pepe: This tiny pasta adds a nice texture and gives the soup some heft without taking over the entire dish.
How to Make It
Step 1: Make the Meatballs
Place all of the meatball ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix everything up until the meat mixture is well blended, then form into 1/4 to 1/2-inch balls (you want them to be about half the size of a usual meatball).
Place the meatballs onto a parchment-lined baking sheet as you go.
Step 2: Sear the Meatballs
Heat olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. When hot, reduce the heat to medium-low and transfer a few meatballs into the pot (don’t overcrowd).
Cook for 30 seconds to a minute, or until lightly browned, then flip them over with tongs and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute.
Transfer them back to the baking sheet and continue until all of the meatballs are cooked; set aside.
Tip: Searing the meatballs on both sides ensures they’ll stay intact while simmering in the soup.
Step 3: Cook the Veggies
Add a bit more oil to the pot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Season with a pinch of salt and cook until the veggies have softened. Stir in the garlic and chili peppers, and sautée for 30 seconds.
Step 4: Bring Everything Together and Simmer
Add the meatballs back to the pot and pour in the chicken broth. Add the parmesan rind and spinach, and bring everything to a boil. Once boiling, decrease to a low simmer.
Step 5: Cook the Pasta
While the soup simmers, cook the acini de pepe according to the package directions. Once cooked, add it to the soup, or spoon it into bowls and ladle the soup over them.
I like to garnish my soup with some freshly shaved Parmesan and a spritz of lemon juice. (The lemon juice makes the flavors shine even more!)
Texture & Technique Tips
- You can use a melon baller to scoop the meat mixture to ensure meatballs are uniform in size.
- If the mixture feels a bit sticky, rub a bit of olive oil into your palms to form them.
- Don’t cook the pasta in the soup, or it will soak up the broth, leaving you with less broth for the soup.
What to Serve With Italian Wedding Soup
- Fresh bread: Dutch oven bread, bread with roasted garlic and rosemary
- Salad: Easy side salad, Caesar salad with homemade Caesar dressing
- Pasta: spaghetti aglio e olio, lemon pasta with shrimp, clam pasta
Substitutions & Variations
- Frozen meatballs: If you don’t want to make your own, you can use a quality brand of frozen chicken meatballs. Check the instructions on the packaging on how to cook them.
- Greens: You can use escarole or kale.
- Pasta variations: Other tiny pasta shapes that work well include stelline (sometimes labeled as pastina), ditalini, or farfalline.
- Italian seasoning: Sometimes, instead of fresh herbs, I use homemade Italian seasoning.
Storage, Freezing, & Reheating
- Leftovers can be stored in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Let the soup cool completely, store it in airtight containers with a little headspace for expansion, and for best results, add the pasta and spinach after reheating. It’ll keep well in the freezer for up to three months. Transfer it to the fridge the night before you plan to enjoy it.
- To reheat, transfer the soup to a small saucepan over medium-low heat and warm through. Or heat in the microwave in 25-second increments until warmed through.
Easy Italian Wedding Soup With Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
FOR THE CHICKEN MEATBALLS
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
FOR THE SOUP
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 red onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes (can be adjusted for more heat)
- 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery
- 3-4 handfuls of baby spinach, ribonned or roughly chopped
- 8 cups chicken broth
- Hunk of Parmesan rind
- Sea salt + cracked pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup acini de pepe pasta
- Freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish
- Lemon wedges, for serving (optional but recommended!)
Instructions
- Place all of the meatball ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix everything up until the meat mixture is well blended.
- Because you want the meatballs to be smaller than regular meatballs, scoop the mixture up with a small spoon or a melon baller (that's what I like to use as it's the perfect size) and gently roll the mixture in your hands to form a meatball. Set the meatball onto a baking sheet covered with parchment and repeat until you've used up all the meat. You should end up with 34 meatballs, give or take. Tip: Rub some olive oil into your palms—it makes handling the mixture much easier as the mixture is a little tacky (which is normal).
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat and when the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium-low and transfer a few meatballs into the pot (don't overcrowd them). Cook them for 30 seconds to a minute or until they're lightly browned, then flip them over with tongs and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute. Transfer them to the baking sheet and continue until all of the meatballs are cooked; set aside.
- Add a smidge more olive oil to the pot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, and season with just a bit of salt. Sauté until the veggies have softened, then stir in the garlic and chili peppers; sautée for 30 seconds.
- Add the meatballs back to the pot. Poor the chicken broth into the pot, then stir in the spinach. Finally, pop the parmesan rind into the pot. Bring everything to a rolling boil, then decrease to a low simmer for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked, registering an internal temperature of 160º F.
- While the soup simmers, cook your acini de pepe as per the directions on the package. When done, add the pasta to the soup. Another option is you can spoon it into bowls and ladle the soup over top.
- Garnish each bowl with some freshly shaved parmesan and a spritz of lemon juice! (Optional, but highly recommended!)
Nutrition
If you make this Italian wedding soup with chicken meatballs, let me know how it went below with a comment and a rating—I love seeing what you cook. And if you want more recipes that are wholesome in ingredients and indulgent in flavor, you know where to find me.
How would you suggest freezing and reheating this? Thanks!
Hi Tina, you can freeze this soup in any freezer-friendly container, just be sure to leave some space for expansion. A few things to note: the pasta can lose quality/become mushy when thawed and reheated, so if you can, freeze the soup without the pasta added. The meatball should hold well but might lose a little texture. You can always freeze them separately if you wish. To reheat, thaw it in the fridge overnight and pop it into a saucepan and heat on the stovetop until warmed through. You can add a bit of pasta to it as it cooks. I hope this helps!
THIS WAS SO GOOD! Followed recipe as written, will definitely make again 🤤
I’m so glad you loved it, Sonia! It’s so so good and filling :)
This is amazing soup,I will be making it again
I’m so glad you love it, Shelly!
Does this freeze well?
Hi Amanda, you can definitely freeze this. I would however avoid freezing it with the pasta in it because the pasta can become mushy when thawing.
Why can’t I just add the pasta to the soup and cook it there
You can, but keep in mind the pasta will soak up some of your broth so you might want to have some extra broth on hand if you go this route. Unless you don’t mind a greater pasta to broth ratio.
I’m looking forward to making this for part of our Christmas dinner! I’m curious – do you think I can make the chicken balls ahead of time? Should I pre-cook and freeze, and then drop them into the broth?
Hi Jon, apologies for the late response. I hope you were still able to enjoy this for Christmas dinner!
Delicious!! I ended up cooking the meatballs separate then boiling then in soup for a few minutes to prevent them from falling apart. Flavors were on point. Definitely will be making again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this, Ashley! It’s a favorite here. And yes, the recipe suggests pan-frying the meatballs first to help keep them together. Plus then you get those nice pan bits and that’s just all flavor for the soup ;) Some people do prefer to plop the uncooked meatballs right into the broth, but I’m with you!