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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.
I love the recipe . The only thing I would do differently next time is wait to add the meatballs into the soup for a shorter cook time because adding them too early only caused the meatballs to cook too long, and added a lot of little bits of broken meatballs in my soup. Delicious flavors though!!
Shouldn’t there be breadcrumbs in the meatball ingredients?
Hi Linda! Yes, thank you for catching that. I’ve just added it, it’s 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs. Let me know if you try this out!
This is my kids favorite soup! Definitely adding to my menu again!!
That’s amazing! Thank you! I can’t wait until my picky kiddo starts to explore more, haha.
BABE I made this today and it was insane. The perfect mix of healthy but delicious but filling but not too heavy. Perfect!
Can I cook the meatballs in the broth before adding the other ingredients, instead of pre-cooking?
Hi Debbie, yes you can definitely do that. Just be sure to pop them into the fridge to set so they stay together as they boil in the broth. Please let me know how it goes!
I love this Italian wedding soup recipe! I haven’t made one in ages. Thanks for the idea!
You’re very welcome! Hope you enjoyed it.
We had this soup for dinner last night and it’s the BEST wedding soup I’ve ever had! So flavorful!
This hearty, flavorful and fabulous Italian wedding soup with chicken meatballs is comfort food at its finest. I am looking forward to digging into a big bowl of this deliciousness again!
This was everything a gourmet meal should be, and then some! Was so hearty and delicious; my whole family loved it!
I love the mini pasta — it really makes this soup extra delicious. Thank you for the recipe.
Love the soup flavor and the combo here. Thanks a lot for sharing.