Easy Italian Wedding Soup with Frozen Meatballs

This yummy soup is the perfect dish to have any time of the year. Easy Italian Wedding Soup with Frozen Meatballs is light with a clear broth and veggies, but warm and comforting to from frozen mini meatballs and lots of little pasta.

Italian wedding soup is a classic soup with a rich chicken broth, tender meatballs, tiny acini de pepe pasta, and fresh spinach. This (semi) homemade version is made easier by using frozen mini meatballs! 

Italian wedding soup reminds me of italian chicken pastina with egg and greek lemon rice soup (kotosoupa avgolemono), but with more veggies and a thinner broth. Those are two of my favorite soups as well, definitely check them out after this one!

For a soup filled with even more veggies, try Italian Vegetable Soup (Minestrone) or Lentil Soup with Spinach.

I love putting mini meatballs in soup. Frozen meatballs are super easy and cook up very quickly. Each meatball is a burst of delicious flavor that is packed with protein and seasonings. By simmering them in broth, the meatballs become ultimate pockets of flavor and they are so tender you don't have realize they aren't homemade meatballs!

I found these Simek's Mini Beef Meatballs in the freezer section of my grocery store and they are perfect! Pretty decent ingredients and a delicious flavor. Perfectly sized too!

Spinach in Soup

The spinach adds a delicateness to the soup while still adding fiber and nutrients! I love adding greens to soups, because to me it just seems like a given! The greens wilt down and add color, which is a reason in itself to add them to dishes. And as much as I love salads, it’s nice to get your veggies in other ways as well! 

Spinach is my favorite to add to soups because of just how tender it gets. It is so silky and basically melts in your mouth. After you try this soup, try spinach in minestrone or Instant Pot Tortellini Soup.

If you want to try a heartier green (like kale) try this tuscan white bean and sausage soup!

Italian Wedding Soup Ingredients

• olive oil
• carrots
• onion 
• celery
• garlic
• chicken stock
• acini de pepe or any small pasta
• fresh spinach
• frozen mini meatballs
• salt

How To Make Italian Wedding Soup with Frozen Meatballs

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add carrots, celery, garlic, and onions and saute until softened, about 4-5 minutes. 

Add frozen meatballs and stir.

Add chicken stock and salt and bring to a simmer.

After 15 minutes, add pasta and cook for about 10 more minutes, until the pasta plumps and is cooked through.

Once ready to serve, turn off heat and stir in spinach.

Recipe Tip

I almost never cook greens on a high heat. Instead, I add them at the very end of the cooking process, after the stove is turned off and let the residual heat of whatever dish I made do the work for me. This way the spinach doesn’t get overcooked! 

Substitutions and Variations

• If you can't find acini de pepe, other tiny pasta will do, such as ditalini or pastina (stelline).
• Regular sized meatballs can be used in place of the mini if you need/prefer.
• If using a different green, like kale, simmer for a few minutes to soften. Spinach is very tender but kale, chard, etc. are studier and benefit from being cooked into the broth.

Reheating Italian Wedding Soup

This soup reheats beautifully and makes great leftovers for snacks or lunches! The noodles will continue to soak up the broth as it sits, so I like to add a splash of water or chicken stock before reheating to add more broth back to the soup.

This italian wedding soup recipe freezes well and can be frozen in whole batches or individual portions and kept for months that way. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave. 

More soup recipes to try

• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup
• Instant Pot French Onion Soup (Ninja Foodi)