Italian Wedding Soup
Broth with tiny meatballs, pasta, and greens.
Ingredients
- 300 g Ground beef
- 40 g Breadcrumbs
- 1 Egg
- 120 g Ditalini
- 150 g Spinach
- 1 Carrot
- 1500 ml Chicken stock
- 40 g Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1 tsp Salt
Method
- Pour the chicken stock into a large pot and set over high heat to bring to a steady simmer.
- While the stock heats, mix the beef with the breadcrumbs, egg, and salt, then roll into tiny meatballs about 1.5 cm across.
- Dice the carrot small, about 5 mm.
- Grate the parmigiano on the fine side of a box grater.
- Wash the spinach and tear any large leaves.
- Add the diced carrot to the simmering stock, then slip in the meatballs. Simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the carrot is tender.
- Add the ditalini and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.
- Off the heat, stir in the spinach and let it wilt in the residual heat.
- Ladle into bowls and finish with the grated parmesan.
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About Italian Wedding Soup
Italian Wedding Soup takes its English name from a mistranslation of minestra maritata, meaning 'married soup' — a reference not to weddings but to the happy marriage of meat and greens in the pot. In its Neapolitan homeland it's a hearty affair of mixed meats and bitter greens, but the familiar American version, echoed here, is a lighter broth studded with tiny meatballs, small pasta, and tender greens. It's a soothing, brothy bowl: clean chicken stock carrying little beef meatballs, soft ditalini, sweet carrot, and just-wilted spinach, all lifted by a shower of grated Parmigiano. Comforting rather than rich, it's the sort of soup made for cold evenings and easy family dinners.
The character of this version lives in the meatballs, kept deliberately tiny — about a centimeter and a half across — so they cook quickly and give you meat in nearly every spoonful. Simmering them directly in the stock lets their seasoning enrich the broth, while the carrot goes in first to soften and the ditalini and spinach are added late so they don't turn to mush. Finished off the heat with fine-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, it comes together in about forty minutes as a complete one-bowl meal. Serve it with crusty bread and extra cheese at the table, and it works equally well as a starter or a light supper.
Italian Wedding Soup: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Italian Wedding Soup?
A serving has about 519 calories — 35g protein, 46.1g carbs, 20.6g fat, 2.7g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 35g of protein, roughly 27% of its calories.
Is Italian Wedding Soup gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Breadcrumbs, Ditalini. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for those ingredients to make it gluten-free.
Is Italian Wedding Soup dairy-free?
Not as written — it uses Parmigiano-Reggiano. Swapping it for a plant-based alternative makes it dairy-free.
How many servings does Italian Wedding Soup make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.