This Quick Italian Wedding Soup is filled with bite-size Italian sausage meatballs, tender pasta, fresh spinach, and vegetables in a savory chicken broth. It’s a cozy, one-pot dinner that comes together in about 30 minutes.
My favorite shortcut? Using seasoned Italian sausage to make the little meatballs! There’s no separate meatball mixture to prepare, and everything cooks right in the soup pot.
Serve it with my Garlic Breadsticks and a simple green salad for an easy dinner that’ll warm everyone up.
An Easy Italian Wedding Soup Shortcut
For this version of Italian wedding soup, I use mild Italian sausage with the casings removed. Just roll the sausage into tiny meatballs and drop them into the simmering broth.
The sausage already has seasoning mixed in, so you get plenty of flavor without measuring out extra meatball ingredients. No breadcrumbs, eggs, or baking sheet needed!
Add a handful of tiny pasta and stir in the spinach at the end, and you’ve got a hearty bowl of soup with very little fuss.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what goes into this easy Italian wedding soup. Find the full measurements in the printable recipe card below.
- Olive oil: For sautéing the vegetables.
- Carrot, onion, and celery: Chop these into small, similar-size pieces so they soften quickly.
- Garlic: Adds flavor to the broth.
- Low-sodium chicken broth: Gives you more control over the final seasoning, since the sausage also adds salt.
- Mild Italian sausage links: Remove the casings before shaping the meatballs. Use raw sausage for this method.
- Acini di pepe pasta: These tiny pasta balls are just the right size for scooping up with the meatballs and vegetables.
- Baby spinach: Stir it in at the end so it wilts into the hot soup.
- Parsley and oregano: Add fresh herb flavor. You can use the dried oregano amount listed in the recipe card if needed.
- Salt and pepper: Taste and season just before serving.
How To Make Italian Wedding Soup – FAST!
This recipe for Italian Wedding Soup comes together so quick, you’ll be wanting to make it all winter long!
1. Sauté the Vegetables
Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the chopped carrots, onion, and celery and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and cook for about 1 more minute, until fragrant.
PRO TIP: Small pieces of carrot will soften faster than thick chunks. A little attention to chopping helps keep this soup quick!
2. Shape the Sausage Meatballs
While the vegetables cook, remove the casings from the Italian sausage links.
Roll the sausage into small balls, about ½ inch across. Keep them similar in size so they cook evenly and fit comfortably on a spoon.
3. Add the Broth and Meatballs
Pour the chicken broth into the pot and bring it to a boil.
Carefully add the sausage meatballs and let them cook in the bubbling broth for 4 minutes before adding the pasta.
The meatballs stay in the pot for the remaining cooking steps. Those first 4 minutes are just their head start!
4. Cook the Pasta
Stir in the dry acini di pepe and continue cooking for about 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and the meatballs are cooked through. Stir occasionally to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom.
Check the center of a larger meatball with an instant-read thermometer. Pork sausage should reach 160°F; chicken or turkey sausage should reach 165°F.
5. Finish With Spinach and Herbs
Stir in the baby spinach, parsley, and oregano. Cook just until the spinach wilts into the soup.
Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and serve warm!
What Pasta Goes in Italian Wedding Soup?
I use acini di pepe, a tiny, round pasta that works well with the small meatballs.
You can also use orzo in the same quantity. Check the package’s cooking time and cook until tender, since timing can differ between pasta shapes and brands.
Stick with the amount in the recipe card to start. Even tiny pasta absorbs plenty of broth as it cooks!
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! The small sausage meatballs cook directly in the broth.
Skipping the browning step keeps this recipe simple and saves you another pan to wash. Keep the meatballs about ½ inch across and check that they’re fully cooked before serving.
Yes, bulk raw Italian sausage saves you the step of removing the casings. Use the same total weight as the sausage links you’re replacing.
Choose seasoned Italian sausage rather than plain ground pork so you keep the flavor that makes this shortcut work.
Yes! Raw chicken Italian sausage can be shaped into small meatballs and cooked in the soup.
The flavor and richness will be a little different from pork sausage. Make sure the centers reach 165°F before serving.
Tips for the Best Soup
- Keep the meatballs small. Larger meatballs take longer to cook and change the timing of the recipe.
- Use low-sodium broth. Taste after the sausage has cooked before deciding how much additional salt you need.
- Add the spinach last. Baby spinach only needs a short time in the hot broth to wilt.
- Watch the pasta. Once it’s tender, finish the soup instead of leaving it simmering.
- Adjust the broth as needed. The pasta keeps absorbing liquid as the soup sits. Add a little extra chicken broth if you prefer a soupier consistency.
Make Ahead and Storage
This soup is easy to prepare ahead for lunches or another night’s dinner. The main thing to keep in mind is that the pasta will continue soaking up broth during storage.
MAKE AHEAD: You can cook the soup a day or two before serving. For firmer pasta, cook and store the pasta separately, then add it to individual portions when reheating.
REFRIGERATE: Divide the soup into shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. Store covered in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days from the day it was made.
FREEZE: Chill promptly, then transfer to freezer-safe containers or bags, leaving room for expansion. Freeze for up to 3 months for best quality. Pasta may soften after thawing, so freezing the soup without pasta is a good option if you’re planning ahead.
How To Reheat Italian Wedding Soup
Thaw frozen soup in the refrigerator.
Reheat on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring occasionally and adding extra broth if needed. Bring the soup to a boil and make sure the meatballs and soup reach 165°F throughout.
For individual portions, use a covered, microwave-safe bowl and heat in short intervals, stirring between each one, until heated to 165°F.
More Cozy Soup Recipes
If you love easy dinners by the bowlful, here are two more to try:
- Low Carb Zuppa Toscano: Another comforting soup featuring Italian sausage.
- Loaded Baked Potato Soup: A creamy, hearty option for your next soup night.
I can’t wait for you to try this easy Italian wedding soup! Leave a rating and comment below and let me know how it turned out.
Easy Italian Wedding Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup carrot, chopped
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- ½ cup celery, chopped
- 1 tsp garlic, minced
- 4 cups chicken broth, low sodium
- 3 mild Italian sausage links, about 9oz, casings removed
- ½ cup Acini di Pepe Pasta, or Orzo Pasta
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 2 tbsp parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp oregano, freshly chopped, or 1 tsp dried
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot and sauté carrots, onion and celery until tender, about 5 minutes. Add in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 more minute. Meanwhile, remove casings from sausage links and roll the meat into 1/2" balls.
- Stir in chicken broth and bring mixture to a boil. Add sausage balls to the soup and cook for 4 minutes. Then stir in pasta and cook for an additional 10 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
- Add in spinach, parsley and oregano and cook until spinach wilts into soup. Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
PIN THIS IMAGE TO SAVE THE RECIPE:
I love this soup! I timed myself to see how quick it would take to make – I made small meatballs with Italian sweet sausage, Progresso seasoned bread crumbs and egg, baked for 10 mins on 350, I preheated the oven. Chopped the carrots, celery, spinach and onions. It was ready in less than an hour! The family loved it! Thanks Shawn!
Can i use a plant based Italian sausage?
You really don’t need to add anything to the sausage to get the same flavor – plus no baking needed! You could get this soup done in about 30 minutes with the directions I give. 😉
Thank you Shawn for such a quick and delicious recipe!! I did bake the little sausage balls for 15 mins. @ 325 mainly to get rid of the grease. This will now be my “Go To” soup recipe 😉
I take the sausage and semi freeze it. Then cut it into 1/4 in slices, pop the skin off, and use slices instead of in a ball form. For those of us with dexterity issues, it works for me. Tastes the same.
That’s a great idea!
Is this enough time to cook the sausage?
Yes! The sausage balls should be small enough to cook through in that amount of time. You can always use an instant-read thermometer to double check for an internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
Unbelievable
Fast, easy and delicious
Thank you so much
Camille
Scarsdale. NY
Is this about a pound of Italian mild sausage and can I use already ground sausage instead of the links?
It will be about 9oz of sausage, so just a little over half a pound.
Looks amazing and I can’t wait to try! Can this be made vegetarian with veggie stock and Impossible Mild Italian sausage?
I think that would work just great!
This truly was fast and every bit as good as the more labor intensive recipes I have!
The whole family loved it! Thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Tammy!
Do you think if I used chicken Italian sausage ,it would change the flavor of the soup too much? Also how many servings is this? Thank you
Chicken Italian Sausage should be just great. It’s about 6 servings.