I have made this soup enough times to know where it goes wrong, and it is almost always the pasta. This slow cooker Italian wedding soup fixes that with small meatballs, a light chicken broth, and acini di pepe added in the last 30 minutes. That is 15 minutes of hands-on work for a dinner that feeds the whole family on a busy weeknight.
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Don’t let the name fool you. This soup was never actually served at Italian weddings. It comes from a dish called minestra maritata, or married soup, referring to the marriage of greens and meat. Somewhere along the way, the translation and meaning got mixed up, but the name stuck.
Cooks in Naples made the first pots of it, using bits of pork and bitter greens to feed a full table for very little money. Later, Italian families brought the recipe to America, and it gradually adapted to what was readily available.
Escarole became spinach, the pork scraps became small meatballs, and the soup got simpler. That’s the Italian soup most of us know today, and it’s also the one I keep making.
The broth is light but still tastes rich, because the sausage releases its seasoning over hours of slow cooking. Carrots and celery go soft and turn a little sweet. The acini di pepe soaks up that flavorful broth, so every spoonful has something in it. Grated parmesan goes in at the end and rounds everything out.
If you like this great soup, my Slow Cooker Chicken Gnocchi Soup is the heavier one I make in winter.
This Italian wedding soup recipe is one of those soups nobody in my family made, so I learned it from other people's kitchens. My kids will eat anything shaped like a meatball, which is how it turned into a family favorite here without much help from me.
I like that I can start it in the morning and come back to a hearty pot at dinner. When we want something heartier on the table, I make my Italian Tortellini Soup with Ground Beef, but this is still the favorite soup in our house.
So here is how I make Italian wedding soup on a regular weeknight. This flavorful soup uses plain Italian sausage for the meatballs, which saves you a step and still tastes the way it should.
Ingredients
Ground Italian sausage carries most of the flavor, since the fennel, garlic, and pepper are already worked into the meat, so the meatballs season the broth as they cook. Chicken broth keeps the base savory and clean rather than heavy, letting everything else come through. Acini di pepe is a small pasta that gives the soup some body without turning it into a stew, and it stays light in the bowl. Baby spinach adds a soft green bite that keeps the pot from tasting flat, with enough mild bitterness to cut the salt. Grated parmesan melts into the liquid, leaving a salty, nutty finish.
See the recipe card for exact quantities.
Top Tips for Making Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup
Cut the vegetables to match: Slice the carrots and dice the celery about the same size so they finish at the same time instead of one going soft while the other stays crunchy. Even pieces also look better in the bowl.
Rinse the skillet with broth: Pour a little chicken broth into the hot pan after browning, scrape up any stuck brown bits, and add them to the slow cooker. Those bits are pure flavor, and leaving them in the sink is a waste.
Grate the parmesan yourself: Pre-shredded cheese is coated in starch that keeps it from clumping in the bag, but it turns stringy in hot broth. A fresh block melts in smoothly and tastes sharper.
How to Make Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup
This easy slow cooker Italian wedding soup is one of those soup recipes that looks fancier than the work it takes. It is mild, hearty, and simple to pull off, with tender meatballs, soft vegetables, and tiny pasta floating in a light broth.
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Roll the meatballs
- Dump the sausage into a medium bowl and roll it into small balls about an inch wide. You should make 20 to 24 of them.
- There are no other meatball ingredients to fuss with here, because the sausage already has the seasoning.
- Homemade meatballs this small do not need a single breadcrumb to hold together.
Brown the meatballs
- You do not need to cook meatballs all the way through at this point, since they will finish in the slow cooker.
- Color is the goal, and that brown outside is what keeps Italian meatballs from falling apart later.
Add the vegetables, broth, and spinach
- Add the sliced carrots, diced celery, onion, and garlic.
- Stir to combine so the oregano, herbs, and salt and pepper spread through the liquid rather than sit on top.
Cover and cook on low
- Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.
- The soup is done when the vegetables are tender, and the meatballs are cooked through, which you can check by cutting one in half.
- Resist lifting the lid too often, because every peek lowers the heat and lengthens the cooking time.
Add the pasta and parmesan
- Cover and cook until the pasta is tender but still has a little bite left.
- The parmesan melts into the broth and thickens it slightly, so add more chicken broth or water if the soup looks thicker than you want.
Taste and serve
Taste the soup and adjust the salt and pepper, since sausage brands vary widely in saltiness. Ladle it into bowls and finish each one with more parmesan cheese and chopped parsley. The parsley is not just for looks, and it wakes up the whole bowl.
Storage
Keep any leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. The cooked pasta keeps drinking up broth while it sits, so the soup will look much thicker the next day. Add a splash of water or broth when reheating it over low heat on the stove, and stir until it loosens.
You can freeze the soup for up to three months, but leave out the pasta and spinach before freezing. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then reheat it gently, adding freshly cooked pasta and a handful of greens right before serving. It tastes far closer to the first batch that way.
Yes, and it makes an already easy slow cooker recipe even faster. If you use them, skip the browning step and add the meatballs straight to the pot with the broth. There is no need to thaw them first, though you may want to set the timer for an extra 30 minutes.
Acini di pepe went in too early. It only needs about 30 minutes, and anything longer lets it drink up the broth and fall apart. Add more broth to loosen the soup, and next time stir the pasta in near the end.
They probably went in raw. Browning firms up the outside, so it holds its shape through hours of slow cooking. Rolling them too large makes it worse, since the middle stays soft while the edges cook.
It cooked too long. Fresh spinach only needs 5 to 10 minutes to wilt, and past that it darkens and goes soft. Stir it in at the very end, right before you serve.
Recipe
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Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup
Equipment
- Slow Cooker (6-quart)
- Large skillet
- Cutting board and chef's knife
- Vegetable peeler
- Wooden spoon or silicone spatula
- box grater or microplane
- Ladle
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 3 medium carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 celery stalks diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup uncooked acini di pepe pasta
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach
- ½ cup grated Parmesan plus more for serving
Instructions
- Roll the sausage into small, bite-sized meatballs, about 1 inch each. You should get 20 to 24 meatballs.
- Brown meatballs on all sides in a skillet over medium heat. They don't need to cook through. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the slow cooker. Pour in chicken broth and stir in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Cover and cook on low 5 to 6 hours or high 3 to 4 hours, until vegetables are tender and meatballs are cooked through.
- About 30 minutes before serving, stir in the acini di pepe. Cover and cook until the pasta is tender.
- Stir in spinach and Parmesan. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, just until the spinach wilts.
- Taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle into bowls and top with extra Parmesan and chopped parsley.
Notes
- Keep the meatballs small. They cook more evenly and stay tender in the slow cooker.
- Browning the meatballs first helps them hold together instead of breaking apart during the long cook.
- Add the pasta near the end. Acini di pepe cooks quickly and turns mushy if added too early.
- Thin with extra broth or water before serving if the soup has thickened too much.
- Substitutions: ground chicken or turkey sausage for the Italian sausage, orzo or ditalini for the acini di pepe, kale or escarole for the spinach, Romano or Asiago for the Parmesan, and vegetable broth for a lighter version.
- Refrigerate up to 4 days. If freezing, leave out the pasta and spinach and add them fresh when reheating; freezes up to 3 months.
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