This Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup is a hearty soup with meatballs, parmesan and a rich broth made easy thanks to your pressure cooker!
Ingredients and substitutions
Meatballs
- Ground beef – you can also make the meatballs using ground pork, chicken or turkey.
- Egg – this will help bind the meatballs. If you don’t have any eggs, use plain yogurt or buttermilk instead.
- Breadcrumbs – panko would also be a good binder for the meatballs.
- Parmesan cheese – nutritional yeast is a great dairy-free substitute. Romano cheese will also provide a similar flavour.
- Onion – yellow or white onion can both be used.
- Garlic – use freshly minced or jarred minced garlic.
- Italian seasoning – make your own using a combination of oregano, basil and thyme.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
Soup
- Olive oil – use any neutral cooking oil like canola or grapeseed oil.
- Onion – see substitution notes above.
- Celery – double up on the carrots instead.
- Carrots – parsnips would also be good in this soup.
- Garlic – see substitution notes above.
- Italian seasoning – see substitution notes above.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth is the best substitute here.
- Dried acini de pepe pasta – if you can’t find any dried acini de pepe, use ditalini, macaroni or orzo.
- Dry white wine – you can leave this out but the flavours of the soup will be a little less rich.
- Parmesan cheese – see substitution notes above.
- Spinach – kale, cabbage or endive would also be good in this soup.
How to make Italian wedding soup in the Instant Pot
- Prep your ingredients.
- Make and sauté the meatballs.
- Add everything but the wine, parmesan and spinach in order.
- Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients.
- Serve and enjoy!
Making the meatballs ahead of time
You can prepare the meatballs in advance to make this Instant Pot wedding soup recipe even quicker. Plus, having premade meatballs on hand is an easy way to add some protein and flavour to any dish – they’re also great for a quick snack!
Make sure you cook the meatballs before storing them. You can mix the ingredients and then either pan fry or bake the meatballs. Cooked meat keeps longer and the meatballs will keep their shape if they’re cooked first.
You have two choices for storing the meatballs. You can either refrigerate them for 3 to 4 days or freeze them for up to 3 months. If you freeze them, make sure to flash-freeze them for an hour first so they don’t stick together.
Frequently Asked Questions
This soup’s name comes from the Italian phrase minestra maritata, which translates in English to ‘married soup’. It represents the marriage of all the delicious ingredients in this soup that come together for an amazing flavour!
Italian wedding soup is a rich brothy soup made with vegetables like kale and carrots, meatballs or sausage, a chicken-based broth and pasta (typically acini de pepe).
The meatballs for this recipe are super easy. All you need is ground meat like beef or pork, egg, breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, onion, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix everything together, roll the mixture into balls then sauté them in the Instant Pot for 7-8 minutes until they’re browned.
Storing and reheating
You can store this Italian wedding soup in the fridge for up to 5 days. It will actually be even better the next day since the flavours will blend together overnight! When you’re ready to enjoy your soup, reheat it in a pot on the stovetop or microwave it for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring halfway through.
Can you freeze Italian wedding soup?
You sure can! This is a great freezer recipe and will last in the freezer for up to 3 months in glass containers or Ziploc bags. You can also freeze the cooked meatballs on their own for up to 3 months (just make sure to flash-freeze them on a tray first).
To thaw, let the soup sit in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat it in the microwave. You can also reheat it from frozen in a pot on the stovetop.
More Instant Pot soup recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this soup into your weekly lunches.
- I get all my free-range ground chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your meatballs are cooked through.
- Use these Ziploc bag holders if you’re freezing the meatballs.
- Freeze individual portions of this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef, pork or chicken
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 onion, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
Soup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp each salt & pepper
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup dried acini de pepe pasta
- 1/4 cup dry white wine
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 2 cups spinach, chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix ingredients for meatballs then form into 1-inch round meatballs.
- Turn Instant Pot to saute mode. Add olive oil, then meatballs, sauteeing for 7-8 minutes until browned. Add the rest of the ingredients to Instant Pot in the order in which they are listed except for wine, parmesan cheese and spinach, ensuring pasta is underneath the broth.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal. Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 5 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 5 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Stir in wine, parmesan cheese and spinach. Garnish with extra parmesan cheese, then serve and enjoy!
