Authentic Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup: A Classic Family Recipe for Cozy Comfort

As the crisp days of autumn gently embrace the South, bringing with them a tapestry of falling leaves, vibrant blood orange sunsets, and refreshing cool evening breezes, our culinary cravings instinctively shift.

Ahhhh! Pure bliss!

Just like in any corner of the country, these cooler fall days call for the heartwarming comfort of delicious homemade soups. There’s an undeniable magic in a steaming, aromatic bowl of soup that deeply nourishes both our bodies and our souls. It’s a perfect symphony for the senses, offering warmth, flavor, and a sense of coziness. And when it comes to capturing that seasonal essence, a classic bowl of Italian Wedding Soup stands out as the ultimate choice.

Growing up in an Italian household, the kitchen was always the heart of our home, and my beloved Italian mama always had a pot of savory soup simmering on the stove, regardless of the season. I cherish vivid memories of my Nonna meticulously preparing this incredible Italian Wedding Soup. Our family has always embraced the wholesome simplicity of a hot, comforting bowl of soup made entirely from scratch – absolutely nothing from a can. EVER! This tradition taught me the profound difference that fresh, quality ingredients make.

The Charming Origin of “Italian Wedding Soup”

Despite its evocative name, there’s actually nothing related to a traditional ‘wedding’ ceremony in this soup! The name simply stems from the beautiful way its diverse ingredients ‘marry’ or blend together in perfect harmony, creating an incredibly balanced and rich flavor profile. It’s a testament to how well the meatballs, fresh vegetables, pasta, and rich broth complement each other, achieving culinary perfection.

Italian cooking is wonderfully regional, with each family and area adding their unique twists to classic recipes. Some variations might include eggs stirred in at the end, as my Nonna always did, while others omit them. Different types of vegetables or specific herb blends are also common. Yet, through all the variations I’ve encountered, I invariably return to my Nonna’s authentic recipe, which always featured savory homemade meatballs as its heart and soul. This time-honored recipe, passed down through generations, truly embodies the essence of Italian comfort food.

Of course, if your schedule is particularly tight, you can certainly opt for high-quality, ready-made meatballs from your local grocery store. However, I wholeheartedly believe that nothing compares to the deep flavor and tender texture of homemade meatballs. As a busy, full-time educator, I often dedicate a weekend day to prepare a generous batch to freeze, ensuring I always have a supply ready for quick, wholesome meals. It’s how I roll in my little cucina – preparing with love and efficiency!

Let’s Get Cooking: Preparing Your Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup

I always advocate for mise en place, a French culinary term meaning “everything in its place.” This organized approach starts by gathering all the ingredients, ensuring they are already chopped, minced, measured, and neatly placed in individual glass mixing bowls. This simple step makes the cooking process smoother, more enjoyable, and significantly reduces stress in the kitchen. It’s truly one of the best kitchen habits you can adopt!

THE SECRET TO AMAZING MEATBALLS AND WHY THIS SOUP IS OUTSTANDING:

To achieve truly exceptional flavor in your Italian Wedding Soup, you must be BOLD when adding flavorful ingredients to your meatballs! No one wants plain, bland meatballs in their comforting soup!

Seriously, don’t hold back on the fresh garlic, minced onions, a binding egg, fragrant Italian parsley, and generous amounts of freshly grated Parmigiano and Pecorino Romano cheese! These elements are crucial for infusing your meatballs with incredible depth.

Combine all the meatball ingredients in a very large mixing bowl. Using your impeccably clean hands, mix them together thoroughly until just combined. Overmixing can lead to tough meatballs, so mix until uniform but still tender. Form the mixture into very small, uniform meatballs, about ½-inch to 1-inch in size. If you’re making a larger batch for freezing, saute any unused meatballs in a separate large frying pan, then cool and freeze them for future meals.

Set your Instant Pot to the “Saute” function. Pour in the olive oil and allow it to heat up.

Add at least 24 meatballs to the hot olive oil, browning them to your desired level of doneness. For this smaller batch of Italian Wedding Soup, 24 meatballs were sufficient, but if you’re preparing a larger quantity, feel free to add another 24 or more to suit your preference. This browning step is essential for developing a rich, savory crust on the meatballs, which significantly enhances the overall flavor of your soup.

During this initial browning phase, I don’t seal the lid on the Instant Pot; instead, I leave it loosely placed on top or completely off. Make sure to return to the pot regularly to very gently move the meatballs around, ensuring they brown evenly on all sides. You can also perform this browning step in a large frying pan on your stovetop before transferring the meatballs to the Instant Pot. My family strongly prefers browned meatballs, as cooking them raw in the broth, as some recipes suggest, doesn’t achieve the same depth of flavor and appealing texture.

While it would be convenient if the meatballs could roll and brown themselves, they require a bit of your attention! Take a moment to gently move them around the Instant Pot until they achieve a beautiful golden-brown color. As mentioned, my family prefers this method over cooking raw meatballs directly in the broth. While some recipes call for cooking everything simultaneously, we find that browning the meatballs first imparts a superior flavor and texture to the soup. It’s a small step that makes a big difference in taste and presentation.

So, I always make sure to saute the meatballs to a lovely, delicate brown first.

Once you’re satisfied with the rich, golden-brown hue of your meatballs, it’s time to build the foundation of your delicious soup. Carefully add the chicken broth to the browned meatballs in the Instant Pot. While homemade broth is always preferred for its unparalleled depth of flavor, a good quality store-bought broth is perfectly acceptable, especially on those days when time is a luxury you don’t have.

A Note on My Preferred Chicken Broth:

I make it a habit to prepare large batches of homemade chicken broth/stock and freeze it for future use. As a perpetually busy individual, much like many of you, I designate a less demanding day, typically a weekend or Sunday, to meticulously craft my “brodo” (as my family affectionately calls it in Italian). The truth is, nothing quite compares to the richness and purity of homemade broth. It allows me complete control over the ingredients, ensuring no unnecessary preservatives or artificial additives found in many canned and jarred alternatives make their way into my family’s meals. This commitment to wholesome ingredients is paramount for my health-conscious family, who are quite particular about what they eat!

Crafting homemade soup stock/broth requires patience, particularly when it comes to the straining process, which often involves multiple passes (sometimes up to three times) until the broth is crystal clear. However, the depth of flavor and peace of mind it offers make every moment invested truly worthwhile!

If time constraints prevent you from making broth from scratch, I highly recommend using a high-quality organic, low-sodium broth. Opting for free-range chicken broth elevates the flavor even further!

You can also achieve a fantastic result by combining good store-bought broth/stock with homemade broth/stock for an enriched flavor profile.

As my son wisely puts it, “It’s all good, Mom”.

Now, add the finely chopped carrots and celery to the Instant Pot, allowing these aromatics to infuse the broth with their sweet and earthy flavors as the soup simmers.

Italian Cooking SECRET: Never discard the hardened rinds of your Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese! This is a cherished secret among Italian cooks. I always toss a good-sized chunk of this cheesy deliciousness directly into the pot. As it simmers, it magically infuses an amazingly enhanced, umami-rich flavor throughout the entire soup, adding a depth that cannot be replicated!

Finally, add the freshly chopped baby spinach, along with any extra minced basil, oregano, and garlic, to ensure a burst of vibrant flavor and freshness.

While I used tender baby spinach in this particular batch, escarole is another highly traditional and common choice among Italian cooks for Italian Wedding Soup, offering a slightly bitter, robust flavor. My mother, for instance, always favored Swiss chard for its earthy notes. Although I’m personally not a fan of kale, some variations do incorporate it. Feel free to choose the green leafy vegetable that best suits your taste or what you have on hand.

At the very last stage of cooking, introduce the tiniest Italian pasta you can find, such as ‘pastina‘.

My family’s absolute favorite pasta for this soup is acini di pepe, which translates to “peppercorns” due to its tiny, round shape. It’s perfect for absorbing the broth’s flavors.

BIG TIP! It’s crucial to add the tiny pasta during the final few minutes of the soup’s cooking time. If added too early, these delicate pasta shapes will become mushy and overcooked, which is precisely what you want to avoid! By adding them at the end, the pasta perfectly absorbs the rich chicken broth, infusing it with flavor, rather than being blandly boiled separately in water.

For this particular recipe, I happened to have a package of Garofalo tiny pasta (Pepe Bucato) from Naples, Italy on hand, so that’s what I used. However, I normally prefer and reach for the even tinier baby pastina for its delicate texture in this soup.

To elevate the soup’s texture and richness, whisk together 2 fresh jumbo or large eggs with a generous amount of freshly grated Parmigiano cheese. This combination is a traditional and essential component.

Some simplified recipes unfortunately omit this crucial step, but it is an absolute MUST for achieving the authentic, delicious flavor and silky texture of true Italian Wedding Soup. Do not skip this! It adds a unique creaminess and depth that truly completes the dish.

Gently pour the egg and cheese mixture into the hot soup using a slow, continuous ‘swirling’ motion. Immediately stir it gently into the soup for about a minute. This technique ensures that the egg cooks into delicate, flavorful strands rather than clumping.

As you stir, you’ll observe tiny strings or delicate threads of egg and cheese beautifully dispersed throughout the soup. This is exactly what you want to see, indicating a perfectly incorporated and flavorful addition!

Lastly, before serving, always taste your soup and adjust the seasoning as needed. For this particular batch, I found that adding just one teaspoon of salt was perfect, but every batch and every palate is different.

Therefore, the golden rule of cooking applies: TASTE, TASTE, TASTE! Don’t be shy about sampling and adjusting until it’s just right.

Additionally, to further enhance the savory chicken flavor of the soup, I highly recommend adding 2 tablespoons of chicken-flavored “Better Than Bouillon”. It truly makes a significant difference and results in a perfectly balanced flavor profile. PERFETTO!!!

Ladle this exquisite, comforting soup into warm bowls, then generously garnish each serving with an extra sprinkle of freshly grated Parmigiano cheese. For a final touch of richness and authentic Italian flavor, drizzle a bit of high-quality extra virgin olive oil over the top. Serve immediately to your eager guests and prepare for rave reviews! It’s a meal that promises to delight.

I’d be absolutely delighted if you would pin the image below to your favorite Pinterest board! Thank you for your support!

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Discover some of my go-to kitchen gadgets and recommended products that truly make cooking a more enjoyable and efficient experience for me!

Aren’t these meatball scoopers so incredibly cool? They are an absolute game-changer, helping you effortlessly create perfectly uniform-sized meatballs while also keeping your hands much cleaner during prep! A true kitchen innovation.

For those who love to save time and streamline their cooking process, especially when preparing dozens of meatballs at once, this Master Meatball Maker is an absolutely amazing and indispensable helper in your kitchen. It’s fantastic for meal prepping!

Sensio’s Meatball Maker is another fantastic tool that simplifies meatball preparation, making it quicker and more consistent for home cooks.

Explore More Delicious Soup and Instant Pot Recipes!

Classic Italian Minestrone (Instant Pot)

Pasta e Fagioli (Instant Pot)

Italian Lentil Soup (Instant Pot)

Italian Pastina Soup

Tortellini in Brodo

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