Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup is a hearty, flavor-packed Italian-American favorite. This easy, crowd-pleasing soup has the perfect marriage of flavors from beans, spinach, pasta, spices, Parmesan cheese, and mini Italian meatballs. Pressure cooking lets you bring this soup to the table in a fraction of the time. [Stovetop instructions are also included.]
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This Italian wedding soup is one of my favorite Instant Pot soup recipes. Here’s an interesting tidbit about the origins of Italian Wedding Soup: it’s an Italian recipe imported to America and NOT served at weddings!
In fact, the name Italian Wedding Soup comes from Minestra Maritata, which is translated as “married soup.” It is so named because of the perfect marriage of flavorful meatballs and leafy greens.
I’ve always loved this meatball soup with pasta because it’s so hearty and can be a meal on its own. As always, when trying to convert a family favorite recipe to the Instant Pot, I test the recipe out using different methods, trying to balance convenience and taste.
My Italian wedding soup Instant Pot recipe calls for pressure cooking the meatballs and pasta together in the broth – convenience without sacrificing taste. The only time commitment for this recipe is making the meatballs.
➡ If you’re looking for more Italian American recipes, try my sausage pasta, garlic shrimp pasta, vegetarian rigatoni bolognese, and Instant Pot spaghetti with meat sauce.
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Ingredients for Instant Pot Wedding Soup
💡 Ingredient and Recipe Tips
🍲 Meatballs: Use your favorite Italian meatball recipe or try mine. You can use chicken meatballs, turkey meatballs, or a beef/pork combination. Mini homemade meatballs can be prepared ahead of time. If you’re short on time, use store-bought Italian sausage cut into small pieces. Frozen meatballs are also an options, except they are larger than the mini meatballs I make.
🍃 Spinach: Feel free to use escarole (traditional), kale, or other greens of your choice instead of baby spinach.
🌶️ Spice: Recipe calls for ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper, but I like to add 1 to 2 teaspoons because I love spice!
🥚 Eggs: Adding eggs provides flavor and thickness to the soup. Prevent curdling by whisking eggs with some broth before adding to soup.
🍝 Pasta: Classic Instant Pot hearty meatball soup uses acini de pepe, but you can substitute orzo or pastina. For al dente pasta, reduce pressure cooking time by 1 minute.
⚠️ Pressure Release Technique: Quick release when cooking pasta can cause food particles to spew from the valve. Release pressure in controlled bursts: Do a 1-second release, then pause. Repeat until steam becomes less forceful, then release remaining pressure in a steady stream.
FAQS
For best results, freeze the soup without the pasta and add freshly cooked pasta when reheating. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Use vegetable broth and substitute the meatballs with plant-based meatballs or add more white beans and extra vegetables. Omit the egg and use cornstarch to thicken the soup.
I skip the browning of the meatballs to save time, but you can certainly brown the meatballs first, as the browned bits add flavor to the recipe.
How to Make This Soup
⏲️ Pressure Cooker Italian Wedding Soup Instructions
- Turn on Saute mode. Once the Instant Pot has preheated, add olive oil and allow the oil to heat up. Stir in onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and ham and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Deglaze with white wine and stir to remove any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Select Cancel and stir in red pepper, oregano, black pepper, salt, and bay leaves. Stir in broth, then add the meatballs and pasta and stir gently. Pressure cook on high pressure for 6 minutes and do a quick release of pressure in bursts.
- Add the spinach and beans and stir them. Select Saute function. Simmer the soup for another 2 minutes, or until heated through and greens are wilted.
- Remove the inner pot from the base unit and place it on a heat-resistant surface or use a trivet. Add six tablespoons of the hot broth to the beaten eggs, one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition. Off heat, add the egg mixture to the hot soup in a steady, slow drizzle, stirring constantly in a circular motion. Serve into soup bowls and garnish each serving with freshly grated parmesan cheese and parsley.
♨️ Stovetop Instructions
- Mix the meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl, form the mini meatballs, and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or stock pot.
- Saute the vegetables and ham.
- Saute the spices.
- Deglaze with the white wine.
- Stir in broth and bring to a boil.
- Cook the meatballs in the broth briefly.
- Add the pasta and simmer till cooked.
- Add the beans and spinach, and heat through until wilted.
- Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and parsley before serving.
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
Mini Italian Meatballs Ingredients
- ¼ cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 tablespoon whole milk
- 2 tablespoon parsley chopped
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper or to taste *
- pinch nutmeg
- ½ lb. ground beef (250 grams) or ground pork or a combination of both
Soup Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 cup ham ¼ inch cubes
- ½ cup white wine
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper or more to taste
- 2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder freshly ground
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 large or 2 small bay leaves
- 7 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 25 mini mini Italian meatballs (recipe included above)
- ½ cup acini di pepe pasta
- 2 cups cannellini beans 15 oz. can or cooked
- 2 cups spinach fresh, chopped
- 2 eggs beaten
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- ½ cup parsley chopped
Instructions
How to Make Mini Italian Meatballs
- Combine all ingredients for the meatballs, except the ground beef.
- Add in the ground beef and combine well. If the mixture is too wet to form meatballs, add more breadcrumbs as needed. If the mixture is too dry, add some chicken broth.
- Form into ¾-inch mini meatballs and place on a baking sheet until ready to use.
How to Make the Soup in the Instant Pot
- Select the Saute function and pre-heat the Instant Pot.
- Once the Instant Pot has pre-heated, heat the olive oil.
- Stir in onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and ham and saute for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Deglaze with white wine and stir to remove any brown bits. Press Cancel.
- Stir in red pepper, oregano, black pepper, salt, and bay leaves.
- Stir in broth.
- Gently stir in meatballs and pasta.
- Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 6 minutes.
- Do a quick release, initially releasing the pressure in short bursts to avoid food particles from spewing out with the steam. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Open the Instant Pot and stir in beans and spinach.
- Select Saute mode, cook soup for another 2 minutes, or until heated through and spinach has wilted.
- Using silicone mitts, carefully remove the inner pot from the base unit and place on a heat-resistant surface or use a trivet.
- Temper the eggs: Off heat, add 6 tablespoons of the hot broth to the beaten eggs, one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the egg/broth mixture to the soup in a steady slow drizzle, constantly stirring in a circular fashion.
- Serve into soup bowls and garnish each serving with freshly grated parmesan cheese and parsley.
How to Make the Soup on the Stovetop
- Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat.
- Saute the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and ham and saute until onions are soft.
- Stir in the red pepper, oregano, black pepper, salt, and bay leaves.
- Deglaze with the white wine, stirring until almost evaporated.
- Stir in broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low.
- Drop the meatballs into the broth and let them cook for about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the pasta and simmer till pasta and meatballs are cooked, about 10 minutes.
- Add the beans and spinach; heat through until spinach has wilted.
- Remove from heat.
- To temper the eggs: Add 6 tablespoons of the hot broth to the beaten eggs, one tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the egg/broth mixture to the soup in a steady slow drizzle, constantly stirring in a circular fashion.
- Serve into soup bowls and garnish each serving with freshly grated parmesan cheese and parsley.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. minced garlic, cut vegetables, etc.
- * The original recipe calls for more crushed red pepper. I’ve decreased the quantity based on reader feedback. Add more if you like spice!
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Lisa Travis says
Looks delicious! I’m making it tonight 😊🍲
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hope you like it, Lisa!
Jen says
Liked this a lot! I doubled the meatballs because I’m feeding four teenagers, but otherwise pretty much followed the recipe exactly. I didn’t temper my eggs right so they didn’t blend like I’d hoped, but I think it was my error – not the recipe. Still tasted delicious. Will definitely make this again.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
I’ve done what you did with the eggs before, so I get it 🙂 Glad to hear you liked the recipe, Jen.
Barbie says
Very easy to make, but i made it in a big pot on the stove instead. My pressure cooker pot is too small for this recipe. It also turned out a little too spicy for me, even with only 1 tsp of pepper flakes. Every has different preferences for different reasons. I have a sensitive belly. Will only use 1/4 next time as I still like a little kick.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Barbie – thanks for your comment; very kind of you to take the time. I’m glad you liked the recipe!
Barbie says
Oh, and thanks for teaching me how to temper eggs!
D Kelsven says
So so yummy
Janet says
Soup was delish except it was very spicy with the red crushed pepper… will not do next time. I also did t add the ham or egg at the end!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Janet, I will go ahead and decrease the quantity of crushed red pepper in the recipe because I realize that most people may not like spice as I do. Thanks for your feedback.
Barbara Schieving says
Looks delicious! You can’t go wrong with a classic.