This Vegan Italian Wedding Soup is jam-packed with vegetables, vegan baked meatballs, and pasta. It’s a comforting, foolproof, and easy meal that comes together in one pot!
You may be surprised to learn that Vegan Italian Wedding Soup has nothing to do with weddings. Instead, it’s a celebration of vegetables, Italian flavors, and meatballs!
Vegan wedding soup is a vegetable-forward soup that’s similar to a classic minestrone. There are, however, a few key ingredients that separate it from an everyday vegetable soup. It features a comforting mix of vegan baked meatballs, tender orzo pasta, a medley of vegetables, and classic Italian herbs.
This foolproof vegan soup recipe is a must-have on busy weeknights or for meal prep lunches. It’s easy to make in one pot and is one of the best comfort foods you’ll have the pleasure of slurping on. Serve each bowl with a big slice of artisan bread slathered in vegan butter and dig in!
Jump to:
What is Italian wedding soup?
Italian wedding soup is a vegetable, pasta, and meatball soup that’s originally from Italy but is a popular option in North American restaurants. It’s called “wedding soup” or “marriage soup” because all of the different vegetables, herbs, and flavors are married together in the pot.
Ingredient notes
- Vegan Italian sausages - Italian sausages are naturally spicy and earthy because they’re made with star anise, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes. My favorite vegan variety are the Beyond Meat hot Italian vegan sausages, but regular Beyond Meat sausages, Field Roast Italian sausages, or my vegan meatballs are all great options as well.
- Vegetables - Every Italian wedding soup recipe features a medley of vegetables and this vegan version is no different! You need onion, garlic, celery, carrots, green cabbage, and spinach.
- Fresh and dried herbs - Fresh parsley and dill, and dried thyme and pre-mixed Italian seasonings give this soup its signature Italian-inspired flavors.
- Orzo pasta - This short-cut pasta looks just like rice, but cooks and tastes like normal pasta. Use gluten free if needed. You can also use acini de pepe pasta.
- White vinegar - Optional, but gives the soup a much needed hit of acidity.
How to make vegan Italian wedding soup
This hearty and flavor-packed vegan wedding soup is a must-have for weeknight dinners or celebrations. It’s surprisingly easy to make and the finished result is completely mouthwatering:
- Make the meatballs: Add the sausages to a bowl (casings removed if you want) and mash them up. Roll into small meatballs and place them on a baking sheet. Bake until they’re browned.
- Start the soup: Saute the onions, carrots, celery, and cabbage in a large oiled soup pot or dutch oven. Cook until soft, then stir in the garlic.
- Let it simmer: Pour the stock, parsley, and dried spices into the pot and bring it up to a boil. Cover with a lid and let it simmer.
- Add the pasta and meatballs: Stir the pasta and baked vegan meatballs into the soup. Cover again and cook until the pasta is tender.
- Season, then serve: Take the soup off of the heat and stir in the spinach, dill, and vinegar. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed, then serve! For full ingredients and instructions see printable recipe card below.
Tips for success
- Instead of baking the meatballs, sear the ground sausages or vegan meatballs in the soup pot before adding the vegetables.
- For a more classic wedding soup flavor, use vegan chicken broth.
- Do you prefer a “brothier” soup? Thin it out a bit by using only ⅓ cup of pasta instead.
- Even though they’re the traditional option, you don’t have to use orzo or acini de pepe pasta. Italian wedding soup is just as good when it’s made with another short pasta, like penne or bow tie, or even rice.
Serving suggestions
Top each bowl of soup with a sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese, more fresh herbs, homemade breadcrumbs, lemon juice, or red pepper flakes. Serve vegan caesar salad and crusty bread or focaccia on the side and enjoy!
Serving and freezing
If you plan on storing your vegan wedding soup for later, I suggest cooking the pasta separately, otherwise, it will soak up the broth as it sits. Just cook a fresh batch of pasta while you’re reheating the leftover soup and combine the two together before enjoying.
To store: Keep the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 to 5 days.
To freeze: Transfer the cooled soup (without the pasta) into an airtight container or ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
More vegan soup recipes
- Roasted Vegan Cauliflower Soup
- Doukhobor Borscht Soup
- Instant Pot Pasta e Fagioli Soup
- Instant Pot Vegan Chicken Noodle Soup
Enjoy everyone! Happy Day! Please feel free to comment below and give this recipe a rating. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
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Print
Vegan Italian Wedding Soup
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Vegan Italian Wedding Soup is jam-packed with vegetables, vegan baked meatballs, and pasta. It’s a comforting, foolproof, and easy meal that comes together in one pot!
Ingredients
- 4 beyond meat hot italian vegan sausages*
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1 to 2 tablespoons oil
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1 medium yellow onion, diced
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1 celery rib, diced
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1 and ½ cups carrots, diced
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2 cups green cabbage, thinly sliced and chopped
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3 - 4 garlic cloves, chopped
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8 cups (2 qts) good quality vegetable broth, could sub vegan chicken broth*
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½ cup chopped fresh parsley
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1 teaspoon each of dried thyme and italian seasoning
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¼ to ½ teaspoon salt (add more at end if needed)
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⅓ to ½ cup uncooked orzo pasta or acini de pepe*
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2 cups spinach, packed
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½ cup chopped fresh dill
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1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar or pickled pepper brine or lemon juice (all optional)
Instructions
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Meatballs: Preheat the oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment. Add sausages to a bowl and remove casings if you like. Mix together and roll into small meatballs, 1 tablespoon in size (not heaped). You should get around 35 meatballs. Place evenly on the prepared pan and bake for 12 minutes and set aside.
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Start the soup: while the meatballs are cooking, start the soup. Add the oil, onions, carrots, celery, cabbage, and pinch of salt and pepper to a soup pot/dutch oven. Cook over medium heat for 8 minutes until the veggies start to soften. Stir in the garlic until fragrant.
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Simmer: Pour in the veggie stock, fresh parsley, the dried spices and salt. Bring to a boil on high heat. Cover and reduce to a good simmer for 10 minutes.
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Add meatballs and pasta: Uncover and stir in the pasta and meatballs, bring back up to a boil on high heat. Cover and reduce to a simmer again for 7 to 8 minutes or until pasta is cooked.
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Season and serve: Remove from heat, stir in the spinach, dill and vinegar if using. Season with salt and pepper and add more broth if needed. Serve and enjoy! For step by step photos, tips, suggestions and more see above post.
Notes
- Sausages: Can substitute my impossible meatballs recipe just omit the panko and plant milk or use regular beyond sausage instead of spicy. I have not tried store-bought vegan meatballs (such as Gardein) for the wedding soup but I’m sure they’d work just fine.
- Broth: For a more classic wedding soup flavor use vegan chicken broth
- Pasta: For a brothier soup use ⅓ cup of pasta, thicker soup use ½ cup
- Gluten free: use gluten free pasta
- To store and freeze: Soup will keep covered in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. If planning on a lot of leftover soup I suggest cooking pasta separately or add a good splash of veggie broth when reheating soup as the noodles expand in the soup making it quite thick. I also recommend cooking the pasta separately if freezing the soup.
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Category: Soups
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian, American, Canadian
rachel says
Silly question. . . . can I use frozen spinach? Thaw it first/squeeze dry or just add it?
Katharine says
I love your recipes, and can’t wait to try this one. However, there are so many ads popping in and out and refreshing the page, that I can barely read through the recipe. I literally have to scroll down 10/or 12 times to get to the end of the recipe.
Katharine
Verna Rindler says
Hi Katharine thanks for the heads up I will check it out 🙂
Cass says
I LOVED this soup!!! I can’t recommend it enough! Thank you!
Verna says
Thank you so much! Wonderful feedback 🙂
Pamela says
My family really enjoyed it the spice level was just perfect for us. Lovely soup !
Verna says
Thanks so much I am thrilled to hear you all enjoyed it 🙂
Sarita says
Really enjoyed this, left out the vinegar as I thought it was perfect as it was. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Verna says
Glad you liked it, yes I left the vinegar optional just for that reason. Thanks for your review really helpful!
Laurie says
Fantastic soup thank you!
Verna says
Thrilled you enjoyed it, thank you!
Jill says
We love this soup! My husband says it's one of the tastiest soups he's ever had and he's picky. It was fun using small pasta. Thanks for the recipe
Verna says
So glad you all enjoyed it Thank you!