This Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup is a quick, easy recipe that gets you that authentic flavor in only minutes. Using Frozen Meatballs and an Instant Pot is the ultimate shortcut!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- EASY AND QUICK – Looking for authentic, homemade soups but don’t have all night to spend in the kitchen? Using frozen meatballs and a pressure cooker to make Italian Wedding Soup is the way to go! And everything is made in one pot, so cleanup is so easy!
- DELICIOUS – Full of hearty meatballs, tender vegetables and a rich stock, it’s no secret why Italian Wedding Soup is such a popular dish! Especially on a cold, dreary day, a bowl of this delicious soup can warm you up from the inside!
What Is Italian Wedding Soup?
No, this actually isn’t a soup that is traditionally served at Italian Weddings. The “Wedding” part of the name just means that these ingredients go so well together that they are “Married”. So this actually should be called “Married Soup.” Generally speaking, Italian Wedding Soups consist of a vegetable and a meat in a broth. And, while these days that is usually some sort of meatball and kale (respectively), it wasn’t always like that. Like many dishes, it began as a peasant dish, with folks gathering whatever they could to throw into a pot and heat up. This Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup but a fresh, new and easy spin on that classic recipe!
How To Make Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
For step-by-step instructions, check out the printable recipe card below. But here is what you’ll need to get started:
- STOCK – We used 32 ounces of Stock. 16 oz beef stock oz chicken stock. But you can use all beef or all chicken if you’d like.
- ONION – One small yellow onion should do. We like using the yellow onion because of it’s softer, milder flavor.
- FRESH BABY SPINACH – Chopped. You can also substitute for Kale or Swiss Chard.
- CARROTS – Diced.
- OLIVE OIL – We like using EVOO for this recipe. But you can use whatever oil to saute our onions and carrots. Just make sure it has a fairly high smoke point.
- GARLIC POWDER
- SALT AND BLACK PEPPER – To taste.
- PASTA – You want to use any SMALL pasta shape. We used Ditalini. A lot of people like to use Acini de Pepe Pasta. But you could also use Risoni, Ditalini, Corallini or Orzo.
- GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE – Optional as a garnish.
- ITALIAN PARSLEY – Optional as a garnish.
- FROZEN MEATBALLS – Use any brand of Frozen Meatballs you’d like. Just make sure they are fairly small in size, or are “mini meatballs”. We used Cooked Perfect Meatballs and they worked great. Also, you can use chicken, beef or pork, whatever sounds good to you!
Do You Need To Brown The Meatballs First?
Nope! You’ll just throw them in when you put the pasta in to cook. They will cook perfectly in your Instant Pot. Yes, some people like to make their own homemade meatballs and brown them first. And I’m sure they are delicious. But it would also take about 3 times as long. This is a QUICK and EASY recipe for busy families!
Storage, Leftovers and Freezing
Store leftovers in an airtight container in your refrigerator. It should stay good for up to 5 days. Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup reheats great in the microwave. Heat up in 30 second intervals, stir as you heat.
You CAN freeze Italian Wedding Soup. Just allow it to fully cool and put it in a freezer safe container. It will be good in your freezer for up to 4 months. Allow to thaw in the fridge and reheat in them microwave.
Can You Make This On A Stove Top?
Yes, you’ll follow all the instructions just as is. But instead of an Instant Pot, you will use a large pot or Dutch Oven. Saute your vegetables, then add your broth and cook the pasta and meatballs together for about 25-30 minutes.
We hope you enjoy this Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup Recipe. We’d love to hear how it turns out in the comments. Thanks for reading!
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Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Chicken Stock
- 16 ounces Beef Stock
- 1 Small Yellow Onion
- 1 Cup Fresh Baby Spinach Chopped
- 1 Cup Carrots Chopped
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- Salt and Pepper To Taste
- 1 Cup Ditalini Pasta Uncooked
- 12 Frozen Meatballs Use More If You'd like.
Instructions
- Set your electric pressure cooker to the ‘Sauté’ mode.
- In your electric pressure cooker, heat the olive oil and diced onion until onions start to soften and become translucent, it takes just a couple of minutes.
- Add carrots, garlic powder and continue to sauté for another couple of minutes.
- Add stock (you can use all beef or all chicken if you would like) to the pressure cooker, followed by the dried pasta. Once the pasta is in the pot, add your frozen meatballs to make sure they are submerged. I used a dozen of the 1 oz. meatballs but you can use ½ oz. as well.
- Turn off the ‘Sauté’ function, lock your electric pressure cooker lid in place, make sure your pressure valve is set to sealing. Set your electric pressure cooker to High Pressure for 10 minutes, via the manual mode.
- After the pressure cooker is done, allow pot to release pressure naturally for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn pressure release valve to quick release.
- Carefully open your electric pressure cooker and add a handful of fresh baby spinach allowing it to wilt for a few minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and top with parsley and Parmesan cheese.
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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