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Warm up on a chilly night with a bowl of this Vegan Italian Wedding Soup. It’s brimming with veggies, pasta pearls, and savory vegan meatballs.
After perfecting my Vegan Meatballs a few weeks ago, I realized that the possibilities were endless now. I’m talking Meatball Subs, Swedish Meatballs, Meatball Vegan Pizza and this Vegan Italian Wedding Soup.
This was a childhood favorite of mine, and I haven’t tried a vegan version until now. What was I waiting for? This is GOOD!
Seriously, who wouldn’t love pasta and meatballs together in a savory broth? **Crickets** It’s pure comfort and I just can’t get enough!
HOW DO I MAKE VEGAN ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP?
(full ingredient amount in recipe card below)
- Sauté onions, celery, and carrots until slightly tender.
- Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute until lightly browned.
- Now add the thyme and cook for 30-60 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the pasta broth, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Bring to a medium simmer and cook until pasta is al dente about 10 minutes.
- Now add the kale and cook for 1-2 minutes to soften. Taste for seasoning and add more if needed.
- Add meatballs to the serving bowls and ladle soup on top.
WHAT GOES WITH VEGAN ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP?
I serve it with Vegan Parmesan Cheese, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, Fresh-Cut Parsley, Lemon Wedges, and Fresh-Cracked Pepper. It goes great with a big loaf of crusty bread with a side of Vegan Butter too. YUM!
DOES ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP FREEZE WELL?
Yes, it freezes really well. However, I freeze the vegan meatballs separately so they don’t fall apart on the reheat. Just bake or air fry them before adding to the bowls with the reheated soup.
CAN I USE STORE-BOUGHT MEATBALLS FOR ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP?
I absolutely love this soup with my homemade meatball recipe, but if you want a quicker option, you can use store-bought meatballs. I’ve used Gardein Vegan Meatballs before and the soup was delicious! If you use the store-bought, make sure to cook according to package instructions before adding them to the soup.
Looking for more comforting soup recipes? Here are my faves:
I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
If you make this Vegan Italian Wedding Soup, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below. It would really make my day. You can also follow me on Instagram and share your creation with me. Just tag me @veganhuggs and hashtag #veganhuggs so I don’t miss it.
Vegan Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
- 1 batch homemade vegan meatballs , or store-bought *see note
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion , diced
- 3 medium carrots , diced
- 2 stalks celery , diced
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 cups vegetable broth , low sodium
- 3/4 cup acini de pepe pasta
- 1 teaspoon salt , more to taste
- Fresh cracked pepper , to taste
- 2 cups kale , chopped (sub spinach)
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat and add onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté until tender and about 5-6 minutes.
- Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute until lightly browned.
- Add dried thyme and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Now add the broth, pasta, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. Turn heat up to get broth boiling and then turn down to a medium simmer. Cook for 8-10 minutes until pasta is al dente.
- Add the chopped kale and cook for 1-2 minutes to soften. Taste for seasoning and add more if needed. Add meatballs to the bowls and ladle soup on top. See note for serving/topping ideas. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Kate
I followed the recipe exactly and got a wonderful hearty soup. To be honest, the meatballs were larger than I needed for the soup. I’ll make them about 2/3 smaller next time for the soup, but they were perfect for marinara sauce (I confess I ate about a half dozen from the pan before they made it in the soup). I did a comparison with 2 bags of commercial vegan meatballs that also tasted good, but the homemade ones had more heft and just were more satisfying to bite into. A real winner, thank you so much for sharing. Your recipe will be my go to for ‘meatballs’.
John (Giovanni)
I love this soup and I love your recipe! Actually was planning on making it tonight for dinner when I saw your email.
When I can find it, I use organic escarole or endive and in a pinch frisee, but kale is delicious also especially dino (Tuscan) kale. For alternative to the vegan meatballs I have used Beyond meat spicy Italian sausage (vegan) of course.
As always, I look forward to your recipes.