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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. It's a cinch to make and you can use homemade or store-bought 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
- ¾ 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
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Hi Becky! We are so happy to heat that you loved the recipe 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Becky Campbell
We absolutely love this recipe! I make my broth from veggie scraps that I keep in the freezer. I also use store-bought meatballs. Making some today with Pure plant-based which I have not tried but loved Beyond Meat and Gardein. My husband likes the meatballs smaller so I cut them up after they are baked. Then I add them to the soup. It adds flavor to the soup and the soup adds flavor to the meatballs! I then freeze in 2 serving containers for later. Just delicious!
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Hi Alexandra! We are so happy to hear that you loved the soup. Thanks so much for the 5 star review 🙂
Alexandra Colacito
I just made this tonight and it was as good as I hoped it would be. I think the key is the broth. I used Better than Bouillon No Beef Base. All the other seasonings were spot on.. I also let my Gardein meatballs stew in the soup a bit, so that their flavor permeated the broth. I used Ditalini pasta, which puffed up to a nice size and made the soup seem even heartier. The kale added that healthy touch, and it didn't ruin it, like kale sometimes does. Nice texture and flavor. Perfect meal.
Support @ Vegan Huggs
Hi Lisa! We are so happy to hear that you loved the recipe - thanks for trying it out!
Lisa Shirk
This was so good! I used Beyond meatballs and cut them in half and rerolled them.
Served with a salad and vegan Red Lobster rolls was a winner!!!
Adrienne
Such a speedy reply! I really, really want to try your meatball recipe, and I think serving them on the side would work very nicely. I could make them fairly small so they would warm up quickly in the hot bowl of your soup. Great advice! I'll be making a trial batch well beforehand so that things will be perfect for the guests that day. I'll have to check back with you afterward. Your parm recipe is different from mine so I'll be trying that, also. Love the lactic acid addition.
Melissa Huggins
Hi Adrienne, Thank you for checking out the recipe. It's so wonderful of you to make vegan meals for your son's wedding!
I haven't tried this recipe in a slow cooker, but I think it could work using the Gardein store-bought meatballs. They are very sturdy. I don't believe it'll work with my meatball recipe though, and they will probably get too soft (unless you serve them on the side). I have a potato leek soup recipe that will hold up well if you are interested.
That's so nice of you to share the author of each recipe. 🙂 Please feel free to reach out with any questions. Have a wonderful time at the wedding!