The best recipe for Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup, made with turkey meatballs, acini de pepe pasta, and spinach! This is a homemade healthy and comforting dinner recipe that is easy to make in a pressure cooker!
This is my favorite Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup, made with delicious turkey meatballs, acini de pepe pasta, and spinach that tastes just like classic grandma’s homemade soup. The only difference is, because we make it in a pressure cooker, it takes only 30-40 minutes from start to finish.
Among all different Pressure Cooker Soups I’ve posted this year (Instant Pot Minestrone Soup, Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup, Instant Pot Taco Soup, Instant Pot Chicken Soup), this dish is one of my most favorites. Also, you can check my post for Instant Pot Recipes for Beginners for more dinner ideas.
Table of contents
How to make this recipe
In a large mixing bowl, mix together 1 lb ground turkey, an egg, ½ cup breadcrumbs, ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 2 minced garlic cloves, ⅓ cup chopped parsley, salt, and pepper.
Using a 1 tsp cookie scoop or a regular spoon, make 1-inch balls. You will have about 30 meatballs.
Set the Instant Pot to “SAUTE” function.
Add 2 tbsp olive oil. When the oil is hot add half of the meatballs in a single layer.
NOTE: I like to brown the meatballs in 2-3 batches, so they get perfect brown color outside. We don’t need to cook them through, just get the color.
Brown them for about 2-3 minutes, then scoop them out into a separate plate and set aside. Continue the same with the rest of the meatballs.
After the meatballs are done and out of the pot, add a chopped onion and celery to the pot and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until they are softened and translucent.
Press the “CANCEL” button.
When done, add the browned meatballs and chopped carrots.
Pour in 8 cups chicken stock and stir everything together.
Close the lid and make sure that the venting knob is set to “SEAL”.
Cook the soup on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. When done, do a quick pressure release.
Open the lid and stir the soup.
Press “SAUTE” button again.
Bring the liquid to boil and add ½ cup acini de pepe pasta. Let it cook for about 8 minutes.
When the pasta is almost done, add 4 cups spinach and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Tips for best results
Meatballs. These delicious turkey meatballs are the best part of this soup! Please don’t skip the browning part as it brings the most flavor to this dish!
Serving. I love serving this dish topped with some extra grated Parmesan and freshly baked Easy Dinner Rolls or Potato Rolls Recipe.
Additions and Substitutions
Meatballs. I prefer to make the meatballs with ground turkey. Although, you can easily substitute it with chicken, beef, or pork.
Pasta. Classic Italian Wedding Soup is made with acini de pepe pasta. If for some reason you cannot find it in the store, you can use orzo or small shell pasta.
Spinach. Sometimes I like to substitute spinach with kale or Swiss chard.
How to store and reheat
Storage. After the soup is cooled off, transfer is to an air-tight container. It will last fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days. I think it tastes even better on the 2nd-3rd day, as the flavors blend together.
Reheat. You can reheat it in a pot or a sauce pan over medium heat.
Freezing. This recipe is great for meal prepping and freezing. You can transfer it to an air-tight freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, just leave it in the fridge overnight, then reheat as mentioned above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! I love making and precooking a big batch of small turkey meatballs, freeze, and use them later in the soup. It significantly reduces the cooking time and makes this recipe perfect for a busy weeknight dinner.
I always like to make my own homemade meatballs, as they taste so much better! Although, you can use store-bought ones too.
Yes. By browning them, it will get an additional flavor to make the soup extra tasty.
It comes from Italian phrase “minestra maritata” or “married soup”, which means that cooking the greens and the meat together makes a good marriage.
Yes! A pressure cooker cuts the cooking time in half, but you can easily make in on stove top. All the steps will be the same, the only difference is instead of using a manual pressure cooking option, just simmer the soup over low/medium heat for about 20-30 minutes.
MORE SOUP RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
- Borscht Soup with Beef
- Instant Pot Chicken Soup
- Instant Pot Barley Soup
- Instant Pot Minestrone Soup
- Pasta e Fagioli Soup
- Chili Soup
MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
- Instant Pot Turkey Chili
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Instant Pot Turkey Meatballs
- Instant Pot Chicken Wings
- Instant Pot Boneless Short Ribs
- Instant Pot Pulled Pork
- Instant Pot Pulled Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Pilaf
- Instant Pot Brown Rice Pilaf
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
- Instant Pot Lamb Shanks
- Instant Pot Bolognese
Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
Ingredients
Ingredients for Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup breadcrumbs I prefer seasoned
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ⅓ cup parsley finely chopped
- Salt pepper to taste
Ingredients for Soup:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 2 medium carrots chopped
- 8 cups chicken stock I prefer to use Homemade Chicken Stock
- ½ cup acini de pepe pasta
- 4 cups spinach
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together ground turkey, an egg, breadcrumbs, grated parmesan cheese, minced garlic, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Using a 1 teaspoon cookie scoop, make 1-inch balls. You will have about 30 meatballs.
- Set the Instant Pot to “SAUTE” function.
- Add some olive oil. When the oil is hot add half of the meatballs in a single layer.
- NOTE: I like to brown the meatballs in 2-3 batches, so they get perfect brown color outside.
- Brown them for about 2-3 minutes, then scoop them out into a separate plate and set aside. Continue the same with the rest of the meatballs.
- After the meatballs are done, add the chopped onions and celery to the pot and cook for about 8-10 minutes, until they are softened and translucent.
- Press the “CANCEL” button.
- When done, add the browned meatballs and chopped carrots.
- Pour in chicken broth and stir everything together.
- Close the lid and make sure that the venting knob is set to “SEAL”.
- Cook the soup on manual high pressure for 5 minutes. When done, do a quick pressure release.
- Open the lid and stir the soup.
- Press “SAUTE” button again.
- Bring the liquid to boil and add acini de pepe pasta. Let it cook for about 8 minutes.
- When the pasta is almost done, add spinach and let it cook for another 2-3 minutes.
This is such a delicious soup! I make this soup all of the time, and I add extra veggies. I also add different types of pasta. I found that the prep time is far more than stated in the recipe. I usually make the meatballs the day before, as they take at least one hour from start to finish, with frying them , and then the veggies and soup prep takes another another hour. This is so worth the prep, as the soup is delicious! I serve this soup with a crusty home made sour dough bread. Enjoy!
Thank you, Maureen! I will adjust the prep time 😉
I tried this tonight and my husband loved it so much. I doubled the recipe for lunches and I switched up the pasta and used small pasta stars. It was perfect.
Thank you, Bunita! I’m so happy to hear that you and your husband loved this recipe! And yes, it’s perfect for lunches!
My goodness I was so excited to eat this for my lunch today!!! It was perfect! Thank you for sharing ❤️
Thank you, Staci! I’m so happy you liked it!
yum! I just made my first batch, cheated by using frozen turkey meatballs cut into 1/8ths but will definitely make homemade when I have more time. So much fresher tasting than canned or jarred soups.
Thank you, Helen! No shame in using frozen meatballs, I do it too sometimes!) So happy you liked this recipe!
I just made this (it is still cooling in the pot!) I had to have a little taste test and it is terrific! I was concerned about the turkey but the meatballs are great. The flavor of this soup is very, very good. This is a keeper for sure!
Thank you, Dawn! I’m glad you enjoyed this soup! It’s one of my favorites too!)
Meatballs are entirely too large for classic wedding soup from Pittsburgh and never use turkey….c’mon man! Trying to ruin a memory?
All I need now is a big bowl of this delicious soup! It looks so warm, hearty and comforting! I love cookin in my instant pot and can’t wait to try this soup soon.
This Wedding Soup looks absolutely scrumptious! I love how much flavor is in every spoonful and the addition of meatballs is amazing! I need to try this!
I love Italian wedding soup. Its quit regular in my house during this season. I love your recipe and would love to try it.
I’m such a fan of easy soup recipes! They are so great for quick weekday lunches and light dinners at this time of year!
This is definitely super delicious and the combinations awesome. This soup is totally a comfort meal. I love the Instant Pot option too.
This recipe is amazing! I’m making a large batch and freezing it! Super flavorful and easy to make in our beloved instant pot.
What a lovely soup for this time of year. I’ve never made my recipe with turkey meatballs but I’m going to try it out next time. It would certainly make a lighter soup. I don’t have an Instant Pot, but my daughter does, I’ll certainly share this recipe with her.
This Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup looks really scrumptious. I am so loving those turkey meatballs, acini de pepe pasta, and spinach. Can’t wait to have this.
I literally just made 20 quarts of Italian Wedding soup as my family was sick and my Italian in-laws wanted some. Great minds think alike! I’m loving that you made yours in the Instant Pot! Definitely a true time saver!
MmmMMM! That looks delicious. I love how easy it is to make. I’m not a big cooker, so anything involving an Instant Pot is great for me.