• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Well Vegan
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Gluten-free Recipes
    • Budget Vegan
  • Our Cookbook
  • Vegan Starter Guide
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Dinner Recipes
    • Breakfast Recipes
    • Dessert Recipes
    • Gluten-free Recipes
    • Budget Vegan
  • Our Cookbook
  • Vegan Starter Guide
  • About
×

Home » Recipes » Recipe

Vegan Italian Wedding Soup

Feb 9, 2021 · by Kate Kasbee · This post may contain affiliate links · 1 Comment · Modified: Nov 8, 2022

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Going off nothing but the name, I always imagined Italian wedding soup to be a first course served at Italian weddings. When I took the time to research my assumption, I quickly learned this isn’t the case at all. Italian wedding soup has nothing to do with weddings. In Italian, the soup made with pasta or rice, meat, and vegetables is called minestra maritata, which translates to “married soup.” It is called this because of the flavorful matrimony that occurs as the soup ingredients are simmered and blended together.

vegan italian wedding soup this recipe

Italian wedding soup, which originated in the southern Italian region of Campania, was traditionally made with leftover meat, broth, and whatever green vegetables were available - chicory, cabbage, escarole, chard, spinach, and endive were common. The American version is much lighter, using smaller meatballs and fewer vegetables. My Vegan Italian Wedding Soup is inspired by this Italian dish and is a welcome comfort during these chilly winter months. 

vegan italian wedding soup

This Vegan Italian Wedding Soup features mini vegan meatballs made from a mixture of oats, cauliflower, lentils, and Italian seasonings. Tip: make a batch of mini vegan meatballs as part of your weekly meal prep and store them in the freezer. This soup instantly becomes an easy weekday lunch or dinner!

vegan italian wedding soup

Just reheat the mini vegan meatballs in a warm oven or in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop. They’re slightly crisp on the outside and chewy and flavorful inside. So delicious!

You can use any small-shape pasta can in this Vegan Italian Wedding Soup. If you want to go the authentic route, look for acini de pepe, the tiniest of pasta shapes. It’s similar in appearance to pearled couscous. I used a box of orzo I already had in my pantry and the small, rice-like shape worked perfectly. For the vegetable, use your favorite green. Many recipes for Italian wedding soup call fore escarole, but I decided to use baby spinach. 

vegan italian wedding soup

Unlike traditional Italian wedding soup, the mini vegan meatballs in this version should not be simmered in the broth. They’re somewhat delicate and they’d certainly fall apart! Ladle the soup into bowls, add a few mini vegan meatballs to each, and dig in. Store any leftover mini vegan meatballs in a separate container to prevent them from getting soggy in the fridge.

vegan italian wedding soup
Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
vegan italian wedding soup

Vegan Italian Wedding Soup

  • Author: Kate Kasbee
  • Prep Time: 40 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: soup
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: italian
  • Diet: Vegan
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

This Vegan Italian Wedding Soup is inspired by the classic Italian dish, which is named for the blending and melding of flavors.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 batch of mini vegan meatballs (recipe follows)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ yellow onion, diced
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
  • 3 celery stalks, diced
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • A few twists of black pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • ⅔ cup acini de pepe or orzo
  • 3 ounces escarole, baby spinach, or another leafy green
  • Freshly cracked black pepper

For the mini vegan meatballs:

  • ¾ cup gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats 
  • 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 2 cups cauliflower florets
  • 1 cup cooked lentils (I used the steamed lentils from Trader Joe’s)
  • ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, for cooking

Instructions

For the mini vegan meatballs

  1. Pour the old fashioned rolled oats into the bowl of your food processor and run until the oats have broken down into a fine meal. Transfer the oat flour to a large mixing bowl and set aside. 
  2. In a small bowl, combine the ground flaxseed and water and stir to combine. Set aside to allow the “flax egg” to set.
  3. Bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to a boil and add the cauliflower florets. Boil the cauliflower until just tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and transfer the cauliflower to the bowl of your food processor.
  4. Add the cooked lentils to your food processor and pulse several times to chop up the cauliflower and incorporate it with the lentils.
  5. Scoop the lentil and cauliflower mixture into the bowl with the oat flour. Add the parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, paprika, salt, and flax egg.  Mix thoroughly to combine all of the ingredients and adjust the seasonings to taste (I added another pinch of salt).
  6. Using a tablespoon, scoop the vegan meatball mixture into small piles. Split each pile in two and roll the mixture between your palms to form the mini vegan meatballs. Each vegan meatball should be about ½ tablespoon.
  7. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large, non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Place the cauliflower lentil balls in the hot skillet, working in batches if needed, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. When done, the mini vegan meatballs should be golden brown and crispy on all sides. Set aside to cool.

For the soup

  1. Warm the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and season with oregano, salt, and black pepper. Sauté the veggies for 5 minutes, until slightly softened.
  2. Add the chopped garlic to the pot and sauté for a minute more.
  3. Pour the vegetable broth into the pot and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring the soup to a boil, then add the orzo. 
  4. Lower the heat slightly to maintain a gentle boil for 9 to 10 minutes, until the orzo is tender. Turn off the heat. Add the baby spinach to the soup pot and stir until wilted. 
  5. Ladle the Vegan Italian Wedding Soup into bowls and add 5 or 6 mini vegan meatballs to each. Garnish with freshly cracked black pepper and enjoy warm.

Equipment

caraway fry pan

Caraway Fry Pan

Buy Now →
Image of baking sheets

baking sheets

Buy Now →

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 276
  • Sugar: 5.9 g
  • Sodium: 1209.1 mg
  • Fat: 8.8 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 40.4 g
  • Fiber: 7.8 g
  • Protein: 9.6 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

Keywords: easy vegan soup

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @well_vegan on Instagram and hashtag it #wellvegan

More Recipes

  • Our Favorite Creamy Vegan Pasta Recipes
  • The Best Vegan Chili
  • Vegan Enchiladas with Jackfruit and Black Beans
  • Warm Fall Harvest Bowl

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shaina Settenbrino

    August 03, 2021 at 9:11 am

    Hi, if I’m making the mini vegan meatballs with oats that have already been ground into flour, how much should I use?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Get Our Cookbook

cookbook

IndieBound / Books-A-Million / Powells / Amazon

Get Kate's Cookbook

cookbook

IndieBound / Barnes and Noble / Powells / Amazon

About Well Vegan

katie and kate

Katie and Kate are two vegans maintaining a cross-country friendship swapping recipes and writing cookbooks. About Us...

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS

Our Favorite Recipes

Coconut Crusted Tofu with Sweet Chili Sauce

Coconut Crusted Tofu with Sweet Chili Sauce

Charred Brussels Sprout Salad with Miso Mustard Dressing

Charred Brussels Sprout Salad with Miso Mustard Dressing

tempeh breakfast hash

Savory Tempeh Breakfast Hash

Belgian sugar waffles

Liege Waffles (Belgian Sugar Waffles)

creamy spicy vegan sausage pasta

Creamy Spicy Vegan Sausage Pasta with Spinach

chocolate chip cookies

The New York Times’ (Vegan) Chocolate Chip Cookies

vegan sloppy joes

Lentil and Cauliflower Vegan Sloppy Joes

Carrot Cake Oatmeal [Instant Pot]

Carrot Cake Oatmeal (Instant Pot and Gluten-free)

More Recipes

Footer


Recipes

  • All Recipes
  • Gluten-free
  • Breakfast
  • Soy-free
  • Smoothies
  • Salads
  • Snacks
  • Desserts
  • Lunch
  • Dinner

More

  • The Frugal Vegan Cookbook
  • Vegan Meal Plan
  • Vegan Starter Guide
  • Sample Vegan Meal Plan
  • FAQ
  • Blog
  • About

Copyright © 2023 Well Vegan · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy · Affiliate terms · Legal