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Creating such a classic, the traditional recipe can be challenging and a lot of pressure. If you’ve had non-vegan Italian Wedding Soup, then I want you to be equally as blown away by this VEGAN Italian Wedding Soup. Transforming something that’s not meant to be vegan can be frightening, but where there’s a will there’s a way and I really think I nailed this one.
I have one warning though…. your whole family is going to fall in love with this recipe. So if you’re planning on only making it once, good luck with that.
Maria Koutsogiannia
Maria is the creator of FoodByMaria and your go-to Greek food expert for cozy, flavor-packed recipes. Inspired by her Mediterranean roots, she brings traditional Greek flavors, feel-good ingredients, and a whole lot of joy to everyday cooking.
Why you’ll love this Vegan Italian Wedding Soup
- This recipe is everything you could want and more in a soup
- It’s nourishing and flavourful
- Cruelty-Free – which makes is especially fabulous
- Simple (for the most part) and fuss-free
- The perfect addition to your plant-based diet recipes
- Made using natural and organic foods
- Comforting and warming
How do I make vegan meatballs?
One thing you should know before you get started with this recipe is that making the meatballs is a bit more tedious than you would think. It proves to need a bit more attention, but it’s still not over complicated. Even a novice cook can figure this one out.
Prepare your meatballs by adding all your ingredients into a bowl, mix well using your hands and create ping pong sized balls. Note that this should yield around 20-22 balls. Your key ingredients here are:
- Your fav vegan meat substitute
- Sweet white onion
- Garlic cloves
- Olive oil
- Bread crumbs
- Oat milk
- Fresh herbs (oregano, thyme, parsley)
- Umami spice
- Salt & pepper
You’ll then heat these lovely balls up in a cast iron pan with olive oil and cook them until golden!
How do I make the best Italian Wedding Soup?
Alright, now for the base, the lovely soup. Here’s what you have to do:
- Heat oil in a large pot before you add the onion
- Cook the onion for 5 minutes stirring often before adding carrots and celery
- Cook for another 6-7 minutes or until carrots are al dente
- Turn the heat up and add garlic, salt & pepper, veggie stock, miso paste and a bay leaf
- Stir everything up until coated
- Pour in the water and bring to a boil
- Reduce the heat and add your cooked meatballs and pasta
- Once pasta is cooked, add in the fresh kale and parsley
Pretty easy right?
How should I serve my Vegan Italian Wedding Soup?
Ready to eat? Serve your soup with fresh thyme, lots of lemon, and vegan Parmesan of your choice.
My hot tip
Last but not least, I added some extra hints of aroma by throwing in white wine. This is to tease your palette while you’re eagerly awaiting to eat this soup. Wine mixed with onion and garlic is truly an amazing combo.
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Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 396 gram 14 oz of your choice of vegan meat substitute
- ¾ cup finely chopped sweet white onion
- 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 3 tbsp. oat milk
- 1 tbsp. fresh oregano, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp. fresh thyme, finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tsp umami spice, optional, I used Trader Joe’s
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper
For the Soup:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large white onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium-sized carrots, small cube
- 3 celery sticks, small cube
- 3 cloves of garlic, pressed or crushed or finely chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 heaped tsp vegetable stock paste
- 1 heaped tbsp. white miso paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 8 cups hot water
- ¼ – ⅓ cup acini de pepe or any small pasta
- 3 cups fresh black kale, finely chopped
- handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
Toppings:
Instructions
Start Cooking- Prepare your meatballs by adding all your ingredients into a bowl, mix well using your hands and create ping pong sized balls. It should yield around 20-22.
- Heat a cast-iron skillet or pan on high and lightly grease with olive oil spray. You want to add your meatballs to the skillet or pan when you see smoke rising. Cook for around 2 minutes on each side or until perfectly golden all around. Keep a close eye on the balls to avoid any unnecessary burning.
- Remove them from the pan and set aside.
- For the soup, heat olive oil in a large pot on medium-high heat for around 30 seconds before adding the onion. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, before adding the carrots and celery. Cook for 6-7 minutes or until the onions are translucent and the carrots are al dente.
- Turn the heat to high and add your garlic, salt, pepper, vegetable stock paste, miso paste and your bay leaf. Gently stir till the vegetables are completely coated.
- Pour in the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium.
- To the pot, add the par-cooked meatballs and pasta. Cook the acini de pepe as instructed on the package.
- Once the pasta is cooked, add the fresh kale and parsley.
- Serve with fresh thyme, lots of lemon and vegan parmesan.
Notes
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This really hit the spot. I cheated and used pre-made meatless meatballs from Aldi’s. Made the stock from leftover vegetables and used kale from the garden. Like the addition of miso. Use whole wheat orzo because I had it on hand. Superb. Maybe next time I’ll try the meatballs as written. Thanks.
How much white wine would you recommend and when would you include it?
Hey! Sorry, I don’t know if I don’t see it hun but I can’t remember adding it to this recipe.
This is just what I was looking for! A recipe for wedding soup using the vegan ground meat substitute to make meatballs and I love that the broth has miso for flavor – great idea! Going to try this today since I happen to have all these ingredients on hand. Yay!
Let me know how it goes, Deena!
Made this with my sister last night and she said it was hands down the best wedding soup she’s ever had, vegan or not haha. I couldn’t find any small pasta at the store so I used rice pilaf instead and that worked fine. We topped with shredded vegan parm and lemon. Will definitely be making again! 😊♥️🌱
YESSSS!! Thank you so much for the love, this makes me so happy!!!
What kind of meat substitute did you use for them? 🙂
I used Lightlife!
Another favorite of mine!! This soup is hearty and so easy to make. Love it
Such a yummy comforting soup to make while stuck inside!
It is just sooo good!
Isn’t it just so fabulous!