Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup–a quick and easy version of a popular soup. A flavorful brothy soup with orzo and meatballs.
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Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
Of all the soup recipes that I’ve made over the years in my slow cooker and Instant Pot I have never made Italian wedding soup. I decided that needed to change.
After looking over several different recipes for Italian wedding soup I decided that my best bet was to make this as simple and easy as possible. I know that’s how I like most of my recipes to be. And I’m sure you’re the same. So I decided to go with frozen meatballs instead of making them from scratch.
I usually buy my frozen meatballs in a big bag from Costco. They are Italian style meatballs and are tasty and inexpensive.
I went with orzo for the pasta choice in this soup. I know others have used couscous, stars or acini de pepe. I usually have a few cups of orzo hanging in my pantry so that’s what I chose. Plus I like the shape and size of it for this soup. It’s not overbearing (like penne would be) but not so small either (couscous).
My family and I enjoyed this soup very much and I will be making it often. I bet you’ll like it too!
More Instant Pot soup recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot Green Chile Chicken Orzo Soup
Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
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Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
A quick and easy version of a popular soup. A flavorful brothy soup with orzo and meatballs.
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 small or medium yellow onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch rounds
- 2 ribs of celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 pound frozen Italian-style meatballs
- 3 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups low sodium beef broth
- 2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 Tbsp onion soup mix
- 1 Tbsp ketchup
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 3/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta
- Optional: 2 cups chopped spinach or kale
Instructions
- Saute onion. Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. When the display says HOT add in the oil and swirl it around. Add in your onion and saute for about 5 minutes.
- Add ingredients. Add in carrots, celery, meatballs, chicken broth, beef broth, basil, garlic powder, onion soup mix, ketchup and thyme.
- Pressure cook. Cover your pot and secure the lid. Make sure the valve is set to sealing. Set the soup button to 10 minutes (if you don’t have a soup button use the manual/pressure cook button). Allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes and then move the valve to venting.
- Pasta. There are three ways you can cook the orzo pasta. Way 1–Pressure cook: Open the pot after the pressure is released and add in the uncooked pasta. Then replace the lid and move valve to sealing and set the manual/pressure cook button to 0 (zero) minutes. The pot will come to pressure fairly quickly because the broth is super hot. Then allow the pressure to release naturally for 2-3 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Way 2–Saute setting. Add the pasta into the pot after the soup has pressure cooked and turn the pot to the saute setting. The pasta will cook in about 10 minutes. Stir often so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Way 3–Boil on stove. Bring water to boil on the stove. Add the orzo pasta. Boil on medium high heat for about 10 minutes, or until pasta is tender.
- Serve. Add in the spinach or kale, if desired. Ladle the soup into bowls and enjoy.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. You can also make this in the 8 quart or the 3 quart with no changes. This recipe can easily be doubled. Use the same cooking time.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Italian
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
thiis recipe is dellikcious. no changes to your recipe at all.
★★★★★
Thanks for the 5 stars!
Can you use elbows? Can’t seem to find smaller pasta in the stores. Love to try this. Or I guess same amount 3/4 cup rice as you mentioned above.
Yes you could use elbows but you may need to increase the cooking time because they won’t cook as quick as orzo
Mamma mia, this is a delightfully delicious soup! I made it exactly as written and it all fit comfortably in my 3 qt. IP Mini. Thanks again, Karen!
★★★★★
Thanks for sharing about the 3 quart pot. That is good info! Thanks for the 5 stars!
This recipe is amazing. I made it for my holiday cookie party and everyone raved about it. My husband asks me to make it all winter. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Made according to recipe, maybe adding more carrots and definitely spinach or kale at the end. So delicious and filling.
★★★★★
It really is delicious! So glad everyone loved it!
I have made this many times now and everyone loves it.
I have only changed a few things. 1) 1T of minced garlic that is sautéed with the onions. 2) For the herbs I use 1 tsp of italian seasoning and 3) 4 c chicken broth (to use up the box). Thanks for the good recipe.
★★★★★
I’m glad to hear you are enjoying it! We love this one too.
Can I make this with rice instead of the pasta? I can’t stand Orzo Pasta. Silly, I know.
Yes I would add in rice at the beginning with everything else and then only pressure cook for 5 minutes.
This soup was so delicious and easy I made my own meatballs and chicken broth besides that followed recipe Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
I bet that was so good with homemade meatballs!
Made it with ditalini pasta instead. Very yummy, quick and easy. Thank you so much!
Great idea! I love ditalini pasta!
Delicious. Didn’t have dried herbs so used fresh herbs from my garden. Added the fresh basil at the very end of cooking. Used fresh lemon thyme which gave it a really nice flavor. Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
That sounds so delicious Dana.
Can you tell me how to cook this soup using made from scratch meatballs? I see one of the commenters did it but she didn’t say how she did it. I am wondering if I should cook the meatballs before I put them in the soup or if I should put them in the soup raw. Thanks!
I would add cooked meatballs into the soup.
Thank you for answering in time for me to make this soup for dinner tonight! Love your site.
Made it last night for supper and kids and adults loved it. They couldn’t get enough. I will make it again next weekend.
Yay!
Just made this, delicious!
So glad!
Fantastic recipe for winter, very easy! I like kale over spinach for this soup because it holds up a little more to the cooking. I also subbed hidden valley ranch powder for the onion soup mix I didn’t have and it works great.
★★★★★
Thanks Chris! Sounds great!
This soup was absolutely fantastic! It has gone into my weekly rotation as it makes wonderful leftovers for work. I just went home for the holidays and made it for my family. It received rave reviews all around. Thank you!
★★★★★
You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked it so much 🙂
We loved this recipe as is. Just to make it my own, next time I will add more broth and some pepper flakes…and up the garlic. But that’s just personal taste! Thank you for an amazing recipe!
★★★★★
You’re welcome Melanie! I’m glad you liked it!
My husband is not a fan of soup; says that soup is not a meal but a drink. I, however could eat any kind of soup every day of the week. I made this for me family and I got rave reviews. Husband and children loved it!! I made my own meatballs instead of using frozen and I omitted the kale/spinach at the end as I knew my girls would put up a fuss. It turned out so delicious; its definitely going to be thrown into the daily mix of meals.
Thank you for sharing.
Nice! I am with you I love soup and could eat it every day!
Doubled this and extra carrots and celery (forgot the thyme). It’s wonderful! Eat-like-a-bird wife ate two helpings. Keep it up Karen and Greg.
★
Thanks Rich! I’m glad you and your wife liked it 🙂
This soup is excellent! Very simple to make. The combination of chix & beef broth plus the onion soup mix makes the broth surprisingly flavorful. The only change I made was to add 1 tsp thyme rather than 1/4. My husband does not like soup BUT he loves this soup! Thanks for the great recipe.
★★★★★
So glad to hear you found a soup your husband likes!!
By onion soup mix do you mean in the form of dry/powder mix?
Yes I do
Do your recipes have salt alternatives? Or a replacement for a can of onion soup.
I have to be on a low salt diet.
Thank you
I’m sorry that I don’t. You can look for low sodium items like these at the grocery store. But I’m not that familiar with it.
AllRecipes has a recipe for low sodium instant soup mix that I in recipes that call for it.
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/217155/dry-onion-soup-mix/
Thx, Johnny! Very helpful!
★★★★★
This soup is SO DELICIOUS!! My husband is such a picky eater and can’t keep away from having more. You nailed it!! Thank you!!
★★★★★
Nice! This is so great to hear. I love when the picky family members are pleased 🙂
This turned out great. Added a cheese rind for more flavor, and added fresh ground black pepper at the end. I cooked the kale with the orzo using “way 1” and it turned out just right. If I use spinach next time I make this, I will just stir it in at the end. Also used homemade meatballs, and put them in the soup raw. Made about 22 out of 1 lb. of ground meat.
★★★★★
YUM YUM! This sounds so great. I love the idea of cooking the kale for a minute. I also like the idea of a cheese rind.
Can this be made without ketchup? The acid in tomatoes bothers me.
I’m sure it would be fine to leave the ketchup out.
This was delicious! The broth turned out so much tastier than I was expecting. I’m guessing some of the juices from the meatballs are flavoring the broth. Even my daughter, who is EXTREMELY picky, liked it. I might put a little more orzo next time, I like my Italian wedding soup with a little more pasta.
★★★★★
So happy you enjoyed it Luke!! And your daughter too. Double win.
How long would I leave these ingrediants in my slow cooker ? Thank you!
Hi Helen, here is the slow cooker version: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/slow-cooker-italian-wedding-soup/