It seems like everyone loves Italian food, and most of us have a favorite Italian dish (or two!). Whether you love spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, or ravioli, there is something for everyone in Italian cuisine. One thing we want to do is introduce you to the world of Italian soups.
With the al dente pasta, creamy cheese, and rich tomato sauces, Italian food is comfort food at its finest.
However, one dish that doesn’t get all of the attention it deserves is Italian soup.
Italian cuisine is renowned for its rich and diverse flavors, and soups are no exception. As you venture into the world of Italian soup recipes, you’ll quickly discover a wide variety of ingredients and cooking techniques that have been passed down through the generations. From hearty vegetable minestrones to delicate seafood broths, there’s a soup for every palate and occasion.
One key to authentic Italian soups is the use of fresh, high-quality ingredients. In your quest for that perfect bowl, take the time to visit your local farmer’s market or specialty grocery store to find the best produce and herbs. Moreover, pay attention to regional variations and seasonality, as these factors can greatly influence the flavors and textures of your soup.
Another important aspect of Italian soup making is the careful balance of flavors, achieved through the right combination of herbs, spices, and often simple ingredients. As you become more adept at preparing these soups, you’ll start to appreciate the art of layering flavors and the symphony of tastes that can be created in a single pot. So grab your ladle and prepare to indulge in the comforting and delicious world of Italian soups.
There are dozens of Italian soup recipes online and we think it’s about time every family’s recipe book has at least one of them bookmarked as a favorite.
Nothing warms the spirit and the body like a delicious bowl of hot soup, and Italian soup is exactly what you need.
Even better, all of these easy Italian soup recipes can be made on the stovetop or in the slow cooker. Let’s dive in!
Perhaps one of the most famous Italian soup names, Zuppa Toscana is the most popular soup on Olive Garden’s menu.
One thing we love most about this delicious Italian soup is that it has the superfood kale. Oh, and we heartily recommend adding more kale than the recipe calls for.
This Zuppa Toscana recipe is extremely rich because it has heavy cream and spicy Italian sausage.
However, the light version of this recipe is just as delicious. You can use sweet Italian sausage and fat-free half and half. Your family won’t even notice the difference.
Also, this recipe calls for chicken broth, but if you only have beef broth in your pantry, it will be delicious, too.
Beans and lentils play a huge role in Italian cooking, so it’s no wonder that this Italian lentil soup is so popular.
We love that it includes collard greens, something that you don’t often see in Italian recipes. Oh, and this recipe has a whopping four cloves of garlic, so we are all about it.
What gives this soup its signature zing is the dash of crushed red pepper.
After you ladle this soup into your bowl, top it off with a dollop of sour cream and some grated parmesan cheese to make it super special.
One of the most well-known Italian soups is Italian wedding soup.
The tender meat and luscious greens like fresh spinach in this savory soup make this a family favorite that is absolutely full of pure goodness.
To make this soup, tiny meatballs are browned and then the veggies are added to the pot to “wed” the tasty meatballs. That’s why it’s called Italian wedding soup.
The vegetables used are celery, yellow onion, and carrots. However, it’s the seasonings that really make this soup.
This Italian soup recipe uses dry white wine, a bay leaf, and salt and pepper.
Do you know how here at home we serve chicken noodle soup when someone is sick? Well, in Italy, they serve minestrina, which is known as “feel better soup.”
This soup recipe is very simple. It just calls for pastina (or any tiny cooked pasta), chicken broth, Parmareggio cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, rosemary, and extra virgin olive oil (or butter).
If you want to make this soup heartier, you can add some shredded chicken breast.
The secret to really enjoying minestrina or pastina is how you serve it.
People who love this soup recommend serving it straight from the soup pot in a bowl with a triangle of creamy Parmareggo (Parmesan) cheese, some parmesan cheese, and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.
Ravioli is one of the most popular Italian foods in the world.
However, the ravioli in this delicious Italian soup recipe is a far cry from the canned variety we all enjoyed as children.
When your family eats this savory soup, they won’t leave the table feeling hungry.
The creamy broth is filled with cheese ravioli and Italian sausage. You can substitute turkey Italian sausage for the pork sausage to make this a lighter and healthier dish.
The recipe calls for beef broth, but you can use vegetable broth or chicken broth if that’s what you have in your pantry.
How does the delicious and saucy taste of lasagna in a steaming bowl of hot soup sound?
If you love lasagna, you will absolutely adore this easy soup.
Use Italian sausage to make this soup if you have some in your freezer or fridge. However, you can technically make this with ground beef or ground turkey.
The spices are key in this Italian soup, and they include oregano, black pepper, a tiny bit of red pepper flakes, bay leaves, and fresh basil leaves. This Italian soup also has a whopping four cloves of garlic.
For maximum flavor, sauté your garlic in olive oil before adding it to the soup.
Another story suggests Italian fish soup originated on the docks of Italy when fishermen sold their fish and used whatever they had left to make a savory stew.
With this Italian soup recipe, you can bring all of Tuscany’s wonderful flavors into your home.
One of the world’s most popular grains for use in soup, barley is grown all over the world. It’s a healthy whole grain that has been processed so that it cooks more quickly.
This Italian soup recipe calls for a red onion, carrots, celery, four cloves of garlic, zucchini, and delicious cremini mushrooms.
This soup is loaded with fresh vegetables, beans, and tomato, and offers a super healthy bowl of comfort food on a cold winter evening.
There is so much to love about this quick and easy Italian soup recipe.
Although this soup has fewer vegetables than some of the other soups on our list, it’s high on flavor. The stewed crushed tomatoes give it an intense tomato flavor, and the spinach provides healthy greens to your family’s meal.
Other vegetables in this soup include three cloves of garlic, zucchini, onion, parsley, and oregano.
Serve this soup with a salad, some garlic bread, or fruit to round out the meal.
Are you looking for sausage soup recipes that don’t have a tomato sauce base? If so, you will love this recipe for white bean, Italian sausage, and cabbage soup.
Cabbage is a vegetable that comes into season late in the summer and early fall, so you will be able to find it even fresher than usual at your grocery store.
This Italian soup recipe calls for Savoy cabbage, but you can use other varieties of cabbage if that’s what you have access to.
Like the other soup recipes that call for Italian sausage, you can always use turkey Italian sausage in this soup.
Meatballs are a staple in Italian recipes, and this Italian meatball soup is one that will be a winner with your family.
One thing we love about this soup is that you can use store-bought meatballs to make this soup.
If you want to make a lighter version of this soup, you can also use meatballs made from ground turkey or chicken. You can make them yourself or buy them already made and frozen.
This soup has a delicious tomato sauce that is so savory.
This savory Italian soup has so many canned beans that you don’t even have to use meat to get your protein in.
However, you will want to add some ground beef because that really sends this soup over the moon.
With vegetables like carrots, yellow onion, celery, tomatoes, and garlic, you will fall in love with the wholesome goodness in a bowl of this soup.
Also, pasta e Fagioli is seasoned with so many wonderful spices like oregano, basil, thyme, and marjoram. If you have Italian seasoning in your pantry, you can use that. It’s just full of savory goodness.
One of the best things about Italian soup recipes is that many of them call for savory Italian sausage.
This recipe is interesting because you actually brown the potatoes with Italian sausage, onions, and garlic. It takes about 15 minutes to get all of these ingredients nice and brown.
After you get all of those yummy ingredients browned, you add all of the other ingredients.
To make this sausage soup a little lighter, you can use turkey Italian sausage, and some people actually prefer the taste of that.
Packed with pasta and fresh veggies, tortellini soup is so hearty that it’s almost like a stew. Even better, this Italian soup recipe is surprisingly easy to make.
The veggies used are yellow onion, carrots, canned diced tomatoes, and gobs of torn kale.
To keep this soup vegan or vegetarian, you can even make it with vegetable broth instead of beef broth. Also, you can use vegan tortellini.
When you get ready to serve steaming bowls of this savory Italian soup to your family members, be sure to have some crusty bread on the table.
If you’re looking for an Italian soup recipe that is completely customizable, you will love this recipe for Italian vegetable soup.
Basically, the soup is a tomato broth with delicious seasonings, but when it comes to the vegetables you use, you can pull whatever you have from your fridge or pantry.
The meat is ground beef, but you can use Italian sausage if that’s what you have.
For veggies, use carrots, yellow onion, celery, canned kidney beans, corn (canned or frozen), and green or red cabbage.
Minestrone soup is one of the most well-known of all Italian sausage soup recipes. Also, it’s the most like a traditional American vegetable soup.
Minestrone offers up everything that there is to love about Italian cooking, including a rich tomato broth and cute little seashell pasts. However, you can use other pasta, including macaroni what you have in your pantry.
The veggies in minestrone are carrots, celery, onion, zucchini, garlic, white beans, kidney beans, green beans, and baby spinach.
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
