The 2 Ingredients You Need To Make Canned Italian Wedding Soup Taste Homemade

Canned soups are an easy and economical way to enjoy a warm meal. While they're convenient and quick to make as-is, it's also super simple to elevate them so they taste homemade — and canned Italian wedding soup (which actually has nothing to do with marriage) is no different. A rich and brothy soup made with small pasta, bite-sized meatballs, and veggies, this Italian dish is hearty, warming, and a go-to comforting soup recipe for many. 

When you'd rather heat a can on the stove or in a microwave instead, one of our favorite ways to upgrade it is by taking a note from another Italian soup, stracciatella: Try whisking in some eggs and Parmesan cheese at the end of cooking. Stracciatella is made by adding eggs mixed with cheese into hot broth to form small, light curds. Doing the same for Italian wedding soup adds extra flavor, richness, and substance for a more filling meal with an extra savory taste. 

How quickly you stir the mixture into the broth will determine how large the egg curds become. If you stir quickly, you'll have smaller, nearly-undetectable curds; if you do it slowly, you'll end up with larger and fluffier ones. Regardless, make sure you do this at the very end of heating up the soup, and preferably on a very low simmer (or even off heat entirely, if the soup itself is hot enough to cook the eggs). For one can of soup, you can add one egg and about a tablespoon of grated parm, but feel free to adjust as you prefer.

While adding an egg and cheese mixture is an easy way to upgrade your Italian wedding soup, there are more tricks you can do that can take it even further. For example, since the soup contains plenty of veggies, why not saute a few fresh ones to add as a complex and rich base? Similar to how canned beans are begging for aromatics, so is a can of soup. You can make an easy soffritto (an Italian base for soups, sauces, and stews made of equal parts carrots, celery, and onion) before pouring the canned soup directly into the same pot, then heating the whole dish through. 

If you want to go a step further, consider deglazing your sauted veggies with a little white wine before adding the canned soup — wine is a common ingredient found in homemade Italian wedding soup. Adding an acidic and dry variety can help brighten up the meal, especially since canned foods usually lack bright notes.

You should also seriously consider some toppings once you're serving the soup. Popular ones that can work well include a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a sprinkling of freshly-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, or a bit of chopped parsley. If you want a little heat, shaking in some crushed red pepper flakes as a topping or along with the soup while it's heating through can work wonders.