Here, you won’t find step-by-step recipes but only descriptions of a series of Italian soups that we hope will give you ideas for lunch or dinner. These are very famous dishes for which you can easily find various recipes online.
So, are you ready for a true gastronomic journey, region by region, through the best Italian soups?
What you will find in this article:
- Brodetto alla vastese
- La crapiata materana
- La licurdia calabrese
- La minestra maritata
- Gli anolini in brodo
- La Jota friulana
- La minestrata revotata laziale
- La mesciua di La Spezia
- La zuppa alla pavese
- Il Ciavarro di Ripatransone
- La zuppa alla Santè di Agnone
- La zuppa dei Santi del Canavese
- Il pancotto del Gargano
- La zuppa gallurese
- La minestra siciliana di San Giuseppe
- La ribollita toscana
- La minestra d’orzo del Trentino – Alto Adige
- L’imbrecciata umbra
- La zuppa alla valpellinenze
- La sopa coada veneta
1. Brodetto alla vastese
Let’s start with Abruzzo and one of its most famous dishes, brodetto alla vastese. This typical fish soup from Vasto is one of the simplest and tastiest dishes of the region’s cuisine.
Lu vrudatte, as it is called in the dialect, is cooked in a pan without sautéing, with the addition of water, broth, or vinegar and without vegetables inside. Additionally, the fish is cooked whole and should never be turned. Once ready, the brodetto is served on the table with toasted bread and a drizzle of olive oil.
Legend has it that the dish was invented by a fisherman’s wife who added chili, parsley, garlic, and tomatoes to the fish cooking.
2. La crapiata materana
What to eat in Matera: la capriata. La crapiata is a dish to be absolutely enjoyed in Matera. This soup of legumes and cereals has ancient origins that can be traced back to the Roman period. Its preparation has always been linked to the peasant world, and despite being a soup, it was consumed on August 1st during the festival dedicated to the end of the harvest.
On that occasion, each woman from the neighborhood brought a handful of legumes or cereals that were added to those of others. Then everything was cooked together for hours over a very slow fire while dancing, singing, and celebrations continued.
3. La licurdia calabrese
Like many other soups, la licurdia calabrese is prepared with very simple ingredients that, however, are capable of creating a particularly tasty dish. The main ingredient is the Tropea red onion, but the excellent potatoes from Sila are also grated inside the soup, and, of course, a sprinkle of chili pepper cannot be missing.
4. La minestra maritata
La minestra maritata is one of the most loved dishes of the Campania tradition during the Christmas season. The name comes from the presence of meat and vegetables that “marry” perfectly inside the soup. Generally, it includes chicory, escarole, cabbage, and borage, and the meat is mainly pork (ribs and sausages first and foremost).
5. Gli anolini in brodo
What to eat in Parma and surroundings: Anolini in brodo. If there is a region where broth recipes are a fundamental part of traditional cuisine, it is Emilia Romagna. Among the most unmissable dishes are certainly the anolini in broth typical of the Parma area. Anolini are a type of stuffed pasta in the shape of a small disk served in a tasty meat broth. The recipe is very ancient: Bartolomeo Scappi published it in 1570 in the volume Opera dell’arte del cucinare. Anolini were even served at the court of Maria Luigia, Duchess of Parma and Piacenza, and it is said that Ferdinand I of Bourbon even loved preparing them.
6. La Jota friulana
The Friulian jota is a soup from the poor tradition capable, however, of warming the bones on the coldest days of winter. The jota is widespread throughout Friuli in different variants (in particular, it is present in the culinary traditions of Carso, Gorizia, and Giulia) and is also a typical dish of Slovenian cuisine. In Trieste, it is prepared with sauerkraut, beans, and potatoes and is enriched with ribs or other pork meat.
7. La minestrata revotata laziale
Also known as “minestrata with bread underneath,” revotata is a typical soup from Ciociaria linked to the peasant tradition. The ingredients are local beans and vegetables, but above all, stale bread is placed under the soup to soften. A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, finally, gives the dish an unmistakable flavor.
8. La mesciua di La Spezia
Mesciua, one of the traditional Italian soups. Mesciua. Among all the soups in Liguria, La Spezia’s mesciua is perhaps the one with the oldest flavor. The ingredients are legumes and cereals that, after being softened in water, are cooked at different times and then combined into a single dish later before being seasoned with a drizzle of oil. The name comes from the dialect and means “mixture” precisely because the ingredients are a mix of legumes and cereals. The tradition wants, in fact, that the recipe originated from the recovery of leftovers found in the port after loading and unloading operations of the ships.
9. La zuppa alla pavese
Among the traditional Italian soups, we cannot help but recommend zuppa alla pavese. This broth soup is made with stale bread, cheese, and a fresh egg in the center. It is a simple preparation with a very tasty result: the bread slices are fried, placed on the bottom of the plate, two fresh eggs are added, being careful not to break the yolk, sprinkled with cheese, and finally covered with broth. It is said that the origin of the dish dates back to the Battle of Pavia in 1525 when Francis I was taken prisoner and taken to a farmhouse where the peasant woman, taken by surprise, served him this soup.
10. Il Ciavarro di Ripatransone
Ciavarro is a Marche soup that generally was prepared in spring but can now be enjoyed throughout the year. As with Ligurian mesciua, cereals and legumes are the protagonists here as well. In particular, wheat, barley, corn, broad beans, fava beans, chickpeas, small white beans, and lentils are used. The ingredients are cooked at different times and then combined together later. The result is seasoned with a sauce made of smoked bacon, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary, onion, and peeled tomatoes.
11. La zuppa alla Santè di Agnone
Zuppa alla Santè is a typical Molisan dish from Agnone that many families like to prepare at Christmas. Tradition has it that the recipe was born from a cook who wanted to pay homage to Queen Joanna II of Naples, who frequented the area for some love affairs. The soup is made with chicken broth, beef meatballs, breadcrumbs, fried cheese meatballs, and stringy caciocavallo.
12. La zuppa dei Santi del Canavese
Typical of the Canavese area (in Piedmont), this soup is generally prepared for the Feast of All Saints but is excellent at other times of the year as well. The basic ingredient of this preparation is Savoy cabbage. The recipe is composed in layers: first stale bread, then meat broth, grated cheese, cabbage leaves, and salami paste. These layers are repeated several times before sprinkling the last one with more cheese, butter, and finally, adding a bit of broth. The whole is baked and cooked for several hours until reaching a particularly tasty soft mixture.
13. Il pancotto del Gargano
Pancotto at Ristorante Castiglione da Gennaro. Pancotto. Stale bread is a typical ingredient in numerous traditional Italian soups. If we had to choose a favorite recipe, we could say that pancotto del Gargano is one of the best. Every city has its version: some make it with tomatoes, some with legumes, and some with potatoes. In Gargano, turnip tops, potatoes, and ram tomatoes are used, but if you go as far as Carpino, you might even find the famous local broad beans in it.
14. La zuppa gallurese
Sugo e zuppa gallurese (in secondo piano)Sugo di funghi e zuppa gallurese (in secondo piano). This is one of the best dishes in Gallura and one of the best traditional Italian soups. It consists of layers of stale bread moistened with sheep meat broth and enriched with grated cheese. In some cases, it is served with an accompanying sauce.
15. La minestra siciliana di San Giuseppe
This soup is usually prepared on Father’s Day but can be enjoyed at other times of the year as well. The dish is based on vegetables and legumes such as broad beans, beans, chickpeas, and lentils, to which celery, carrots, onions, and fennel are generally added. Although Sicily has mild temperatures, this hot dish is really delicious.
16. La ribollita toscana
Ribollita, one of the typical Tuscan winter dishes. Ithunn, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia CommonsRibollita. Ithunn, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons This is one of the best typical winter dishes in Tuscany, perhaps the queen of soups in this Italian region. It is a poor dish from the peasant tradition based on stale bread and vegetables. The name comes from the fact that a large amount of soup was prepared, which was then “reboiled” in the following days. The most important ingredients in the recipe are black cabbage and beans. The best trick to make the dish delicious is to “reboil” the soup in the oven.
17. La minestra d’orzo del Trentino – Alto Adige
The main ingredient of this soup is undoubtedly barley, to which the typical speck or, in the case of Val di Non, mortadella, a local cold cut, is added. It is a dish of peasant origin that is now served everywhere, from luxury restaurants to high mountain huts. A true classic to warm up during the cold winter days.
18. L’imbrecciata umbra
This soup based on legumes and cereals takes its name from the different sizes of legumes used for the preparation of the dish, which somehow resemble gravel. Generally, the recipe uses beans, lentils, broad beans, and chickpeas, to which barley and spelt can be added.
19. La zuppa alla valpellinentze
This soup, typical of the Valle d’Aosta, originates in Valpelline, a few kilometers from the regional capital. The main ingredients are Savoy cabbage, Fontina cheese, lard, broth, and toasted bread. Just mentioning them makes our mouths water! Obviously, like many Italian dishes, the recipe for zuppa alla valpellinentze changes depending on the locality or the family preparing it. On the website of the Municipality of Valpelline, however, you can find the official recipe.
20. La sopa coada veneta
Finally, among the traditional Italian soups, we cannot fail to mention sopa coada veneta even if it is not a soup at all. It is a typical dish of Treviso and is a sort of pigeon pie accompanied by a cup of boiling broth to be consumed separately or poured over.
Enjoy your culinary exploration of Italian traditions!