Turkey Meatball Soup
Turkey Meatball Soup with pasta and vegetables is super easy to make and is healthy. Kids love anything with meatballs, so this soup should be a crowd pleaser.
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 324kcal
Ingredients
For Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground turkey extra lean
- 1 small onion
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for frying
For Soup:
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 2 large celery stalks chopped
- 2 cups potatoes cubed (11 ounces)
- 8 cups vegetable or chicken broth low sodium
- 2 teaspoons oil for frying
- 2 cups short pasta like shells or macaroni uncooked (6 ounces)
- 3 bay leaves
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley, dill or green onions finely chopped
Instructions
- Make meatballs: In a food processor or blender, puree onion, egg, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Alternatively, you can use grater to grate onion and mix with other meatball ingredients.
- Transfer to a medium bowl along with ground turkey and mix well with your hands.
- Preheat 5-6 quart Dutch oven or skillet on medium heat and swirl 1 tbsp of oil to coat. Alternatively you can use skillet for frying and then large pot for soup. Dutch oven makes this soup one pot.
- Using a small scoop or tablespoon, form golf size meatballs and add in a single layer to the pot with oil, leaving some room between balls for easy flipping.
- Fry for a minute or so or until browned (happens fast), carefully flip with small silicone spatula, and fry for another minute. Transfer to a plate and repeat this step with remaining meat and adding more oil. Set meatballs aside.
- Make soup: Add 2 teaspoons of oil, carrots and celery; saute for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add broth, cover and bring to a boil.
- Add potatoes, meatballs, pasta, bay leaves, 3/4 tsp salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to very low and cook for 12 minutes.
- Turn off heat and let soup sit for 10 minutes covered. Flavours will really "marry each other" and soup will thicken a bit and pasta "get there".
- Add parsley, stir and serve hot.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat desired amount by simmering on low heat while covered.
- Freeze: I do not recommend to freeze this soup because it contains pasta. If you plan on freezing, you can cook pasta separately and add to individual bowls.
- Other meat: You can also use ground chicken, beef or pork instead of turkey.
- Pasta: I used brown rice pasta this time. Any pasta works! Even long pasta like spaghetti can be broken and used. You can use orzo pasta that will make this soup an Italian wedding soup.
- Soup thickens with time: It is normal to see the soup thickening more in a few hours and next day. You can always add more broth to thin it out.
- Skip browning meatballs: Original recipe I had posted for a while didn't call for browning meatballs. You can totally skip it in a rush, I like a bit more flavor.
- Leftover cooked grain: Skip pasta and add about 3 cups of any leftover cooked grains you have in the fridge.
Nutrition
Serving: 2cups | Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 469mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g