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This ground turkey soup recipe is simple to make, inexpensive, and very nourishing. It’s a brothy, light yet filling soup that’s loaded with pasta, vegetables, and beans!
Try my Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup or Italian Sausage Soup next.
Why you’ll love it
A classic Chicken Noodle Soup is great and all, but sometimes I like to change up the protein to ground turkey! It’s an easy-to-prepare protein that works fabulously in soup. It’s especially tasty with this easy turkey soup that has added brightness from lemon juice.
This turkey soup is the type of recipe that’s easy to whip up on a busy weeknight, and it’s also good for if anyone in your home is feeling under the weather. It’s also very forgiving, so feel free to throw in a bit extra/less depending on what you’ve got on hand!
What you’ll need
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Celery, onions, carrots, and garlic – the tastiest base for soups! I like sweet (Vidalia) onions.
- Italian seasoning – my go-to all-purpose blend of dried herbs
- Ground turkey – it’s lean and budget friendly
- Beans – we’re using a can of cannellini (white) beans for extra protein
- Carrots and spinach – for veggie goodness
- Chicken broth – it adds more savory flavor
- Pasta – I like fusilli or rotini, but use your preferred shape
- Lemon juice – use even more than suggested if you like!
Pro tip
You could absolutely use ground chicken instead of ground turkey if you prefer.
How to make ground turkey soup
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Sauté the celery and onions in the olive oil in a soup pot until softened. Stir in the garlic and Italian seasoning until fragrant. Add in the turkey, and cook until white, breaking it up as you go.
Add in the beans, carrots, broth, and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. After 10 minutes, add in the pasta. Once al dente, stir in the lemon juice and spinach. Season with salt & pepper.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- There’s a bit of chopping for this one, so use a knife from a quality knife set. I love Henckels and my Epicurean cutting board.
- Here’s my beloved Dutch oven pictured above. The black is so elegant!
- Mince the garlic with a garlic press for no sticky fingers.
Substitutions and variations
- If you happen to have leftover Thanksgiving Turkey or rotisserie chicken that needs using up, you can use it instead of the ground turkey. I would add it towards the end of cooking time just to warm through.
- Use kale or Swiss chard instead of spinach if that’s what you’ve got in your fridge.
- The lemon juice can be omitted or doubled/tripled depending on how much lemon flavor you want in the soup.
What to serve with ground turkey soup
- I love a big slice of fresh crusty bread to round it out. Cheesy Garlic Bread? Why not!
- A salad works too. Pair your favorite salad greens with my Creamy Balsamic Dressing, this Easy Lemon Tahini Dressing, or my Creamy Pesto Dressing to change it up. I also recommend my basic Easy Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad.
Leftovers and storage
- Store any leftovers for 3-4 days in the fridge in a covered container.
- Reheat on the stove in a saucepan. Give it a splash of extra broth if needed.
- If you’re freezing the bulk of this recipe (or making it a day or two ahead), I suggest adding the pasta in after you’ve thawed it/when you’re reheating it. The leftovers really soak up the broth.
More ground turkey recipes
If you made this ground turkey and pasta soup, leave me a comment below! As always, tag me on Instagram if you’ve made one of my recipes.
Ground Turkey Soup with Vegetables and Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 sticks celery chopped finely
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 (14 ounce) can white beans (cannellini) drained
- 2 medium carrots peeled & sliced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1.5 cups uncooked fusilli or rotini pasta
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or more, to taste
- 2 cups (packed) fresh baby spinach
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the oil, celery, and onion to a soup pot over medium-high heat, and sauté for 4-5 minutes (ok if the onion starts to brown a little).
- Stir in the garlic and Italian seasoning and cook for 30 seconds.
- Add in the ground turkey and cook until it's mostly turned white, breaking it up with your spoon as it cooks (about 4-5 minutes).
- Add in the beans, carrots, broth, and water. Increase the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Cover the pot with the lid slightly ajar and reduce the heat & simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add in the pasta, cover the pot again (lid slightly open), and cook for another 10 minutes. I stir it a couple of times just to ensure the pasta isn't sticking to the bottom.
- Add in the lemon juice (add more if you like it really lemony) and spinach. Cook it for a couple more minutes until the spinach wilts. Season with salt & pepper as needed. This soup soaks up the broth pretty fast, so feel free to add more chicken broth/water as needed (especially when reheating leftovers).
Notes
- Serves 4-6 depending on how much people eat.
- You can use 5 cups chicken broth (vs. 4 cups broth and 1 cup water) if you want. I just do this because the 32 oz/4 cup cartons of broth are handy, and that way you don’t need to open a second one if you don’t want to.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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We don’t often buy ground turkey but had some in the freezer I thought we should use. My hubby had a cold so soup seemed like a good idea and this looked good. We loved it! Easy and very tasty. Thanks!
So glad it was a hit, Kay! Hope your husband is feeling better!
I absolutely LOVE this soup. Preparing it now! The lemon juice is just the right touch! This soup is ALL THAT!
🙂
This was delicious! I printed it up and it is going into the favorites category.
Good to hear, Breah!! Thank you for your review!
I struggle with knowing what to make for my family, and ever since I stumbled across your page, I’ve made a few of your dishes!! This specific soup has become one of our family favorites and we have it once a week! Thanks so much!!
That’s so nice to hear, Helena!! 🙂 Thank you for your kind comment!
Hi there! Could this be cooked in the crockpot or instant pot?
Hi! So, I think you probably could, but I’m a bit concerned the veggies may end up a bit mushy and the ground turkey will dry out if you cook it for too long. I’d definitely go easy on the timing and use similar recipes you’ve tried as a guideline. Maybe 3-4 hours on high for crockpot? And of course add in the pasta towards the end so it doesn’t turn to mush.
Usually I alter recipes a lot, but it wasn’t really needed. Natasha put a lot of thought into it. Good call to only call for 4 cups of the broth. Part boxes of broth are so annoying in the fridge. I substituted a different type of greens. careful not to let the ground turkey cook too much before adding the broth and other ingredients. It will keep cooking in the broth, and again with the pasta. Don’t want it too rubbery because of overcooking.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂 Thanks for your review!
I had to scroll like for 2 minutes to get to the recipe. Why is there so much foreplay before the recipe?
Because the blog post has a ton of helpful hints so you can have success making the recipe in your own kitchen. Also, you can feel good supporting a small business. We’re sorry the scrolling took such a toll on you. Hoping you enjoy the recipe 🙂
I found all the information you shared before the recipe to be extremely helpful. Thank you so much!! I’m planning on making this soon☺️
Hope you enjoy it, Maureen! 🙂
I like the recipe. I didn’t put in beans because I don’t like them, but used everything else. I used Herbs de Provence and Turmeric for the spices. I also used organic chicken bone broth from Trader Joe’s. I used half broth and half water. It cuts down on the sodium. Thank you for sharing.
You’re very welcome, Sheri!
Perfect recipe for a cold rainy February night. Kids loved it!
Excellent!! Thanks for letting me know.
I loved this recipe! It was exactly what I was looking for!
That’s great to hear, Jenna! 😀
I love love love this soup! I have made it several times in the past 2 months and also shared the recipe with friends! It is so easy and refreshing! I’ve experimented with adding fresh broccoli after the fact and mushrooms! Thanks so much!
Yay!! That’s great to hear. I’m so pleased you like it, and I appreciate you sharing the recipe too!