Turkey Meatball Soup

This turkey meatball soup is hearty, filling, and delicious! Tender turkey meatballs, pasta, and fresh herbs in a tomato broth make this one tasty soup.

I didn’t have a turkey meatball recipe on this blog until now, so I figured it was time. They’re leaner and lighter than your traditional beef/pork meatballs, and some people prefer white meat. I like to have plenty of options available.

I didn’t originally plan on making this a soup, actually, but it turned out nicely. I made these on a weekend where I had a stinker of a cold. I was pretty out of it, but I had recipes to make.

I was attempting to make a sauce, and somehow decided that adding a 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes and 4 cups of veggie broth was a good idea. It was more like soup, so I just went with it.

How to make tender ground turkey meatballs

The key to making these meatballs really tender is by using bread soaked in milk instead of breadcrumbs. These meatballs melt in your mouth. Using soaked bread to make a paste (called a panade) is an old trick that helps keep ground meat tender in recipes like meatballs.

I used really lean ground turkey meat, so the panade is particularly important since lean meat is even more prone to drying out (especially if you over-cook it).

I baked the turkey meatballs for 10 minutes to ensure they would hold their shape when added to the soup. Simmering them in the soup finishes cooking them and gives the soup better flavor and texture.

The healthy turkey meatball recipe can be used by itself (or you can make a separate sauce for it) if you don’t want to make it as soup. Just make sure you cook the meatballs fully (I only pop them in the oven for 10 minutes before finishing the cooking off in the soup).

I’d bake them for about 20 minutes or so, depending on their size, to ensure they’re cooked through.

Hope you love this soup with easy turkey meatballs!

Questions? Ask me below!

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Turkey Meatball Soup Recipe

This turkey meatball soup is hearty, filling, and delicious! Tender turkey meatballs, pasta, and fresh herbs in a tomato broth make this one tasty soup.

Course Soup

Cuisine Italian

Keyword turkey meatball soup

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 6

Author Salt & Lavender

Ingredients

Meatballs:

• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• 1/4-1/2 cup skim milk
• 1/2 pound lean ground turkey
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 small onion grated
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Salt & pepper to taste

Soup:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion chopped
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 1 (5.5 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (28 fluid ounces) can diced tomatoes with juices
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 3/4 cup macaroni (or other tubular pasta)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Handful basil torn
• Parsley chopped, to taste (optional)
• Freshly grated parmesan to taste (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375F and move the rack to the middle position. 
2. Tear the bread into small pieces and add them to a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the milk to the bowl and give it a stir to coat the bread (add more milk if bread seems dry). Let it soak for a few minutes. 
3. Using a fork, mash the bread until it makes a paste. Add the other meatball ingredients to the bowl and gently mix using your hands. Form into 1" balls and add them to a foil-lined baking sheet.
4. Bake the meatballs for 10 minutes (just enough for them to firm up without cooking fully).
5. Meanwhile, start cooking the soup. Add the olive oil and onion to a large pot over medium-high heat. Sauté for 5-7 minutes. 
6. Add the garlic to the pot and cook for 30 seconds.
7. Add the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, and water. Increase the heat to high and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium-high (turn it down to medium if needed) and simmer for 10 minutes. 
8. Add the macaroni and meatballs to the pot. Give it a good stir so the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom. Cook the soup for another 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally, or until the pasta and meatballs are cooked though. 
9. Season with salt & pepper as needed. Stir in the basil and extra parmesan cheese and parsley if using. 

Recipe Notes

• Meatballs can be made by themselves and frozen or made with another sauce etc. Just make sure to bake them in the oven until they're fully cooked (20 minutes or so, will vary based on their size) if you don't plan on finishing cooking them in some type of sauce etc.
• Serves 4-6.