Italian Turkey Soup is light yet filling, and comes together quickly (under 30 minutes start to finish) with lots of pantry staples. Fresh ingredients like spinach leaves and grated parmesan make it bright and comforting and white beans make it nice and hearty. It’s absolute perfection served with a slice of crusty Overnight Artisan Bread!
Ingredients and Equipment Needed
- Stock pot
- Olive oil
- Ground turkey – For best flavor and texture, use ground turkey (which includes dark and light meat and has a little more flavor). If desired, you can use ground turkey breast, just be aware that it tends to be more more dry and not as flavorful. I’m sure it would be equally delicious with ground beef or shredded chicken, so feel free to experiment!
- Diced onion
- Fresh garlic
- Dry Italian seasoning
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Canned white beans – I personally use cannelli or great northern beans. These are a great pantry staple! I also use them in my really popular White Chicken Chili and also this White Bean and Artichoke Hummus.
- Chicken broth
- Dried oregano
- Dried basil
- Parsley – dried or fresh
- Fresh spinach – Kale would be lovely as well! If using kale, remove the leaves from the thick stems first, and then finely chop before adding to the soup. Kale takes a little longer to wilt than spinach does. If you think you’ll stock this soup in the fridge or freezer, kale is a great choice because it holds up to storage a little better than spinach does.
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
How to Make Italian Turkey Soup
- To start our Italian Turkey Soup, sauté some onions, garlic, and your ground turkey. Add salt and pepper and some ground Italian seasoning to this mixture and then cook until the turkey is completely cooked through.
- At this point, you’ll deglaze the pan with your wet ingredients, picking up all the flavor that’s browned in the pan. Add canned tomatoes, white beans, chicken broth, and some extra dried herbs for even more flavor. This mixture can simmer away for a bit while you move on to the next step.
- When you’re ready to serve, stir in some chopped spinach. It will wilt quickly and you’re ready to go. You can also add your spinach leaves in whole; I like to chop them up so they better incorporate into small pieces with the rest of the soup ingredients. Make sure to taste your soup at this point and season with additional salt and pepper- it will need some for sure.
- When you’re ready to serve, ladle into bowls and top generously with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 3-4 days for best results.
- This soup freezes beautifully! Freeze in individual portions for easy meals on busy days!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this Vegetarian/Vegan?
You bet! Replace the chicken broth with your favorite veggie broth and leave the turkey out. If you’d like, add an extra can of beans or some chickpea or lentil noodles. Sprinkle with a little nutritional yeast or your favorite cheese replacement instead of Parm and you’re good to go!
Can I make this with Italian sausage instead of ground turkey?
That would be delicious. If you like spice, use hot Italian sausage.
Italian Turkey Soup
Delicious, lean soup that comes together quickly with a base of pantry ingredients! This is a smaller soup recipe, so feel free to double if your household size is larger (like 5-8 people).
Servings servings
Equipment
Ingredients
- olive oil extra virgin
- 8 ounces ground turkey or ground turkey breast
- 1 onion, small-medium diced
- 4-5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon dry Italian seasoning
- kosher salt
- black pepper
- 1 15-ounce canned diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce canned white beans (Cannelini, Great Northern) drained and rinsed
- 2 14-ounce cans chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon oregano dry
- ½ teaspoon basil dry
- 1 tablespoon parsley dry, or about ¼ cup fresh
- 4-6 cups spinach fresh
- Parmesan cheese freshly grated
Instructions
- Heat a large stock pot to medium heat. Pour 1-2 tablespoons olive oil into the pot and swirl to coat bottom of pan.
- Add diced onions and cook for 2-3 minutes, until starting to soften. Add garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add ground turkey, Italian seasoning, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Continue crumbling turkey and cook until completely cooked through.
- When turkey is cooked through, add in canned tomatoes (including all the juice), the drained beans, and the chicken broth. Add oregano and basil and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer and simmer for at least 10 minutes, and up to 20.
- Right before serving, roughly chop spinach and add to pot. Stir until wilted and then season soup with additional salt and pepper as needed. Ladle into bowls and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 3-4 days for best results.
- This soup freezes beautifully! Freeze in individual portions for easy meals on busy days!
- To make vegetarian or vegan: Replace the chicken broth with your favorite veggie broth and leave the turkey out. If you’d like, add an extra can of beans or some chickpea or lentil noodles. Sprinkle with a little nutritional yeast or your favorite cheese replacement instead of Parm and you’re good to go!
Nutrition
Calories: 243kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 35mg, Sodium: 945mg, Potassium: 1050mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 3051IU, Vitamin C: 24mg, Calcium: 166mg, Iron: 5mg
Calories: 243kcal
Cost: $10
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Questions & Reviews
We loved this soup. It tastes really good on a cold night and it has healthy ingredients. Since there are only the two of us, I also liked that it made a smaller amount.
very good, thank you! enjoying it right now!
Lovely soup and QUICK to make. Doubled recipe and it held-up well for a speedy lunch (between Zoom calls) and easy dinner. Thanks for showcasing a old recipe that’s tasty, easy and quick.
Just made this and yum!! I finely chopped leftover turkey and added it after the garlic and onions were done. It was delish!!
This was really good! I doubled the recipe (and I guess more than doubled the meat). I served dinner with it tonight and am freezing the rest as part of a series of freezer meals for post baby. Definitely hit the spot and can’t wait to have it again.
I just wanted to tell you that over the years I’ve made this soup several times. I made it again last week doubling the batch as my kids were fighting over who got to take the leftovers for lunch and I like having leftover for my own lunch as a filling, healthy at home lunch I look forward to. My husband even commented on how much he liked it–which is saying a lot on the nights I’m cooking recipes to fill us more with lean proteins and veggies than amazing flavor. Somehow this does both! This is just an all around tasty, healthy, easy-to-make soup. Doesn’t get much better than that! Thank you!
Just made this tonight. Very tasty, easy and healthy. We will make it again for sure!
Cold rainy June day! It’s a soup day. I used hamburger since I didn’t have any ground turkey and was yummy!! Thanks:-)
I mostly never comment on recipes but I need to with this one. It’s so simple. But most importantly so DELICIOUS! It took me bynsurpri
I noticed this recipe was in a bunch from freezer meals. At what point would you put this in the freezer?
I cooked the entire recipe from start-to-finish, then threw it in a freezer bag. I’ve had some since then and it was delicious. Months later, I’m making my second batch as we speak.
this soup is really good. Very low fat and favorful. thanks so much
We made this for a ladies stamping retreat in the mountains. It was wonderful. Everyone loved it. It is one of my fav’s. Oh yum.
This was soo good! Even my husband liked it and he doesnt really care for soup. Thank you so much for all your great recipes. They make my life easier!
We love this soup, it has a permanent spot in the fall/winter dinner rotations (or on cold rainy May days like today). Thanks for the great recipe!
I can’t believe this only has 16 comments; Maybe because it is from so long ago. This soup is wonderful!!! I have made this a couple of times and have really enjoyed it. Today I made it with kale instead of spinach. Superb!
How long and at what temp should I do in the crockpot? Thank you, love the site 🙂
This is pretty flexible in the crockpot–I’d probably do it for 8 hours on low or 4-6 on high.
I know that this is probably written somewhere, but how many does this recipe serve? I’m looking to feed 7 people, so I’m just wondering if I should double the recipe.
This looks amazing! It is on my menu for the week…can’t wait to try it!
So delish! I also add peas for extra greens. Yum!
I made this a few nights ago and my husband loved it. Thanks for a cheaper version of a traditional soup!
Hey Sara,
I liked this soup so much I put a post on my blog about it 🙂 Loved the white chicken chili too. Haven’t tried the chipotle chili yet. But am intrigued. Thanks for sharing.
~Jenn
I recently learned about your site from Leigh Anne at http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com. This was the first recipe my husband and I tried from your site, and we loved it. We’ll definitely be making it again soon and trying some of your other recipes. Thanks!
Ohh, that looks delicious. I’m trying it out this week.
Yum! We loved the chipotle chili, by the way (Nate calls it Chipotle Mole’ because of the chocolate). This soup looks like it will be a hit too.
Mmmmm fresh parmesan. . .
Mmm, this sounds so yummy! This will be right up there with Kate’s Tortellini Soup (one of my all time favorites). I will definitely make this as soon as my kids get over the flu bug. Thanks!
I love that I have everything I need in my pantry to make this, thank you!
If I didn’t feel so sick, this would be a perfect meal for this rainy day!! Maybe tomorrow. . .
perfect soup day…cold and raining. this is great stuff.
MMMM, I was just trying to decide what kind of soup I was going to make today, and now that I’ve seen this, I think I’ll try it. Thanks!
Yum! This was seriously so good–like really, really good minestrone. In addition to the other spices, I mixed the turkey with Italian sausage seasoning from http://www.penzeys.com and I used 2 cans of drained chickpeas (garbanzo beans), but yeah, pretty much the same recipe!!