Turkey Meatball Soup with Orzo Recipe

This light and savory turkey meatball soup recipe is made with tender mini meatballs, orzo, and fresh kale. It’s simple, nourishing, and just delicious.

I’m always in the mood for soup. They are comforting, usually one-pot recipes, and since we’re big on hearty soups, they are always satisfying. This turkey meatball soup hits all the right notes, and I am so happy we’ve added it to our ever-growing list of easy soup recipes.

Thanks to the protein-packed meatballs and orzo, this soup stands entirely on its own, no sides needed. It’s also great for making ahead of time. Just keep in mind that the orzo will continue to absorb the broth as it sits. If you’re reheating it the next day, simply add a splash of extra broth to bring it back to that brothy soup consistency (or don’t, it’s still delicious!).

Key Ingredients

• Ground Turkey: For the best results, use ground dark meat or ground turkey that’s at least 7% fat. Any leaner and the meatballs will be dry and crumbly rather than juicy. Ground chicken or ground pork are great substitutes. In fact, I use a combination of chicken and pork in our popular Italian wedding soup recipe.
• Spices: You’ll mix a little salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, and pepper flakes (I love gochugaru, but crushed red pepper flakes are fine) into the turkey to make the meatballs. Then, the soup has ground fennel and bay leaves. Both make our broth seriously tasty.
• Onions, Carrots, and Garlic: We wanted this to be a weeknight-friendly soup, which means prep needs to be minimal. So, we keep the base simple with onion (yellow or sweet onion are great), carrots, and garlic.
• Stock: Use a flavorful chicken or turkey stock. Store-bought is fine, just use something you enjoy. Bone broth is also great and will bump up the protein. For homemade, here’s our chicken stock recipe and here’s our bone broth recipe.
• Orzo: Any small pasta shape will work, but our family loves orzo in soup. The starch in the pasta helps thicken the soup’s broth a bit, giving it a creamier texture without any added dairy.
• Kale: We stir an entire bunch of kale into the broth right at the end. If kale is too hearty for you, spinach or cabbage are excellent alternatives.

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Turkey Meatball Soup

Tip 1: Make the meatballs. This recipe uses mini meatballs made with seasoned ground turkey, which we pinch off and roll into little balls. These aren’t like our classic meatballs or Italian meatballs, which have breadcrumbs and egg, but are simpler and turn out with an almost bouncy texture in the soup.

To make them, mix the ground turkey with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, and a bit of pepper flakes. Then pinch off little bits of the meat (around 1/2 tablespoon’s worth), and roll into little balls.

Tip 2: Brown the meatballs. To build flavor into the base of our soup and add a little color to our meatballs, you’ll brown them in olive oil before making the broth. You aren’t looking to cook them all the way through (that will happen later as the meatballs simmer in the soup). If you have a wide soup pot, you may fit them all in one go; otherwise, consider browning in batches (they take 5 to 7 minutes to brown).

Tip 3: Build the soup base. After browning, you’ll move the meatballs to a plate and set them aside. The pot will be left with some oil and browned, stuck bits at the bottom. This is where a lot of flavor lives, so toss in your onions, carrots, garlic, fennel, and bay leaves, then cook them until they begin to soften. The moisture from the onions will release, helping you scrape up the stuck bits from the bottom of the pan.

Tip 4: Simmer, but not for long. When the onions and carrots are beginning to turn tender, pour in the stock and add the meatballs back. The broth will taste a bit lackluster at this point, but after simmering the meatballs and adding the orzo later, it will transform into a lovely, savory broth. You’ll simmer for about 10 minutes.

Tip 5: Add the pasta and cook just until tender. In goes the orzo. You’ll continue to simmer for 5 to 7 minutes (or until the orzo is tender). As it cooks in the soup, it releases flavor and some starch, which thickens the broth nicely, giving it a more luxurious mouthfeel.

Tip 6: Finish with lots of kale. Once your orzo is tender, stir in lots of greens (that’s kale in our photos). Then, let the soup simmer a few more minutes so it wilts down and becomes tender. Don’t simmer too long, though, you want that bright green color!

Serving Suggestions

This soup is fabulous right out of the pot, but if you want to make it even more delicious, consider grating some Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese over the top. It’s also lovely with a pop of lemon (I just squeeze a lemon wedge over my bowl).

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