Ground Turkey Soup with Beans & Spinach (20 minutes!)
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Healthy ground turkey soup recipe comes together in 20 minutes or less, it is packed full of protein, vegetables, and most importantly, flavor! Your whole family will love it.
I love to give you ideas to make weeknight meals a breeze. My two biggest tips are these:
- Plan ahead (try making Pepperoni Pizza Lasagna Rolls)
- Have a stocked pantry — this recipe depends on it.
I make this healthy soup recipe using all ingredients I keep regularly stocked in my pantry.
Here’s what I keep in my stocked pantry/fridge/freezer to make recipes like these:
- Diced tomatoes
- Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Canned beans — this recipe uses great Northern but I typically keep black beans and chickpeas stocked as well.
- Chicken broth/stock
- Ground turkey
- Spinach. I always have spinach. Always. If I don’t, I’m headed to the store.
- Onions. A must have for so many recipes.
- Garlic. Duh.
- Spices — this recipe uses oregano, red pepper flakes and basil.
- Olive oil. I always have a bottle of it in my pantry.
Other staples in my pantry are a variety of grains, pasta, bacon, carrots, celery, a variety of vinegars, and some fruit and vegetables in the freezer. But you don’t need any of those for this particular healthy soup recipe.
Of course, everyone is different and you might not keep your pantry stocked just like mine. You might not like ground turkey. Ground beef is fine, or try this recipe with Italian sausage, it’s phenomenal!). Maybe you don’t have baby spinach — try a different green in this soup such as kale or chard.
About this Ground Turkey Soup
The really important thing here is that this recipe can be prepared in 20 minutes. I make this soup A LOT on weeks where I slip behind on my meal planning. Or maybe I have something planned and I just don’t have the time and energy to prepare it. Or it might just not sound good on that particular night.
No problem! Out come those pantry staples to save the day. Healthy, easy, and no trips to the grocery store required. I’m pretty sure that’s as good as it gets. Plus it can warm you up on a chilly day. Hot soup is always a good thing.
How to Make this Soup
To make this recipe, heat up your soup pot with some olive oil. To that, add ground turkey, onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, and some black pepper.
Cook until the onions are translucent and the ground turkey is fully cooked.
Throw in beans, herbs, tomatoes — stir to combine.
Then PILE on the spinach. You can do this in batches if need be, but if you have a big pan, it will probably fit. Cover for a couple of minutes to let the spinach wilt.
You might have to stir it a couple of times to help it along.
Add chicken stock and bring the soup up to a boil to make sure it is good and hot.
Once the soup is hot, remove it from heat and sprinkle in the grated Parmesan cheese. This is what makes it really, really good. If you’re not a cheese-lover, don’t worry, your soup will still taste great!
There ya have it! A healthy soup recipe ready in 20 minutes that’s good for you, is ready in less than 30 minutes, and doesn’t come from a can.
Soup’s on!
Looking for more hearty soup recipes? Try:
- Homemade vegetable soup, packed with lots and lots of garden veggies
- Easy Hamburger Soup Recipe
- Lentil Soup Recipe with Pasta
- Red Lentil Soup Recipe — one of my most popular recipes!
- Instant Pot Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Crockpot Pumpkin Soup (5 Ingredients!)
- Vegetarian Lasagna Soup (VIDEO)
- Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup with Noodles
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup — Instant Pot and stovetop directions.
Interested in a weekly meal plan (it’s free!) that includes this ground turkey soup? Take a look at my Meal Plan #9. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. Let me do the planning for you this week!
We’ll be adding a new meal plan weekly. If you’re interested, browse all of our meal plans.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound extra lean ground turkey
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (15.8 ounce) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for garnish
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown the turkey with the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, and black pepper until the turkey is cooked through and the onions are translucent (about 7 minutes).
- Add oregano, basil, tomatoes (with liquid), and beans. Stir to combine.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, add spinach and cover for about 2 minutes or until spinach is wilted. Stir to combine.
- Add broth, stir, and increase heat to medium. Continue to cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in Parmesan and serve.
Notes
- Ground beef, sausage, or ground chicken can be substituted for the ground turkey.
- Any tender green can be substituted for the spinach, such as baby kale or escarole.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Susi Richardson says
Made this twice in one week, it was that good! Everyone loves it. I even had it for breakfast! Healthy and super delicious. Thank you!!!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you like it! It is one of our favorites.
Alyse says
Do you know the nutritional info or calories for this recipe?
Rachel Gurk says
No, I’m sorry — it all depends on the brands of the products you use. There are some great nutritional calculators online if you wanted to plug in the ingredients. :)
Ann says
Made this for dinner tonight, added carrots and celery and left out the spinach because I didn’t have any- it was delicious! Will definitely make again :) Might use a little less turkey next time, but other than that it was perfect!
Samantha says
This was SOOO good!! I highly recommend this recipe
KRuff says
This soup is so good!!! I have made it 3 times now and it just keeps getting better. I use fresh basil instead of dried, added an extra clove of garlic, San Marizano tomatoes instead of diced, and fresh grated parm cheese and OMG…so good! Any idea of the calorie count per serving? Sorry if I missed it somewhere! I bet it is super low! Thanks for the great recipe!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you like it! We’ve made it multiple times as well. I don’t calculate nutritional information because it varies so wildly based on brand used and adaptations made to the recipe. There are lots of great online nutritional calculators though. Thanks for reading and for the comment!
Terri A says
I only had ground beef, so reduced the oil to a teaspoon and went from there. Very tasty and quick Perfect for a quick lunch.
Heidi says
I just made this today and I must say it was REALLY good. I didn’t have any onions on hand (used them up this week already lol) and I used frozen chopped spinach (thawed) and used a can of chic peas since I was out of beans, but other then that I made it the same. I had 2 cups of soup and I felt full. Great soup for a cold day for someone watching calories. Thanks so much for this amazing recipe! This really is a “pantry” soup! I am really excited to make this again and see what else I can toss in!
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad you liked it! One of my friends just made it with frozen spinach and chick peas too. :) Great minds!
Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps says
Healthy? Check! Comforting? Check! Gorgeous? Check! Want to stuff my face with it right now? Check check!!
Jennie @themessybakerblog says
I’m all about a meal that comes together in 20 minutes. Hello, extra time on the couch snuggled up with a book. Love this soup!
Meagan @ A Zesty Bite says
My husband was just asking at lunch for a soup recipe. I can do 20 minutes.
Alaina {Fabtastic Eats} says
I haul heavy pans in and out of the LR too! ;)
This soup sounds so tasty! I love every piece of it!
steph@stephsbitebybite says
20 minutes for a soup! I’ll take it! This looks so flavorful
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
We make a similar soup with kale and Italian turkey sausage all the time!! I actually almost made it on the WZZM segment last week!! Also, I’m totally with you and freak out when I run out of spinach – hahah!!
Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness says
I am always on the lookout for delicious healthy soup recipes, and this fits the bill perfectly! I love your soup bowls too..so cute!
denise says
sounds yummy