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.
erica says
I absolutelty love this soup! I have made this several times! Its super filling and healthy and my whole family likes it even my toddler! I serve it with a crusty bread and it makes a delicious meal, thank you for this recipe!!
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know! It’s one of our faves too. :)
M. Gutierrez says
I made this last night. It was excellent!!
I already want to make it for my family on our next get together.
I added sliced fresh mushrooms and went long on the red pepper flake. Really, really good. Thank you for sharing.
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it! Love the addition of mushrooms. I have two other soup recipes that are similar, if you liked this one, you’ll love those too! There’s Pancetta and White Bean Soup with Kale that has a great smokey flavor and also Turkey Soup with Zucchini Noodles. Hope you love those both as much as you love this recipe. :) Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Chris says
I made this relatively quickly following the above steps and its a great addition to any dinner. Simply delicious. I modified the recipe by adding a pint of Guinness and it added so much to the flavour. Yum yum yum! 5 Stars!
Rachel Page says
I loooove this soup! It is so satisfying and delicious.
Rachel Gurk says
So happy to hear that! It’s one of our favorites too.
Karen says
i ran across this recipe this morning on Pinterest & decided to try it for a quick dinner tonight because I had to feed my kids early before a sports practice and it was great. We added rice too, and except for my 7-yr. old picking out the spinach, we all loved it! Thanks for sharing such a hearty, easy, quick & delicious recipe!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it! Love the addition of rice.
Laura @MotherWouldKnow says
Love this idea for combining ground turkey, beans and vegetables. Actually a variation on minestrone.
Jessi says
I don’t usually leave comments but I have to say this soup was amazing!!! i had a package of ground turkey and no idea what to do with it, Googled turkey soup and found this! My husband loved it, My kids loved it!! I doubled everything but the turkey because we only had 1 pound and used frozen spinach but we are a family of six and there are two quarts left. I will absolutely be making this again!!!
Rachel Gurk says
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I’m so happy your family loves this soup as much as ours does. I love that I almost always have all the ingredients on hand for this recipe. :)
Laura Merzi says
This soup is so delish! I make it quite often! I am heading out for a girls weekend getaway next week and was wondering if it freezes well. I thought I would make it in advance and freeze – that would save me from carting all the ingredients up to our Oceanside house (yippee!) or buying everything up there. Any thoughts?
Rachel Gurk says
Freezes great! Enjoy your getaway!
Charlotte says
I am eating this for lunch at the moment…YUM! I have made it 3 times in the last 3 weeks. I use Rotel instead of the diced tomatoes and its still yummy…oh and celery. I have to have celery.
Rachel Gurk says
Oooh yummy! Thanks for the comment! Rotel is a great idea — celery too!
Rebecca Becker says
I made it on New Years Day after being under the weather the day before I was looking for a recipe of ingredients I usually have on hand and this one fit the bill since I did not have time to go to the store and it was a very cold rainy New Year’s Day. We all enjoyed it with a mimosa and a few good movies. Happy New Year!
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so happy to hear that this soup saved you from going to the store while not feeling well! And I’m even more happy to know you enjoyed it. Especially with a mimosa. :) Happy New Year!
lauren says
Do you think you could use vegetable broth instead?
Rachel Gurk says
Absolutely!
Linda says
This is a must-try recipe! My family loved it. I added in celery and carrots with the onion and used only 1 tbsp of oil but followed everything else! I highly recommend it- yum! :)
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it! Thank you for the feedback!
Shelia says
Hubby and I are both sick right now – sore throat, head/chest congestion etc. I added more red pepper for a little extra heat and it was FABULOUS!! Tasted and felt sooooo good. A keeper for sure.
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it! Kudos to you for cooking even when sick. Hope you’re feeling better!
Phi @ The Sweetphi Blog says
Wow, Girl, this looks like such a delicious soup…and I love that it is made in under half an hour! Definitely pinning!!
MaryLauren says
REALLY REALLY good!! Easy to make, love how light and flavorful it is!! Printing it out as a keeper :)