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.
Ground Turkey Soup with Beans & Spinach (20 minutes!)
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.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Can I make this with leftover roasted turkey breast?
Yes! I think that would be so delicious!
sound delicious and easy
It’s always a huge hit!
I made this today. My house smells amazing !!! I did not have any beans except black beans so I omitted beans. I did slice up couple carrots & green pepper to add. I used sodium free broth so I also added small can of tomato paste to add little more flavor. I only had small amount of spinach so I added kale along with it. It sounds like I totally changed your recipe but using no salt & no salt broth I have to adjust to give extra flavor. Delicious.
I’m so glad you liked it! I love the extra veggies you added! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Great easy soup! It lends itself well to variations but is wonderful as written. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I’m really glad you like it – thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
Excellent soup recipe! Healthy, tasty, and quick. I will definitely add this to my weekly meals. Thank you!
I’m glad you like it, Jackie! It’s one of my go-to recipes as well.
This was so simple that I didn’t think it would taste as good as it did! Kids loved it too. Only things I had to sub was kale for the spinach and chickpeas because that’s what I had on hand. Oh I also added a splash of red wine vinegar. Easy and good!
So glad you liked this one! I’ve made it with chickpeas in the past, too. Love the red wine vinegar addition…yum yum! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
I’m making this right now! I’ve really enjoyed the comments, but will make it as written And no it will be delicious! I have a couple of comments and one concern. 1st comment common as a retired teacher, I believe that anything we can do to offset cost without taking away from what we are delivering is a very important thing to do! 2nd comment, I did not find ads to be distracting. It is simply part of it! My concern is this: why do you not have light in your kitchen? :)
:) Thanks for understanding about the ads, I appreciate that more than you know! This post was written two kitchens again, but I had lights, just no natural lights from windows. First world problems! ;)
I was very surprised that this REALLY took 20 minutes….. my family loved it last week …. and request that I make it again today !!!!!
Great recipe … I used 2 lbs of turkey and a bit more spinach …
Thank you !
I’m so happy to hear you like this recipe, Emma! It’s one of our favorites, too. So great for busy nights! Thanks for taking the time to comeback and leave a comment – it means so much to me!
Amazing. Just what I needed on a snowy day in missouri!
So happy to hear it! This is one of our favorites, too. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Would love to make this for my friend who is a new mom. I’m assuming she can freeze it? If so, do you have instructions for taking it out of the freezer, just throw in a pot and heat?
Absolutely! This freezes so well! You’re right about reheating, just throw in a pan and heat. Could thaw overnight in the fridge first to make it go a little faster. This is my go-to recipe for new moms!