Italian turkey meatball soup

With the right pasta (like wagon wheels) kids will love this soup. Ground turkey meatballs with simple but flavorful seasoning make this quick recipe a winner with grown-ups, too. 

Sure, it was 70 degrees F. and gorgeous in Chicago today but just a few days ago I was tugging my down comforter up to my ears at night. Such is our Midwest spring.

My husband first made this soup years ago. We found it in cookbook called 1,001 More Low-Fat Recipes. It is one of those recipes that we keep forgetting about and then resurrecting, and wondering why we forgot about it. The spices are minimal and turkey is often bland but somehow the ingredients all come together to make a simple but flavorful soup.

Though any pasta shape will work, we have found that the wagon wheels combined with the meatballs and the colorful carrots and beans make fun soup “fishing” for the kids. If you want to freeze this soup, I suggest leaving the pasta out until you thaw it and then bring it to a boil and add the pasta.

Now, I’ll start to focus more on peas and rhubarb and all the other spring treats that should front and center in our produce aisles.

Italian turkey meatball soup
Slightly adapted from 1001 More Lowfat Recipes
Makes 8 servings

1-1/2 pounds ground turkey

2 egg whites

1/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs

4 cloves garlic, minced, divided

3 tablespoons Italian seasoning, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 cups chicken broth

3 cups water

2 cups green beans, diagonally cut into 1/2 inch pieces

4 medium carrots, sliced

2 medium onions, coarsely chopped

8 ounces pasta, wagon wheels

2 medium plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

1. Mix ground turkey, egg whites, bread crumbs, 2 cloves of garlic, and Italian seasoning until well blended. Shape into 32 small meatballs. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until hot. Cook meatballs until browned on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Add chicken broth, water green beans, carrots, onions, remaining 2 cloves garlic, and remaining 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning to saucepan. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are almost tender, about 8 minutes.

3. Heat soup to boiling, add pasta and tomatoes. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.