This turkey, bean and pasta soup is packed with lean protein, healthy carbohydrates and lots of phytonutrients. It’s a perfect meal to eat as a family and it’s great re-heated.

This turkey, bean and pasta soup is packed with lean protein, healthy carbohydrates and lots of phytonutrients. It’s a perfect meal to eat as a family and it’s great re-heated.

Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had hours to spend in our kitchen cooking every day? I often reminisce on my life as a single, 20-something, when I had time to experiment with recipes. I found it fun to combine different ingredients and create new recipes. Three kids and a career later, I feel accomplished when I shower and comb my hair.

Living healthy on the go involves finding recipes that are quick, easy and nourishing. If you can get all of that in one meal, it’s even better. That’s exactly what makes this hearty, homemade soup a homerun. It’s packed full of lean protein, healthy carbohydrates and phytonutrients, while keeping the fat content low. It’s a perfect meal to eat as a family, or put into a thermos and take to work. I even pack it for the kids to take to school.

This turkey, bean and pasta soup is packed with lean protein, healthy carbohydrates and lots of phytonutrients. It’s a perfect meal to eat as a family and it’s great re-heated.

How To Make Turkey, Bean And Pasta Soup

There are multiple steps to this recipe, so if you are good at multi-taking, you can be working on a few at one time. To start, you’ll need to cook the pasta. Since pasta comes in all different shapes and sizes, my best advice on cooking it, is to follow the recipe on the side of the box. That way, you can cook it to al dente, or to whatever consistency you like. Once the pasta is done, pour it into a colander and run it under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set it aside. It won’t need it until you are ready to serve.

Next, you’ll need to make the mini turkey meatballs. You can use my recipe for regular sized turkey meatballs, but you’ll need to roll them into bite-sized balls.  Using that recipe will change the nutrition facts slightly, since those meatballs incorporate breadcrumbs and egg into the recipe. Or, you can just make this quick version.

The basic recipe I used for this soup combines ground turkey, diced onion, minced garlic and pepper in a large bowl. Then, once the ingredients are combined, roll them into bite-sized meatballs and set on a Parchment paper. Once the broth for your soup is on the stove top, you can finish this step.

In a large pot, combine water, low-sodium chicken broth, stewed tomatoes and cannellini beans and bring to a boil. While that is heating, you can sauté the turkey meatballs.

Heat oil in a large sauté pan.  Add the mini turkey balls to the oil and brown on all sides. Once crispy, add the turkey to the soup pot. Don’t worry about keeping the turkey in perfectly formed balls. Sometimes when I make this soup, I rush through this step and my soup ends up having turkey chunks rather than balls. It’s not as pretty, but it tastes the same!

Once your broth is simmering, reduce the heat and continue to cook for ~ 20 minutes. This allows the flavors to blend and the turkey to fully cook throughout. Then, add the spinach and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

You can add the cooked pasta directly into the soup, but I like to wait until I am ready to serve or eat it. Waiting prevents the pasta from over-cooking. When you’re ready to eat, put the soup into bowls and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Enjoy!

If you’re making this soup for the entire week, I recommend storing the pasta separately then adding to the soup right before eating. That keeps the pasta al dente. That recommendation is coming from someone that hates soggy pasta!

You can make this soup a dairy free option by omitting the cheese. And, if you follow a gluten-free diet, substitute gluten-free pasta for the whole wheat variety.

Calorie & Nutrition Information for Turkey, Bean & Pasta Soup

The nutrition information provided here is for a 1 1/2 cup serving of soup. It provides 310 calories, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 8 grams of fiber, 30 grams of protein, 6 grams of fat, 3 grams of saturated fat and 600 milligrams of sodium. It also provides 22% of the daily value for iron, 15% of the daily value for calcium and 6% of the daily value for potassium.

Turkey, Bean and Pasta Soup

This turkey, bean and pasta soup is the perfect blend of nutrients to make a make a balanced meal – and it tastes great re-heated, too. 
Author: Heather Mangieri, RDN

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Ground Turkey Meatball Recipe
  • 1 small Onion Meatball Recipe
  • 2 tsp Minced Garlic Meatball Recipe
  • 1 tsp Oil Meatball Recipe
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper Meatball Recipe
  • 4 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Pasta
  • 1 can Cannelloni Beans
  • 1 can unsalted Stewed Tomatoes
  • 4 cups Ray Aby Spinach
  • 2 cups Water
  • 4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
  • 1 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  • 1/2 tsp Salt

Instructions

  • Cook pasta according to the directions. Set aside.
  • Combine the ground turkey, diced onion, minced garlic and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well. Roll into mini meatballs and set on parchment paper.
  • In a large pot, combine water, low-sodium chicken broth, salt, stewed tomatoes and cannellini beans. Bring to a boil.
  • Heat oil in a large sauté pan. Add the mini meatballs to the oil and brown on all sides. Once sautéed, add turkey meatballs to the soup pot. Reduce-heat and simmer for 20 minutes to combine flavors.
  • Add spinach. Simmer an additional 10 minutes.
  • Add cooked pasta to the soup, stir and serve immediately. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella.

Notes

To prevent the pasta from over-cooking, do not add to the soup until the very end. If you are making this soup for the entire week, I recommend storing the pasta separately, then adding to the soup right before eating.
For a dairy-free option, omit the cheese
For a gluten-free: option, substitute gluten-free pasta
  • Recipe Makes: 7 servings
  • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
  • Nutrition Facts (per serving): 310 Calories, 37 Carbohydrates, 8 Fiber, 30 Protein, 6 Total Fat, 3 Saturated Fat, 600 mg Sodium, 4 mg daily iron, 208 mg daily calcium, 225 mg daily potassium.
  • Meal Planning Servings: 2.5 CHO; 4 PRO; 1 FAT

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