Red Turkey Meatball and Kale Noodle Soup

A healthy, comforting bowl of meatballs, vegetables, pasta, and all the spices: this Red Turkey Meatball and Kale Noodle Soup is truly the soup to end all soups.

Sometimes you just need a good, comforting soup, right? Soup is actually one of my favorite foods. I crave it all year around, but especially when it’s cold and gray. In Virginia, we can have weeks on end where the sun simply does not come out… Like it legitimately looks like it’s 5pm all day, and let me tell you, it’s the absolute worst. Personally, I think the cold is one thousand times more bearable when the sun’s out, anyone else? Well, I guess I can’t control the weather. But, what I can do, is make all the comfort foods to get us through those long January days! That’s where this Red Turkey Meatball and Kale Noodle Soup comes into play.

This Red Turkey Meatball and Kale Noodle Soup is the perfect combo of a healthy meal and comfort food. I mean, you’ve got meatballs and pasta… but you also have kale and carrots… super balanced! Better yet? It’s actually delicious! My dad, who never gets excited about soup, actually went back for seconds… and then thirds! So, if you have some soup haters in the family (first of all, they’re insane), this Red Turkey Meatball and Kale Noodle Soup is the way to convert them. You could even give them more noodles and less broth, and simply call it a “noodle bowl.” Boom, everyone’s happy. But really, the broth is where all the delicious flavor is.

Onions and carrots sauteed with sage, thyme paprika, red pepper flakes, and garlic starts off this perfect broth. If you want a flavorful soup, you have to add your seasonings when sauteing your vegetables. In fact, when recipe testing a soup, I always taste my vegetables to figure out how I need to adjust my seasonings. If you wait until you’ve already added the broth, it’s a lot harder to adjust the seasonings to your liking. In this Red Turkey Meatball and Kale Noodle Soup, I even added some tomato paste to the onions and carrots, which is a little unusual. But, my whole goal for this soup was to make a red, tomatoey soup that wasn’t crazy spicy or completely tomato-based. And, let me tell you, I’m so happy I did. It brings so much flavor to the broth, and isn’t just your average broth based soup. 

The amazing seasonings and broth are just the start. The hearty kale, short-cut pasta, lemon juice, and parmesan really amp up the soup. Oh, and my favorite part? The meatballs. Made super moist from fresh zucchini, these meatballs are truly the star of the dish. I know some recipes, like a traditional Italian Wedding Soup, call for cooking the meatballs in the soup. Personally, though, I love to cook them in the oven. This way, you get a nice crisp meatball that doesn’t get all soggy in the soup (because, nobody wants that). Plus, they’re packed with flavor from fresh herbs and chili powder that perfectly complements the tomato broth. 

If I haven’t convinced you by now, you have to give this recipe a shot. It’s perfect for tonight’s dinner! Leave me a comment and rating below if you make it… I hope you love this recipe as much as I do!

Red Turkey Meatball and Kale Noodle Soup

Recipe by Annie PatrickCourse: All Recipes, Main Courses, Soups and StewsDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

A healthy, comforting bowl of meatballs, vegetables, pasta, and all the spices: this Red Turkey Meatball and Kale Noodle Soup is truly the soup to end all soups.

Ingredients

• meatballs:

• 1 lb ground turkey (or ground chicken)

• 1/2 cup finely grated zucchini (that has been drained of all water with a paper towel)*

• 1 egg

• ½ cup panko or breadcrumbs

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped

• ½ tsp chili powder

• ½ tsp salt

• soup:

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 4 carrots, peeled diced

• 1 tsp dried sage

• 1 tsp dried thyme

• ½ tsp paprika

• ½ tsp red pepper flakes

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp tomato paste

• 6-8 cups low sodium chicken broth

• 1 parmesan rind

• 2 cups flat leaf kale, sliced*

• 1 ½ lemons, juiced

• 2-3 cups short cut pasta, prepared according to package*

• Parmesan cheese, for serving

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and a wire baking rack. Grease the wire rack with olive oil or cooking spray.
• In a medium bowl, combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into 1-2 inch balls and place on the greased baking rack. It should make 18-22 meatballs. Spray or drizzle the meatballs with olive oil and bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes.
• Heat the olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over high heat. Once hot, add the onion and carrots and saute for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender. Add in the sage, thyme, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and garlic. Cook for another minute, or until the garlic is fragrant. Mix in the tomato paste.
• Add in the chicken broth and parmesan rind. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low. Cover and let it simmer for at least 20 minutes, or up to an hour.
• Remove the parmesan rind. Stir in the kale, pasta, and cooked meatballs. Continue to cook until the kale has wilted down. Squeeze in the lemon. Top with Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Notes

• The shredded zucchini is key to having a moist meatball! Simply finely shred a zucchini, place inside a few paper towels, and squeeze the paper towels over the sink to remove any excess moisture.
• The pasta shown in the picture is Sfoglini’s Zucca, but any pasta will work. You could also stir in a grain of choice. 
• Most leafy greens work well in this, but I would not use a curly lettuce. Tuscan kale, Lacinato kale, collard greens, and swiss chard are some of my favorites.