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Turkey Meatball, Kale + White Bean Soup

Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
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Why we love it:

When you hear “meatball” soup, it can easily mean hours of work. You have to make both a soup AND meatballs after all. Not in our version. The meatballs are simple and they bake in the oven while the soup comes to a simmer and they finish together in the pot. Completely craveable + weeknight ready. If you DOUBLE the meatball portion, they can be added to marinara and pasta or made into turkey subs for a leftover reinvention this week too!

Ingredients

  • 1 Egg
  • 12 cup Parmesan Cheese (grated, plus more for serving)
  • 1 pound Ground Turkey
  • 14 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 14 teaspoon Black Pepper
  • 112 teaspoons Kosher Salt (divided)
  • 2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil (divided)
  • 1 Yellow Onion (small dice)
  • 2 Carrots (small dice)
  • 3 ribs Celery (small dice)
  • 2 cloves Garlic (minced)
  • 12 bunch Green Kale (or use the whole bunch)
  • 4 cups Chicken Stock
  • 1 15-ounce can Cannellini Beans (including the liquid so get low-sodium)
  • 1 cup Half & Half

Cooking Instructions

  • 1. PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 350 DEGREES
  • 2. MEATBALLS

    Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment.

    In a large bowl, combine egg, Parmesan, ground turkey, garlic powder, pepper and half of a teaspoon of salt. Gently but thoroughly mix to combine. Shape into small balls (about a Tablespoon of mixture each) and place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with about half of the olive oil, not too much.

    Bake until set and starting to brown on the outside, 15 minutes should do it. If done before the soup is ready, just remove from the oven and let them wait on the stovetop.

  • 3. SOUP

    Meanwhile, dice the onion, carrot and celery. Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium and add the rest of the olive oil (about 1 teaspoon or more). Add the diced veggies. Season with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt.

    Mince the garlic and add it to the pot.

  • 4. KALE

    Wash the kale and separate off the leaves.

    Line the stems up and slice into thin pieces. Add the stems to the pot to sauté. (Set aside leaves for now).

  • 5. BROTH

    After sautéing for at least 5 minutes total, add the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as it’s boiling, reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

  • 6. CREAM + KALE

    After simmering, add the can of beans with the liquid. Then, while stirring, slowly add half-and-half. Next add meatballs and return to a gentle simmer, but don’t let it fully boil anymore.

    Slice or tear kale leaves into 1” pieces and add to the pot to taste (if you have a very large bunch you might not want to add them all).

    Cook for 10 minutes.

  • 7. SERVING

    Taste the soup and add more salt or pepper if you’d like. Serve in large bowls, sprinkle with extra Parmesan, if desired.

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Substitutions

  • DAIRY FREE:
    omit the cream and add extra water if needed to taste. Omit parmesan from meatballs.
  • PALEO:
    omit white beans and add chopped cauliflower or cauliflower rice. Omit the cream and add extra water if needed to taste.
  • EGG:
    omit the egg from the meatballs. Optional - stir in 1 Tablespoon of water and 1 teaspoon of cornstarch into the meat mixture to help bind.
  • TURKEY:
    ground chicken works well but you could use pork or beef too
  • KALE:
    Collards, chard, baby or regular spinach, any of these frozen are wonderful too
  • WHITE BEANS:
    garbanzo beans or navy beans are ok
  • DOUBLE IT:
    Double the turkey meatball portion for a different meat this week!
  • MAKE IT FASTER :
    instead of making meatballs, sauté the ground turkey with the onions and carrots, then continue the soup. In this case, omit the egg and save the parmesan to stir in at the end to taste.
  • KIDS CORNER:
    some kids might like the meatballs served on the side. You can either keep roasting a few until they’re done throughout and serve with crispy edges, or cook them in the soup as described but pull them out and gently mash up before serving to kids. Pulling out a spoonful of white beans, carrots, and celery and serving without broth might be more acceptable to kids who think they don’t like soup.
Rate this recipe:
3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 53 votes, average: 4.67 out of 53 votes, average: 4.67 out of 53 votes, average: 4.67 out of 53 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5 (3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
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