This turkey meatball soup is a healthier spin on classic Italian wedding soup and is made lighter with ground turkey meatballs, white beans, and plenty of kale, all in a comforting broth.
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“I made this delicious recipe this week and I love it! I did it on the stove and not the slow cooker and it came out great. I work late hours at times, and this is perfect for 8 pm dinner!” — Liz, FoodieCrush reader
A Slow Cooker Soup That’s Perfect for Busy Weeknights
When cozy soup season is in full swing, that’s when my trusty slow cooker gets the most use. I’m a big fan of workhorse appliances that make weeknight dinners a total breeze, and this slow cooker turkey meatball soup fits into that category.
If you’re a fan of my Italian wedding soup, then you will definitely love this one too. It’s light yet comforting, featuring a broth that’s full of flavor, juicy turkey meatballs, hearty veggies, and Italian seasonings.
The soup cooks in just 4 hours on low, but you can also skip the slow cooker and make it on the stovetop in about 30 minutes if you need dinner on the table ASAP.
Enjoy!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
Sear your meatballs, or they’ll fall apart. This step ensures that your meatballs get an extra layer of flavor (thanks to the sear in the oven) and that they will hold together when you add them to the slow cooker.
Consider adding your kale later. If you’re hoping for the leaves to retain their bright green color, add the kale in the last 1 ½ hours of cooking. If you’re not concerned, they cook up tender and flavorful with the total cooking time.
Serve with homemade croutons on top. This crouton recipe is SO easy and delish.
Ingredients for the Turkey Meatballs and Soup
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Milk — Tenderizes the ground turkey, keeping the meatballs juicy and never dry.
- Bread — Bread absorbs all of the juices in the meatballs and holds them there so the meatballs don’t dry out when getting cooked.
- Ground turkey — Buy 85% lean. If your ground turkey is too lean, your meatballs will turn out dry and crumbly.
- Aromatics — Chopped shallot and garlic give the meatballs a nice savory flavor.
- Herbs and spices — Freshly grated nutmeg, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, and fresh parsley infuse the meatballs with layers of flavor.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano — For flavor and also for binding the meatballs.
- Egg — Prevents the meatballs from falling apart.
- Chicken or vegetable broth — Even better if you have homemade chicken broth on hand 😉
- White beans — I use canned Great Northern beans here, but any small white bean would work great (including homemade cannellini beans!).
- Veggies — Carrots, onion, and kale add flavor, heft, and color to the soup.
How to Make Turkey Meatball Soup
- Make the meatball mixture. The trick to making super juicy and tender turkey meatballs that don’t crumble or fall apart in the soup is to soak the bread pieces in milk for 10 minutes before mixing with the rest of the ingredients.
- Shape the meatballs. For the quickest and easiest assembly, portion out the meatball mixture with a small cookie scoop and then roll into perfect balls between your hands. (Dampening your hands with water prevents sticking.)
- Sear the meatballs. This is the other trick to making turkey meatballs that actually stick together. I know it’s an extra step, but you’ve got to brown them on each side for a minute or two so they retain their shape later.
- Add everything to the slow cooker and let it work its magic. Use a 5-7 quart slow cooker and add everything to the insert. You’ll know the soup is done when the meatballs float to the top.
- Top and serve. Serve the soup with grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, and fresh parsley leaves.
FAQs
Yes! Sear the meatballs as instructed, then add everything to a large pot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, pop the lid on, and simmer for about 30 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked and the carrots are tender.
Homemade meatballs will be approximately 200% juicier and more flavorful, but you can absolutely sub in store-bought frozen meatballs to save yourself some time.
If using frozen meatballs, you don’t need to sear them before adding to the soup. Just add them straight to the soup from frozen, noting that you might need to increase the cook time to account for the extra cold meatballs.
Alas, no. I wish I could save you the 10ish extra minutes it takes to sear all the meatballs, but it’s a crucial step that prevents them from crumbling or falling apart as they simmer in the hot broth.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Slow Cooker Turkey Meatball Soup Recipe
Equipment
- 7 qt. Slow Cooker Crock Pot
Ingredients
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 slices white sandwich bread
- 1 pound 85% lean ground turkey
- 1 egg yolk, beaten
- ½ cup ground Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 2 tablespoons Italian parsley, chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 1 ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 8 cups chicken or vegetable broth (64 ounces)
- 1 15- ounce can white Northern beans or other small white beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
- ½ yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cups chopped lacinato kale, about 1 pound
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Add ¼ cup milk to a large mixing bowl. Tear 2 slices of white sandwich bread into small chunks, then mix them into the milk to soak for 10 minutes.
- Then, add 1 pound ground turkey, 1 beaten egg, ½ cup ground Parmesan cheese, 1 chopped shallot, 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes. Gently fold and mix until the mixture is combined.
- Use a small scoop or melon baller to form ½-inch balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Wet your hands, and roll the meatballs in your palms until smooth, placing them back on the baking sheet.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F, and bake the meatballs for 12 minutes.
- Add 8 cups chicken broth, 15-ounces canned white beans (drained), 2 sliced carrots, ½ chopped onion, 4 cups chopped kale, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to the insert of a 5-7 quart slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Gently drop the meatballs on top of the kale, cover, and cook on LOW for 4 hours or until the meatballs float to the surface and the vegetables soften.
- Serve the soup with more grated Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Ways to Customize this Recipe
Make this turkey meatball and kale soup your own by adding any of the following:
- Stir some homemade pesto or store-bought pesto into the broth
- Add some pasta (ditalini or another tiny pasta shape is ideal)
- Add diced tomatoes or fire-roasted tomatoes
- Swap the kale for escarole, Swiss or rainbow chard, or spinach
- Add a Parmesan rind to the soup as it slow cooks to deepen the flavor.
Side Dish Suggestions
More Turkey Meatball Recipes to Try
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Cara
Not good at all. The meatballs cooked, but none of the other vegetables did. Tasted like meatballs in water. My husband and I are great cooks, but we just couldn’t save this recipe… Or even finish eating it.
Valery Murdock
Yeah I am having the same trouble. My veggies are all still practically raw. Fortunately I had started it at noon. I’m going to turn it up to high for another 2-3 hours and hopefully it’ll be done properly before it gets way too late to eat dinner.
Heather
I made this last week and I really enjoyed it! I get off work late most nights, so I made the turkey meatballs first, and I refrigerated them until the next day. The next night I put everything in the slower cooker and dumped my meatballs on top, but I didn’t get to enjoy the soup until the day after because it was midnight! This soup really gets better the day after day. My meatballs held up well, even though I was afraid they had too little fat content. Maybe refrigerating them overnight helped? I will make this again, but if you find that the flavors aren’t quite working just give it day and I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Holly
This is great, but it needs to be cooked on high. 4 hours on low led to pink meatballs that never cooked through.
Shirley
I tried this soup and it was a terrible failure. The recipe doesn’t say to brown the meatballs or to saute the onions prior to cooking. Kind of my fault, as I should have known better.
amanda
Ditto, Shirley. It was very frustrating to make (and fail at making!!). The meatballs just disintegrated in the broth and it ended up rendering a greasy, flesh colored mess!
Sorry you had that experience. Perhaps the amount of fat in the ground turkey (or lack thereof) contributed to the meatballs not staying together. I used lean rather than extra lean. I’ve amended the ingredient list.
Courtney B
So either I have a 3QT slow cooker or this recipe requires a 7QT. (I’m pretty sure it’s the latter). It’s cooking now but it was just ever-so-slightly too full of stuff when I followed the directions to a “T” and I had to put a cloth napkin around the slow cooker to soak up the slow drips over the edges.
I have the larger 6 quart slow cooker. I will amend that in the directions. Thanks for pointing it out.
Michelle
Love this recipe! I made it last night and it was just as good as it sounded. The only thing is my carrots didn’t get real soft, any suggestions?
rachel
mine didn’t either, and the onions stayed a bit crisp too. i’m turning it to high and leaving it for another hour or so.
ALSO: soooo good with a squeeze of lemon in the bowl! and i’m making rice to throw in there too.
Adrienne @ Chronicles of an Amateur Food Lover
Wow, this soup looks delicious! I too share your love of meatballs. They’re just so customizable! :) I must make this!
Jenny Flake
Oh yah!! I need a nice big bowl of this! Looks perfect! xoxo
kelley
Love the recipe. Didn’t mean to bust your chaps about the “skinny” thing yesterday- just not my favorite adjective. What can I say? I was an aspiring Women’s Lit major when I started college. Gotta love the slow cooker and anything with kale and meatballs, I’m all over! xo
Dina
it looks very comforting!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes)
This soup looks absolutely mind blowingly fantastic!
Sarah Adler of Simply Real Health
Ha! Bride and not a bridesmaid!
Tieghan
I need to get on this the meatball train! I have only made them once, but need to make more. This soup looks so cozy and perfect!
Sarah | The Sugar Hit
I could go for some cold weather right now! It’s mid-summer in Australia and it is SOOO HOT, but all I want to eat is soup!
Patti
Yummy hearty soup on a cold snowy day sounds perfect, and the slow cooker is an real bonus.
Love it!
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough
So much goodness! I’m declaring this the year of the meatball. And of the slow cooker. And of this soup.
Arthur in the Garden!
A great interpretation!
Ali | Gimme Some Oven
Mmmmm, my kind of comfort food. Looks beautiful!
Rachel Cooks
This looks absolutely amazing! As do the rest of those meatball recipes. Putting it on my must-make list!
Lisa
So beautiful! Pulling out the slow cooker right now. I only have ground beef on hand but figure it will still work…. A tiny meatball is a tiny meatball right? :) thanks for the great recipe!
Christine @ Cooking with Cakes
love the itty bitty meatballs!! why are things so much tastier when they’re small?
and yeah, my healthy eating always comes with a side of chocolate and a hunk of cheese #gofigure
Megan @ Country Cleaver
I’m all for slowing things down and cleaning this up with food! This looks perfect for winter and the NY resolutions!
Maria
We finally dusted off our slow cooker and have been putting it to good use! I know Josh will want to try this recipe! Perfect for a cold day!
Robyn | Add a Pinch
I love meatball soup, slow cookers, and your plan for balance. It sounds like perfection to me! xo
Kathryn
I’m a big fan of your idea of balances. Soup + chocolate seems like the best way to go. Love the flavours in this and how it manages to be both hearty and light at the same time.