Summer Minestrone with Turkey Meatballs
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A hearty, freezer-friendly soup chockfull of fresh garden vegetables. A classic summertime dinner!
Featured Comment
I know. Soup in the summertime? Have I gone mad? Well, maybe but I find that there’s something even more cozy about soup this time of year.
You know, as you drip sweat in the 98 degree summer heat and humidity. But don’t worry. We’re using up all of our favorite garden vegetables and staples here with homemade turkey meatballs. It’s pure summer comfort in a bowl with the tender simmering veggies and juicy meatballs with the refreshing lemon kick in every single bite.
why i love this recipe
- Great way to use fresh summer produce
- Sneaked in leafy greens for grown ups and picky eaters
- Easy recipe to make ahead of time, particularly the meatballs
- Flexible recipe, using different meat and vegetables you have on hand
- So cozy when feeling under the weather (basically a hug in a bowl)
- Freezer-friendly for all your summer needs
tips and tricks for success
- Use your favorite meat. Ground pork, beef, chicken or turkey will all work very well here for the meatballs.
- Prep the meatballs ahead of time. The meatballs can be assembled up to 1 day in advance and placed in the fridge until ready to use. The uncooked meatballs can also be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month (once flash freezing), thawing overnight in the fridge. For a quicker shortcut, substitute frozen mini meatballs (I personally love Trader Joe’s party size mini meatballs – a huge guilty pleasure of mine!).
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
- Add freshly squeezed lemon juice. Lemon juice will elevate your summer minestrone soup, adding a fresh, bright flavor and balancing out all the saltiness and richness of the soup.
- Freeze as needed. This soup freezes beautifully but if you plan to freeze, cook the veggies slightly firm so they can hold up during freezing and reheating.
what to serve with Summer Minestrone with Turkey Meatballs
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Summer Minestrone with Turkey Meatballs: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! Ground pork, ground beef or ground chicken can be used instead of ground turkey.
Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb and can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store.
Place the uncooked meatballs on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper, freezing for 1 hour until solid. Transfer the meatballs to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 1 month.
You can use either chicken broth or chicken stock but always season, to taste, as store-bought broth is often saltier than store-bought stock. Broth is made from meat and vegetables while stock is often lower sodium and thicker than broth, and is made from bones and vegetables.
The ditalini pasta is cooked directly in the soup, absorbing all the flavorful broth. But if you are planning for leftovers or freezing, the pasta should be cooked and stored separately.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the pasta (or else they will get mushy) in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop, adding freshly cooked ditalini pasta when serving.
Summer Minestrone with Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 rib celery, diced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- ¾ cup ditalini pasta
- 2 medium zucchini, halved and sliced
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
For the turkey meatballs
- 1 pound ground turkey breast
- ⅓ cup Panko
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, Panko, Parmesan, garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes, if using; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 3/4-to-1-inch meatballs, forming about 30-32 meatballs.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the stockpot. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in thyme until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in chicken stock and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Stir in pasta and meatballs; reduce heat and simmer until pasta is tender and meatballs are cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.
- Stir in zucchini and spinach until the spinach has wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in lemon juice and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
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Oh my gosh this was sooooo good, I never made a minestrone before and this is like perfect and new favorite, my husband ate like 3 bowls. It’s flavorful and the meatballs have a bit of a kick with the red pepper flakes. This going to be a staple dish in our house! Please try it!!
It’s February now but soup always works in winter, so with zucchini I needed to use and a craving for something nourishing I made this soup. We liked it and I can see eating it in the summer…I probably just wouldn’t make it in the hottest weather. I didn’t enjoy making the meatballs first, but it’s not like I didn’t know I was going to have to do that, it just takes a little more time. Next time I make it, I think I’ll make meatballs the day before or possibly even make them and freeze them to use whenever! Thanks for another nice recipe 🙂
I love all your recipes and this is no exception. My husband and anyone I feed it too go crazy for this soup. I can never get my ratios to look as pretty as yours but I am going to keep trying. This is a reliable recipe FULL of veggies. Love it.
This soup was awesome!
I’ve made this before and it was great but the ingredients seem to be messed up on here for me – rotisserie chicken, Half and half No zucchini etc
So sorry about that! We had a temporary system glitch but it should be fixed now. 🙂
This isn’t the recipe I originally saw just earlier today. It appears changes have been made to the recipe. It doesn’t provide the ingredients and measurements for the meatballs. Ingredients for the soup seem different now too. Peas instead of spinach. .?????
So sorry about that! We had a temporary system glitch but it should be fixed now. 🙂
I don’t often post reviews but this soup was a hit! Even my picky hubby and daughter ate it. I used a gf panko for the meatballs and threw in some leftover corn. Delish!!!!!
Thank you for your amazing collection of recipes. They are always a hit and I have shared so many with friends and family.
Very tasty summer soup recipe. Loved the little turkey meatballs.
Excellent, easy, simple, tasty and healthy recipe. I had slight issues with the meatballs sticking to the pan, but when I deglazed the pan with the chicken stock, the brown goodness added wonderful flavor to the soup. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes.
This soup is the best I’ve ever made. It’s packed with flavor, satisfying and everyone is my family loved it. My husband and nephew had seconds and thirds
Amazing my husband only liked traditional minestrone! This changed his mind! Used frozen cocktail meatballs which shortened the cooking time! A definite do again!
This is my go to soup during non-winter months. I am making my first batch now! I will make this weekly for the next 7 months! Absolutely wonderful!!!! If your broth is bland, add a little chicken “better than bouillon.”
I made this recipe tonight. We loved it. I like blending the whole lemon with a little water. I didn’t add the noodles as I am eating low carb. This soup has so much flavor. My niece and nephew loved the meatballs. I will be making this soup again for sure.
I just made this for the teachers where my kid attend. I followed the recipe to a T and believe me this is one of the tastiest soup I’ve ever made. Thank you for sharing is amazing soup.
This is the third time that I’ve made this and it’s delicious I love minestrone soup and I’m picky about how it tastes. My family loves it also and my daughter isn’t a big fan of soup
Delicious and so easy. The lemon and fresh parsley really makes the taste!
I added fresh Thyme and Rosemary because I had it on hand. Also added can of tiny diced tomatoes.
DELICIOUS!!! I added 2 extra garlic cloves of garlic in meatball mixture (mine were small) and extra cup of spinach. This soup will become a regular meal.
I added navy beans in place of pasta, I didn’t have any on hand. Fabulous flavor and bright . On another occation all I had on hand was spicy italian sausage so I used it for the meatballs ( had to remove it from casing , but worth it) I also used almond flour in place of panko and 2 TBS of greek yogurt so it wouldn’t lose moisture. came out perfect. It really is a versitile recipe, thanks.
I love this soup! It is in constant rotation in our home! If I’m feeling super lazy I just buy frozen meatballs and it still tastes amazing!
Super tasty!
I let my soul simmer for 15 minutes before adding meatballs and noodles.
My dad can’t stop eating this which means I can’t stop making it!
My dad is 89 and is sensitive to many foods. He adores your soup. It has been such a comfort to him. Thank you!!