Summer Minestrone with Turkey Meatballs
by Chungah
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The best summer soup! Chockfull of fresh garden vegetables with homemade turkey meatballs (freezer-friendly!). Light, hearty, and so so cozy.
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why you’ll love summer minestrone
- Use up summer produce. This soup is the perfect way to repurpose all the fresh summer produce and garden vegetables into the most comforting seasonal soup with a refreshing, vibrant lemon kick in every single bite.
- Picky-eater and kid-friendly. There are all the sneaked-in leafy greens and nutrition for both grown-ups and picky eaters!
- Flexible recipe. The recipe includes homemade turkey meatballs (that can be made ahead of time or frozen!) with so much flexibility, using ground beef or chicken instead, or even swapping with store-bought meatballs for a quick shortcut.
- Hug-in-a-bowl. Not to mention, this is by far the coziest soup on a warm summer night (or any night, really), particularly when you’re feeling under the weather or fighting off a cold.
- Make-ahead and freezer-friendly. Of course both the soup and meatballs freeze like a dream for all your summertime needs (more on that below).
What is summer minestrone soup?
Summer minestrone is a variation of traditional minestrone soup highlighting summer produce with more of a lighter, vibrant broth. It can be served for both lunch or dinner alongside some crusty bread for sopping.
What vegetables can I use in summer minestrone?
- Aromatics: garlic, onion, carrots, and celery
- Squash: zucchini or yellow squash
- Sweet corn: corn on the cob
- Greens: spinach, kale, or swiss chard
- Herbs: basil, cilantro, or thyme
How to make summer minestrone
- Make the meatballs. Combine the ground turkey, Panko, Parmesan, garlic, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper just until the ingredients are combined, working carefully not to overwork the mixture. Gently roll the mixture to form 3/4-to-1-inch meatballs.
- Cook the meatballs. Working in batches, cook the meatballs in a Dutch oven over medium heat until all sides are browned and seared; set aside. The meatballs do not have to be completely cooked here as they will finish cooking in the soup.
- Sauté the aromatics. Cook the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery, stirring in the thyme until fragrant. Add a splash of white wine here (optional) until reduced by half, about 1-2 minutes.
- Simmer. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Stir in the uncooked pasta and browned meatballs, letting it simmer until the pasta is al dente and the meatballs are cooked through.
- Add greens. Stir in zucchini and spinach (or any other leafy greens).
- Add the finishing touches. Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice and parsley, seasoning one last time with salt and pepper.
- Serve. Serve warm with a dollop of pesto and a sprinkle of Parmesan!
Make-ahead, storing and freezing meatballs
Make-ahead
The uncooked meatballs can be made 1 day in advance and placed on a baking sheet (covered) in the fridge.
Storing
Leftover cooked meatballs (on their own or in the soup) can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Freezing uncooked meatballs
Place the assembled 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, freezing up to 1 month. Thaw overnight.
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
Video
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
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.
Equipment
Notes
- Use your favorite meat. Ground pork, beef, chicken or turkey will all work very well here for the meatballs.
- Don’t overwork the meatballs. Using your hands (or a wooden spoon, but preferably hands), combine the meatballs just until combined. Overmixing will yield tough turkey meatballs!
- Prep the meatballs ahead of time. The meatballs can be assembled up to 1 day in advance or stored in the freezer for long term storage. For a quicker shortcut, substitute frozen mini meatballs (I personally love Trader Joe’s party size mini meatballs – a huge guilty pleasure of mine!).
- Add a splash of wine. Add a splash of white wine when sautéing the aromatics to create a quick restaurant-quality soup! It is a great way to deglaze the pan from the meatballs and to add bright, rich flavors. Opt for pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc (never using cooking wine), letting it reduce by half (about 1-2 minutes).
- 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.
- 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.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
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!!
Fab, quick & delicious. Added pinches of bouillon & shaoxing wine for twist because I’ve made this so many times!
I kinda winged this, which I never do! Due to dietary issues, I made the meatballs with beef, beef broth, used brown rice and Swiss chard instead of spinach & left out the lemon juice. Got a TOTAL thumbs up from the guys! Wait, what???? Hooray! Thanks, again, for another great recipe! You rock lady!
Do you have the nutrition facts on this?
This was delicious! I added rice because as I was cooking I realized there was no pasta in the pantry. So much for being prepared:). Will definitely make this again.
This soup was amazing! We loved it, I use so many of your recipes! I can’t wait to make this again!
Good but the zucchini was raw and no one liked it. I will make it again but put the zucchini in with the meatballs and pasta. That will cook it more. Thanks.
So bright and delicious! Also quick and easy. A keeper for sure. Thanks for the recipe!!
I doubled the lemon juice. It was delicious!
This was a really tasty soup! Thanks for a great recipe.
Made this tonight with a few changes because of allergies. For the meatballs I skipped the parmesan cheese and used Trader Joe’s gluten free rice crumbs in place of the panko. They turned out great! I followed the soup recipe except used brown rice in place of the pasta. This was such a flavorful soup…so good! My family loved it too! It will definitely be added to my list of favorite recipes and not just as a summer soup!
Of course, I made changes, because I use what I have…I used any pasta on hand. I made double everything except water, only 6 cups. I forgot the zucchini, but added other vegies. Delicious!!!!!!!