Hearty Ground Turkey Soup (Quick and Easy Recipe)

This Hearty Ground Turkey Soup is high in protein and fiber. It’s super flavorful and comforting because it’s a little bit creamy, thanks to lentils and barley. 

This healthy soup will make a perfect addition to your weekly soup rotation in late fall and winter.

It’s delicious, satisfying, and will keep you full for hours. You can eat it for lunch, and it’s also perfect for weeknight meals. 

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Here are four reasons why this recipe is a keeper:

• This recipe is very budget-friendly because barley and lentils are usually quite inexpensive.
• The soup is made with plain, easy-to-find ingredients that most people have on hand in their fridge and pantry.
• This recipe is pretty easy to make and is perfect for beginners.
• This hearty soup is great for meal prep because you can cook it once on the weekend and then eat it a few times during the week. You can also freeze it in portions for later.

Ingredients Overview

Here is what you will need to make this Ground Turkey Soup:

• Leeks: Leeks are just like onions but taste milder and sweeter. Make sure to wash them if needed because leeks can be very sandy. Always use only the white parts of leeks.
• Bell peppers: Bell peppers are sweet and juicy. They add flavor and a touch of bright red color to the soup. Make sure to core the peppers and remove all the seeds because they can taste bitter.
• Carrots: Carrots are a must in soups!  I like to grate them, but you can also just thinly slice them or cut them into small dice.
• Turkey: Ground turkey makes a great protein base for soups. It has a mild taste and doesn’t overpower the dish.
• Chicken stock: Use a mild-tasting homemade or commercially prepared chicken broth. It’s better to use a low-sodium or no-salt-added stock to avoid sodium overload. You can also use vegetable broth.
• Lentils: You can use any type of lentils in this soup. Red lentils will completely fall apart, and you will end up with a creamier soup. Use red lentils if you want to disguise lentils from the lentil haters in your family. Brown and green lentils will remain intact.
• Barley: Barley makes this soup very filling. You can use pot or pearl barley in this recipe. Just keep in mind that pearl barley will become very soft.
• Aromatics: To make this soup more flavorful, I added thyme, garlic powder, lemon juice, and soy sauce.

How to Cook Ground Turkey Soup

Here are step-by-step instructions on how to make this easy recipe:

1. Cook the leeks: In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally, until the leeks start to caramelize, for about 3 minutes.
2. Saute the vegetables: Add the bell peppers and carrots and stir. Cover and cook until the vegetables start to soften, for about 3 to 4 minutes. Make sure to stir from time to time.
3. Cook the ground turkey: With a spatula, push the vegetables to the sides of the pot. Add the ground turkey to the middle and cook, breaking it into small pieces with a spatula.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and finish cooking: Once the turkey is cooked through, add the remaining ingredients – chicken stock, water, lentils, barley, garlic powder, thyme, lemon juice, and soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Cover and cook for about 25 minutes.

Variations

This ground turkey soup recipe is very versatile.

You can cook it as is or adapt it to your taste and dietary preferences. Take this simple recipe as a base and tweak it depending on what you have on hand.

Here are a few ideas:

• This soup is made with barley, but you can use quinoa instead if you want to make it gluten-free. If you decide to use quinoa, I would increase the amount to one cup because quinoa doesn’t expand as much as barley.
• You can also experiment with adding different vegetables. For example, zucchini, celery, butternut squash, green beans, or sweet potato would taste great in this soup.
• This ground turkey vegetable soup is made without tomatoes. But if you like tomatoes, you can add some fresh or canned diced tomatoes to it. You can also add tomato paste.
• It’s also possible to experiment with different aromatics. You could add lime juice instead of lemon juice or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. You could also add fresh dill and/or parsley instead of thyme. Dried herbs such as dried oregano, basil, or Italian seasoning would also be wonderful in this delicious soup.
• Leafy greens such as spinach or kale will also make great additions to this soup.

Storing and Reheating

Store this ground turkey soup in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You can also freeze it for up to 2 months.

The soup can be easily reheated on the stovetop or in a microwave.

More Healthy Soup Recipes

Here are a few other recipes for the soup season:

• Mushroom and Barley Soup
• Canned Black Bean Soup
• Barley Vegetable Soup
• Hearty Chicken White Bean Soup
• Chicken Soup without Noodles

This recipe was first published on December 2, 2014. It was fully updated on December 11, 2020, to improve the flavor and the preparation method.