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If you’ve been following the news and weather forecasts lately, then you might know that the Boston-area where we live has been getting socked with a ton of snow these last few weeks! We just had our sixth no-school, snow day of the year (and even more snow is in the forecast!) and all of us are feeling more than a little house-bound.
Here’s a view of our backyard…what you can’t see is the table and chairs to the left down on our patio that are completely covered in snow!
But there is at least one good thing about being stuck inside because of the weather…my husband Jack decides to make soup! And this time around it is today’s recipe for Turkey Meatball Soup with Orzo.
This soup is very easy to make with three basic steps: Make the turkey stock, cook the meatballs, then combine both into an incredible, hearty soup along with some vegetables and orzo pasta!
We like to serve this Turkey Meatball Soup with Orzo with some freshly grated Parmesan cheese over the top and a good crusty bread on the side! This recipe makes a large batch of soup so you can enjoy a nice hearty meal for dinner – and have enough to reheat the next day for lunch!
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Turkey Meatball Soup with Orzo
Ingredients
To Make the Stock
- 2 pounds turkey legs (about three legs, no thigh)
- 1/2 fresh parsley with stems (the more stems the better)
- 2 medium carrots washed and cut into quarters
- 1 large stalk celery cut into quarters
- 1 leek, white only cleaned of sand and quartered
- 1 garlic clove smashed
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 4 black peppercorns whole
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 quarts water
To Make the Meatballs
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/4 cup onions, minced
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
- 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Prepare the Soup
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup onions diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 2 cups carrots, diced into bite sized pieces
- 1 cup leeks, white only cleaned of sand and diced
- Stock from cooked turkey legs (about six cups)
- 1 quart additional chicken stock (carton or canned)
- Cooked meatballs
- 5 ounces fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup dry orzo pasta
- Cooked turkey meat, about one pound
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Instructions
- In a medium stock pot, put all stock ingredients, bring to a boil, cover and simmer covered for two hours. Strain and reserve the stock. Pick meat from turkey legs and hold cooked meat until later. Discard the remaining solids.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium mixing bowl, place all meatball ingredients and mix to combine.
- On a parchment lined sheet pan, scoop out 36 meatballs approximately ¾ of an ounce each. (We used a medium/#40 scoop like this one
and then hand rolled each meatball.) Bake for 20 minutes, cool and set aside. - In a soup pot or Dutch oven, heat olive oil and cook onions, celery, carrots and leeks for five minutes over medium high heat.
- Add both the fresh and carton broth along with cooked meatballs and fresh spinach. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium low for five minutes. Add dry orzo, raise temperature to medium high and cook for 15 minutes until pasta is tender.
- Add cooked turkey meat and half the Parmesan cheese. Bring to hot and serve in bowls with remaining Parmesan cheese and some good crusty bread.
and then hand rolled each meatball.) Bake for 20 minutes, cool and set aside.Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
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Turkey Soup with Potato Dumplings
Italian Chicken Soup with Meatballs and Escarole
You can go ahead and change the name of this soup to “the best soup in the history of soup”! At least, that is what I call it. Three times I have made this, and each time it just seems to get better. My non-soup loving boyfriend loved it, the coworker I shared it with loved it, and I can’t get enough of it! I recently shared the recipe with another coworker and she excitedly told me her husband made it for her, and they both loved it. Thank you for sharing this recipe, and for giving me something to look forward to on cold, rainy winter weekends.
You’re very welcome Ginger! We’re so glad you are all enjoying the soup! Thanks for writing to us today!
Absolutely the best! I added a little dill, and did not add the leak. I was delicious!
LOL “It” was delicious!
Thanks Donna!