Turkey Meatball Leek and Potato Lentil Soup
This soup reads healthy comfort food in a bowl! Bringing together flavorful and filling lentils and potatoes and pairing it with adorable and delicious mini turkey meatballs, all combined with tons of leeks, onions and garlic. This soup has everything you want for dinner this winter and is perfect for leftovers, too.
Inspiration, thoughts, recipe notes
Winter time means soup time! Honestly I love a soup for lunch or dinner any time of the year, but especially when it’s cold outside and I just want to curl up with soup and a blanket.
This soup was inspired by two of my mom’s favorite soups: a spicy lentil sausage soup and a meatball soup. I love lentils because they are healthy and filling and so easy to add to most soups. The meatball soup my mom makes I might like even better and is so simple and delicious – basically just little delicious meatballs in a tomato onion garlic sauce (yum!). I love meatballs and had to incorporate them somehow. They are fabulous just as is, in pasta and soups, and are especially fun if they are mini! Just like in this recipe.
I used ground turkey to make my mini meatballs, but you can definitely use Italian sausage or ground beef. Or leave them out and make it a vegetarian soup! Just as delicious.
A few notes on this soup. For the meatballs, make sure to chop the parsley very fine so when you roll the meatballs they aren’t any leaf chunks that start to separate the meat and break the ball. Take care to shape the meatballs nice and tight so they don’t break up during while they’re cooking.
For the leeks, make sure to wash each leek strand very well! Leeks are always hiding dirt in every crevice, so I like to cut the white parts from the green parts first and wash each green leaf individually. Then I take the white part at the bottom and slice it completely in half, lengthwise, and separate out each leek strand and again, wash each individually. It takes a bit of extra time but there are always dirt chucks and bugs hiding deep down in these little areas. It’s worth it though – leeks are so delicious and tender and add a great flavor to this soup!
Lastly, make sure to dice the potatoes in very small pieces, about a quarter of an inch cubes. The smaller the pieces, the quicker they will cook.
This soup is so delicious and great for leftovers too. Garnish with a bit of shredded parmesan and extra chopped parsley, and you’re in cozy soup heaven! I hope you love this one!
Turkey Meatball Leek and Potato Lentil Soup
Ingredients
Mini Turkey Meatballs
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1/2 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup fresh finely chopped parsley plus extra for optional garnish
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon each of salt, pepper, and red pepper spice
For the soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup dry lentils
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 large potato peeled and chopped into very small cubes
- 1 large brown onion chopped into small pieces
- 5 cloves garlic chopped into small chunks
- 1 leek all parts of the leek; washed thoroughly and chopped into small pieces
Spices
- 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper add more to taste!
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed basil
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper spice or crushed red pepper
Instructions
- Boil 3 cups of water. Pour the water over the lentils, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes drain the lentils and set aside, covered.
- Meanwhile, make the meatballs. Combine all meatball ingredients together in a medium sized bowl until well combined. Roll into small bite sized balls: I don't measure mine or try to get them perfectly sized, just make sure they are mini and bite sized! Set aside.
- Chop all of the veggies. In a large pot, heat up the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the garlic, onions and leeks and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add back the lentils to the pot then add all of the spices, mix well, and add the chicken broth and stir everything together.
- Add the potatoes and meatballs to the soup, stir, cover, and bring the mix to a boil. Let the soup boil for 10-12 minutes, until the potatoes are nice and tender and the meatballs fully cooked through. Serve generously into bowls, top with extra parsley, and enjoy!