Turkey Pasta Soup

Submitted by Carol G.

"this is the grand prize winner from "Light & Tasty" magazine June/July '05 issue. Easy to make,light in calories, nutritious & delicious. What more could a person want?"

 

• Ready In: 30mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 10

ingredients

• 1 cup small shell pasta
• 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 (14 1/2 ounce) cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 (15 ounce) cans cannellini beans (rinsed & drained) or (15 ounce) cans white kidney beans (rinsed & drained)
• 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans Italian stewed tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

directions

1. Cook pasta according to pkg.directions,drain & rinse in hot water.
2. In a soup kettle cook the turkey,onions & garlic until meat is no longer pink. Drain.
3. Stir in broth,beans,tomatoes & seasonings.
4. Bring to a boil then simmer, uncovered for
5. 10 minutes.
6. Add pasta & cook till heated through. Serve with some crusty bread & dinner is ready!

Reviews

[Ck2plz]

Sooo delish! This did not lack flavor at all. IMO, the fennel is a must in the soup. I am not crazy about it either but the blend of all the spices creates a wonderful pot of soup. I did use extra garlic and I left out the red pepper flakes. I will add the celery and carrots next time as someone did.

 

[bad kitty 1116]

Absolutely delicious! I added carrots, celery and fresh parsley to the soup. I sprinkled fresh grated Parmesan on each serving and made grilled cheese sandwiches with it-wonderful! I suggest you definitely use the fennel-it gives such great flavor, like you used Italian sausage but with so much less fat. Maybe if the other review had used the fennel , they might have experienced the "flavor sensation" they were missing without having to add Thai sauce, a strange addition.Great ,easy and healthy- a keeper. Thanks!

 

[Ruby of the Prairie]

This is one of the best soups I have ever made. Actually I have made it 3 times in the last few months. Served it to 2 friends just before Christmas and it was a real hit. Had really overdone the red pepper flakes, so added a bit more broth. We crushed taco chips into it instead of crackers, which was delicious. I love black beans, so substituted those for the beans and use low sodium tomatoes.

 

[Marla Swoffer]

It's a keeper! I used garlic and onion powder rather than fresh, and cooked all the seasonings (except the red pepper flakes) with the meat, so it made it like sausage. I had leftover rotini, which worked beautifully. It was very flavorful and hearty. Topped it with red pepper flakes and parmesan, served it with sourdough and cabernet. Yum!

 

[RedVinoGirl]

Oh my gosh I LOVED THIS!!! I accidentally bought SUPER lean ground turkey to make turkey burgers with and felt it would be too lean for a burger. I went in search for a way to use ground turkey and came across this one! So happy I did! I increased the garlic, used 2 cans of fire roasted tomatoes, increased the oregano, basil and fennel and also added in quite a lot of crushed red pepper and garlic powder. I also used chicken stock rather than broth. FAB! I have to admit that I pumped up the seasonings quite a bit after tasting it as stated since it had a blandish taste to it. But you can alter this one to your family's tastes and it was SUPER tasty and super healthy. My 2 and 4 year old also loved it!!! Will definitely make this one again and again. I wish I would have read the previous reviewers comments about adding in celery and carrots...would have been a great addition. I don't know how another reviewer can say this was bland after they omit something huge like fennel. Makes no sense to me! Thank you! UPDATE: Been making this regularly for months and just made a batch with sliced carrots and celery - EVEN BETTER! You can't go wrong with this recipe. I make huge batches to freeze as well. YUM!!!