This Lemony White Bean Soup With Turkey and Greens is the perfect meal for rainy spring days. It is light, bright and super nourishing with an earthy turmeric lemon broth.
Spring is one of my favorite times of the year but lately there’s been a whole lot more “April showers” than “May flowers” around here.
On cool rainy spring days, there’s nothing better than a warm bowl of soup. But after all those long winter months, I am SO over the hearty, heavy meals.
That’s why this Lemony White Bean Soup with Turkey and Greens is the perfect soup for springtime. It is light, lemony and full of fresh earthy herbs. Not to mention its bright yellow broth with pops of green kale and dill are just the epitome of spring colors!
What You Need To Make This Soup
- Soup veg or “mirepoix”: a mix of diced onion, celery and carrot that make up the base of many classic soups, sauces and meat dishes
- Garlic: the recipe calls for two cloves but measure with your heart
- Turmeric: adds an earthy flavor and beautiful golden color
- Vegetable or Chicken Broth: either will work for this soup, preferably low-sodium to help control saltiness
- Cooked Turkey: this is a great opportunity to use up leftover turkey! See FAQs for substitutions and notes on using raw ground turkey
- White Beans: for convenience I like to use canned beans, either cannellini, white kidney or navy beans (which despite their name, are in fact white beans)
- Green Kale: regular curly or lacinato (“dino”) kale are both fine
- Lemon: the juice of the entire lemon will be used to brighten up this springy soup
- Dill: fresh is preferred for the best flavor but dried dill can be used, too. As a general rule, use 1 teaspoon of dried herbs for every 1 tablespoon of fresh.
How To make lemony white Bean Soup With Turkey and Greens
Once you get cooking, this soup comes together quickly so have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go before you start. See the full recipe instructions below!
- In a soup pot, sauté the chopped carrots, celery and onion in olive oil for a few minutes until soft. Then add the garlic and turmeric and cook another 30 seconds. (if you want to use raw ground turkey, brown that in the oil first and then add the veggies to soften)
- Add half the beans, the cooked turkey and five cups of broth to the pot and bring it up to a boil.
- While that’s going, add the remaining broth to a blender with the other half of the beans and blend until smooth.
- Stir the blended beans into the soup with the chopped kale. Let this simmer about 10 minutes until the kale is soft.
- Finish off the soup with the juice of a lemon, fresh dill, salt and pepper.
Easy peasy, lemon-squeezy!
Is White Bean & Turkey Soup Healthy?
This soup makes a great balanced meal as it contains healthy fats (olive oil), lean protein (turkey, white beans) and is packed with high-fiber and vitamin-rich veggies. By stirring in blended beans, you also add in some more sneaky fiber and a bit of creaminess without having to use heavy cream.
This soup is great on its own or enjoy it with some crusty bread and butter to soak up the delicious broth.
tips for controlling sodium
While our bodies do need some sodium to be healthy, many of us are consuming more than the recommended daily amounts. Too much sodium can lead to high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for stroke and heart disease. As convenience and restaurant foods are usually high in sodium, cooking at home is a great strategy to lower your intake as you have control over the ingredients you use.
To control the sodium of this soup:
- choose a low-sodium boxed broth or use homemade
- choose low-sodium canned beans and rinse well before using, OR
- soak and cook dried beans without adding salt
- season the soup a little at a time, tasting as you go to avoid over-salting
As a general rule, I prefer to use low-sodium ingredients and add in additional seasoning if needed, rather than be stuck with a too-salty soup that is difficult to fix.
Storage & Meal Prep Tips
Soup is amazing for make-ahead lunch or dinner throughout the week because of how well it keeps. Plus, sometimes soup tastes even better the next day!
Fridge Storage: ladle cooled soup into an airtight container and store in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave until steaming and well heated throughout.
Freezer Storage: freeze cooled soup in airtight containers, leaving some headspace for the soup to expand when frozen. Repurposed deli takeout containers are perfect for this. You can also freeze soup flat in large freezer bags for a real space-saving hack. Defrost in the fridge overnight.
Meal Prep: store soup in individual portion containers so that they are easy to grab for lunch on the go, plus you only have to defrost or reheat one meal at a time rather than the whole leftover pot.
Turkey & White Bean Soup FAQ’s:
Yes! To use raw ground turkey in this recipe, completely brown the meat in the olive oil first, then proceed with adding the chopped vegetables and the rest of the instructions.
My favorite kind of white beans to use for this soup are navy beans, cannellini or white kidney beans. For convenience sake, I usually choose low-sodium canned beans but you can also use dried beans that have been pre-soaked and cooked, too.
Blending the beans gives the soup a touch of creaminess (and some sneaky extra fiber) without having to use cream or dairy but it is not a totally necessary step of this recipe. Add all of the beans whole in Step 2 if you wish!
Lemony White Bean Soup With Turkey and Greens
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
6 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth, divided
2 (19 oz) cans white beans, rinsed
2 cups cooked turkey, shredded
2 cups kale, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot and sauté for 5 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the garlic and turmeric and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
- Add 5 cups of the broth to the pot, along with the cooked turkey and half of the rinsed beans. Bring soup up to a boil.
- Meanwhile, add the second can of (rinsed) beans to a blender with the remaining cup of broth. Blend until smooth and then stir beans into the soup along with the chopped kale. Reduce soup to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until kale has wilted.
- Season the soup with salt and black pepper. Stir in the juice of one lemon and the fresh dill.
- Ladle soup into bowls and enjoy!
Notes
Blender: you can also use an immersion blender to blend half of the beans with broth, or to blend some of the soup directly to achieve the desired texture and consistency
Ground Turkey: if you want to use raw ground turkey rather than cooked, sauté the meat first in olive oil until browned, then proceed with adding the vegetables.
Kale Subs: if you’re not a fan of kale try using spinach instead
Sodium: to avoid a too-salty soup, use low sodium broth and beans, rinse beans before using, and then season soup to taste. It’s much easier to add salt at the end than try and fix a salty soup!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
