Pasta Pesto Soup With Turkey and Spinach
Updated Feb. 2, 2026
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1onion, chopped
- ¼teaspoon crushed red pepper, more to taste
- ½teaspoon fine sea or table salt, more to taste
- ½pound ground turkey
- ½ cup pesto, store-bought or homemade, more for serving
- 1quart vegetable or chicken broth
- 1cup orzo or macaroni
- 5ounces baby spinach
- 1lemon, halved
- Whole-milk ricotta, for serving (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
514 calories; 28 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 26 grams protein; 1073 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat a large pot over medium-high for a minute or so to warm it up. Add the oil and heat until it thins out, about 30 seconds. Add onion, red pepper and a pinch of salt, and cook until very soft and brown at the edges, 7 to 10 minutes.
- Step 2
Add the turkey and pesto, and cook, breaking up the turkey with your spoon, until the meat is browned in spots, 4 to 7 minutes.
- Step 3
Add broth and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the soup is nice and flavorful, adding more salt and red pepper, if needed, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the pasta during the last 10 to 12 minutes (check the package instructions for the pasta timing).
- Step 4
Add the spinach to the pot and simmer until soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Squeeze some lemon juice into the pot, adding as much as you like to make the soup lively and bright. If using the ricotta, add dollops to the pot but don’t stir it in — just let it sit for a minute or two to heat up.
- Step 5
Serve the soup with more pesto drizzled on top.
Private Notes
Comments
Used homemade chicken Italian sausage (fennel is lovely with the pesto/lemon!). Browned with onion/garlic. EASILY doubled so use a pound of orzo. Recipe used, method changed. HATE pasta left in broth; it swells/absorbs ALL liquid. Cooked meat/onion/garlic, pepper, added broth; added pesto when I added baby greens, so flavor was still super-bright and fresh; turned off heat, to just melt the pesto/wilt greens. Cooked pasta separately; added to bowls, then ladled soup. Ricotta on table.
Sorry if this is a duplicate message. I have always been taught that one never ever cooks pesto. And now I’m being told to cook it for up to 7 min on medium heat? Doesn’t heat destroy all that’s great about pesto and make it dark and bitter?
Keeper recipe! Used rotisserie chicken leftover (about 1 lb.) Added 2 extra cups broth because the orzo absorbs the liquid if you let the soup sit too long before eating. Added extra spinach and a bit more lemon. Topped with grated parmesan cheese.
Just saying that turkey is not vegetarian of course so I am not sure why it is on the easy vegetarian recipes list. :)
I doubled the recipe because I had a pound of ground turkey. The soup was delicious. I think doubling the turkey and just using the original recipe would have been fine, but we have some rad leftovers. @Caryn O
Apologize for not reading through comments, but adding 1C. Orzo....dried or cooked. 1Cup dried would not have made it soup, more like a blob. I added 12. c. dried and it still was very thick