From dominating restaurant menus to being the “must have” ingredient on cooking shows, kale has been “in style” for a few years now. And, it’s no wonder given this leafy vegetable is loaded with vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, can help lower cholesterol and when prepared correctly is dee-licious! A few years ago when my daughter was one and was eating only soups, I was always struggling to keep her meals interesting and healthy at the same time. So I started to experiment with different veggies and tried to get creative with different soup recipes. This particular kale soup turned out so good that my husband and I enjoyed it more than Sophie and until this day I continue to make it for our family and friends. It’s a super healthy kale soup recipe and a perfect meal for a fall evening as the weather starts to cool. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
What You’ll Need to Make this Kale Soup:
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 6 large carrots, chopped into rounds
- 6 cups kale leaves, chopped into 1 inch pieces as pictured
- Handful of finely chopped parsley
- Handful of finely chopped cilantro
- 1 pack of 16 oz ground turkey (you can do white meat only if you’d like)
- 1/2 tablespoon ground aleppo pepper
- 1 tablespoon chicken flavor bouillon (such as this one in case you’re not familiar)
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 1/2 cup short grain rice
- 2 32 oz cartons of low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Step 1: Prepare the Turkey Meatballs
- Add the ground turkey to a large mixing bowl
- Add half the onion, half the garlic cloves (3 cloves), chopped parsley, chopped cilantro, aleppo pepper, chicken flavor bouillon and sour cream (you can skip the sour cream but I like to add it because turkey meat tends to be dry and the sour cream gives it moistness and helps prevent the meatballs from being too chewy once they cook)
- Mix all the ingredients until combined, add salt and pepper to taste
- Next, create 1-inch sized meatballs until you run out of mixture, then set aside
Step 2: Make the Soup
- In a medium sized pot, add the olive oil and heat over medium heat (about 1 minute)
- Add the onions and garlic and cook for about 3-4 minutes until the onion is translucent
- Add the chopped carrots and dried parsley and cook for another 3-4 minutes
- Add the chicken broth and water then bring to a boil
- Once boiling, reduce the heat and slowly add the meatballs one by one and cook for 10 minutes
- Next, add the kale and rice and simmer for an additional 15 minutes until rice is fully cooked and kale has softened but is still a nice dark green color (make sure you don’t overcook the kale to the point where it turns a pale green because it will have an unpleasant wilted texture)
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
