Southwest Turkey Soup with Sweet Potato and Kale
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This Southwest Turkey Soup is a quick and easy 30-minute hardy soup filled with healthy vegetables like sweet potato and kale and deliciously robust with smoky flavors of chili powder, cumin, and paprika.
What I Adore About This Turkey Soup
Soup recipes of all kinds are a constant in my kitchen. Twelve months of the year, and yes, including summer, too! But when the weather is consistently chilly, hearty soups like this one are favored!
Especially when the flavors are robust, the ingredients are simple, and it’s ready in 30 minutes or less.
And if you love sweet potatoes as much as I do, you may also want to try my Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole for a healthy morning start or my velvety, pureed Sweet Potato Soup that’s ready in 20 minutes.
Let’s make some soup!
Turkey Soup Ingredients
Here’s what you need:
- Olive oil for cooking
- Ground turkey
- Sweet potatoes (I prefer a bright orange-colored sweet potato)
- Aromatics: Onion, chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper
- Vegetables: Bell pepper and chopped kale (or your favorite greens like spinach)
- Chicken broth
How to Make Ground Turkey Soup with Sweet Potatoes
This soup is a simple one pot recipe using a large Dutch oven. Here are the quick and easy steps:
Brown the ground turkey
Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add ground turkey, season with salt and pepper, and brown until it’s no longer pink, breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks.
Saute vegetables
Add the onion, bell pepper, and spices. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent. Toss in the sweet potatoes and brown a little so they will become nice and flavorful.
Simmer the soup
Add the broth, 1 cup of water, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender. Add the kale and simmer until wilted.
Topping Ideas
Get creative with your topping to personalize this turkey soup recipe. Topping that you love on chili recipes works equally on top of this soup. Here are some ideas:
- Add a bit of heat with red pepper flakes
- A creamy topping, like sour cream or Greek yogurt, is delicious as it melts into the soup
- Shredded cheese is always a good idea
- Chopped green onions bring bright color and texture
- Avocado, whether sliced or cubed, is one of my favorites.
Variations
Here are some variations of this ground turkey soup you might want to try:
- Add beans: Black beans are especially delicious, but endless possibilities exist!
- Make it vegetarian: You can easily eliminate the ground meat (or add a vegan substitution) and cook the recipe as written, eliminating the first step.
- Substitute the ground meat: This recipe works equally well with ground beef or chicken!
More Southwest Recipes You May Also Love
- This Southwest Chicken Salad is a 15 to 20-minute meal with tender chicken and all the crisp greens you can imagine.
- Combining delicious Tex-Mex flavors in one hardy soup, this Southwest Corn Chowder combines tender sweet corn and potatoes in a creamy broth.
- With healthy nutrients and proteins, this Southwestern Chicken Quinoa Bake is a family favorite skillet dish you can whip up in no time.
- This One Pot Taco Pasta is perfect for anyone who loves Mac & Cheese with Southwest flavors, it’s the best of all Tex Mex flavors in a quick and easy weeknight dish.
Southwest Turkey Soup with Sweet Potato and Kale
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 4 cups diced sweet potatoes (about 2-3 small)
- 1 cup diced onion about 1/2 of an onion
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1-2 cups water as needed for consistency
- 2-3 cups chopped kale
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add ground turkey, season with salt and pepper, and brown until it's no longer pink, breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks.
- Add the onion, bell pepper, and spices. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent. Toss in the sweet potatoes and brown a little so they will become nice and flavorful.
- Add the broth, 1 cup of water, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sweet potatoes are fork-tender.
- Add the kale and continue to simmer until it's wilted.
- Top with optional toppings and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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