This is one of those soups you just can’t stop eating. The idea first came to me because I wanted to make something reminiscent of those good old Spaghetti-O’s you probably had as a kid.
Except you know, I figured we’d elevate the flavor a bit with plenty of herbs, spices, pesto-infused mini turkey meatballs, orzo (cause we’re grown-ups now) and a creamy sweet coconut milk tomato broth that’s simply OUT OF THIS WORLD DELICIOUS.
I first shared this wonderful creamy tomato orzo soup recipe back in January of 2021 — the time of year when all of that annoying hype to “detox” and focus on what to stop doing seems to be everything. Whenever I see those types of messages, whether it’s in the new year or during the holiday season, I like to remind myself what I can add to my life. We can truly “reset” by slowing down, rejuvenating and grounding ourselves, moving more intentionally, finding ways to connect with people, and of course, nourishing our bodies with food that’s just as comforting as it is nutrient-dense. AKA it’s the perfect time to show ourselves some love with a big bowl of nutritious grown-up Spaghetti-O’s — are you down?
Trust your girl, and make this soup. You’ll love it and your kids will love it. The end.
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What is orzo?
Orzo is a type of pasta that’s cut short to look like long grain rice. It’s similar in texture to rice but I love the extra delicious chewiness that it gives to soups and traditional pasta dishes. I like to use it similarly to pearl couscous like in my famous chicken soup recipe.
Ingredients in this orzo tomato soup
This super creamy tomato orzo soup uses tons of pantry staples for a wonderful, easy weeknight dinner that’s basically a hug in a bowl. There’s truly nothing better than healthy comfort food when it’s cold outside. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:
- For the mini turkey meatballs: we’re using lean ground turkey, breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper. I also added in a bit of basil pesto and it was truly phenomenal! My son loved the meatballs on their own, too! Feel free to try my homemade pesto for the ultimate treat.
- Veggies: you’ll need an onion, carrot & spinach.
- For the broth: the creamy tomato broth is made with garlic, canned crushed tomatoes, light coconut milk (from the can), chicken broth, more Italian seasoning, salt & pepper.
- Orzo: you’ll also need some dry orzo to throw in and make the soup extra delicious.
Easy ways to customize this tomato orzo soup
This wonderful soup is easy to customize with different ingredient swaps to make it your own. Here’s what I can recommend:
- Go gluten free. Simply use a gluten free orzo or swap the orzo for rice, and use gluten free breadcrumbs in the meatballs.
- Keep it vegetarian. Feel free to omit the meatballs and add a can of rinsed, drained chickpeas if you’d like extra protein. Then be sure to use vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth.
- Try a new pasta shape. This orzo tomato soup would be delicious with your fav pasta shape like elbows or even spaghetti-o’s.
How to make creamy orzo tomato soup with turkey meatballs
- Make your mini meatballs. You’ll first form the meatballs by mixing the ingredients together in a large bowl and then rolling together ½ inch mini meatballs. Brown these cuties in a skillet and set them aside.
- Saute your veggies. Then you’ll cook down the garlic, onion and carrot a bit so that they soften.
- Put it all together. Stir in the rest of your ingredients besides the spinach, carefully stir in your meatballs, and let it all simmer and cook. Add your spinach right at the end just so that it wilts.
- Serve it up. Serve with extra pesto if you’d like, parmesan, crackers and maybe some homemade garlic bread!
Try it in your slow cooker
Yes, this easy turkey meatball tomato orzo soup can be made in your slow cooker for ease!
- Brown your meatballs as-directed and set aside.
- Add the rest of your ingredients besides the orzo & spinach to your slow cooker. Stir in the meatballs and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-7 hours.
- Once done cooking, add the orzo and spinach, cover and cook on high for 15-20 minutes or until the orzo is al dente.
Time-saving tip
If you’re crunched for time, you can also skip the meatball rolling and simply brown your ground turkey in a skillet completely with the same spices listed, then proceed with the recipe as directed. It will still be delicious!
You could also fully cook your meatballs 1-2 days beforehand and simply stir them into the soup when it’s about done cooking.
Storing & freezing
- In the refrigerator: this creamy tomato orzo soup will stay good in your fridge for about 3-5 days, though I doubt it will last that long! Once your soup is completely cooled, just place it in an airtight container (or multiple, if you’d like to meal prep it). To reheat it, simply do so in the microwave with a microwave safe bowl, or feel free to reheat it on the stovetop.
- In the freezer: follow the instructions above, but instead of placing the soup in the refrigerator just put it in your freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, simply thaw the soup overnight and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave when you’re ready to eat.
More delicious soup recipe
- Roasted Garlic Cheddar Cauliflower Soup
- Creamy White Bean Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Vegan Coconut Tomato Lentil Soup
- Healing Ginger Coconut Chicken Brown Rice Soup
- Slow Cooker White Wine Chicken Stew
Get all of my soup recipes here!
I hope you love this wonderful creamy turkey meatball tomato orzo soup! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Creamy Tomato Orzo Soup with Mini Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- For the meatballs:
- 1 pound 93% lean ground turkey
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Optional (but recommended): 2 tablespoons basil pesto
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, for cooking
- For the soup:
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounce) can light coconut milk
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
- 6 ounces uncooked orzo (or about 1 cup uncooked orzo)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- For mix-ins:
- 2-3 cups organic spinach
- For serving:
- Fresh shredded parmesan cheese
- Extra basil pesto
Instructions
- In a large bowl, use your hands to combine the turkey, breadcrumbs, italian seasoning, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, pesto, salt and pepper. Mix together until well combined and roll into approximately 40-45 1/2 inch mini sized meatballs.
- Place a large skillet over medium high heat and add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add meatballs in batches and brown on all sides. This will take about 5-6 minutes per batch. You don't need to cook them all the way through, as they will finish cooking in the soup. Once meatballs have browned nicely, transfer them to a large plate and set aside.
- In a large pot, add in ½ tablespoon olive oil and place over medium heat. Add in garlic, onion and carrot and saute until onion and carrots slightly soften, about 3-5 minutes. Next add in crushed tomatoes, coconut milk, chicken broth, Italian seasoning, orzo, salt and pepper and stir well. Add in browned meatballs back into the soup. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally stir in spinach and cook for another minute or until spinach wilts. Taste soup and adjust seasonings as necessary, adding more salt and pepper if you’d like.
- Serve soup immediately with extra basil pesto swirled in, parmesan, crackers and/or garlic bread. Serves 6.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on January 31st, 2021, republished on October 31st, 2022, and republished on January 26th, 2025.
This was really flavorful, filling and fairly easy to make but when I make it again, I I’ll sub half & half for the coconut milk. There was just a slight taste of the coconut that didn’t pair that well with the Italian flavors. Loved the mini meatballs.
Such a cozy dinner! This will work just as well with half and half 🙂 Let me know how you like it the next time!
Make sure you stir a lot cause I followed all the steps and my orzo burned to the bottom
So strange! I haven’t had that issue before with adding grains to soup, but yes, giving it a stir will help!
Looks amazing! Can I substitute the coconut milk for oat milk?
The oat milk might be a bit thin and not as flavorful as coconut milk, but the soup should still simmer together!
This is a go to favourite soup now in our house. My husband can’t stop eating it. Great flavour, perfect for the winter.
I’m so glad!
Perfect soup to keep you warm & full during the cold winter months! I recommend making Monique’s garlic bread to go with it 🙂
Absolutely! Such a great combo!
One THOUSAND percent will make again! This was a flavor slam dunk in the mouth. We were so excited to have plenty of leftovers on this one 🙂 Thanks for the awesome recipe!
So happy to hear that!!
Holy AMAZING!! Seriously, you knocked it out of the park with this one. The flavors were so balanced and comforting- I had to stop myself from eating bowl after bowl (only because it’s coming to work with me tomorrow for lunch!!). I will be making this again and again. The only thing I edited was I got protein orzo which surprisingly did not become mush! Bravo Monique, you’re a genius.
One of our favorites, too! Glad it was a hit!
Amazing soup! Followed the recipe to a tee and it turned out fabulous! Husband approved as well.
For those skeptical of the coconut milk, you don’t even taste it, it helps cut the acidity and creates a creamy base.
So happy to hear that! And yes, coconut milk adds the perfect amount of creaminess 🙂
We absolutely love this recipe and it’s on our regular rotation. Our three kids (6, 2, 11m) also love it. I’ve used ground beef with chicken broth and ground turkey with beef broth and love it as well. I often make a fresh loaf in my bread maker and it’s such a hearty, satisfying dinner!!
One of our favorites, too! So glad it was a hit with the whole family!
Super tasty! I baked the mini meatballs so I had a little less hands on time and otherwise followed the directions. It was so yummy, I froze some for future meals!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
Made the soup recipe exactly stated and it was delicious. It makes a good amount. no need to really double it. But next time I’m gonna double it and freeze it. It was delicious.
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This is such a great meal! Made this Sunday night and it was lunch for my husband and I Monday-Wednesday. To make it bigger, I just did the whole bag of orzo. Also, we dont really like green pesto so I used red pesto instead and it was delicious.
Perfect! So glad you both enjoyed!
Absolutely phenomenal! I hit with the whole family. Added extra orzo to suit our personal preferences but the flavor was out of this world:)
Love that! such a great dinner 🙂
This recipe is SO tasty!! I absolutely loved it! I used pre-made plant based meatballs as I’m vegetarian and I had them in the freezer. It’s filling, healthy, delicious and easy to make. Thank you for your amazing food and inspiration.
Perfect! So glad you loved this one!
This was so freakin’ good! Man, that broth is tasty, hubs loved this, too. Making the meatballs is wicked time consuming (get two sets of hands!), but the rest of it came together in no time. Subbed in the anelli (ring) pasta for that authentic feel, but definitely recommend doubling if others do the same, it was a bit too brothy. Or, I loved someone’s idea of adding zucchini! And even though I forgot the dang pesto in the meatballs, they were very tasty. Next time, tho, I may just brown the meat straight up as others did, or veg it up with cannellinis. Customizable and delicious, I’ll for sure make this over and over. Going to try the hidden veggie spaghetti-O recipe first, though!! Thanks as always for your magical recipes. 🙂
This one’s great for customizing! So glad you both loved it!
Tried this today, but with store bought turkey meatballs . It turned out very nice but I doubted the 1 cup of orzo. It didn’t look like enough so I added a half cup and starch took over. I would try this again.
Great idea to use store-bought meatballs! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
So so so good. I had to go back for seconds. The flavors are perfect. Will be added to our rotation of recipes.
One of our favs, too! Glad you loved it!
This tomatoe soup is to die for.
My family said it’s the best they have ever tasted. Thank you sooooo much.
I really look forward to your daily recipes.
I’m so glad! One of our fav soups, too 🙂
I *really* liked this recipe. I made it vegetarian by throwing in a can of white beans vs. turkey meatballs. I was worried about losing out on the seasonings from the meatballs, however, and so added those to the soup at the same time as the other seasonings. Since I didn’t make the meatballs, this came together in no time. Easy peasy. I added 10oz of chickpea orzo (boosting the protein & GF for my husband!) b/c that was the size of box & I can’t stand partial boxes of pasta – I never use them. The extra orzo made for a thicker consistency, not quite stew but heartier than soup. This made a big pot of soup and I am loving the leftovers.
Love that! Great idea to add white beans and chickpea orzo — YUM.
Yum!! I didnt have enough coconut milk so subbed in some whole milk and may have added too much because the soup was very light in color, didnt make meatballs and just browned the meat instead, very good!!
I’m glad it was still delicious!!
Just made this — love! I upped the veggies, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. It reminds me of grown-up spaghetti-o’s. Made me feel super nostalgic and all warm inside. Monique, I don’t know what I would do without your recipes. Been using them for years and I’m so happy to see you finally have your cookbook out. Thank you!
Amazing! So glad you enjoyed, and that you’re loving the recipes here + in the cookbook!!
Overall I thought it was very tasty although I did feel like the coconut milk added a bit of a funky flavor. I generally do not cook with coconut milk though so it may just be a personal preference. The meatballs were amazing. I will definitely make it again but likely will sub the coconut milk next time. Thanks for sharing!
I just finished eating a bowl of this soup and I cannot tell you how good it tasted on this cold day. My highest compliment is that I will make it again. I added chickpeas instead of the meatballs. It was very easy to make. I love the taste! I bet it will be even better tmorrow when all the flavors mingle.
One of my favorites, too! Glad you love this one!
This soup was so easy to make and packed with flavor! My partner already requested to take leftovers for lunch. It was definitely a hit. Love the basil pesto in the meatballs ❤️
So glad it was a hit! One of our family favs, too 🙂
This soup is incredible! I’ve made it a few times and it’s a consistent hit every time. My daughter requests it when she comes home from university!
So happy to hear that!
Such a delicious alternative to your standard broth or creamy soups! The tomato base is so warm and comforting, and the meatballs make it super filling and satisfying. Make sure you have crunchy bread to dip in the sauce- it’s almost more like a cross between a soup and a stew? I also have used frozen store bought meatballs and it still came out great.
Absolutely! And great idea to use frozen meatballs – so easy!
I love this, and most importantly my toddler loves this! To save time, I usually skip rolling meatballs and brown the meat in the skillet. Might try frozen meatballs next time to get dinner on the table even faster. Thanks AK for another hit!
Perfect! So glad it’s a hit!
This soup is delicious! I make it the ‘lazy’ way. No meatballs, just brown the meat with the spices. It never disappoints!
Perfect! So glad you loved it!
My family loved this soup. Day 2 leftovers were reminiscent of seriously elevated spaghettio’s, in the best possible way. Delicious!!
Love that!! You’ll have to try my new Homemade Spaghetti-Os next 🙂
This is the best soup! My husband’s favorite.
This is my go-to recipe ! This soup is amazing, the seasoning is perfect and i cook it once a month since 🙂
OK this is the best! But did I do something wrong or does this make way more than 45 meatballs? It took me so long and it made like 95!! Did I make them too small? The recipe says 1/2 inch.
Oh goodness, that is SO many! What did you use to scoop them?
Followed the recipe exactly except that I did 3 carrots instead of one. DELICIOUS!!! This will be a regular in the fall/winter rotation. Full of flavor and nourishment.
YUM! Glad you are loving this recipe, perfect for this time of year
I’ve made this soup a few times and it’s so good! It’s the reason I keep a can of coconut milk in the pantry! We prefer it without the pesto.
SO good! Glad you all are loving this recipe and it is a hit 🙂
is the pistachio cilantro pesto recipe you link to the intended pesto for this recipe? thx
If you prefer to make your own pesto, that is the one I recommend, but I have also made this recipe with THIS pesto and which is also amazing!
not a fan of coconut milk, so subbed with 2/3 cup dairy free heavy cream. I also added 2 bay leaves and 1/2 cup white wine. love this soup!!!!
Yay! SO glad you are loving this recipe, Emily, thanks for sharing your changes, sounds delicious 🙂
Wow. Really, wow! This is now my favorite soup. Everything about it is so comforting and fulfilling. I used fresh homemade pesto. Simply the best.
Ahhh so happy to hear that, Alexandra!! Isn’t it so hearty and delicious?!
I’ve made this recipe twice and am planning to make it tomorrow. First time I substituted the coconut milk for milk and butter (and the spinach with beet leaves because it seems like a shame to toss them). It came out REALLY good.
Second time I had the coconut milk but I substituted the Turkey meatballs for “impossible meat” turkey meat balls to see if a vegan version would work. It was good but the impossible meat does not work well in soup. (Also, I think my brain so strongly associates coconut milk with Tom Kha that I really wanted to add lemon the whole time).
This time I’m going back to milk and butter and sticking with Turkey meatballs. (And Italian bread.) I also might toss some red wine in but I’m not sure how that would work with the milk so maybe not.
Only thing to note, the orzo DEFINITELY absorbs liquid through out the night so the next day the leftovers will be much thicker and the orzo softer.
This soup is to die for!!! This is one that I will be saving, printing & sharing with all of my family and friends. The best part might be the pesto, so do not omit. 11/10.
Ah thank you so much- SO glad you are loving this recipe ❤️
love this recipe and so comforting
Yum! So glad you’re loving this recipe ❤️
We enjoyed the taste of this soup, although somewhat more bland than the typical AK recipes. The big issue with this one was that the orzo was wayyyy overcooked by the time the soup was ready/according to the recipe’s instructions. We do use stainless steel pots and pans, which tend to cook slighter quicker, but the orzo was several minutes overcooked when the recipe was followed. This one was just an “eh” from us!