This is a sleeper recipe on the site so I am reposting it! It doesn’t get much attention, probably because of the strange name, but it’s a real treat and I hope more of you consider making it.
Yes, the meatballs are technically the star of this Albondigas Soup, but it’s the veggies that have the potential to turn it into a repeat recipe.
Add in some potatoes and carrots, or even a handful of rice, and you’ve got a hearty, satisfying meal that reaches far beyond the meatballs! There’s lots of flexibility on the veggies too, so feel free to add in any others that you’re craving.
How To Make Albondigas Soup
The other wingman in this recipe is the tomato broth.
You may recognize it as the broth from the delightful Chicken Tortilla Soup. It’s a common base for Mexican soups and there really should be a designated name for it. Maybe Souper Broth?!
Basically, you are sweetening up some onions and blending them with roasted tomatoes and garlic. Add them to a trustworthy stock along with seasoning and you’ve got a Souper foundation for an authentic dish.
We’ll start by roasting 4-5 tomatoes.
There’s an extended simmer coming up so it’s not crucial to roast the tomatoes all the way, so I usually just plop them in a 400F oven until I need them.
Meanwhile, saute 1.5 onions and 4-5 whole garlic cloves in a glug of oil over medium heat.
Let the onions cook until they start to brown. I usually give them a pinch of salt at this point too.
Add the onions and garlic to a blender along with the roasted tomatoes and a single chipotle in adobo. Combine well.
I like this soup best when the heat is mild. A single chipotle will give you just a whisper of heat in the final product, but of course you can always amp it up by adding more chipotles.
If possible, try to get your hands on some stock that you trust. I’m using some homemade vegetable stock for this batch, but chicken stock works really well too.
Before adding the broth we’ll sweat the veggies for a few minutes to get ’em started.
So in the above pic you’ve got:
1/2 cup white rice
1 large potato
2 carrots
Let these saute in some oil for a few minutes and give ’em a pinch of salt. And keep in mind that you’ve got leeway on the veggies; feel free to add in anything else that you’re craving.
Add the blender puree to the veggies along with 10-12 cups of stock. I usually pour some stock into the blender to rinse it out.
Since we’ll be simmering the meatballs in the broth, you could probably get away with using water as the base, but good stock really does make it taste better so I think it’s worth adding it in.
We’ll also add:
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
1.5 teaspoons salt
freshly cracked black pepper
Bring this to a boil and then add the meatballs.
This is an all-beef version of the Mexican Meatballs from a few weeks ago. They are loaded with plenty of mint, giving them a bright, fresh flavor.
You could also sub out some of the ground beef for pork if you want. I’ll put details on making these meatballs in the recipe box below, but basically you’re just combining the following ingredients and rolling them into 1″ diameter meatballs:
1.5 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
1/4 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 eggs
1/2 cup cooked rice
2 teaspoons salt
freshly cracked black pepper (approx. 1/2 teaspoon)
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We’re also rolling these meatballs a little smaller in hopes of making them more of a team player in this dish — I got 27 meatballs from 1.5 lbs. of ground beef in this batch.
And yes, this is a mondo batch of soup and will easily serve 4-5 people if not more. You could always cut the recipe in half for a smaller batch, or simply store some of the uncooked meatballs in the fridge for future Meatball Sandwiches.
Gently add the meatballs to the broth.
Reduce heat to a simmer.
They’ll need about 10-15 minutes to fully cook, depending on how big they are. You can break one open to confirm it’s cooked all the way through, or you can use a thermometer to check that the insides are at least 160F.
Keep in mind that you always have the option of browning the meatballs first before adding them to the broth (as seen in the Mexican Meatballs recipe). You’ll get some fat coming out of the meat during the simmer, and while it adds great flavor it could get greasy if you’re using higher fat ground beef. I used a lean ground beef for this batch and that’s a perfect fit for cooking them in the broth.
Definitely take a final taste for seasoning. I added another few pinches of salt to this batch, but keep in mind that this is dependent on which stock you use. Homemade stocks will probably need more seasoning than store-bought stocks.
Serve immediately and be sure to get lots of the veggies in each serving bowl as they tend to sink to the bottom in the saucepan. The rice and potatoes are delicious because, well, they’ve been simmering in Souper Broth!
And a final burst of acidity works really well with this Albondigas Soup. A squeeze of lime does the trick for me, but you could also add a few drops of hot sauce if you want.
Okay, let me know if you have any questions about this sleeper recipe — and keep that Souper Broth in mind for future dishes, it’s such a great base that you could nearly eat it on its own.
Buen Provecho.
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Albondigas Soup
Ingredients
- 4-5 tomatoes
- 1 1/2 onions
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- 1 chipotle in adobo
- 1-2 potatoes
- 1/2 cup rice
- 1-2 carrots
- 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 10-12 cups stock
- fresh cilantro
- lime wedges
For the meatballs:
- 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
- 1/4 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup cooked rice
- 2 teaspoons salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Start by roasting 4-5 tomatoes in the oven at 400F. (Normally they need about 20-30 minutes to fully roast, but I usually take them out when I need them because there's an extended simmer coming up.)
- You'll need 1/2 cup chopped mint for the meatballs. Pull the leaves off of 8-10 mint sprigs. Rinse and finely chop them.
- Add the mint to a large mixing bowl along with 1.5 lb. ground beef, 2 eggs, 1/4 onion (finely chopped), 3 minced garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and 1/2 cup of cooked white rice. Combine well and then use your hands to form meatballs that are approximately 1 inch wide. Keeping your hands wet will help if the mixture is sticky.
- Saute 1.5 roughly chopped onions and 4-5 whole, peeled garlic cloves in a dollop of oil over medium heat. Cook until the onion is starting to brown.
- Add the onion, garlic, roasted tomatoes, and a single chipotle in adobo to a blender. Combine well.
- Finely chop the potatoes and carrots. Add them to a large saucepan along with 1/2 cup of uncooked rice and sweat them in some oil over medium heat for a few minutes. Season with a pinch of salt.
- Add the blender puree to the veggies along with 10-12 cups of stock, 2 teaspoons Mexican oregano, 1.5 teaspoons salt, and some freshly cracked black pepper. Raise heat and bring to a boil.
- Gently add the meatballs and reduce heat to a simmer. The meatballs will need approx. 10-15 minutes to cook dependent on how big they are, but I simmered this batch for 20-25 minutes to give the veggies time to cook.
- Take a final taste for seasoning. I add another generous pinch of salt to this batch.
- Serve immediately with freshly chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Be sure to get lots of veggies in the serving bowls.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
We also use the Souper Broth in our Sopa de Fideo.
Psssst….here some great Cinco de Mayo recipes for this weekend. Enjoy!
And our latest recipe is a batch of Chicken Flautas dipped in Avocado Salsa Verde.
Still hungry?!
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Edy Seaman
I am making this soup for my daughters Spanish class! It sounds delicious. I want to know what size onion are you using?
Thanks so much,
Edy
Patrick
Hi Edy! I almost always use medium-sized white onions. Cheers.
Tracy
I made this soup last night and it was so crazy delicious! It took awhile to roast, chop, and blend everything, but it is definitely worth it. The only change I made was I used ground turkey instead of beef for the meatballs and they were still fabulous! Loved the mint in the meatballs! Thank you for such a tasty recipe.
Patrick
Thanks Tracy I’m glad it was a hit — and good to know it worked out with ground turkey as I’ve been getting some questions about that. Cheers.
Teresa
Excellent recipe.
Thank you so much!🤗😊
Patrick
Cheers Teresa, so glad you found this recipe!
Erik
I was craving albondigas soup, but have never made it before. Found this recipe and followed it almost verbatim except I added celery and swapped out 1/2lb of ground beef with ground pork l, added a little cilantro to the meatballs with the mint and doubled the chipotles. It turned fantastic and totally reminded me of the soup my grandma made me as a kid. I was hesitant about the mint, but it totally punched up the meatball flavor. The soup received raves from my Mexican friends who tried it as well. So glad I found this site, I already see several other recipes that I intend to try. This is a great, easy to follow recipe. Thank you!
Patrick
Thanks much Erik for your notes on substitutions/additions, very helpful for other peeps making the recipe! Cheers.
Lisa
I forgot to buy tomatoes and was all out of canned so I used some tomato paste instead. The broth was less clear than it probably would have been but it was still fantastic. Thanks!
Patrick
Hey thanks for your note Lisa, good to know that substitution still worked out. Cheers.
Vince
Awesome, only used a little mint, in its place cilantro and a tad of oregano, this soup is fantastic !
Patrick
Yup that will definitely work. Cheers Vince.
Gloria Aguilar
Hello
A question from a old Nana that could never handle hot chili and regretfully skipped that lesson at her own Nana’s table.
Now please, I need some education on chilies
Please explain chipotle in adobo?
What
Where and how? It looks like a paste in your picture. Does it have to be prepared or can I buy it ready to use?
Gracias
Patrick
Hi Gloria! Yeah you can buy cans of chipotles in adobo in most supermarkets these days, usually in the Latin goods section. I have a chipotle article that will explain everything you need to know about them:
https://www.mexicanplease.com/mexican-cooking-ingredients-chipotles-adobo/
Cheers.
Dana
I made this last night and it is incredible! Trying chili verde next.
Patrick
Thanks for your feedback Dana, so glad it was a hit for you!
Dana
Is it possible to use ground turkey meat? Or will it change the flavor to much to the point it’s a blah soup? I’m only asking for the friends I have that don’t eat meat but they can eat chicken or turkey.
Thank you,
Dana
Patrick
Hi Dana! Yeah you can definitely use ground turkey and still get a good result — the broth has so much flavor and doesn’t depend too much on the exact cut of meat. You could probably even make a vegetarian version and still get happy campers. Cheers.
Lo
Made this last week and it was a crowd pleaser! I doubled the chilis for more flavor and it still was not spicy (which is good). It reheats very quickly on the stove. I also doubled the recipe and froze half of it. Great recipe!
Patrick
Hey thanks for your feedback Liz! Good to know it froze okay for you, cheers.