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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Charles Waddington
Have you tried ground turkey in this recipe and if not your thoughts? i was thinking the fattier ground turkey i think its 90/10?
Cheers Chaz
Patrick
Hey Chaz! I haven't tried ground turkey in this soup yet but I would go for it. And yeah, a little bit of fat really does add some flavor to the soup so anything except the ultra-lean option should do the job. Cheers.
Charles Waddington
Thank you for your help! I had another idea of using pork chorizo turkey blend? Any thoughts?
Cheers Chaz
Kristen
Delicious! I followed your recipe as written. I was skeptical of the mint but it was amazing. This will be a keeper and I will use this souper broth recipe for other soups too. Thanks for a great meal.
Patrick
Thanks much Kristen, so glad you tried this one! Cheers.
Audrey
Thank you for this recipe. It's wonderful!
Patrick
Thanks Audrey!
Lucy
I can't wait to try this recipe. I am pleased that you included a note about pre-cooking the meatballs, as I always find restaurant soup meatballs soft and unappetizing, often still rare.
Patrick
Yeah I know what you mean Lucy! I would brown the meatballs first and add them in at the end if I were in your shoes -- but also might be worth it to add in just a couple for the extended simmer as their fat does give you a nice bump in flavor. Cheers.
Lils
I made this and my husband said it was the best albondiga soup he has ever had. He’s of mexican descent. He was so happy! I paired the soup with salvadorean homemade tortillas and he loved it all! The next day, I had my dad over and he loved the soup as well.
Patrick
Hey thanks much for your note Lils, so glad it was a hit with the fam! Cheers.
Cindy
Great soup. When I add the handful of rice, can I add it directly to the broth after the fact? I wanted more rice so I added the cooked rice I had left over from the meatballs, but it came out a bit soggy. Can I just add uncooked rice during the simmering process at the end so it's not so soggy?
Patrick
Thanks Cindy! Yeah if using cooked rice I would just add it in at the very end as it will only need a couple minutes to come up to temp. If using uncooked rice I usually add it in with the potatoes and carrots so that it has time to cook. Cheers.
Amanda
Do you use regular rice or can it be the “minute rice”? Or does it matter?
Patrick
Hi Amanda! I use regular rice and would recommend that. Cheers.
glen spencer
Hello Patrick thank you for putting another good recipe out there I added beef flavoring to my broth and also my meat and I'm mixed in chorizo in with the hamburger I'm wondering about the chipotle pepper I have Chipotle powder and dried Chipotle so I use 3 and it made it kind of intense so I'm wondering one chipotle pepper in a can equals how many teaspoons are in a tablespoon anyway thank you for any advice and I'll be back for more
Patrick
Thanks Glen!
One dried chipotle is a good equivalent for a single chipotle in adobo, or if you're using chipotle powder a good equivalent would be 1/2 teaspoon powder in place of a single chipotle in adobo.
Hope that helps a bit. Cheers.
P.S. There are 3 teaspoons in a single tablespoon.
Mari
Authentic!
Jamie
Excellent soup! I have sent this recipe to many of my friends and they all agree that it’s a winner. So much flavor with the roasted tomato addition to the stock and I use this technique now for many soups. The mint was fabulous in the meatballs and the addition of lime at the end really boosted the flavor and freshness. Thank you for providing a recipe that is so delicious!
Patrick
Hey thanks Jamie, so glad this was a hit for you! Yeah roasting the tomatoes is a gamechanger and has become habit for me, fyi you can use that same broth for a quick Tortilla Soup. Cheers.
Gris
I made this for my husband, we're both Mexican. It was incredible, so good it put us to sleep right after dinner. Absolutely worth the effort and care. I didn't have chipotle in adobo so I just used a good amount of chili powder. Was scrumptious. Thank you for the recipe.
Patrick
Thanks Gris, so glad you found this recipe!