Matzo Ball Soup

The best Matzo Ball Soup recipe served in a bowl with a flavorful broth with carrots, celery, and herbs and three matzo balls.

Print Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Homemade Matzo Ball Soup is healthy and comforting, made with chicken broth, matzo balls, and plenty of veggies.

Prep Time30

Cook Time2 30

Refrerigerate30

Total Time3 30

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Jewish

Servings:

Calories: 646kcal

Author: Lauren Allen

Cost: 18

Recipe Link

Equipment

Ingredients

Broth:

1 whole chicken* , cut into pieces
3 ribs celery , with leaves, cut into chunks
3 large carrots , cut into chunks
2 medium onions , cut into chunks
2 bay leaves
1/2 bunch fresh chopped parsley , about 10 sprigs
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
better than bouillon chicken flavor , to taste, as needed

Matzo Balls:

4 large eggs
¼ cup schmaltz* (115g), or use vegetable oil or melted butter
1 cup matzo meal* (116g), Manischewitz brand
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
¼ cup seltzer water or club soda (60g)* , or Chicken Broth or water

Soup:

2 ribs celery , diced
2 medium carrots , diagonally sliced
1 clove garlic , minced
salt and pepper , to taste
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill , for garnish

Instructions

Make Broth: (Can be made ahead) Add chicken to an 8-quart or larger stock pot. Add celery, onion, carrot, bay leaf, parsley, peppercorns, and salt. Cover the ingredients with about 3.5 quarts (14 cups) cold water. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium low and cook, uncovered, for about 2 hours. Skim off foam that rises to the surface.
Remove chicken pieces to a large bowl and set aside until cool enough to handle and remove the meat from the bones.
Strain stock through a fine sieve strainer, discarding all vegetables and seasonings so you are only left with the stock. (You want at least 10 cups of broth, so if the broth reduced more than that, add additional water + bouillon, to the soup). Return hot broth to the pot and add carrots and celery.
If time permits, refrigerate the stock for a few hours or overnight, until you can skim off any fat (schmaltz) that rises to the top. We use the schmaltz in the matzo balls, but oil or melted butter could be substituted.
Taste and season broth, as needed, with chicken bouillon base, salt, and pepper to make a flavorful broth.
Matzo Ball Dough: (can be made ahead). In a medium mixing bowl, mix eggs and schmaltz/chicken fat (or oil or melted butter) together with a fork. Add Matzo Meal, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder then mix until combined. Mix in seltzer water (or broth or water) until well combined. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to overnight.
Form Matzo Balls: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop matzo mixture into 15 golf-ball sized portions (about 1 1/2-tablespoon size) and gently/loosely roll into balls (don’t densely roll them). Place on baking sheet. (Tip: wet hands will help keep the batter from sticking to them).
Cook Matzo Balls: Heat a large pot of boiling water. Drop matzo balls into boiling water, cover, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 30 minutes, flipping balls once or twice during cooking.
Finish and Serve: When matzo balls are halfway through cooking, warm the pot of chicken broth. Add cooked matzo balls and shredded chicken to the soup. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh dill and cracked black pepper.

Video

Notes

Yield: 15 matzo balls, 10 cups broth. Serving Size: 3 matzo balls +2 cups broth.

Chicken: You could use 3lbs of chicken pieces, like bone-in thighs, legs, breasts.

Matzo Meal: We recommend the Manischewitz brand. Do not use matzo ball “mix”.

Schmaltz: If time permits, refrigerate homemade chicken stock overnight to allow the rendered chicken fat (schmaltz) from the stock to rise to rise to the top and harden. Scrape it off to use in the matzo balls. Or, use melted butter or oil.

Seltzer: Using seltzer or club soda will make fluffier matzo balls, but broth or water will also work.

Make Ahead Instructions: I love prepping this soup a day in advance. The first day I make the broth and the matzo ball dough and keep both in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The second day, cook the matzo balls, finish the soup, and serve.

Freezing Instructions: Pour the broth (without matzo balls) into a freezer safe container or bag and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. To freeze the matzo balls, spread (cooked or uncooked) matzo balls into a single layer on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for 1 hour to "flash freeze". Transfer to a freezer safe container and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can add the frozen matzo balls straight to the soup and simmer until cooked and warm.

Nutrition