Easy Matzo Ball Soup Recipe

After marrying into a Jewish family, I had to familiarize myself quickly with several culturally important dishes. As a certified mensch and the designated cook of the family, I wanted to honor my wife’s heritage from a culinary perspective. One of the first recipes I perfected was this Easy Matzo Ball Soup Recipe.
What’s the Big Deal About Matzo Ball Soup?

Jump directly to the recipe, or read on for some great time and effort saving tips.

Chicken

You can use either dark meat or white meat for matzo ball soup, but I’ve always found that dark meat works best. It has a softer texture, and a little more flavor, and it just seems to go better with the dumplings. White meat is fine, but it can get tough quickly, and it can spoil the overall effect of the soup.

For the absolutely fastest results, a rotisserie chicken from your local grocery store is just the ticket. You’ll be spending some time making the matzo balls, so any time you can save on the chicken is going to help.

Leftover chicken works well too, especially chicken thighs and legs. Alternatively, you can bake some chicken thighs ahead of time. Lastly, you can slice up some raw chicken thighs and just poach them in the broth as you make the soup.

All of these options will deliver excellent results. Just pick the method that works best for you based on your available time and the ingredients in your kitchen.

Broth

Traditional Matzo Ball Soup requires a very flavorful chicken-based broth. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with making your own, but be aware that it’s a time-consuming process involving a chicken carcass, plenty of onion, celery, carrot, and garlic, and lots of evaporation to concentrate the flavors.

I’ve done this a few times (for other recipes, mostly), and while it’s a rewarding experience, I don’t want to spend my entire life in the kitchen. Give me ready-made broth any day of the week.

I buy my broth in one-quart boxes, which makes them not only convenient, but also pre-measured. But as with homemade broth, I find that I need to boil it a while to concentrate the flavor enough to suit this particular recipe. Again, that’s not how I like to spend my time. I’d rather be doing something important, like playing video games.

Which brings us to bouillon powders and pastes. Because you mix these yourself, you can make your broth as strong or mild as you like, and you can do it in a minute or less. Just read the instructions of your chosen concentrated broth and add about 25 to 50 percent more. Every brand is different, so you may need to experiment a little. Luckily you can just taste it and make adjustments on the fly before you start adding other ingredients to the soup.

Herbs and Spices

Aside from salt and pepper, dill is the most common herb/spice used in matzo ball soup, both in the broth and as a garnish. Its bright, herbaceous, flavor contrasts perfectly with the strong broth and adds “garden fresh” highlights. Chopped chives can look nice as well, but they won’t contribute much to the overall flavor.

Veggies

Matzo ball soup is meant to be simple. While lots of different vegetables can be used in making the broth, the finished soup should have only a few ingredients other than chicken and matzo balls. Sliced carrots and celery are traditional, as well as chopped onions and crushed garlic. If you want more veggies, go ahead; you won’t ruin the soup. But the classic version has a “clean” appearance without too many ingredients.

Matzo Balls

And here we come to the most important ingredient, or at least the most iconic, and to the uninitiated, the most mysterious. Matzo balls are really just dumplings. They’re made from matzo meal, which is nothing more than crushed crackers made from unleavened dough.

Depending on where you live, matzo meal might not be available at your local grocery store, but if you can find a Jewish deli, then you’re sure to be in luck. However, there’s no reason you can’t use regular crackers, or even gluten free crackers to do the same job. After all, most flat crackers are made with similar ingredients and techniques, and should give similar results. The one caveat about this is that the crackers may not be kosher, so if that matters to you, do your best to locate the genuine thing.

Matzo meal tastes exactly like you’d expect: dry and bland. When you add water, it turns into a sticky, doughy mass, so you need to find ways to add both flavor and lightness to the dumplings, or they’ll lie untouched at the bottom of the soup bowl.

Luckily, I’ve got you covered on both accounts.

To make the matzo balls lighter, you’ll need to employ two different tactics: beaten eggs (strong protein supporting air bubbles) and baking powder (to create more bubbles).

To add flavor, you’ll add…well, flavorful things. Like butter, oil, or (according to tradition) chicken fat. Also garlic, ginger, and even more dill. And, of course, salt and pepper.

And once you’ve mixed the dough and formed the dumplings, you can simmer them in chicken broth for even more flavor. But I have an even easier hack (and I don’t often use that word) that will save even more time and add more flavor: just add bouillon powder directly into the matzo dough and then simmer in plain water.

Naturally, this brings up the question: why not just simmer the dumplings right in the soup? The answer is, you can. But doing so will soak up some of the broth and turn the rest cloudy, making for a less appetizing soup. Go ahead if you’re in a time crunch, but if you can cook them separately and add the dumplings into each bowl as you’re serving, you’ll have a much nicer presentation.

Time-Saving Techniques

Here are some ways you can reduce preparation time:

1. Prepped Chicken: I’ve mentioned this before, but starting with pre-cooked chicken is the simplest way to start this recipe. Leftovers or store-bought rotisserie chicken are the simplest options.
2. Frozen Carrots: If you happen to have frozen sliced carrots, this is the perfect time to use them, because the texture won’t be affected.
3. Boxed Broth: As stated above, using bouillon cubes or powder actually works to your benefit, so why not use it to save time as well?
4. Matzo Balls: Making the matzo balls ahead of time is a must, as the dough needs to sit in the fridge for at least an hour. So, make them when you have time, then pull them out when you’re ready to make the soup for a much faster prep time.

My Easy Matzo Ball Soup Recipe

Ingredients for soup:

• 1 pound pre-cooked chicken (dark meat works best)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, sliced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp oil for sauteing
• 2 quarts chicken broth, slightly concentrated
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 or 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill or parsley for garnish
  

Ingredients for matzo balls:

• 5 whole eggs
• 1 ¼ cups about Matzo Meal or crushed plain crackers
• 1/2 cup or chicken fat, neutral cooking oil, or clarified butter
• 1/2 tsp baking powder (optional, based on Passover dietary restrictions)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
• 2 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 tsp bouillon powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation (Soup):

1. In a pot, sauté onions, carrots and garlic in oil until softened.
2. Add precooked chicken and broth to the pot.
3. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through
4. Add fresh dill a minute or two before serving
5. Ladle into soup bowls, adding two or three matzo balls per serving.

Preparation (Matzo Balls):

1. Beat the eggs until they’re nice a fluffy (about double the volume)
2. In a separate bowl, add the matzo meal, add fat/oil, baking powder, baking soda, garlic, dill, ginger, salt, and pepper, and mix thoroughly
3. Add the mixed ingredients to the whipped eggs and stir to form a consistent dough..
4. Store the dough in the fridge for at least an hour in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.
5. After the dough has chilled, roll them into golf-ball sized balls. Allow them to come to room temperature before cooking.
6. Add the balls in a single layer to a large pan of hot water so that they’re about three-quarters submerged. Cover the pan and simmer for about half an hour until the dumplings have expanded and are cooked all the way through (you may need to sacrifice one to check).

FAQ

Q: Is this easy matzo ball soup recipe kosher? Can it be served at Passover?

A: Frankly, I’m not qualified to answer that. From what I understand, the word “kosher” can mean different things in different situations, so I’m reluctant to make a definitive statement. I understand that dairy and meat should not be cooked or served together, so you may want to avoid using clarified butter in place of the chicken fat. Also, baking powder may be considered a leavener, which some Jewish people avoid during Passover. If you need to be certain, consult a rabbi or other authority.

Q: Is this easy matzo ball soup recipe gluten free?

A: It is if you make your own “matzo” meal using gluten free crackers, and avoid cross contamination with all the other ingredients. I have Celiac disease, and I’ve never had a reaction with this altered recipe.