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Side view of matzo ball soup in a bowl.
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4.55 from 75 votes

Matzo Ball Soup Recipe

This is an easy, short-cut version of Matzo Ball Soup, a warm and comforting Jewish Soup served during Passover.  
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Dinner, Soup
Cuisine: Jewish
Total Cost: ($11.83 recipe / $2.37 serving)
Servings: 5 (2 cups soup, 3 matzo balls each)
Calories: 394kcal
Author: Beth Moncel

Ingredients

Soup

  • 1 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil $0.04
  • 2 cloves garlic $0.16
  • 1 yellow onion $0.40
  • 3 carrots $0.75
  • 3 stalks celery $0.56
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.25 lb.)* $6.25
  • 6 cups chicken broth** $1.02
  • 2 cups water $0.00
  • Freshly cracked pepper $0.01
  • Few sprigs fresh dill $0.65

Matzo Balls

  • 3 large eggs $0.75
  • 3 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil*** $0.12
  • 3/4 cup matzo meal**** $1.02
  • 1 tsp salt $0.05
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder $0.04
  • Freshly cracked pepper $0.01
  • 3 Tbsp water $0.00

Instructions

  • Mince the garlic and dice the onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté the garlic, onion, celery, and carrots with the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent (about five minutes).
  • Add the chicken breast, chicken broth, 2 cups water, some freshly cracked pepper, and one or two sprigs of dill to the pot. Place a lid on the pot and let it come up to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 30 minutes.
  • While the soup is simmering, mix the matzo ball dough. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and vegetable oil. Add the matzo meal, salt, baking powder, and a little freshly cracked pepper to the eggs and oil. Stir until well combined. Finally, add 3 Tbsp water and stir until smooth again. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes to allow the matzo meal time to absorb the moisture.
  • After the chicken soup has simmered, carefully remove the chicken breast and shred it with a fork. Return the shredded chicken to the soup. Taste the broth and adjust the salt if needed.
  • Once the dumpling mix has refrigerated and stiffened up, begin to form it into ping pong sized balls. Drop the balls into the simmering soup as they are formed, returning the lid to the pot after each one. If the dough is a little sticky, I recommend wetting your hands to help form the dough into balls. This will prevent it from sticking to your hands and make it easier to work with.Once all the dumplings are in the soup, let them simmer for 20 minutes without removing the lid. Make sure the soup is gently simmering the entire time.
  • Add a couple sprigs of fresh dill just before serving.

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Notes

*You can use boneless, skinless or bone-in and skin on. Bone-in gives the best flavor, but be sure to remove the skin before adding it to the soup. The bones can be removed when you shred the chicken.
**I use Better Than Bouillon to make inexpensive broth in the exact quantity that I need.
***Traditional matzo ball soup recipes often use chicken fat (aka schmaltz) for the dumplings, but I find vegetable or canola oil works just as well and is easier to find. Feel free to use chicken fat if you have it, though!
****Be sure to use matzo meal, NOT matzo ball 'mix.'

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 394kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 18g | Sodium: 1761mg | Fiber: 2g