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Albondigas Soup is made with beef and rice meatballs, carrots, potatoes, and zucchini in a rich tomato broth. Packed with flavor, this simple Mexican Meatball Soup recipe that is both comforting and satisfying, and will quickly become a family favorite.
Some of our other favorite Mexican soups include Caldo de Pollo (Mexican Chicken Soup), Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup, and Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup.
Albondigas Soup Recipe Highlights
My Albondigas Soup recipe is similar to an Italian Wedding Soup, where the meatballs and broth are cooked together to make the meat super tender. The potatoes are starchy and thicken the soup just slightly, while the veggies add bulk.
You can serve it as an appetizer course before another traditional Mexican dish like Chicken with Mole Sauce or Green Chicken Tamales. Or serve it as the main dish with Mexican Rice and Homemade Flour Tortillas on the side.
visual walk-through of the recipe
Ingredient Notes
- Lean ground beef – You don’t want a lot of grease seeping into your soup, so stick with the leaner 90% ground beef.
- Egg – to moisten and help hold the meatballs together.
- Long grain white rice – This acts as the binder (similar to breadcrumbs in Italian meatballs), and it cooks within the meatball.
- Spices and herbs – ground cumin, garlic powder, black pepper, dried oregano.
- Low-sodium chicken broth – I always choose low sodium so I can have better control of the salt content.
How To Make Albondigas Soup
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
There are two parts to this recipe – the meatballs and the broth.
Mexican Meatballs
The meatballs are formed from ground beef, raw rice, egg, onion, garlic, and spices, then simmered in the soup broth over medium heat for about 30 minutes. Feel free to add fresh herbs if you have them on hand.
The rice is added raw and will cook with the meatballs as they are simmered.
You can make the meatballs large or small, but they are traditionally fairly large. Aim to make similarly sized meatballs for even cooking.
Broth
The broth is made with chicken broth or beef broth, crushed tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and zucchini. You can add minced cilantro to the soup if you like, and lime to brighten the flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are worried about your meatballs falling apart, using cooked rice will help. As the raw rice cooks, it expands, which can cause the meatballs to break apart. It doesn’t happen to me all the time, but it has happened. Instead of ¼ cup of raw rice, use ½ cup of cooked rice.
This soup has tender meatballs made with ground beef, rice, onions, garlic, an egg, cumin, and oregano. The broth is simple and made with chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and zucchini. Sometimes carrots or celery are added, and occasionally you’ll find some jalapeno added for heat. Cilantro or lime juice are usually added at the end.
You can! Just add all of the ingredients to your crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours. Taste and add salt and pepper at the end. Important note – Make sure the meatballs are fully cooked by testing with a meat thermometer. For more information on meat safety, read my Meat Temperature Chart.
Serving Suggestions
This hearty soup can be served in smaller portions as a starter or appetizer. Or, you can serve it as a complete meat with flour or corn tortillas on the side.
This soup is actually quite beautiful on its own, with the rich broth and colorful veggies. To dress up the soup before serving, sprinkle on some chopped cilantro or parsley.
Variations
Using a different meat. You can use basically any ground meat – ground turkey, ground pork veal, chicken etc.
Make it spicy. Add a slice jalapeno to the broth or some red chile flakes or a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Store bought meatballs? I don’t recommend store bought meatballs. This recipe is all about fresh, homemade meatballs and you just won’t get the same flavor with store bought frozen meatballs. It will just be plain meatball soup, which is fine, but it won’t have the traditional Mexican flavors and spices.
Storage Tips
Make Ahead, Storage & Freezing
Make Ahead: You can make this soup a couple of days in advance, and store it, tightly covered (or even in the soup pot), in the refrigerator. To serve, bring to a simmer on the stovetop until everything is warmed through.
Storage: Cool soup completely, then store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheating on the stovetop is recommended, but you can also use the microwave.
Freezing: Cool completely, then store in airtight, freezer-safe containers or freezer bags for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, then reheat on the stovetop (recommended) or in the microwave.
Recipe Tips
- Combine the meat mixture with your hands, to avoid overmixing.
- Squeeze some fresh lime into your bowl for a burst of freshness.
- Feel free to adapt this recipe, using fresh herbs, different veggies like green beans or use tomato sauce instead of the crushed tomatoes.
- To add heat, toss in some sliced jalapenos.
More Mexican Inspired Recipes
- Mexican Sopes Recipe
- Pozole Rojo with Chicken
- Carne Asada Fries
- How to Make Homemade Taquitos
- Salsa Verde Chicken
- Best Guacamole Recipe
Albondigas Soup
Ingredients
Albondigas (Meatballs)
- 1 pound Lean ground beef
- 1 Large egg
- ½ cup White onion finely diced
- ¼ cup Long grain white rice uncooked
- 3 Garlic cloves finely minced
- 2 teaspoons Salt plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon Ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon Ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon Dried oregano
Soup
- 48 ounces Low-sodium chicken broth
- 15 ounce Can crushed tomatoes undrained
- 3 Large carrots peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 3-4 Large russet potatoes about 1 pound, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 2 Zucchini squash about 12 ounces once chopped, cut into 1-inch pieces
- Optional: freshly chopped cilantro and lime wedges
Instructions
- Add the ground beef, egg, onion, rice, garlic, salt, cumin, garlic powder, pepper, and oregano to a large bowl and stir by hand or with a spoon just until combined.
- Form 2-inch balls from the mixture and set the balls on a plate for later.
- Add the chicken broth and crushed tomatoes to a large soup pot or Dutch oven and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Gently add the meatballs to the broth and let them cook for 10 minutes then add the carrots, potatoes and zucchini to the pot and let them boil for another 5 minutes then reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Add 2-3 more cups of water if needed and let it simmer for 10-15 more minutes, or until the vegetables are fork tender.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for 5 minutes before serving with freshly chopped cilantro and lime wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Love the recipe! However, I’m one of those people that Need’s Measurements. I know it’s frustrating. But can you tell me how many “Cups are needed for the Vegetables?” Home grown, Farmers Market vs. Grocery store Veggies are all different sizes. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Hi Gracie, all of the information you need is in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Within the post I talk about the ingredients, steps, etc and offer additional tips and information.