Albondigas Soup is a Mexican style meatball soup made with homemade meatballs, rice and vegetables in a spiced tomato-based broth. It’s healthy and delicious one pot meal!
Love hearty soups? Try my Chicken Vegetable Soup, Italian Sausage Soup, or my Italian Meatball Soup next!
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This Albondigas Soup was an instant hit around here!
It is hearty and loaded with so much flavor, and I love that you can use a variety of meats or vegetables to make it your own.
I was able to snag the recipe from the Chefs Plate online recipe hub — along with some other family favorites!
I love that the recipes are easy to follow and full of flavor!
What is Albondigas soup?
Albondigas may be an unfamiliar word, but it really just means “meatballs” in Spanish, and so Albondigas soup is simply “meatball soup”.
It’s a Mexican soup made with a tomato broth, and meatballs that are formed with dry rice that cooks in the soup, along with rice and vegetables and lots of bright spices.
It is incredibly flavorful, and naturally gluten and dairy free!
Ingredients and Variations:
- Ground turkey: ground turkey is used in these homemade meatballs, but you could swap for lean ground beef, ground pork or ground chicken if that is all you have on hand.
- Rice: White Jasmine rice is used in the soup and in the meatballs, and white rice is definitely required because it will cook significantly more quickly than brown rice. I don’t recommend brown rice because it will throw off the cook time in this recipe.
- Vegetables: Obviously, there is some flexibility with the vegetables in this recipe, but the onion and sweet bell pepper really pair well with the Mexican flavors! The original Chefs Plate recipe included carrots instead of corn, but we enjoy the sweetness of corn with the spicy broth.
- Seasoning: If you like things on the spicy side, you can always add a pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne to your soup! We love the flavors in this soup just as they are.
How to prep this soup recipe ahead:
- Chop the veggies: one of my favorite ways to make dinnertime a little easier is to prep all my veggies in advance and store them in the fridge. That way, I just have to dump and start cooking!
- Prep the meatballs ahead: You can also prep the meatballs in advance and store in the fridge for up to 24 hours before cooking.
- Cook and save for later: This Albondigas Soup is always great for meal prep! You can cook the soup in its entirety, then refrigerate for up to 4 days and reheat to serve later. Note that the starch from the rice will thicken the soup as it sits — this isn’t a problem! Just add a splash of broth or water when reheating to thin it out as desired.
Can I freeze Albondigas Soup?
Absolutely!
Meatball soups freeze great and taste just as good reheated as it did when it was fresh.
You can freeze this soup in individual portions (a silicone muffin pan is a great way to do this — simply fill and freeze, then pop them out and store in a zip top freezer bag!) or as a whole.
Once frozen, this soup can be stored for up to 3 months before thawing and heating.
To serve, I recommend thawing overnight in the refrigerator, and then reheating over medium-low heat on the stove top. You can also place any frozen portions directly into a soup pot on the stove and heat over low heat until warmed.
Albondigas Soup (Meatball Soup)
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter or oil
- 1 medium onion
- 1½ cups white Jasmine rice (divided)
- 2 tablespoons chili powder (divided)
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 lb ground turkey (454 grams)
- 3 tablespoons cilantro
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup corn kernels (from frozen or canned) 226 grams
- 3/4 cup marinara sauce (264 grams)
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce (18 grams)
- salt and pepper
- sour cream serving
Instructions
- Wash and dry produce. Peel and dice onion.
- In a large pot, heat 2 tablespoons butter or oil over medium-high heat. When pot is hot, add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-6 min, until slightly softened. Add half the rice (¾ cup), half the chili powder (1 tablespoon) and garlic. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 30 sec, until fragrant.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, add turkey, remaining chili powder (1 tablespoon), remaining rice (¾ cup) and three-quarters of the cilantro. Season with salt and pepper and mix well to combine.
- To the pot with veggies and rice, add chicken broth, corn, marinara sauce, and soy sauce. Season with salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, use a spoon or scoop to form 16 meatballs and carefully add to the broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Cook for 20-25 min, until rice is tender and turkey is cooked through. Season with salt and pepper.
- Plate albondigas soup with a dollop of sour cream over top. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information
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Ashley says
Can you use canned tomato sauce? Can’t wait to try this!
Ashley Fehr says
Definitely! I find most aren’t seasoned so you may want to add seasoning
Tracy says
I want to try this soon. Would using homemade spaghetti sauce with ground beef work? Also is there anything else we can use besides cilantro, we don’t care for it?
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Tracy! You can use sauce with ground beef it will just be quite a bit thicker. You can leave the cilantro out and add in some fresh parsley if you have it on hand.
Brooke says
Hi Ashley! Is the rice precooked before adding or do you add it uncooked?
Cant wait to make this!
Ashley Fehr says
It is all dry! I’d love to hear how it goes 🙂
Brooke says
It was delicious!! Very large batch of soup, but froze beautifully in individual portions. Making it for a third time tonight and my mouth is already watering.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Brooke!
Daniela Frenznick says
Do u recommend rinsing the rice before use to cut down on the starch content?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes you can. For this recipe I don’t as a little extra starch can help hold the meatballs together