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Authentic Hearty Albondigas Soup with Homemade Spiced Meatballs

Close-up of a bowl of vibrant red albondigas soup featuring a large meatball cut in half, showing rice filling, surrounded by carrots and zucchini.
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Make this warm and hearty Mexican Meatball Soup, Caldo de Albondigas, filled with tender, spiced meatballs, fresh vegetables, and a savory broth. This traditional Mexican Dinner is a flavorful comfort food soup perfect for family meals.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound ground beef or a mix of beef and pork
  • 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
  • 1 small white onion, grated
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
  • 6 cups chicken broth or water
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
  • 1 small zucchini, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Prepare the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the ground meat, uncooked rice, grated onion, minced garlic, egg, oregano, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup cilantro. Mix gently with your hands until just combined; do not overmix.
  2. Form the meatballs into uniform balls, about 1.5 inches in diameter. You should have about 18 to 20 meatballs.
  3. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Brown the meatballs lightly on all sides. You may need to do this in batches. Remove the browned meatballs and set them aside.
  4. Drain excess fat from the pot, leaving about 1 tablespoon. Add the diced tomatoes, cumin, and bay leaf to the pot. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Pour in the chicken broth. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
  6. Carefully add the browned meatballs back into the simmering broth. Cover the pot and let the meatballs cook for 15 minutes.
  7. Add the carrots and potatoes to the soup. Continue to simmer, partially covered, for another 10 minutes.
  8. Add the zucchini and cook for a final 5 to 7 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender and the rice inside the meatballs is cooked through.
  9. Taste the broth and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed. Remove the bay leaf before serving.
  10. Ladle the Albondigas Soup into bowls, garnish generously with fresh cilantro, and serve hot.

Notes

  • For richer flavor in your savory broth, substitute half of the chicken broth with beef broth.
  • If you prefer a thicker soup, you can add 1/4 cup of quick-cooking oats instead of rice in the meatball mixture. This also makes a good low-carb albondigas variation if you omit the rice entirely and use oats sparingly or skip them.
  • To keep the meatballs tender, mix the meatball ingredients lightly. Overmixing develops the protein too much, resulting in tough meatballs.

Nutrition

Find it online: https://cookingzenith.com/albondigas-soup-authentic-mexican-meatball/