Albondigas (Mexican Meatball Soup)

A culmination of albondigas recipe research became my favorite homemade soup without any trial and error or prior testing.

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Sometimes you get it right the first time. For this recipe, I scoured the internet for several albondigas recipes with excellent ratings. Then I adjusted them to align servings with one another and made some decisions on ingredient choices and amounts. Essentially, I developed a new recipe without ever trying any of these other recipes. I then prepared the new recipe just as I wrote it down and it was perfect. *mic drop*

Albondigas (Mexican Meatball Soup)

Course:
Cuisine:
Difficulty:
Servings
8
servings
Prep time
20
minutes
Cook time
60
minutes
Total time
80
minutes

Ingredients

  • 2
    lbs
    ground beef
  • 10
    cloves
    fresh garlic
    minced
  • 2
    med
    yellow onions
    chopped
  • 1
    cup
    long grain rice
    uncooked
  • 2
    lg
    eggs
    beaten
  • 6
    med
    fresh mint leaves
    chopped
  • 0.5
    cup
    fresh cilantro
    chopped
  • 2
    tbsp
    dried Mexican oregano
  • 2
    tsp
    ground cumin
  • 1
    tsp
    chili powder
  • 2
    tsp
    sea salt
    or to taste
  • 2
    tsp
    black pepper
    or to taste
  • 2
    lg
    carrots
    chopped
  • 4
    med
    russett potatoes
    peeled and chopped into 1″ cubes
  • 4
    tbsp
    olive oil
  • 3
    qt
    beef broth
  • 2
    cans
    Rotel diced tomatoes
  • 0.5
    tsp
    cayenne pepper

Directions

  • In a large bowl, add ground beef, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 onion, rice, eggs, mint leaves, cilantro, oregano, cumin, chili powder, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Mix well. Shape into meatballs about 1-inch in diameter and place them on a large cookie sheet. Place in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes.

  • Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add remaining onions and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add chopped carrots and potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.

  • Add broth, tomatoes and remaining seasonings. Bring to a boil, turn down heat, and let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

  • Add meatballs to the pot one at a time, slowly, to make sure you maintain a simmer. You might have to turn up the heat a bit temporarily to compensate for cold meatballs. Once all the meatballs have been added, make sure the soup has returned to a simmer.

  • Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the meatballs are cooked through. When the meatballs rise to the top and the rice is fully cooked and plump, the soup is ready to serve.

  • Serve garnished with avocado slices and cilantro.