Albondigas soup is a delicious Mexican recipe filled with meatballs, vegetables and spices! Packed full of flavor, this simple Albondigas soup is sure to become a favorite.
Enjoy it with warm flour tortillas or with some tacos, but be prepared to fall in love with this simple albondigas soup recipe. It’s a recipe handed down for decades and is so delicious.
Mexican Albondigas Soup
Have you ever heard of or tasted Albondigas soup? If you haven’t – you’re totally missing out! But, now’s your chance to try it.
What is albondigas soup made of? This traditional Mexican soup has a flavorful broth base filled with tomatoes and other veggies and includes homemade meatballs. It occasionally has rice in it too!
This recipe was recreated based off of the soup my great-grandma would make, and we finally nailed it! It’s flavorful and hearty and just like grandma’s!
All of the flavors of this soup are SO delicious and simple. After creating the seasoned broth base, you add the meatballs and veggies and simmer until ready – creating an easy and tasty Mexican soup recipe.
How to Make Albondigas Soup
I always start by making the meatballs first. You could use frozen or pre-made meatballs but these are really simple to make and taste so good! I promise homemade meatballs are the way to go when making Albondigas soup. Just combine the following INGREDIENTS together:
- ground beef
- 1 egg, beaten
- minced garlic
- chopped cilantro
- cumin
- salt & pepper
- cooked rice (optional)
MEATBALLS. Make the meatballs by combining these ingredients and rolling between your hands (we made ours about 1 ½ inches wide). You will be able to make about 20 – 24 meatballs total. Brown each meatball for a few minutes in a hot pan. Make sure all sides are browned. Set the meatballs aside while you prepare the rest of the soup.
BOIL. Combine chicken broth, celery, tomatoes, cumin, oregano, and cilantro leaves in a big pot. Bring these ingredients to a boil over high heat. Once it’s boiling, turn the heat down and simmer for about 10 minutes.
SIMMER. Add the meatballs and potatoes to the soup mixture. Increase the heat to a boil so that the meatballs can cook a bit. Return to a simmer and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper to your liking and ENJOY it nice and warm.
Can you add rice to albondigas soup? You can add rice to the meatballs when making them, or you can add as much as you like to the soup, cooking it for the last 20 minutes of simmering.
Slow Cooker INstructions, Storing + sides
Want to make this in the crock pot? Just add all your ingredients (except for your cilantro) to your slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Add cilantro at the very end and salt and pepper if needed.
How to store + freeze albondigas? Let cool and store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze in containers or doubled bagged in freezer bags. To reheat, let thaw in fridge over night and return to the stove and cook until heated through. You can also microwave it as well.
Here are some recipes we love to have with albondigas:
- Chicken Tacos
- Flour Tortillas
- Chips + Salsa
The smell of this Mexican Albondigas soup is soooo yummy and it will fill your entire house. Your family will be begging for second and third helpings! Let us know if you try Grandma’s recipe, and we hope you love it as much as we do.
More Soup Recipes:
Albondigas Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 cup cooked rice optional
Soup
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 carrot sliced
- 1 celery stalk cut into chunks
- 1 (16oz) can diced tomatoes undrained
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1 potato diced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Meatballs: Combine all ingredients together thoroughly. Form 20-24 tight meatballs by rolling between your palms (we made ours about 1 1/2 inch wide). Brown in a hot pan for a few minutes on each. Set aside.
- In a large pot, combine chicken broth, carrots, celery, tomatoes, cumin, oregano, and cilantro leaves.
- Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a mild simmer for 10 minutes.
- Drop meatballs and potatoes in the soup and slightly boil so that meatballs cook quickly. Return to simmer and cook another 20 minutes. Salt and Pepper to taste. Enjoy warm.
So delicious! I’ve made it twice in the past week!
Yay!! That makes me so happy! Thank you!
We liked the flavor but it definitely need more broth. Is the recipe correct with just 4 cups of chicken broth? How would you adapt recipe to accommodate more liquid?
Yes, it is correct. You could just add another cup if you like.
Fantastic recipe. My Family loves it.
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
OMG I LOVE THIS RECIPE!
Love hearing that!! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
Great soup with good flavor. I added beef bullion to the meetbals. Came out great.
Glad you tried it! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
Perfection! I like to do my meatballs in the oven, rather than frying them. 400° for about 10 to 12 minutes is fine. To kick it up a bit, I sometimes add 1 minced chipotle chile with a tablespoon or so of the adobo to the meat mixture. Also, I combine the meat mixture in my Kitchenaid stand mixer – so easy! Thanks for posting such a great recipe!
Oops – forgot to rate it – 5 stars!
You are so welcome! That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing that!
I followed this recipe, but tweaked it. I really love a rich broth, so I used more chicken broth. I also added a can of “baby roma’s” sweet and rich. I also added celery seed. I don’t like rice in the meatball.
OH! In the meatball mixture, I added chorizo, 2 eggs, a little bread crumbs to hold the meatballs together.
All of those additions sound great! Thanks so much for sharing them with us!
My aunt always made an amazing albondigas soup that I loved. This recipe was not like hers but came close enough. I added a knorr cube and some chipotle adobo. TY
I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for sharing what you do!
Super easy and delicious! Will definitely be making this one again. Thank you!
I am so glad you liked it!! Thank you for trying it!
I added chorizo to the meatball mix, other than that I followed the directions to a tee. The soup is absolutely delicious. Thanks, for the great recipe. This was my first time & I was very pleased.
Ooh that sounds tasty! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the soup!