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Albondigas is a delicious Mexican soup filled with meatballs, vegetables, and spices! It’s easy, flavorful, and sure to be a favorite.
Enjoy it with Warm Flour Tortillas or Tacos, but be prepared to fall in love with this simple Albondigas soup recipe. It’s a soup recipe handed down for decades and is so delicious.
Great-Grandma’s Mexican soup
This Albondigas recipe was recreated based on the soup my Great-Grandma would make, and we finally nailed it! We love it because:
- Yummy + Hearty. Just like grandma made it but it’s so delicious and so hearty with all of the meatball and soup ingredients.
- Easy to Customize. This recipe is easy to change up based on the ingredients you love most, especially the spices and vegetables.
- Perfect with so many dishes. We love to have this soup with so many recipes, including our: Chicken Tacos, Flour Tortillas, Chips + Salsa
What is Albondigas?
Albondigas soup is also known as Caldo de Albóndigas but its origin goes back to Spain and has some Arabic influences. The Spanish word albondiga translates to meatball, which is the star of this soup.
This traditional Mexican meatball soup has a flavorful broth base and is filled with tomatoes, veggies, and homemade meatballs and sometimes rice.
Albondigas Ingredients
- Ground beef – For the most tender and flavorful meatballs, stick with fattier meats. The most popular meat choice is ground beef (80/20 or 70/30). Meatballs made using lean ground beef tend to fall apart easier.
- You can substitute half of the ground beef with pork sausage. You can also use ground pork, ground chicken, or ground turkey.
- Egg
- Minced Garlic
- Spices – Cilantro, ground cumin, salt, black pepper – Fresh herbs can be substituted for dry herbs and vice versa; 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs equals 1 teaspoon of dry herbs.
- Rice – It’s added to the meatballs and acts as a binder to help them hold together.
- Olive oil
Soup Ingredients
- Chicken Broth – Use stock in place of broth. You can also use beef broth in place of the chicken broth.
- Veggies: carrot, celery, diced tomatoes, potato
- Spices: ground cumin, oregano, cilantro, salt and pepper
How to Make Albondigas
I always start by making the meatballs. You could use frozen or pre-made meatballs, but these are really simple to make and taste so good!
- MEATBALLS. Combine all ingredients together thoroughly. Form 20-24 tight meatballs by rolling between your palms (we made ours about 1½ inches wide). Brown on all sides in a hot pan with olive oil for a few minutes. Set aside.
- Over-mixing the meat mixture and over-cooking the meatballs can cause them to fall apart. Browning also helps keep the meatballs from falling apart.
- VEGGIES. In a large pot, combine chicken broth, carrots, celery, tomatoes, cumin, oregano, and cilantro leaves.
- HEAT. 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 the meatballs cook quickly. Return to simmer and cook another 20 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy warm topped with some fresh parsley (if desired).
Make in a crock pot
COOK. Add all of your ingredients (except for your cilantro) to your slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 4 hours.
GARNISH + SERVE. Add cilantro at the very end and salt and pepper if needed.
Recipe Tips
Since they are the star of this albondigas soup recipe, it’s important to get the meatballs just right. Here are some helpful tips:
- Meat. Use a cookie scoop to make all the ground beef meatballs the same size.
- Garlic. Use 4-6 fresh garlic cloves to make 2 teaspoons of minced garlic.
- Add extra flavor with chopped onions and diced zucchini. Top the soup with a dollop of sour cream and sliced avocados.
- Traditional albondigas soup has fresh mint, feel free to add it if you wish.
- Garnish bowls with lime wedges which you can squeeze to add lime juice to each bowl.
- Add heat to the soup using hot sauce, chili powder, sliced jalapeños, or red chili flakes.
- Thicken with tomato sauce or tomato paste, or by adding white rice.
- Use stock in place of broth. You can also use beef broth in place of the chicken broth.
Storing + Serving Soup
- STORE. Let cool, and store Caldo de Albondigas in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- FREEZE in containers or double bagged in freezer bags.
- To reheat, let thaw in the fridge overnight and return to the stove. Cook until heated through. You can microwave it as well.
For more Mexican Soups:
Albondigas
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup cooked rice, optional
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Soup
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- ½ carrot, sliced
- 1 celery stalk, cut into chunks
- 1 (16-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 potato, diced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Meatballs
- Combine 1 pound ground beef, 1 beaten egg, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, ½ cup fresh cilantro chopped, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and ½ cup cooked rice.
- Form 20-24 tight meatballs by rolling between your palms (we made ours about 1½ inches wide). Brown on all sides in a hot pan with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil for a few minutes. Set aside.
Soup
- In a large pot, combine 4 cups chicken broth, ½ carrot sliced, 1 chopped celery stalk, 1 (16-ounce) can diced tomatoes, ½ teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon oregano, and ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves.
- Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a mild simmer for 10 minutes.
- Drop meatballs and 1 diced potato in the soup and slightly boil so that the meatballs cook quickly. Return to simmer and cook another 20 minutes.
- Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy warm topped with some fresh parsley (if desired).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is a good MEATBALL-TOMATOE SOUP; everyone in our home liked it, but it’s not Abondigas. Abondigas doesn’t taste anything like this.
I thought a little heavy on cumin overall, but actually really Liked the meatballs.
the best tasting, authentic albondigas recipe i’ve tried!
Awe, thank you so much for saying that!
THIS WAS AN EASY RECIPE AND MOST DELICIOUS. I ADDED HALF OF A LARGE ONION TO THE SOUP AND TOPPED IT OFF AT THE END WITH TWO HEAPING HANDFULS OF ORGANIC SPINACH AND IT WAS A HUGE HIT. SERVED IT WITH PARMESAN CHEESE SPRINKLED ON TOP W/ ADDITIONAL PEPPER. #WINNER
*Not sure why this won’t let me post not in all caps? I am not yelling…LOL!
Sounds delicious!! Thank you so much for sharing that!
Absolutely amazing. I went a little heavier on thE cumin for taste. Doubled the ingredients everywhere else to yield a big pot n leftovers. Also Went with baby carrots and red potatos. This recipe was a big hit with the family. Thank you
That sounds perfect! Thank you for sharing that!
everybody loved it! including my toddler.
Yay!! Love to hear that 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
I know for sure this would be a huge hit in my house!
It really is so tasty! I hope your family does love it, if you give it a try!! Thank you!!
This soup looks perfect for fall and winter! I love hearty soups, especially ones with Mexican flavors. I’ll have to try it out!
I’m with ya! They are always so tasty!! Thank you!
I will be making this soup once it gets chilly here…which will be tomorrow! LOL
Yay!! I hope you love it, as much as we do! Thanks!
I love Albondigas – when my Grandma would take me to Olvera Street as a little kid, it was always my favorite thing to order! I love this recipe so much – tastes just like I used to get there!
I am so glad it does 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing that!
I love this soup recipe, perfect for a rainy Fall evening!
Totally is!! Thank you so much!