Albondigas Soup Recipe (2024)

What is Albondigas Soup?

Albondigas is essentially Mexican meatballs. The name "albondigas" translates to "meatballs," and they are quite similar to the meatballs you may be used to, only made with more traditional Mexican seasonings.

Albondigas are traditionally served in a couple different ways - as an appetizer, with the meatballs simmered in a tomato-based sauce that is much like a gravy - Albondigas en Caldillo - or served in a thinner tomato-based broth along with simmered vegetables.

I'm focusing on the second version today, Albondigas Soup, orCaldo de Albóndigas, as it is known in Mexican cuisine. It's pure Mexican comfort food and sure to satisfy.

In Mexico, albondigas are considered more of a home-cooked dish, made with simple, economical ingredients and meant to feed a group.

Home cooks love to stuff their meatballs with bits of hard-boiled egg or other ingredients, like olives, to offer a surprise and pop of flavor to their visitors.

You can find this Mexican meatball soup in some Mexican restaurants, though there just isn't anything better than homemade.

Here is how I make mine, again more of a soup, though I do include notes below if you'd prefer to serve yours as an appetizer.

Albondigas Soup Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• White Bread - Bolillo bread is great for this, but use whatever white bread that's available to you.
• Milk - For soaking the bread.
• Ground Beef - Or you can use a mix of lean ground beef and ground pork. Use ground turkey for a leaner version.
• Eggs
• Onion
• Cilantro - You can swap in other herbs. Spearmint leaves are an interesting substitution.
• Seasonings - Cumin, salt, black pepper, optional cayenne pepper for spicy. Dried oregano is good, too.
• Olive Oil - For cooking.

For the soup base:

• Tomatoes - I like fresh tomatoes, but canned diced tomatoes or tomato sauce work great for this recipe.
• White Onion
• Garlic - Use fresh garlic cloves.
• Canned Chipotle Chilies
• Chicken Stock - You can use other stock or broth, like beef broth or vegetable broth.

For the veggies:

• Potatoes, Carrots, Zucchini, Green Beans - You can use others to your preference.
• For Serving - Cooked rice (white rice or brown), fresh chopped cilantro, red pepper flakes

How to Make Albondigas Soup - the Recipe Method

Soak the bread and make a paste. Soak the bread and milk in a large bowl for 5 minutes until soft. Squeeze the bread in your hands to form a paste.

This is an old trick I also learned from my grandmother. It helps to bind the meat and keep the meatballs from falling apart, as well as adding moisture.

Mix the meatball mixture. Add the ground beef, eggs, onion, cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Hand mix until combined, but do not overmix.

Form the meatballs. Hand form the meat mixture into small sized meatballs about 1.5 inches across and set them aside.

Boil the veggies. Add the tomatoes, onion and garlic to a small pot. Cover with water then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes until soft. Drain and add the vegetables to a food processor.

Blend the chilies. Add the chipotle chilies and process until smooth. Set aside for now.

Brown the meatballs. Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven to medium high heat. Add the meatballs in batches and cook on each side, about 10 minutes.

Set the meatballs aside.

Simmer the sauce base, stock and vegetables. Add the chipotle-tomato sauce base to the pot with the chicken broth, potatoes, carrots, zucchini and green beans.

Add more chicken stock for a thinner soup base. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots have softened.

Add the meatballs. Add the meatballs and simmer another 10 minutes, or until they are cooked through.

Recipe Tips & Notes

• Stuff the meatballs. Traditional Mexican Albondigas recipes often stuff the uncooked meatballs with extra ingredients, like hard-boiled eggs or olives. The stuffing adds to the flavor and texture.
• The vegetables. You can use all sorts of different vegetables in albondigas soup. I am using potatoes, carrots, zucchini and green beans, but I've seen version with radishes, cherry tomatoes, peas, celery and others. Use whatever you'd like.
• Other herbs and seasonings. You can use many other fresh herbs for this recipe as well. Spearmint or fresh mint is commonly added, as is Mexican oregano and parsley. Other seasonings to try include allspice or other chili powders, lime juice. Feel free to use your favorites.
• Albondigas appetizer (Albondigas en Caldillo).If you'd prefer to serve this as an appetizer instead of a soup, skip the chicken broth in the soup base and skip all of the vegetables. Make the meatballs and the sauce as written, then simmer the Mexican meatballs in the sauce-gravy until they are cooked through, about 10 minutes. The sauce is more like a gravy or a thin spaghetti sauce.

Storage

Once cooled to room temperature, you can store leftover albondigas soup in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the fridge. Reheat for 30 seconds at a time in the microwave, stirring each time it stops, until warmed all the way through.

Or you can reheat it in a pot on the stove top over medium-low heat.

Cookbook Recommendations

If you love traditional Mexican cooking, I love these cookbooks with recipes from all over Mexico. Definitely recommended.

• Mexico: The Cookbook (affiliate link, my friends!)
• Made in Mexico: The Cookbook, by Danny Mena (affiliate link, my friends!)

Try Some of My Other Popular Mexican Recipes

• Pollo Asado (Mexican Roast Chicken)
• Caldo de Pollo (Mexican Chicken Soup)
• Caldo De Res (Mexican Beef Soup)
• Chicken Pozole Rojo
• Pozole Verde (Green Pozole)
• Mexican Birria
• Sopa de Fideo
• Caldo de Camaron (Mexican Shrimp Soup)
• See all of my Mexican Recipes