4.7 from 24 votes

Albondigas Soup (Mexican Meatball soup)

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YOUTUBE Video tutorial on how to make caldo de albondigas.

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Albondigas Soup (Mexican Meatball Soup)

Recipe by Villa Cocina
4.7 from 24 votes
Course: MainCuisine: MexicanDifficulty: Easy
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

35

minutes
Cooking time

50

minutes
Total time

1

hour 

25

minutes

Caldo de albondigas is the ultimate comfort soup. This Mexican soup is made with meatballs, spices, veggies and rice. Soups are a very important part of Mexican cuisine. In fact, we take it up a notch by ensuring every spoon full is packed with flavor and texture. This is a whole meal in a pot, perfect to feed a crowd. 

Ingredients

  • Meatballs

  • 2 lbs lean ground beef (92% lean, 8% fat)

  • 1/2 white onion, finely diced    

  • 1/4 cup mint leaves, finely chopped 

  • *** Spices***

  • 1 tsp onion, ground 

  • 1 tsp garlic, ground 

  • 1 tsp chipotle, ground

  • 1 tsp ancho chile, ground

  • 1/2 tsp cumin, ground

  • 1 1/2  tsp Mexican dry oregano

  • 1/4 cup long grain rice

  • 2 ea eggs, large  

  • Black pepper, generously season

  • 2 1/2 tsp kosher salt

  • Brown/Sauté

  • 2 TBSP avocado oil

  • 1 ea white onion, medium diced 

  • 2 ea carrots, medium diced 

  • 2 ea celery sticks, medium diced

  • 6 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 tsp marjoram, dry

  • 1/2 tsp cumin, ground 

  • 1/2 tsp all spice, ground

  • 4 ea cloves, whole

  • 2 ea tomatoes, medium diced  

  • 1 1/2 TBSP tomato paste

  • 12 cups beef broth, low sodium

  • 1 ea chipotle pepper in adobo 

  • Fresh Herbs 

  • 1/4 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped  

  • 5 sprigs oregano

  • 5 sprigs thyme

  • 5 sprigs mint

  • Veggies 

  • 3 ea gold potatoes (8 oz) 

  • 2-3 ea corn on the cob

  • 1 ea chayote

  • 1 ea calabacita

  • 1/4 ea cabbage

  • Salt to taste

  • Toppings 

  • Red onion, diced 

  • Cilantro, chopped 

  • Radishes, sliced 

  • Lime juice

  • Corn tortillas 

Directions

  • Meatballs: in a large bowl combine the meat, onion, mint, spices, rice, eggs, black pepper and salt. Mix until everything is evenly distributed. Roll into meatballs and place them on a sheet-pan
  • Brown/ Sauté: Place a large pot over medium-high heat and heat the oil. Lay the meatballs and brown two sides of them. Do this step in batches to prevent overcrowding. Once done, remove all of them. Lower the heat to medium-low. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Sauté until slightly softened. Stir in the garlic, marjoram, cumin, all spice, and cloves. Cook for one minute. Add the tomato paste, cook for one minute. Add the tomatoes, and cook until slightly softened. Pour in the beef broth, add the chipotle pepper. Bring to a boil, over medium-high heat. Reduce to a gentle simmer, over medium-low heat. Add all of the meatballs back into the pot and the cilantro. Tie the thyme, oregano and mint sprigs together with a string. Then, add into the pot. Cover and allow the meatballs to cook, about 10 minutes. 
  • With the addition of ingredients, the temperature of the broth will fluctuate. Feel free to adjust heat to keep it at a gentle simmer the whole time. 
  • Veggies: cut all the veggies into medium pieces. Cut each corn cob into three sections. Peeling the potatoes is optional, but I like to keep it for the fiber content.
  • Add the corn, chayote and potatoes, let it reach a gentle simmer once again. Cover and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until the veggies are 90% of the way cooked. Now, add the calabacita and cabbage. Cover and allow everything to fully cook, about 5 minutes. Remove the bundle of herbs. Stir in salt and serve. 
  • Toppings: Top with onion, cilantro, radishes, drizzle of lime juice, and corn tortillas. Feel free to spoon in a good portion of Mexican rice. ENJOY!

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4 Comments

  1. ♥️ Thank you for continuing to share all your amazing recipes. Forever grateful for you helping me be able to communicate thru food to my Spanish speaking in laws.

  2. This recipe is incredible! I made it for my family and even my picky eaters loved it.
    I am excited to try more of your recipes.

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