Spicy meat ball soup.
I discovered this one a while back and it's terrific! I've made it at least 10 times now and what's wonderful about this recipe is that when you follow the directions, and you take that first taste, it's perfect. I read the other reviews and i agree, 4 cups is not alot of water, but the vegetables will release alot of water; however, I use two KNORR SWISS beef boullion cubes which makes 2 cups of broth per cube, and i add an additional two cups of water, totalling six cups when i start out. This leaves me with plenty of broth. Another thing though, is if you like spicy, just remember, the cabbage tends to get sweet when you cook it, so you might consider leaving it out, but since I'm a gringo, I'm not a fan of burn my mouth out spicy food, so this soup is the perfect balance and absolutely delicious. Oh, and one other thing, I found that by chopping up some fresh cilantro and sprinkling it on top of each bowl when i serve it adds a real fragrant and authentic finish to this soup. Try it, and you'll never eat this soup againwithout it . Thanks Beatrice for making me happy.
Read MoreThis was ok. The broth was nice and spicy but the meatballs were a little bland. I increased the boullion to 3 cubes and water to 6 cups because initially there didn't seem to be enough broth. If I made again I would probably add a little rice to it. I simmered it for an hour just to make sure the meat was done.
Read MoreI discovered this one a while back and it's terrific! I've made it at least 10 times now and what's wonderful about this recipe is that when you follow the directions, and you take that first taste, it's perfect. I read the other reviews and i agree, 4 cups is not alot of water, but the vegetables will release alot of water; however, I use two KNORR SWISS beef boullion cubes which makes 2 cups of broth per cube, and i add an additional two cups of water, totalling six cups when i start out. This leaves me with plenty of broth. Another thing though, is if you like spicy, just remember, the cabbage tends to get sweet when you cook it, so you might consider leaving it out, but since I'm a gringo, I'm not a fan of burn my mouth out spicy food, so this soup is the perfect balance and absolutely delicious. Oh, and one other thing, I found that by chopping up some fresh cilantro and sprinkling it on top of each bowl when i serve it adds a real fragrant and authentic finish to this soup. Try it, and you'll never eat this soup againwithout it . Thanks Beatrice for making me happy.
I really liked this. The first time I made it as is. The second time I used 1 tsp cumin powder, no seeds, 3 cups chopped cabbage, rather than wedges and added a 1/2 cup frozen corn. It's a very pretty, tasty, spicy soup. Absolutely will make it again. It's perfect for the -20C temperatures were having here!
I really liked this. The first time I made it as is. The second time I used 1 tsp cumin powder, no seeds, 3 cups chopped cabbage, rather than wedges and added a 1/2 cup frozen corn. It's a very pretty, tasty, spicy soup. Absolutely will make it again. It's perfect for the -20C temperatures were having here!
This was ok. The broth was nice and spicy but the meatballs were a little bland. I increased the boullion to 3 cubes and water to 6 cups because initially there didn't seem to be enough broth. If I made again I would probably add a little rice to it. I simmered it for an hour just to make sure the meat was done.
This was VERY tasty! The meatballs did tend to fall apart a bit while cooking in the broth, but it didn't matter because the flavor was sooooo good! The leftovers were equally enjoyable!
Excellant! I used broth rather than boullion. Wouldn't hurt to add 1-2 cups more liquid but it turned out great and was easy to make.
Super yummy. I didn't add the cabbage because I didn't have any, and since we have little ones, I skipped the pepper flakes. I did use 2 more cups of water (with added bouillon.) Everything else stayed the same. I don't know how big "tiny" is, but I made my meatballs about an inch each. Next time I'll make them a bit smaller so they will be bite-size for the kids. My entire family liked this recipe, so I will be adding this recipe to my collection. (esp. for cold winter nights!) Yum!
I really, really liked this recipe - though I changed it a bit. I used less than 1 c. uncooked white rice instead of the bread and 10 cups of water & 4 cubes of bouillon and I still wished I made it soupier. This was a very flavorful broth and I followed the spices by the recipe (but omitted cumin seed bc I didn't have any). I can't imagine how strong it would've been w a lb of beef and only 4 cups of water. Thanks for the recipe!!
although this is a very good recipe it could stand a little bit of improvement, but overall it was very good. My husband said it was just like his grand mothers
LOVED THIS SOUP! While my husband was still eating this he was telling me to add this to our rotation of soups. I think he went back for three servings. I didn't have cumin seeds so I just didn't use them. I had already browned the ground beef when I found this recipe so I didn't bother making meatballs therefore I didn't have to use bread crumbs or egg; I just added the onion and garlic to the soup after saute them with the carrots and celery for a few minutes. I only had a 28oz can of tomatoes so I used it all instead of spliting the can. The rest of the recipe I followed. I had about a cup of cooked ground hot italian sausage in the fridge so I added it to the soup a few minutes before serving just to get rid of the left over kicking up the heat of the soup a little more. Will be making this soup plenty of times durning the cool winter months. Thanks for a great recipe.
This was a wonderful on a cold day! I used 6 cups of water with additional bouillon to match, and also seasoned the meatballs with salt, pepper, cumin, coriander and chili powder for a more flavorful meatball. Also omitted the cumin seed and added a teaspoon of ground coriander. I didn't have any celery left in the fridge, so I substituted 2 white zucchini, which I think I prefer.
I absolutely love to make this especially when its cold out. I like to chop cilantro and add to the meatball mixture. We eat it with fresh lime juice squeezed in and tostadas. Yummy and so easy to make. Thanks for the recipe.
when it comes to authentic mexican food, I know my stuff. I omit bell peppers and add potatoes, i also substitute cumin seeds for the powder.
I love this recipe, I added mint and uncooked white rice to the meatballs. Thank you for such a great recipe
This recipe is very tasty. Love the flavor of the soup. I added rice to the meat mixture as I often do when cooking albondigas. Very easy to make! Thanks for the recipe!
This was great! It has simple ingredients however an abundance of flavor! I added a 1/2lb of hamburger to increase number of meatballs, added an additional bouillon cube and 2 cups of water for more broth. Delicious!!
The soup tasted great and was easy to make. This one is going into my recipe book!
I loved it! I took the advice of someone else and added some cilantro on top as well as some finely chopped green onions and one tablespoon of jalapeno shredded cheese. My husband and I like our food spiced up, so I did double all of the spice ingredients and added some additional salt at the very end. Additionally, I used soy meatballs that I put in right before serving instead of the beef. If any of you do weight watchers, this soup has a great broth and great vegetables, therefore, a great variation to their famous zero point vegetable soup-- minus the beef of course.
I've used this recipe for 5yrs now and its great minus the cabbage. I'm not fan of it. My husband who isn't a fan of soups, loves this recipe. I always more water for the the broth. Recipe isn't enough other than that, its great! We love to add lemon and drink with a corona beer to ease the spice! Oh so yummy!
This was a really good soup. My only complaint was that the meatballs didn't have quite enough flavour. Next time I will add some garlic and onion powder and salt and pepper to them.
This was sooo good! My family is a mix of Nicaraguan and the other side Mexican, and this is very similar to soups we make. I left out the celery (i forgot!) and made homemade salsa verde, using 4 tamatillos, jalepeno, onion and cilantro. What a nice recipe. Thank you!
Wow! So good on a cold day! My husband is from Mexico and he always talks about Albondigas soup, so i found this recipe, made it, and he loved it! Thanks so much.
Excellent! Definitely start with more water, I did 2 cups, but needs more spice with the add'l water.
We really enjoyed it. Followed recipe exactly with the exception of using ground buffalo instead of ground beef. Next time, will add a pinch of salt to the meatball mixture. Tasted even better the next day.
I made so many changes, I should probably be submitting what I made as a different recipe but, they never post my recipes so, here goes. I sort of combined this recipe with others I found on the internet. First of all, I found a recipe for Alton Brown's meatballs and they were so different from any meatball I've ever made but, the recipe had great reviews so I gave it a try, using ground turkley in place of the ground pork, lamb & beef Alton Brown uses. They were incredible! The recipe is easy to find if you google for it. Back to this recipe, I doubled the oregano and cumin and left out the green pepper & celery though I did add some celery salt to get the celery flavor. I also shredded the cabbage instead of adding in wedges and I squeezed a lime wedge over the bowl of spoup just before serving. This was so good, I ate the leftover soup for lunch every day until it was gone.
This was a great soup. I added roasted poblanos peppers and it was even better:)
I absolutely loved this recipe!!! I just doubled the cumin also because I had no cumin seed. Will make this one often, and my entire family enjoyed it!!!
I was looking at the other Albondigas Soups and decided to try this one. Well I am so glad I did because my husband loved it. He had been telling me to make this type of dish for quite a while but since I had never made it before I was afraid it would not come out good. So glad I found this site. Love it!!! I omitted the cabbage and instead of red pepper flakes. I added a dry red pepper just for taste. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Terrific! I added uncooked rice (1/2 cut) to the meat. This holds the meat together well. Also use Tapatio hot sauce/lemon or lime juice, and corn tortilla's for dipping and you will love it!! Thank you
I absolutely loved this recipe. My husband is hispanic and he thought it was real tasty and authentic. I substituted the cans of stewed tomatoes with Hunt’s tomato sauce because I don’t care for canned tomatoes. I then cut 6 roman tomatoes into large chunks and added it to the soup. I would definitely make this again!
very good, but tastes quite a bit like mom's tacos. not quite the flavor i was looking for.
I'm sorry, but I just didn't like the flavoring of this soup. It was too sweet for me.
This recipe is really good. It didn't state it in the recipe, but I added about a teaspoon of salt to the meatball mixture because everyone knows you have to add salt to your protein or else it will be bland. I substituted dry bread crumbs and also doubled the amount because they felt too soggy and wouldn't hold their shape. To reduce some of the fat, I baked the meatballs on a cooling rack so the fat could drip onto a cookie sheet for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. I did everything else according to the recipe and I added 1 pound of dry red kidney beans as a bit of a filler.
my partner and i love this soup! the only thing i change is adding fresh cilantro before you served ! yeah...!
This was tasty and hubbie liked it too. I didnt have cabbage or celery, so used some fresh tomato and zuccini instead. Also good without the cumin seed.
I had high hopes for this. Not very spicy and a little bland. I'm giving a 4 because I altered the taste by using ground turkey. Otherwise I would have given a 3.
I made this soup tonight for dinner and it was yummy!! The only things I did different was substitute green beans and corn for the cabbage and peppers, because we didn't have any. And made the meatballs beforehand. I cooked them in the oven for 25 min at 350 degrees. I would make this again! Thanks for the great idea!
So good! The broth itself is very tasty! I am only giving 4 stars because I didn't make the recipe exact (didn't have cumin seeds, so I used 1 tsp of cumin powder, didn't add the pepper flakes so it wouldn't be too hot for my kids, used italian bread crumbs instead of crumbled bread). Also, next time I think I may skip the bell pepper. I don't think it really added anything special, I won't miss it. My husband and son both raved the whole time we were eating! Thanks for this great, easy recipe!
Pretty darn good....I added a bit of masa harina to thicken it up, and a couple of jalepenos. Wonderful with corn tortillas roasted over the open flame of my gas range. 5 stars if hot peppers were in the ingredient list!
I made this last week and was terribly disappointed!! None of us could finish our bowls. The broth was bland and the meatballs were just horrible. If I want to make Albondigas soup again I'll use the recipe simply titled Albondigas from this site. Now there is a delicious soup!!!
Delicious, even when I changed a few things to our taste. Mixed some chorizo in w/the ground beef, and mixed the spices (chili powder, oregano, cumin, +cayenne & garlic powder) in with meatballs as well as the soup. Added uncooked rice to meatballs and cooked 15-20 min. in 2 qts. boiling water/stock (til rice was done) before adding the veggies/spices to the soup. Skipped bell pepper & carrots, added chopped onion, and used shredded cabbage instead of wedges. Served with lime to squeeze over and pickled carrots/jalapenos on the side. YUM! Will definitely make again. (Note: authentic Mexican albondigas will have yerba buena (spearmint) in it as well, but our family doesn't like it so much.. so this recipe is perfect for us! THANKS!)
I made a vegetarian version with no meatballs. I've had this in several restaurants. It never includes cabbage and always includes onion, so I omitted the cabbage and added 3/4 of a lg onion (chopped). Since I did not have fat from the meat, I also added 1-2 tbsp of oil. Came out just like the restaurant versions sans the meat. While I didn't try the meatballs, I notice that the meatball ingredients do not include rice. If you want an authentic version of this soup, substitute onion for the cabbage and find a meatball recipe with rice.
This soup was good- all 3 of my boys loved it and asked me to make it again. It was a lot like a taco-flavored soup. I didn't have any cabbage to put in it, but I think that would have made it even better.
Great base recipe. You can do yourself a favor by livening up the meatballs. I used uncooked rice instead of bread, then added garlic and onion powder, coarse sea salt, and fresh cracked pepper. Also added diced potatoes and cilantro. Boom.
This is the first Albondigas Soup I've ever had, so I can't compare it to others but it is really good. I almost double the meat and definitely double the spices. I use Napa Cabbage instead of the awful green stuff. It's good for a light dinner which is how we always have it. A+
I took the advice of another cook an added 1 tsp of cumin instead of the cumin seed. Very good.
My bf loved this soup but I thought it could have been better. I agree with the other reviewer who said that they didn't like the sweetness in the soup from the cabbage. Next time I would omit the cabbage for these reasons. I would also add more oregano and probably salt and pepper the meatballs before making small meatballs.
Delicious!! My whole family of picky eaters enjoyed this. Reminds me of the soup my grandma made when I was a kid. I read some of the reviews and did add 6 cups of water instead of the couple, and used 4 bouillion cubes, 3 might have just been fine but I was being cautious. Made plently. Going to make again tonight by request!
Love it! I even used ground turkey to make it a little more healthy and it still was very yummy! Will make again!
Just made this and I believe I'm going to like it but skipped making the meatballs and used seasoned ground beef. My plan is to pour a scoop over some corn chips, top with chedder and sour cream. And only add the red pepper to my bowl. Thanks!
Very good! I used rice instead of bread crumbs. The meatballs did break apart but it was still very tasty.
Excellent! I add 1 c. white uncooked rice+use 3/4 tsp chili powder instead of 1/2tsp as rice absorbs quite a bit. Then add 1/4c taco sauce. Serve w/warm tortillas & salsa. This makes it a one step meal
Very good but I had to add more beef stock base (concentrated stock) to give the soup more flavor. I made smaller servings for this soup yet it was still very hearty.
I loved this. It is rare to find a soup that is really new to my family. We loved it.
My family loved it, almost like grandma marquez's, she added potatoes to hers.
I've been making this recipe for quite a while, probably made this 6-8 times.. Our ''Hispanic'' friend loves it even better than what he pays a lot MORE $$ at Mexican Restauants.. It's filled with a lot more vegetables plus ''cabbage'' & very filling.. It's great to serve on Cold evenings. My husband loves his Soup & it's not overly ''spicey hot'' for us either. Great ''COMFORT FOOD'' !!
My kids loved this. I took out the crushed red peppers and cumin seeds. My kids are not fans of things that are too spicy.
We really liked this soup. I'd give it five stars, but I made a few minor changes, and I think without them it would have been less of a success. First, like other reviewers have mentioned, as written it needs more liquid. I upped it to six cups of water and three bullion cubes. The only other change I made was the addition of a healthy shot of lime juice at the end of the cook time. The acid really seemed to wake the flavor up, and I wouldn't make it again without it. That all being said, the bones of this recipe are great and I'll happily make it again.
I have made this a few times and each time it gets a little better. I read some of the other reviews and I doubled the broth and used 8 cups of water and 4 bullion cubes. I also used rice instead of bread crumbs and my meatballs do not crumble. I also add fresh cilantro and some rotelle tomatoes and its perfect!
The meatballs need seasoning! Try adding garlic powder, salt and pepper, minced cilantro and minced tomato to the meat mixture. Then use 1/3 c long grain rice and a Tblsp of flour instead of the bread crumbs in the meatball mix. The broth qty is off. Add more water/bouillon or a box of beef broth. Adjust all seasonings to compensate for added broth. A little less cabbage or none at all works, add chopped zucchini. Basic outline of ingredients is good; but needs a little tweaking... Meatballs are so much better my way!
Great recipe... I also added more water and beef bullion. Added crushed ritz crackers in place of bread crumbs, lipton beefy onion soup mix, and mustard to the meatball, of course added the onion power, garlic salt, egg, a little water, and pepper. Then formed meatballs and rolled in flour to thicken the soup. Added lots of veggies including potatoes and zucchini, in addition to the carrots, celery, cabbage, and green pepper. Increased the cumin and chili powder, and left out the cumin seeds. Delicious...
This is a great-tasting soup! I will definitely make again. Not enough liquid to cover the cabbage (maybe my cabbage was too large?), but I stuck with the recipe as written and it all turned out okay.
The soup was amazing! It was better than the Albondigas at my favorite authentic Mexican restaurant. Thanks for the great recipe, its perfect for cold winter nights!
I have made this soup multiples times. It is perfect just as written. It’s also a good way to use up that half head of cabbage that always seems to be in the crisper drawer!
The flavor of this soup was fantastic. However, cooking the meatballs in the broth made it too greasy for our taste. Next time I will brown the meatballs, drain the grease and then add the broth, veggies and seasonings.
GOOD RECIPE, I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR A ALBONDIGA SOUP FOR A WHILE NOW. THIS IS THE ONE... IT'S SIMPLE AND EASY, THE TASTE IS GREAT. THE AROMA ENTICESES U TO WANNA TRY IT...ONLY THAT I DIDN'T HAVE CANNED TOMATOES INSTEAD I USED TOMATO SAUCE, IT STILL WORKED OUT GREAT!!
This soup is awesome! I used soup base instead of the boullion for a richer flavor.
I really used this recipe as a model since I switched up a lot of Ingredients. I used turkey instead of ground beef and breadcrumbs instead of one slice of bread. I used green chilies instead of bell peppers and I did not have any cumin so I added a little taco seasoning. I added one more cup of water because it just wasn't enough water. It came out great but the turkey meatballs fell apart. Not sure how to fix that. Maybe adding one more egg. Garnish with chopped cilantro to make it pretty. Deliciously flavorful and spicy soup!
I would give this 5 stars but I did veer from the recipe a bit by baking my meatballs first and adding in a bit more garlic. I loved the addition of the cabbage and finished it off with a bit of lemon...very good thank you!!
This is a great recipe and I have made it a few times now. It’s a family favorite and the kids really enjoy it as well
i liked this soup, really tasty. the only thing i did different was put cilantro in with the meatballs . I add a little bit more water.
Delicious! Read the reviews about the tasteless meatballs so I cooked up some brown rice to replace the bread and added 1 t each of taco seasoning & cumin powder along with 1/2 t of dried oregano. That made the meatballs good by themselves and followed everything else. So good!
I love this! It's one of my family favorites have made many times my husband is from Mexico and says it tastes like home. The only thing I do differently is double the water and beef stock and add about six heaping spoonfuls of rice while it simmers. Thank you for the recipe, if you wanting to make a delicious easy soup this is it.
No cumin seed, no oregano, 14 oz.can of diced tomatoes, garlic bouillon cube, onion bouillon cube, chipotle bouillon cube and 2 chicken bouillon cubes. Wedges of cabbage, last 15 minutes. My best Albondigas Soup ever!
This is just the thing my family needed on a cold rainy night! I prepped the meat the day before. I added a couple tbls of beef broth paste along with some dried onion, chilie powder, chipotle powder. I didn't have cumin seed so I just used more ground cumin. I heated up some beef rice and ladeled the soup over it. Heated up the flour tortillas and Voila! My hubby is Still talking about this soup:) This was delicious!! Thank You very much Beatrice. Winner Winner meatball dinner!
I replaced the sliced bread with cauliflower rice (approx 3 cups) to make this gluten free and low carb. These turned out really great. Very tender. I also added zucchini and the cabbage close to the end of the cooking time so it wasn't too over cooked. It was delicious and will be making it often.
Too watery, need to use bone broth as a base to start. Used family recipe for meatballs as the suggested one was bland and unsatisfying. Boil broth with jalapeño for a more satisfying kick. Unsatisfied, but an ok recipe.
I thought this soup was great. I did shred the cabbage though. Would make this again.
Delicious! Easy to make. I added 6 cups of water instead of 4 like many others. I'm making this soup again.
I used pre-cooked Italian style mini meatballs ( frozen package) shredded cabbage mixed with shredded carrots It turned out awesome and very testy.
This is DELICIOUS! I bet it’s perfect as is but I like to change things a bit! :) I made the soup and broth exactly as stated and just added minced dried onion, an egg, cilantro, and some taco seasoning to the meatballs. I didn’t add the milk as I used ground venison that we process ourselves so it’s pretty wet. I threw some frozen corn in at the end! As far as serving, we actually love sour cream and cheese on top of our Mexican soups so we added those and cilantro. Delicious!! I LOVE this and was a break from the normal Taco Soup that I was kinda getting bored with. We have a large family (7 kids) so we eat a lot of soups. It was nice to find a new Mexican one!
