Albóndigas Soup

This is Albóndigas Soup, a.k.a Mexican Meatball Soup. The deeply flavored broth is spiked with chipotles and adobo sauce. You can certainly add as much or as little of this as you like. You can even omit the chipotle, but don’t skip out on the adobo sauce. It adds a wonderful smoky kick.

The meatballs are made from a mixture of beef and pork to which crushed tortilla chips and an egg are added as binders. I baked the meatballs instead of par-boiling them to achieve a nice crust. Simmer the broth and meatballs together with added carrots, zucchini, and rice. There is so much going on in each spoonful that you may not taste the same flavor combination twice in one bowl. You’ll find the red broth pulling you back for more.

Don’t forget about how to store your chipotle chiles and adobo sauce.

Albóndigas Soup

By Nicole Prep: 20 minsCook: 1 hrTotal: 1 hr 20 mins Servings: 6 You will be making this classic Mexican soup with deeply flavored broth and tender meatballs again, and again!.

Ingredients 

For the Soup

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 6 cups beef or chicken stock
• 1 (15 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 small chipotle chile, minced (optional)
• 1-2 teaspoons adobo sauce
• 2 medium carrots, grated
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ cup grated zucchini
• ¼ cup uncooked rice

For the Albóndigas

• ½ pound ground beef
• ¼ pound ground pork
• ¼ cup grated zucchini
• 1 extra-large egg
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 4 corn tortilla chips or one stale corn tortilla processed into crumbs
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican

Garnish

• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Crumbled Queso Fresco

Instructions 

For the Soup

1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. In the oil, sauté the onion and garlic with the oregano and cumin until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the stock, tomatoes, chipotle, adobo, carrots, and salt (zucchini and rice will be added later). Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the soup for 20 minutes while you make the albóndigas.

For the Albóndigas

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a large baking sheet; set aside. In a bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients and mix well. Form the mixture into small balls, about ¾-inch in diameter. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet and bake until browned and cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. Remove the meatballs from the baking sheet and drain on paper towels. Add the meatballs, along with the zucchini and rice, to the soup. Continue to simmer for 30 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and Queso Fresco. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 266kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 13g, Fat: 16g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 6g, Trans Fat: 0.5g, Cholesterol: 68mg, Sodium: 889mg, Potassium: 575mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 3667IU, Vitamin C: 15mg, Calcium: 72mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.