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You are here: Home » Recipes » Mexican Soups

Sopa de Albóndigas

Published: Mar 13, 2013 · Updated: Aug 14, 2019 by Mely Martínez

JUMP TO RECIPE

Sopa de albóndigas is one of those comfort foods that bring back memories of my homeland. My mom always adds potatoes, carrots, chayotes, or some sort of vegetable into the tomato broth to make enough for a large family like ours. And it is a good way to get the kids to eat their veggies. The taste of mint in this dish is essential.

Meatball Soup Recipe | Sopa de Albóndigas

Meatball Soup Recipe / Receta de Sopa de Albóndigas | Authentic Mexican Recipe by Mexico in my kitchen
I am updating the pictures on this Soup, it was published in April 2009.


This recipe is adjusted from the book The Cuisines of Mexico by Mrs. Diana Kennedy, published in 1972. In her book the name of the recipe appears as: “Albondigas de Jalisco”, and as she has mentioned, every region has its own recipe and my guess is that everyone will say: "my mom’s albondiga's soup is the best".

This soup is great to have for the cold weather that seems like it will stick around here for a little longer. It will make you want to go back for a second plate, but refrain yourself from doing so and freeze some for later on. You’ll be glad you did!
En Español you can find a very similar recipe in Gusta Usted?, a cooking blog from my friend Nora in Mexico.

How to make Sopa de Albóndigas Recipe

JUMP TO FULL INSTRUCTIONS

Receta de Sopa de Albóndigas | Authentic Mexican Recipe by Mexico in my kitchen

Directions:

1. Cover the rice well with boiling water and let it soak for about 45 minutes. Place the meats in a large bowl and mix well. (Please check the ingredients list below)
2. Trim the squash and chop them very finely. Add the squash and chopped onion to the meat.
Blend the eggs with the herbs and spices until smooth. Mix well into the meat. Add salt.

Receta de Sopa de Albóndigas | Authentic Mexican Recipe by Mexico in my kitchen

3. Drain the rice and add it to the mixture. Make 24 meatballs, each about 1-½ inch in diameter, or any size of your preference.
4. Pour the boiling water over the tomatoes and cook it for about 5 minutes. Skin the tomatoes, place them in the blender along with the chopped garlic clove and blend until almost smooth.
5. Heat the oil and cook the onion gently, without browning, until soft.

Sopa de Albóndigas | Authentic Mexican Recipe by Mexico in my kitchen

6. Add the tomato puree, bring it to boil, and let it cook fast for about 3 minutes. Add the broth to the tomato sauce and bring it to simmer.

Sopa de Albóndigas

7. Add the meatballs, cover the pan, and let them simmer for about one hour and 15 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes. Serve in deep bowls with plenty of sauce.

If you try it let me know how it turned out.¡
¡Buen provecho!

Mely,

More recipes:
Mexican Fava Bean Soup
Mushroom Soup

📖 Recipe

Sopa de Albondigas | Mexican Recipe

Sopa de Albóndigas

Mely Martínez
Sopa de albóndigas is one of those comfort foods that bring back memories of my homeland. My mom always adds potatoes, carrots, chayotes, or some sort of vegetable into the tomato broth to make enough for a large family like ours. And it is a good way to get the kids to eat their veggies.
4.50 from 14 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 35 minutes mins
Course Beef, Soups
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 6 servings
Calories 387 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup long white rice
  • Boiling water enough to cover the rice
  • ¾ pound ground pork finely ground
  • ¾ pound ground lean beef finely ground
  • 2 small zucchini squash about 6 ounces
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ scant teaspoon oregano
  • 3 sprigs of fresh mint or 1 teaspoon powdered dried mint
  • 8 peppercorns
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ scant teaspoon ground cumin
  • ⅓ onion chopped
  • 3 medium tomatoes about ¾ pound
  • 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
  • Boiling water to cover tomatoes
  • 2 Tablespoons peanut or safflower oil
  • 1 medium onion thinly sliced
  • 4 cups of chicken broth

Instructions
 

  • Cover the rice well with boiling water and let it soak for about 45 minutes. Place the meats in a large bowl and mix well.
  • Trim the squash and chop them very finely. Add the squash and chopped onion to the meat. Blend the eggs with the herbs and spices until smooth. Mix well into the meat. Add salt.
  • Drain the rice and add it to the mixture. Make 24 meatballs, each about 1-½ inch in diameter, or any size of your preference.
  • Pour the boiling water over the tomatoes and cook it for about 5 minutes.Skin the tomatoes, place them into the blender along with the chopped garlic clove and blend until almost smooth.
  • Heat the oil and cook the onion gently, without browning, until soft.
  • Add the tomato puree, bring it to boil, and let it cook fast for about 3 minutes. Add the broth to the tomato sauce and bring it to simmer.
  • Add the meatballs, cover the pan, and let them simmer for about one hour and 15 minutes to one hour and 30 minutes. Serve in deep bowls with plenty of sauce.
  • If you want to make this soup a little spicy add some sliced jalapeños to the simmering sauce. Or add some canned chipotles to the blender with the tomatoes.

Notes

Fresh mint optional to add to the soup at the end of the cooking process.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 387kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 27gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 131mgSodium: 972mgPotassium: 883mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 754IUVitamin C: 34mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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    Bread Soup from Chiapas
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    Squash Vine and Shoots Soup
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    Mexican Potato Soup

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  1. majella

    July 16, 2021 at 11:49 pm

    5 stars
    I've made this soup twice now and just absolutely gorgeous. We add choko (Chayote) as well. Can I ask though (as I haven't wanted to test it out in case it's wasted) can you freeze this soup? Thanks

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      July 20, 2021 at 12:07 pm

      Hello,
      Yes, you can freeze this soup.

      Reply
  2. Janet Mackenzie

    March 15, 2021 at 12:58 pm

    I want to request a soup recipe but it's not a response to this particular recipe. How can I do that?

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      March 15, 2021 at 7:07 pm

      Hello Janet,
      What soup recipe are you looking for?

      Reply
  3. Joanne

    February 16, 2021 at 10:58 pm

    5 stars
    We've made this 3 times now within a few weeks and have tripled the recipe each time to share with family. The mint in the meatball adds such a nice yet subtle surprise. My husband's family is from Jalos and he says that this reminds him of his mother's version. It's a winner I our household!

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      February 17, 2021 at 11:21 am

      Hello Joanne,
      Smart thinking to make triple the recipe of the meatball soup. I need to do that. Enjoy!

      Reply
  4. Gilly

    April 06, 2020 at 12:38 pm

    Hi, so I grate the courgette and onion. It says finely chopped, but shows a grater in the pic. Also, I'm assuming the peppercorns are ground, it doesn't actually say.

    I'm from the UK and my Mexican friend had this the other day (his mom made it him) so I wanted to try make it myself.

    I love your recipes.

    Reply
  5. Maddie Spooner

    November 20, 2019 at 8:05 am

    Do I have to cook the rice before adding it to the meatballs?

    Reply
    • Mely Martínez

      November 22, 2019 at 7:50 am

      Hello Maddie,
      No, the rice is added raw, it will cook with the meat. Happy cooking!

      Reply
    • Frog's Grandmama

      October 25, 2020 at 3:55 pm

      5 stars
      Albondigas actually mixes the rice (uncooked) and other ingredients to the meatballs. Mint is an extremely important ingredient to Albondigas. It's in the meatballs and the soup itself. My Grandmother, Mother and Aunt never added vegetables like potatoes,carrots, zucchini and it wasn't a tomato-y soup color.

      Reply
      • Mely Martínez

        October 26, 2020 at 11:37 am

        Hello Frog's grandmama -Tony,
        There are many recipes for meatballs in Mexico, we have 32 States, each with very unique and distinct cuisine. Maybe the women in your family only knew the recipe from their town. If you are looking for one with rice and mint, check this recipe here in the blog. Meatballs with rice and mint. Happy cooking! And thank you for commenting!

  6. Franklin

    October 06, 2019 at 12:12 am

    Isn't it supposed to be cilantro, not mint.

    Reply
    • mmartinez

      October 07, 2019 at 9:58 am

      Hello Franklin,

      Some cooks use cilantro others used mint, and even both at the same time.

      Reply
  7. Tiffany

    November 26, 2018 at 12:56 pm

    Do we boil the rice for 45 minutes or soak the rice? I'm a little confused. I made the other recipe and I would like to make this one.

    Reply
    • mmartinez

      November 26, 2018 at 1:44 pm

      Hello Tiffany,

      You soak the rice for 45 minutes, then you drain it.

      Reply
      • Tiffany (tifferella)

        November 28, 2018 at 6:48 pm

        5 stars
        Okay, I made this recipe. How do you cook the rice in the other recipe? I’m sorry. I got confused with the other recipe.

      • mmartinez

        November 28, 2018 at 7:13 pm

        Hello Tiffany,
        Do you meat the other meatball recipe that has a photo with a bowl of meatballs with rice in it? If you are talking about that one. It is red rice. Here is the link: http://bit.ly/2Heg7pv

      • Tiffany

        November 29, 2018 at 9:11 am

        Yes, thank you!

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Hi, I'm Mely Martinez, a former Mexican school teacher, home cook, and food blogger. I moved to the United States about ten years ago, after living in Mexico my whole life. Now I love to share home-style recipes for authentic Mexican food.
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