This authentic Mexican albondigas soup is made with egg, breadcrumbs, veggies, chile chipotle and a jalapeño to make the albondigas soup spicy. It’s great during the winter months when you need a warm comforting soup for dinner.
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I know that the popular or traditional way to make the meatballs is with rice inside of the actual meatballs. This recipe does not have rice in it. For me it’s a texture issue. BUT if you do want to add rice to your meatballs you can! You can skip the breadcrumbs (or keep them, up to you!) and add about ¼ cup of uncooked rice. The traditional recipe also calls for fresh chopped spearmint leaves, yeah also not for me. I don’t like how it tastes with the meat. But again, if you want to add spearmint, cool! Add about ¼ cup chopped mint leaves to the meatball mix.
What is Caldo de Albondigas?
It’s really just a meatball soup. Some bake the meatballs in the oven and then put them in the soup, but traditionally you cook the meatballs in the water or broth to better flavor the soup. It also has veggies to make it more hardy.
What type of vegetables can I add to my albondigas soup?
The most popular veggies are carrots, potatoes, calabacitas (or zucchini), celery, and or tomatoes.
Step by step process
Start by making your meatballs, to a bowl add 1 lb ground beef, ½ cup bread crumbs, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of salt or to taste, 1 teaspoon pepper or to taste, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 teaspoon oregano, and ½ teaspoon ground cumin.
Mix everything together really well.
Form your meatballs to about approximately 1.5 inches in diameter. You can make them smaller or larger, totally up to you. If you do make them smaller or bigger, make sure you adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Once you have finished forming all of your meatballs, set them aside.
Next, to a blender add 4 medium roma tomatoes, ¼ of a medium onion, 2 garlic cloves, and the chipotle pepper. Blend well for about 30-45 seconds.
To a large soup pot, over medium-low heat, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
add your tomato mix to the oil and simmer for about 5 minutes.
After the 5 minutes add 6 cups of water or broth, 2 bay leaves, 1 jalapeno split in half (optional, but recommended), 2 garlic cloves, ½ a medium onion, and 1 and a ½ tablespoons of salt or to taste. Bring everything to a boil.
Once your broth is boiling add the meatballs to the pot, carefully. Cover and simmer.
After 10 minutes of simmering, add the potatoes, celery, and carrots. Recover and continue cooking.
10 minutes later (20 minutes into the simmer) add the cubed zucchini or calabacitas. Continue to cook on a simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
After a total of about 30-35 minutes of simmering, check your meatballs for doneness. If they are no longer pink and are cooked through, and the veggies are all fork tender, turn off the heat.
Your soup is now ready to be served!
Enjoy garnished with some fresh chopped cilantro, Salsa Verde, Mexican rice, Pico de Gallo, and/or some fresh squeezed lime.
Recipes that are similar or go great with albondigas
Caldo de Albondigas Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
This authentic Mexican albondigas soup is made with egg, breadcrumbs, veggies, chile chipotle and a jalapeño to make the albondigas soup spicy. It’s great during the winter months when you need a warm comforting soup for dinner.
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tsp pepper or to taste
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ tsp ground cumin
For the broth:
- 4 Medium roma tomatoes
- ¾ of a medium onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 canned chipotle pepper
- 1 jalapeno
- 2 bay leaves
- 6 cups of water or beef broth
- 1 and ½ tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Vegetable Options:
- 1 cup cubed carrots or 4 medium carrots
- 2 medium potatoes, cubed
- 2 medium zucchinis, cubed
- 1–2 Celery Sticks, chopped
Instructions
Start by making your meatballs, to a bowl add 1 lb ground beef, ½ cup bread crumbs, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon salt or to taste, 1 teaspoon pepper or to taste, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 teaspoon oregano, and ½ teaspoon ground cumin.
Mix everything together really well.
Form your meatballs to about approximately 1.5 inches in diameter. You can make them smaller or larger, totally up to you. If you do make them smaller or bigger, make sure you adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Once you have finished forming all of your meatballs, set them aside.
Next, to a blender add 4 medium roma tomatoes, ¼ of a medium onion, 2 garlic cloves, and the chipotle pepper. Blend well for about 30-45 seconds.
To a large soup pot, over medium-low heat, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
add your tomato mix to the oil and simmer for about 5 minutes.
After the 5 minutes add 6 cups of water or broth, 2 bay leaves, 1 jalapeño split in half (optional, but recommended), 2 garlic cloves, ½ a medium onion, and 1 and a ½ tablespoons of salt or to taste. Bring everything to a boil.
Once your broth is boiling add the meatballs to the pot, carefully. Cover and simmer.
After 10 minutes of simmering, add the potatoes, celery, and carrots. Recover and continue cooking.
10 minutes later (20 minutes into the simmer) add the cubed zucchini or calabacitas. Continue to cook on a simmer for another 10-15 minutes.
After aa total of bout 30-35 minutes, check your meatballs for doneness. If they are no longer pink and are cooked through, and the veggies are all fork tender, turn off the heat.
Your soup is now ready to be served!
Enjoy garnished with some fresh chopped cilantro, rice, and/or some fresh squeezed lime.
Notes
This recipe does not have rice in the meatballs. If you do want to add rice to your meatballs instead of the breadcrumbs (or keep them, up to you!) add about ¼ cup of uncooked rice to the uncooked ground beef before forming the balls.
I like to use seasoned breadcrumbs when making the meatballs. It adds more flavor, but you can use the plain as well!
Keywords: Caldo de albondigas, mexican meatball soup, spicy albondigas with chipotle peppers
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