Ultimate Matzo Ball Soup

Matzo Ball Soup is a Jewish classic, sometimes called Jewish penicillin.  This classic chicken soup is packed with hearty flavors and fluffy matzo balls.  

Reprinted from Candidly Passover: Recipes for Pesach and year-round.  “Matzo Balls (also called kneidlach) can be stored IN the soup or separately.  I prefer to boil the matzo balls in their own water, then add them to the soup for storage.”  Make sure your cooking water is very salty; it should taste like the ocean.  

There are a couple tricks to making fluffy, round kneidlach for your Matzo Ball Soup.  First, using seltzer is very important.  It aerates the batter, creating little holes inside the matzo balls.  Second, when rolling the balls, wet your hands at the beginning and after every two or three balls.  Press the batter tight in your palm, then roll vigorously between both palms for a perfect round shape.  Third, and this is very important, do NOT overcrowd the pan.  The matzo balls need room to expand.  

Ultimate Matzo Ball Soup is a recipe I use all the time.  I nearly always have some made up in my freezer.  There is something magical as a mom about being sick and knowing there is a warm cozy chicken soup waiting for you with no effort.  

Things you’ll Need: Stock pot, cheesecloth bags (#sponsored)

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Jump to Recipe

Prep time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Cook time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Serves: 6

Ingredients

Matzo Balls 

• 4 Eggs
• ¼ Cups Seltzer
• 2 Tablespoons Oil
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Black Pepper
• 1 Cup Matzo Meal
• 6 Quarts Water
• Extra Kosher Salt

Soup

• 2 Tablespoons Oil
• 1 Cup diced Onion (about 1 onion)
• 1 Cup diced Celery (about 2 celery)
• 1 Cup diced Carrot (about 1 large carrot)
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1-1.5 pounds skinless Chicken Thighs (not boneless)
• 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric
• ½ teaspoons Sage
• ½ teaspoons Basil
• 1 Quart Chicken Stock
• 4 Cups Water
• 2 Bay Leaves

Instructions:  

Matzo Balls 

1. Beat eggs until very light.  
2. Add Seltzer, Oil, Kosher Salt, Black Pepper.  Whisk well.
3. Add Matzo Meal. Whisk until combined.
4. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
5. Bring 6 quarts of very salty water to boil.
6. Using a cookie scoop (2 Tablespoons), create balls of the matzo mixture.  Roll them tightly in your hands.  
7. Drop the balls into the boiling water.  Boil on a Medium High heat with the lid on for 30 minutes.

Soup

1. In a stock pot (at least 8 qt), heat Oil on medium.  
2. Add Onion, Celery, Carrot and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions are soft.  
3. Add Garlic, Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Turmeric, Sage, Basil, Stock, Water.  Stir and bring to a boil.
4. Place all of the Chicken into a soup bag or knot it up in cheesecloth.  Add the bag of chicken to the soup.  Lay Bay Leaves on top.  
5. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for one hour.  
6. After one hour, pull out the bag of chicken and the two Bay Leaves.  Reduce heat to low to keep warm.
7. Allow the chicken to cool a little before touching.  Cut open the cheesecloth and with your fingers, (I like to wear gloves for this) separate the meat from the bones, and place only the meat back into the soup.
8. Add the cooked matzo balls and keep warm until ready to serve.  

Notes:  Using skinless thighs keeps the amount of oil down, but if you prefer, cool the soup in the refrigerator and then skim the oil from the surface before reheating and serving.  The bones add a lot of nutrients and flavor; however, this soup can be made with cut up chicken breast instead.  Soup keeps well for 6 months in the freezer or up to a week in the refrigerator.