Homemade Matzo Ball Soup with Fluffy Matzo Balls
About this Recipe: Homemade Matzo Ball Soup
By: Rachel
Homemade matzo ball soup is often described as “Jewish penicillin.” It’s a comforting classic known for its rich, savory flavor. This traditional Passover matzo ball soup features a deeply flavorful broth made with onion, carrot, celery, and tender chicken, simmered slowly for maximum depth. The fluffy matzo balls are soft and satisfying, seasoned with schmaltz (chicken fat), onion powder, and fresh dill.
The Simple Pleasure of Homemade Matzo Ball Soup, Made With Love
Homemade matzo ball soup is simple, rustic fare. While it is not exactly complicated to prepare, it does take a lot of time and patience to coax the broth to maximum flavor, yielding the tenderest, juiciest meat and vegetables that seem to disappear on the tongue. There’s a reason why Passover matzo ball soup is a classic addition to the seder table!
Well-made matzo balls are fluffy rather than dense, with a light, airy texture that almost floats in the broth. They should be tender enough to cut with a spoon, yet sturdy enough to hold together without falling apart. Flavor matters just as much as texture—great matzo balls are infused with richness from schmaltz, balanced seasoning, and fresh herbs like dill, so each bite complements the savory chicken broth instead of tasting bland or heavy.
How To Make Fluffy Matzo Balls
There are are dozens of tips and tricks for how to make perfect, fluffy matzo balls. These tips are what have worked for me over the years—they have never let me down.
- Don’t overmix. Combine the matzo meal with eggs and schmaltz just until it comes together. Overworked dough leads to denser matzo balls that sink rather than float. Similarly, be sure not to overwork the dough as you form the mix into matzo balls. Be sure to wet your hands to avoid sticking!
- Rest your matzo ball mix. Dough needs time to hydrate, allowing the liquid to fully permeate the dry ingredients. During the resting period, the gluten relaxes, improving the texture of the final product. Allowing the matzo meal to rest and fully absorb the eggs and schmaltz will yield a lighter result.
- Secret ingredients: I include baking powder and club soda in my matzo ball mix. Both introduce airiness into the matzo ball for a fluffy texture.
- Flavor: What good is a light, fluffy matzo ball that doesn’t taste like anything? I add schmaltz (chicken fat), onion powder, dill, kosher salt, and white pepper to flavor my matzo balls.
- Cooking your matzo balls: If possible, use a large stockpot with a glass lid. That will help you to make sure that the water stays at a simmer, rather than a rolling boil. Resist the urge to lift the lid until the timer goes off—you need to trap that steam in the pot! Remember that matzo balls absorb a lot of liquid as they cook, so be sure to cook them in a large pot.
- Don’t hurry: Average-sized matzo balls (about the size of a walnut before cooking) take 45-50 minutes to fully cook; larger ones will take closer to an hour. When cut in half, a good matzo ball should be the same color and texture throughout. A dark center means the matzo ball was removed from the pot before it was ready.
Fluffy Matzo Ball Soup vs. Chicken Noodle Soup
Matzo ball soup is often served at the Passover seder, when chametz (leavened foods derived from grains) are forbidden. For those (like me) who are carb-oriented, matzo balls are a satisfying and filling option during that week when pasta is forbidden.
During the rest of the year, I sometimes choose to substitute the matzo balls with wide egg noodles for a delicious chicken noodle soup. Either option is delicious!
Besides Homemade Matzo Ball Soup, What Else Should I Serve For Passover?
Start your meal with Miriam’s Cup, a beautifully light and refreshing cocktail featuring flavors of elderflower and grapefruit. This unique and delicious lamb and matzo pie has been a favorite on my seder table for many years. For a fresh, seasonal option, try this Chicken with Spring Vegetables. A rich, chocolate budino is an ideal dessert, but if you prefer to go dairy-free for the seder, check out Claudia Roden’s Orange and Almond Cake.
Beverage Pairing
By: Olivia
Any beverage you enjoy alongside this matzo ball soup should offer acidity and aromatics. Wines like Sauvignon Blanc and Grüner Veltliner bring freshness, herbaceousness notes, and even a touch of pepper that mirror the dish’s savory qualities. If you’d prefer red wine, look for one with a similarly light, vibrant profile.
Homemade Matzo Ball Soup with Fluffy Matzo Balls
Equipment
- Large Stockpot for the soup
- Large Stockpot with transparent lid for the matzo balls
- Measuring cups and spoons or kitchen scale
- Kitchen scale or measuring cups
Ingredients
For the Matzo Balls
- 1 cup (120g) matzo meal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill
- ⅛ teaspoon white pepper
- 4 fresh eggs beaten
- ¼ cup schmaltz chicken fat, melted and cooled to room temperature
- ¼ cup club soda
For the soup:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or olive oil
- 4-6 chicken thighs bone-in, skin on
- 2 large onions quartered, skins reserved*
- 4 medium carrots roughly chopped and peeled; ends and peel reserved
- 4 ribs celery roughly chopped
- Several quarts cold water
- Freshly-ground black pepper or 1 tablespoon fresh peppercorns
- Kosher salt
Step by Step Instructions
For the Matzo Balls
Step 1
- To a medium bowl, add the matzo meal, baking powder, salt, onion powder, dried dill, and white pepper. Stir to combine.
Step 2
- In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and schmaltz until well combined. You can substitute duck or goose fat, or use vegetable oil—but the poultry fat adds a wonderful flavor and I recommend using it if you can.
Step 3
- Add the egg mixture into the matzo meal mixture, using a fork to combine. Do not overwork. Once the eggs have been fully incorporated into the dry ingredients, gently fold in the seltzer using a small silicone spatula.
- Cover your bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until ready to use.
For the Soup
Step 1
- In a stock sock, or to a piece of cheesecloth, add the onion skins, carrot ends and peels, and any other vegetables scraps you wish to include. If you are using whole peppercorns, add them to the cheesecloth. Knot or tie with string, and set aside.
Step 2
- This step can be skipped if you wish—I think it adds a little more depth of flavor. However, you can skip to step 3 if you prefer.In your largest, heaviest stockpot, heat butter or olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and reduce the heat to medium. Allow to cook for several minutes, enabling some of the fat to render off.
- Remove the chicken, setting it aside on a platter. Add the vegetables and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have begun to soften and brown. Return the chicken and its juices to the pot, and add 4-6 quarts cold water, or enough to cover the vegetables and chicken. Add the stock sock or cheesecloth and nudge it down toward the bottom of the pot with a long-handled spoon.
Step 3
- If you skipped the sautéeing step, add your vegetables and chicken to a large stockpot and add enough cold water to cover. In my stockpot, this equates to 4-6 quarts. Add the stock sock with the vegetable scraps, nudging it down into the broth with a long-handled spoon. Turn the heat up to medium-high until the liquid begins to bubble. Immediately turn the heat down to medium low and watch carefully, ensuring that the liquid only simmers gently, but never boils.
- Allow the broth to simmer for at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours, checking regularly to ensure that the liquid remains at a very gentle simmer. Do not cover.
Step 4
- Once the broth has finished simmering, remove it from the heat. Remove and discard the cheesecloth. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the chicken, transferring it to a medium bowl and ladling stock over it (this helps ensure that the chicken does not dry out). Set it aside until it is cool enough to handle.
Step 5
- Remove and discard the skin and bones, shredding the chicken into medium chunks with a fork. Return the chicken to the stockpot, along with any juices that have accumulated.
Step 6
- If you are ready to cook your matzo balls, proceed to Cooking the Matzo Balls below.If you want to wait until another day, cool your stock, then refrigerate your soup. I usually facilitate this process by placing my stockpot in a sink filled with lots of ice and cold water, up to ¾ of the way to the top of my stockpot. This will cool the stock down more quickly; you do not want to refrigerate steaming-hot stock. However, because I make so much stock at a time and it takes awhile to cool down and heat up again, not to mention the real estate the stockpot takes up in the refrigerator, I generally prefer to do everything all at once on the day I intend to serve it, or, to make the soup several weeks ahead and freeze it.
Cooking the Matzo Balls
Step 1
- Gently form your chilled matzo ball mix into balls, taking care not to overwork the dough. This recipe yields about 12 large matzo balls.
Step 2
- Heat your soup to a gentle boil and add the matzo balls quickly one at a time, stirring briefly with a long-handled spoon to ensure that none stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Immediately cover the pot, turning the heat down if it threatens to boil over and doing your best to ensure a consistent simmer (a translarent lid helps here, but isn’t strictly necessary). Do not uncover while the matzo balls are cooking. Allow the matzo balls to simmer for 45-50 minutes—less for smaller matzo balls, more for larger ones. If you cut a cooked matzo ball open, it should be even in color throughout. A darker center indicates an uncooked matzo ball.
Step 3
- Add 1-2 cooked matzo balls to each serving bowl and ladle the soup over the matzo balls. Garnish with fresh herbs, if desired, and serve immediately.
- *Whenever I make vegetables, I save the parts I don’t use for stock—the skins and ends of onions or shallots; carrot peels, the ends of leeks, and so forth. I store them in a large Ziplock bag in the freezer, and make stock anytime I have a few handfuls of vegetable ends and some bones on hand. I do not keep vegetables that would not add a good flavor to stock (e.g., broccoli or potato peels).
