This Matzo Ball Soup is an exceptionally delicious Jewish dish made with matzah meal dumplings. There’s so much comfort and warmth in this soup, and the best part is that the highly flavorful homemade chicken stock in made in the Instant pot. One sip and and you will be hooked!
Matzo Ball Soup
There’s nothing better than a homemade soup and my new favorite way to make chicken stock is using the Instant pot because it’s really simple. You basically just add all the chicken stock ingredients to your instant pot, close the lid and it’s cooked in about 20 minutes instead of simmering for hours. It doesn’t get any healthier or easier than that!
So you’re probably wondering what matzo balls are. They are a Jewish dumpling made from matzah meal, eggs, water and fat. For the fat we actually used chicken fat, also known as schmaltz, by frying the chicken skin. Alternatively, feel free to use vegetable oil instead. Either way, the dumplings will be so good.
There’s a whole chicken in this soup, so lots of flavor there, but nothing gets thrown out here. After the chicken stock is made, I actually shred all the chicken and add to the finished soup.
What You Need For Matzo Ball Soup
Chicken Stock
- Chicken – Use a small 3-4 pound chicken cut into pieces. Remove excess skin and reserve to create the schmaltz.
- Vegetables– Celery, onion, and carrots, cut into pieces, for lots of flavor in any soup stock.
- Garlic – Smashed garlic to enhance flavors.
- Parsley – Parsley adds a peppery taste with a touch of earthiness.
- Bay Leaves – 2 bay leaves to enhance the soup with a hint of mint and black pepper.
Matzo Balls
- Eggs – I used large eggs, either brown or white.
- Fat – I rendered the chicken skin to create the fat, or use vegetable oil. Chicken schmaltz is basically just rendered chicken fat.
- Matzo – Matzo meal is the star of these balls, and is simply ground up matzo.
- Water – You’ll need Club soda or seltzer which is said to curb the density of matzo balls and make them lighter and fluffier.
Assembly
- Dill – Chopped dill is a must in this soup as garnish.
- Spices – Salt and pepper to taste.
How To Make Matzo Ball Soup
Chicken Stock
- Make the chicken stock: Add all the chicken stock ingredients to your instant pot. Close the lid (follow the manufacturer’s guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the manual setting and set the timer to 20 minutes. Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is finished, should take about 15 minutes. Follow the manufacturer’s guide for quick release, if in a rush. Carefully unlock and remove the lid from the instant pot.
Matzo Balls
- Prepare matzo balls: While the stock is cooking, prepare the matzo balls. Whisk the eggs in a medium sized bowl. Add the chicken schmaltz, matzo meal, salt, club soda and stir well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Strain chicken stock: Using tongs, carefully remove the chicken pieces and carrots from the instant pot. Strain the rest of the broth through a strainer, discarding any leftover solids. Pour the remaining broth back into the instant pot. Turn the Instant Pot to the sauté setting and bring to a boil.
- Cook matzo balls: Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out equal size balls from the matzo ball mixture and place them on a cutting board. With moistened hands, roll each ball between your hands. Carefully, drop the matzo balls into the boiling broth. Turn the sauté function to the low setting for 30 minutes. Close the lid and simmer the matzo balls for 30 minutes. Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes, then quick release the rest.
Assembly
- Chop veggies and shred chicken: While the matzo balls are cooking, chop the reserved cooked carrots in slices. Remove the skin and bones from the chicken and shred with 2 forks.
- Assemble plates and serve: Add the chopped carrots and shredded chicken back to the Instant Pot. Serve soup with chicken, carrots and 2 to 3 matzo balls per serving. Garnish with fresh dill. alternatively you can prep individual bowls with chicken, carrots, and soup, as seen in video.
FAQs
Plain breadcrumbs, panko crumbs, or saltines are a few substitutes. Matzo crackers are usually found in the baking supplies section in the supermarket, or try Amazon.
Matzo balls are small dumplings made of seasoned matzo meal, egg and chicken fat, usually served in chicken soup.
Medium-textured matzo meal is about the same texture as cornmeal. It is used for baking, as a coating for fried foods, to thicken, and to make matzo balls from. Fine-textured matzo meal is more finely ground for use in cakes.
Of course you can use pre-made chicken stock, it’s great when needing to save time. I prefer homemade for a healthier and, in my opinion, better tasting stock.
Tips
- I like to freeze matzo balls first on a baking sheet, then place them in a container. This prevents the balls from sticking when trying to remove a specific amount from the freezer.
- If you have the time, it’s best to make soup stock from scratch. Not only is it cost effective, but you get a lot more robust chicken flavor and tons of nutrients. It also tastes infinitely better than anything from the supermarket.
Leftovers
Store this matzo ball soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
Freezer
You can freeze the entire soup in airtight, leakproof containers. However, the preferred method is to cool the matzo balls first and place them on a lined baking sheet, covered, and freeze for 2-3 hours. When frozen, place in an airtight container or freezer bag.
Take out as many matzo balls as needed and place in your hot soup, until heated thoroughly.
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Matzo Ball Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
Chicken Stock
- 3-4 pound whole chicken cut into pieces, remove excess skin and reserve
- 2 quarts water
- 3 stalks celery cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 large onion peeled and cut in half
- 4 medium carrots peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 6 sprigs parsley
- 2 large bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper ground
Matzo Balls
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons chicken schmaltz or vegetable oil
- ¾ cup matzo meal
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons club soda
Assembly
- 3 tablespoons fresh dill chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Chicken Stock
- Make the chicken stock: Add all the chicken stock ingredients to your instant pot. Close the lid (follow the manufacturer’s guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the manual setting and set the timer to 20 minutes. Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is finished, should take about 15 minutes. Follow the manufacturer’s guide for quick release, if in a rush. Carefully unlock and remove the lid from the instant pot.
Matzo Balls
- Prepare matzo balls: While the stock is cooking, prepare the matzo balls. Whisk the eggs in a medium sized bowl. Add the chicken schmaltz, matzo meal, salt, club soda and stir well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Strain chicken stock: Using tongs, carefully remove the chicken pieces and carrots from the instant pot. Strain the rest of the broth through a strainer, discarding any leftover solids. Pour the remaining broth back into the instant pot. Turn the Instant Pot to the sauté setting and bring to a boil.Â
- Cook matzo balls: Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out equal size balls from the matzo ball mixture and place them on a cutting board. With moistened hands, roll each ball between your hands. Carefully, drop the matzo balls into the boiling broth. Turn the sauté function to the low setting for 30 minutes. Close the lid and simmer the matzo balls for 30 minutes. Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, naturally release the pressure for 10 minutes, then quick release the rest.
Assembly
- Chop veggies and shred chicken: While the matzo balls are cooking, chop the reserved cooked carrots in slices. Remove the skin and bones from the chicken and shred with 2 forks.
- Assemble plates and serve: Add the chopped carrots and shredded chicken back to the Instant Pot. Serve soup with chicken, carrots and 2 to 3 matzo balls per serving. Garnish with fresh dill. alternatively you can prep individual bowls with chicken, carrots, and soup, as seen in video.
Video
Recipe Notes
- Chicken schmaltz is just rendered chicken fat. Use the reserved excess skin from the chicken to render.
- It usually takes the instant pot 15 to 20 minutes to come to pressure, that’s when the timer starts, and another 15 minutes or so for natural pressure release.
- I like to freeze matzo balls first on a baking sheet, then place them in a container. This prevents the balls from sticking when trying to remove a specific amount from the freezer.
- If you have the time, it’s best to make soup stock from scratch. Not only is it cost effective, but you get a lot more robust chicken flavor and tons of nutrients. It also tastes infinitely better than anything from the supermarket.
- Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days.
What do you do if you don’t have an Instant Pot?
Then you would just do everything in a big pot on your stovetop. It would probably take about an hour, you’ll see that as the soup starts to boil and the chicken start to cook, you’ll get this dirty foamy stuff over the top of the soup, so just make sure to skim that with a slotted spoon. This will ensure your soup is nice and clear.