Last updated on March 29th, 2018 at 03:09 pm
This Romanian Meatball Soup (Ciorba de Perisoare) is my mom’s recipe for the most delicious meatball soup out there. Just saying.
This is probably the most common soup I make at my house simply because it’s everyone’s favorite. I always love sharing my Romanian recipes with you because I don’t feel that I have that many, so every single one that I have is really special. Pretty much all the Romanian recipes that I share with you are either my mom’s or my mother in law’s. This one is my mom’s and it’s a soup I grew up eating. It’s really the best meatball soup out there.
In Romanian we call these types of soups “ciorba”. “Ciorba” in Romanian usually refers to sour soups with vegetables and some form of meat. They are made sour by adding either lemon juice, “bors” which is fermented wheat bran, sauerkraut juice, or sometimes even vinegar. Most of the time I just use lemon juice and this gives the soup a very nice sour taste. Also Romanians differentiate between “ciorba” and soup, soup is usually clear and has no added acid.
The meatballs are quite simple and although I used pork in these recipe, any type of ground meat will work. I’ve made them with ground beef or even ground chicken, you could even mix the meats. I also used a lot of dill in the meatballs, because it’s one of my favorite herbs.
You’ll notice a couple ingredients in this soup that you might not be familiar with. One being “vegeta” which I’ve talked about before, It’s a condiment that’s very commonly used in Eastern Europe in soups and stews, or if you’re like my mom, you can put it on everything. You can pretty much find this in all grocery stores with all the other spices or just replace it with chicken bouillon.
The other ingredient that you may not be familiar with is lovage which is simply an herb that comes from the parsley family but I really really love its flavor, which is almost celery like but it smells incredible and it’s just wonderful in soups. I got my lovage from my mom who grows it in her garden, but I do know that you can buy the seeds and grow it yourself, if you have a green thumb. I don’t, I’m lucky my mom does.
This soup is really quite simple to make, but it’s so delicious and so worth making, which I hope you do!
Check out some of my other authentic Romanian recipes!
- Romanian Stuffed Peppers
- Romanian Meatballs
- Romanian Cabbage Rolls
- Traditional Romanian Polenta with Feta Cheese, Bacon and Sausage
Check out the video!
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
This Romanian Meatball Soup (Ciorba de Perisoare) is my mom's recipe for the most delicious meatball soup out there. Just saying.
- 1 lb ground pork or ground beef
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp dill chopped
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
- 1/4 cup rice long grain and uncooked
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 large carrots chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 tsp vegeta or 1 chicken bouillon
- 3 tbsp lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
- 2 tbsp lovage chopped
- 1 egg beaten
- parsley for garnish
In a bowl add all the meatball ingredients together and mix well. Shape into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. You should get about 30 to 35 meatballs, depending on how big you make them. Place meatballs in fridge until ready to add to soup.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom 5 qt pot to medium heat. Add the onions, carrots and celery to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions soften and are translucent.
Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tomato paste, then add the chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil then add the meatballs one at a time.
Cook for about 10 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through, they will rise to the top when they are done. Season with vegeta then add the lemon juice and lovage. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as necessary. Very slowly pour in the egg in a steady stream. To make shreds, stir the egg rapidly in a clockwise direction for one minute. Cook for another minute then garnish with parsley.
Serve hot with a bit of sour cream.
Vegeta is a condiment of salt with flavor enhancers used a lot in soups. It's a condiment that's quite popular in Eastern Europe.
Lovage is a herb belonging to the parsley family, commonly used in Europe for flavoring foods. The leaves add an intense celery-like flavor to soups, stews or stocks. If you do not have it, simply omit it in the recipe.
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
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I plan to print and make this soon. I have been looking for a Romanian rice meatball recipe for a long time.
My first love was a guy born in Romania whose parents moved to the US. His mother made the absolute best ciorba I have ever had. I still know how to make one, but my Czech husband doesn’t like it (probably because it was my first love’s mother’s soup). My favorite, however, I never learned to make. That was the one with rice meat balls.
My old boyfriend’s mom put them in a veggie filled light meat broth without tomato included, but your recipe looks delicious. My Czech husband’s favorite herb is lovage and he likes me to use it all of the time. We, like your mom, have it in our herb garden each year.
Yeah I’m pretty sure everyone makes this soup differently, and I think it really depends on which part of the country you’re from as they all have their different versions. 🙂 Hope you like it!
Jo, this is the best soup, I have made it 3 times now since seeing the recipe a month ago! The only change I had to make was the Lovage, I have searched high & low for it, no one in close proximity (within 1 hr of me) carries this herb, I have called European deli’s & markets, every grocery store. I know that lovage has a strong celery like taste with a hint of anise, So what i did to sub a bit was I took some celery seeds and crushed them, it gave my soup a nice strong celery flavor (which I love). It was so good. If I ever find lovage I will try it as your exactly as your recipe calls. Ps I can purchase lovage on Amazon, however, the $16.00 dollars worth of herb (dried) would cost me $63.00 with shipping (shipped from Germany) I couldn’t justify that cost. I also love so many of your recipes, please keep sending them. Thank you for all you do
I’m so happy you like it. Regarding the lovage, I find the seeds at my local garden center and I plant it myself. That might be something you can try. 🙂
If you are in the US I find lovage, plants mid to late spring at ACE hardware garden centers
I usually buy all of it
I used to find some at Whole Foods but not lately
Soil needs to be moist but not saggy and it likes mostly shade, sun only in the early morning
It truly is the best herb out there
I use it in everything
That explains why mine died last summer. I’ll try again this summer, hopefully I’ll have better luck with it.
We made this delicious soup with a few changes: half ground turkey/half ground pork, added a pinch of cayenne to the meatball mixture, added half a turnip and one parsnip to the broth, since it was more veggies we added two more cups chicken broth and doubled the lemon juice. So, so delicious!
Hey Jo,
Ive been making a bunch of your recipes as my Boyfriend is Romanian and a terrible cook so Ive had to step up! Being Australian myself the Romanian cuisine is far from my knowledge. Just wanted to say all your recipes to date have been an absolute hit and according to Mihai are just like ‘mumma used to make; 🙂 thank you for your posts and please, keep on adding!!
It’s my pleasure, Susie! Thank you for letting me know, I love hearing this. 🙂
I am intrigued by the addition of uncooked rice grains in the meatballs. But this soup seems perfect for the lowering temps…I would have to try this recipe!
The rice definitely cooks while the meatballs cook as well. 🙂
Hi JO,
I have made many of your recipes and love them! Can I bake the meatballs before adding them to the soup. For some reason, my husband isn’t thrilled with adding raw meat. I tried it with a different recipe once before and they fell apart. I would prefer to cook the meatballs first. What do you think?
Sure you can, probably don’t need to bake them for long.
All this time I’ve been periodically finding/following recipes on your blog and had no idea you were Romanian! Didn’t think it was possible to love your website more, but now I feel extra partial to it! I too was born in Romania and moved here as a child. My mom makes ciorba often, but have never tried it myself. I will have to surprise her and try this recipe!
Thank you so much! Makes me real happy to hear from other Romanians who use my blog. 🙂
I made this too today it is so nice apparently just like mama’s so that is a massive compliment.
Thank you so much!
That is a massive compliment, thank you so much for your comment and for being a part of our Jo Cook community.
Sorry for the redundant question as I posted I saw that you had already answered raw.
No problem!
Dear Joanna:
My Oma was from Sibiu, and used to make this for me; it is my absolute favorite soup,but her recipe got lost when she passed. Thank you so much for posting this; I’ll be able to relive fond memories from my childhood!
This might sound silly but I have never used rice in my meatballs.Is it added cooked or raw in this recipe?
The rice is uncooked, it will have plenty of time to cook in the soup. 🙂
Hi, my niece has an allergy to egg, just wandering if there was a substitute I could use for the meatballs? & do I have to replace it in the soup too or is it fine without?
Thanks
Alis
Hi Alis,
The purpose of the egg is to bind the meatballs so that they don’t fall apart in the soup. You can skip the egg and maybe use fattier meat or add a little bit of olive oil to the mixture. You can skip the egg in the soup too, it’s mostly there to give the soup some texture, you could if you want add some noodles or rice to replace the egg in the soup.
Thank You! A friend of mine has also suggested to replace the egg in the meatballs with grated zucchini. The rice in the soup is good idea too, I think my mum used to put rice. Can’t wait too try make it! I always struggle making romanian food & my mums recipes miss so much information they are all ‘după gust’ !
Oh yeah, I know all about that!
I’m so glad I found your blog. My boyfriend is living in Romania right now, and I wanted to learn how to cook Romanian food for him when he gets back. I made this soup today, and it was delicious. Thanks so much!
You’re welcome Carolyn, hope you try some other Romanian recipes, they’re great.
I am making this dish right this moment. I am trying it with ground Italian sausage. I just can’t get enough of this ciorba. By the way, I really like the changes you made to your blog and your logo! God bless.
Thanks Diana, glad you like the ciorba and my new look on the blog. 🙂
Using the Italian sausage turned out better than the last few times I made this. Three of us ate it all in one sitting. To die for!! Your blog is a slice of heaven.
Thanks Diana, so glad you’re enjoying my recipes. 🙂
Hi Jo! I made your “Ciorba de Perisoare” a few days ago and LOVE IT!!! I grew up with “Supa de Perisoare” in Romania but never had it as “Ciorba” with lemon. I couldn’t stop eating it! and my husband and my 2 kids loved it, as well. I am very happy that I found your website, it is very well organized. Very useful especially for me leaving in states and trying to find romanian recipes compatible with the ingredients/measures around here. Thank you, again. Keep up the good work!
Hi Nadia,
So glad you and your family liked my ciorba! I have never heard of “Supa de Perisoare” but I guess it depends what part of the country you’re from, my guess is they probably make it differently. I’m curious as to what you put in it. 🙂
I’m making this soup today for my family and I know they will love it. My husband is born and raised in Romania and I learned how to make this soup from him. I have many different recipes for this soup but I prefer to follow your first steps. I love to start with cooking the vegetables in a little oil first like you did. ALso, I also add lots more veggies like a chopped red bell and/or yellow pepper, parsley root, and parsnips. I peel and wash the parsnips and parsley root and dice it like the carrots. I’ve never added lemon juice to my soup but I know that’s what lots of recipes say. I add a cup or two of tomato juice or V8 instead of the lemon at the very end of the soup to give it that sour taste. That’s my own finishing touch but I’ll give the lemon juice a try today. Thank you and “Pofta Buna!”
Hi Marineta,
Your version sounds delicious! I’ve never tried V8 but I’m sure it’s great with it. Instead of lemon juice many times vinegar is added as well, my mom always used to use vinegar and my mother in law lemon juice, so I think it just depends on what part of the country you’re from. Whichever way you do it, it’s still my favorite soups! Pofta Buna!!!
So great to see someone posting Romanian foods! This ciorba was one of my favorites that my mom made, but ever since moving away I have been missing out on her foods. My mom (She’s Romanian) always did things her own way so I couldn’t get the recipe Just like hers, so I’m glad I found this website. Thanks so much
Thanks Tabby, same with my mom. 🙂 Glad you found my blog too 🙂
I made the soup today and it was AMAZING! My husband and three kids absolutely loved it! I love making soups and this one is definitely at the top of my favorites! Thank you for a delicious recipe!
Hi Aura,
Glad you liked it, this is also one of my favorite soups. 🙂
This might be a dumb question…but do you put the rice in uncooked?
Hi Liz,
It’s a valid question, yes you put the rice in uncooked, it will cook as you keep cooking the soup.
I made the ciorba today, and it was a big hit with my non-Romanian family. I did not change a thing. Growing up Romanian, I do not recall my mother or grandmother using lemons ever. I think the lemon gives it a nice flavor. Thanks so much for posting this and other Romanian recipes. God bless.
Thanks Diana. I’m so glad you liked it. My mom never used lemons either, but my husband convinced me once to use lemons and I never used vinegar since. Hope you try some other Romanian recipes as well. 🙂
Absolutely! I plan on making all the Romanian recipes you have posted. I am still hunting down an English recipe for cremesh pastry. I’m sure you get this all the time, but thanks so much for what you do. God bless.
Oh I would love a cremesh right now. Ok, I must find a recipe and try and make it. Maybe for Christmas. Thank you for your kind words. 🙂
Perfect for the chilly weather. I love the meaty taste and combination of flavors. Would it be okay if I add more veggies?
Absolutely, you can add more veggies, the soup will just get a bit thicker.
I did this soup, my husband is Romanian and i never cooked this soup. Thanks for the recipe, its really good and luckily enough i have the ‘bors’ instead of the lemon which tastes amazing. Thanks again for the recipe
You’re welcome Denise, glad you guys liked it. 🙂