Amazing Matzo ball soup: 1 amazing secret

There’s just nothing in the world like a bowl of steaming, savory soup when you need a real hug from the inside out. Forget fancy dinners; when I need true soulful comfort, I turn straight to my recipe for homemade matzo ball soup. My grandmother always called this dish “Jewish penicillin,” and honestly, I couldn’t agree more. It’s the cure for a chilly evening, a sniffle, or just needing a taste of home.

I learned the importance of a slow-simmered, golden broth and perfectly tender dumplings watching my own grandmother prepare this classic comfort food. Getting the texture right—those fluffy matzo dumplings floating beautifully on top—is the goal here. Trust me, making this from scratch yields a rich flavor that those little boxes just can’t touch. I’ve tweaked this heirloom recipe over the years to fit my busy schedule, but the heart of it remains exactly the same.

Why This Matzo Ball Soup Recipe Delivers True Comfort

When you’re making soup from scratch, you aren’t just cooking; you’re putting care into every single spoonful. That’s what this matzo ball soup delivers—pure, unadulterated comfort. It’s the ultimate classic comfort soup because you control every flavor component.

Here’s why I know you’re going to love bringing this recipe into your kitchen:

• Deeply Flavored Broth: We simmer bone-in chicken for hours with fresh vegetables. This slow method pulls all the savory essence out, creating that gorgeous golden color that looks instantly healing.
• The Right Dumpling Texture: I promise we are aiming for tender, flavorful matzo balls that soak up the soup without turning into mush.
• From-Scratch Goodness: Using real ingredients instantly elevates this dish far above anything canned. You’ll smell the difference right away!

Ingredients for Rich Jewish Chicken Soup and Fluffy Matzo Dumplings

Okay, let’s get organized because the magic in this matzo ball soup is really about using fresh, good-quality ingredients for both the soup and the dumplings. Having everything measured out before we start simmering makes the whole process calm instead of chaotic. Remember, we’re building flavor layer by layer here!

For the Golden Chicken Broth

This is the soul base of the whole dish. Don’t skimp on the simmer time; that’s where the deep flavor comes from!

• 1 whole chicken (about 4 lbs), cut into pieces
• 2 large yellow onions, quartered—skin on is just fine, it adds color!
• 4 large carrots, roughly chopped
• 4 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1 bunch fresh dill
• 1 bunch fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste later
• 12 cups cold water

For the Fluffy Matzo Dumplings

This is where we nail the texture. Getting the fat and eggs right ensures you get those light, airy fluffy matzo dumplings rather than dense little rocks. Don’t skip the chill time!

• 1 cup matzo meal
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup schmaltz (that rendered chicken fat we save!) or vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt (for matzo balls)

Step-by-Step Instructions for Perfect Matzo Ball Soup

Now we get to the fun part—putting all those gorgeous ingredients to work! Making a truly amazing pot of matzo ball soup is a multi-stage project, but I promise, every minute devoted to this simmer is worth it. Don’t look at the total time and get intimidated; most of that is hands-off simmering time where you can put your feet up!

Creating the Flavorful Jewish Chicken Soup Base

This is where we build the foundation of all that healing goodness. Grab your biggest stockpot—the chicken needs room to move around! Toss your chicken pieces, those roughly chopped onions, carrots, celery, and the whole bunches of dill and parsley right in there. Don’t forget the peppercorns and that first teaspoon of salt.

Now, cover everything with those 12 cups of cold water. Bring it up to a rolling boil over high heat, but as soon as it bubbles, turn that heat down low immediately! We need a gentle, happy simmer, not a frantic boil. This slow process over 2 to 3 hours is non-negotiable if you want that deep, rich flavor in your Jewish chicken soup. While it’s simmering, keep an eye out for foamy scum rising to the top; that’s impurities. Just skim it off with a spoon and discard it. Once the chicken is tender and the house smells incredible, it’s time to strain. Remove the solids and pour that beautiful golden liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot. Taste it now and add more salt if it needs a little pop!

Mixing and Chilling the Matzo Ball Mixture

Time to focus on our fluffy matzo dumplings! In a separate medium bowl, pour in your matzo meal. Add the lightly beaten eggs, that reserved quarter cup of schmaltz or oil, and the final teaspoon of salt. Now, listen closely: mix this gently with just a fork until it’s *just* combined. I mean it—do not beat this into submission! Overmixing develops gluten and leads to tough balls, and we definitely don’t want that.

Once it looks shaggy, cover the bowl and stick it right in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Chilling is crucial! It firms up the fat and meal so these little guys hold their shape beautifully when they hit the water. Trust me, skipping this step is how you end up with matzo soup confetti!

Forming and Cooking the Matzo Balls for Matzo Ball Soup

While the mixture chills, get a separate medium pot going with salted water and bring it up to a gentle simmer—I mean *gentle*. It should barely bubble. When your 30 minutes are up, wet your hands lightly; this keeps the mix from sticking to you. Scoop out portions—about 1 to 1.5 inches wide—and softly roll them between your palms. They should feel light.

Carefully drop the formed balls into that gently simmering water. They will sink first, but don’t worry! Cover that pot completely and let them cook undisturbed for 25 to 35 minutes. They will grow! They often double in size, so don’t pack them too tightly together on the first try. You’ll know they are done when you test one and it’s tender all the way through, light, and cooked! That’s how you make guaranteed amazing matzo ball soup.

Serving Your Classic Comfort Soup

When the matzo balls are spongy and light, use a slotted spoon to lift them gently out of their cooking water. They are delicate now! Place two or three cooked matzo balls into your serving bowls. If you want to add back some of those beautiful cooked carrots from your broth—go for it! Finally, ladle that hot, golden stock right over the top. Finish it all off with a sprinkle of fresh dill. That aroma alone is enough to make you feel better instantly.

Tips for Achieving Fluffy Matzo Dumplings Every Time

If there’s one thing I get asked about constantly regarding this matzo ball soup, it’s the texture. Do you want a dense, satisfying chew, or do you want them so light they barely stay submerged? I’ve done the experiments so you don’t have to, and trust me, producing those fluffy matzo dumplings that float like little clouds takes precision!

Here are my tried-and-true secrets for making sure your dumplings are tender perfection:

The Fat Choice Matters: Schmaltz vs. Oil

Grandma always used schmaltz, and nothing beats that deep, savory richness the rendered chicken fat brings to flavor infusion. However, I’ve learned that if you are aiming for the absolute lightest, most ethereal dumpling possible, swap that schmaltz out for neutral vegetable oil.

Why? Schmaltz solidifies more when cold, and while it tastes amazing, the oil seems to incorporate a tiny bit more air during the mixing process. If you want cloud-like results, use oil this time. If you want pure, traditional flavor, use schmaltz, but be prepared for slightly less extreme fluffiness.

Don’t Rush the Chill Time

I know, I know, waiting is the hardest part when you’re hungry, but chilling the matzo ball mixture for at least 30 minutes isn’t just a suggestion—it’s vital for structure. When the matzo meal gets cold, it firms up. This firmness means when you roll the balls, you’re compressing them just enough to hold their shape without squeezing out all the air you just mixed in.

If you’re aiming for truly large dumplings, you might even chill them for an hour. But please, never skip that minimum 30 minutes!

Simmer, Don’t Boil!

This might be the most important tip for light matzo dumplings. When you drop them into the salted water, you need a gentle, slow simmer. If the water is boiling hard, the violent agitation will cause the matzo balls to break down around the edges, leading to a tough exterior and mushy inside, or worse, they might disintegrate entirely.

Keep the lid on and the heat low—let them steam and expand gently in the hot water for those full 30 minutes. This gentle cooking environment is what allows the expansion to happen evenly, giving you those perfect, soft, and flavorful fluffy matzo dumplings floating in your delicious Jewish chicken soup.

Making Matzo Ball Soup Ahead and Storage

Life gets busy, right? I totally get it. Sometimes you want to make a huge batch of this soul-soothing matzo ball soup when you have a free afternoon, but you don’t want to eat it all in two days. Good news! This recipe is fantastic for making ahead, but you have to store the components separately, especially the matzo balls.

The broth is easy, but the dumplings are where people run into trouble. If you leave cooked matzo balls sitting in the broth too long, they just keep soaking it up, swelling up like sponges until they’re sadly waterlogged and lose their perfect texture. We want them tender, not floppy!

Storing the Broth

The flavor of this Jewish chicken soup actually gets deeper overnight, which is fantastic. Here’s my favorite trick for getting the clearest, prettiest broth possible: after you strain it, let it cool completely, then stick the whole pot in the fridge overnight. In the morning, the fat will have solidified right on top. Just scoop that layer of fat off—it comes right up like a disc! This step really refines the broth.

You can store the strained broth in airtight containers in the fridge for up to four days, or you can freeze it solid for up to three months. Just remember to freeze it in serving-size portions so you can thaw just what you need!

Storing the Cooked Matzo Balls

Cook your matzo balls as directed, but when they are done, scoop them right out of the cooking water and place them on a parchment-lined platter or tray. Let them cool a bit, then store them in a separate sealed container in the fridge alongside the broth.

When you reheat everything, keep the broth simmering gently in one pot. In a totally separate small pot, put just enough salted water to cover the matzo balls to gently reheat them on low for about ten minutes before serving. Never drop cold matzo balls into hot broth!

When it’s time to eat, just reheat the broth, drop the warm matzo balls into the serving bowls first, and then ladle that incredible golden soup over them. It keeps everything tasting fresh, just like you made it five minutes ago!

Variations on Classic Matzo Ball Soup

While I absolutely stand by this recipe as the gold standard for soulful matzo ball soup, I know that every family likes to tweak things just a little bit. Sometimes you have leftovers staring at you from the fridge, and sometimes you just want a subtle change in texture or color. Don’t feel bad about adding things in; that’s how recipes evolve, even in my kitchen!

These are just simple additions you can make as you’re simmering the broth or right before you serve. Nothing complicated—we’re keeping it easy, remember?

Adding Leftover Cooked Chicken

If you made this recipe using a whole chicken, you’re probably going to have some leftover meat once you strain those vegetables out. Don’t let that good protein go to waste! Once the broth is done and perfectly seasoned, just shred up any remaining pieces of chicken meat and toss them right back into the hot broth right before adding the matzo balls.

This makes the soup heartier, turning it from a lighter appetizer into a full-on meal that can stand up on its own. It’s a great shortcut, too, because the chicken is already cooked!

Boosting the Vegetable Game

I stick to carrots and celery in the actual broth because I like that classic, clear golden look, but you can absolutely toss in other root veggies if you happen to have them. A few parsnips or even a small piece of sweet potato simmered alongside the carrots will add a lovely, slightly earthy sweetness to the broth, and it tastes wonderful with the dill.

Just make sure to strain those out along with the carrots if you want to keep the final broth clean. If you like a slightly chunkier bowl of matzo ball soup, you can slice some of those cooked vegetables thinly and add them back in right before serving, just like I suggested with the carrots.

Pasta or Noodles—The Great Debate

So, this isn’t traditional for the matzo ball version, but sometimes you just crave noodles! If you’re making this specifically for a weeknight dinner and not for a holiday where matsos are required, feel free to add some egg noodles to the simmering broth alongside your chicken near the end of the cooking time. Make sure they cook according to package directions right in the broth so they absorb all that flavor.

If you are making the absolute best matzo ball soup, I highly recommend cooking the noodles separately and adding those to the bowl right before serving, so they don’t get overly bloated while waiting for leftovers!

Frequently Asked Questions About Matzo Ball Soup

I get so many emails asking for clarification, which I absolutely love! When something is as beloved as this matzo ball soup, people want to make sure they nail the texture. Here are my go-to answers for those common kitchen puzzles!

Can I make matzo balls without schmaltz?

Oh yes, absolutely you can! My grandmother swore by schmaltz because, honestly, it tastes like heritage, and the savory fat is wonderful. But if you don’t render your own or just don’t have it on hand, vegetable oil works perfectly well for binding the matzo meal mixture.

In fact, as I mentioned earlier, using oil often gives you slightly lighter, more fluffy matzo dumplings because the fat doesn’t solidify as firmly as schmaltz does when it cools. You might trade a tiny bit of that deep savory flavor for a bit more floatiness. It’s a trade-off I make sometimes!

How do I prevent my matzo balls from falling apart in the Jewish chicken soup?

This worry keeps people up at night! There are two main culprits here: mixing too vigorously and water temperature. When you mix the matzo meal, eggs, and fat, you must be gentle. If you beat it aggressively, you crush the air bubbles you need for tenderness, and the structure gets weak.

The second, more crucial step, is the cooking water. You must simmer them gently in salted water, covered, for those full 30 to 35 minutes. If your water is boiling hard the whole time, the constant aggressive churning breaks down the outside edges of your dumplings before the inside has a chance to hydrate and firm up properly. Keep that heat low and steady—it’s the secret to keeping your Jewish chicken soup intact!

What vegetables are traditional in matzo ball soup?

For the broth itself, the most traditional combination—the one that gives you that classic golden color and foundational savory taste—is carrots, celery, and onion. That’s your soup aromatic base right there, and that’s what I use every time.

But when it comes to *garnish* and flavor infusion, fresh dill is non-negotiable for me! Dill is the herb that just sings alongside the matzo flavor. Parsley goes in the broth pot for depth, but I always save a few sprigs of fresh dill to sprinkle on top right before serving. It brightens everything up beautifully.

Nutritional Estimates for Matzo Ball Soup

I always feel a little funny putting numbers on something that tastes so much like love, but I know some of you are tracking your macros or just curious what you’re eating! After making this big pot of matzo ball soup, I ran the numbers through my tracking software based on the full ingredient list.

Remember, this is a rustic, home-cooked dish, and these are just general estimates for one generous bowl—the exact numbers will change depending on how much fat you skim off that broth! I made sure that if you are looking at meal planning for the week, you have a general idea of what you are working with.

Here is a general breakdown per serving based on my testing. Don’t stress too much about the sodium; that comes from seasoning that deep, flavorful broth!

• Serving Size: 1 bowl
• Calories: About 350
• Protein: A solid 25 grams!
• Fat: Around 18 grams total
• Carbohydrates: Roughly 25 grams
• Fiber: About 3 grams
• Sugar: Very low, only about 5 grams (mostly natural sugars from the carrots!)
• Cholesterol: 120 mg

A Quick Disclaimer: Since we are making this completely from scratch—and I’m using real chicken fat and generous herbs—these figures are estimates. If you skim all the fat off the broth, your fat and calorie count will drop significantly. If you are looking to swap ingredients to fit specific dietary goals, like a keto meal plan delivery, you might want to omit the matzo balls entirely and load up on extra chicken pieces and vegetables!

Share Your Matzo Ball Soup Experience

Wow, we made it! You’ve now got the recipe for what I truly believe is the best, most soul-soothing matzo ball soup on the planet. Slow-simmered broth, spices that smell exactly like home, and those perfectly tender dumplings—it’s a labor of love, but when that first spoonful hits your palate, you’ll know exactly why I cherish this recipe so much.

Now, this is where my kitchen becomes your kitchen! I absolutely live to hear how your rendition turned out. Did you manage to get the fluffy texture you were hoping for? Or maybe you’re a staunch defender of the denser, more traditional kind? I want to hear all about it!

Take a moment after you enjoy your first bowl of this incredible Jewish chicken soup and jump down to the comments section below. Please leave a rating so other home cooks know it’s worth the effort. Let me know:

• Did you use schmaltz or oil for your dumplings?
• Did they float high, or sit low and proud?
• Did the aroma bring back memories of your own family dinners?

And if you snapped a photo of your beautiful golden bowls, tag me on social media! Seeing my recipes come to life on your tables is seriously the best part of running Carla’s Cooking. Happy slurping, everyone!

Print