Chicken Matzo Ball Soup Recipe

Chicken Matzo Ball Soup Recipe – Chicken Dumpling Soup

Stovetop and Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Instructions

Chicken Matzo Ball Soup is considered Jewish comfort food with the popular nickname of “Jewish Penicillin” because it is the soup that can cure anything!  Just ask any Jewish Mother, and they will tell you their recipe is the best version which of course is made with love.  Chicken matzo ball soup also happens to be the traditional soup served during the Passover Seder holiday.  The matzo ball dumplings in the soup represent the unleavened bread that the Israelites ate during the eight days journey when they escaped slavery from ancient Egypt. For this recipe, instructions are provided to cook on the stovetop and the Instant Pot pressure cooker. Ellen Easton shares this recipe as part of her Passover Seder dinner menu.

Stovetop Instructions
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Instructions

Chicken Matzo Ball Soup

Recipe by Reva Paul © and photo by Ellen Easton ©2020 – All Rights Reserved

Check out more of Ellen Easton’s Tea Travels™ articles and recipes.

Learn about the History of English High Tea and more delicious Afternoon Tea Recipes.

History of Matzo Balls:

Matzo balls are also known as knoedel or knoedela which was a European tradition that Germans, Austrians, Alsatains, and the Polish used in their soups.  These dumplings were made from the leftover crumbs of matzo bread.  In the 1930’s, the Manischewitz company in the United States, which produces and sells kosher foods, began packaging and selling them as “Alsatain Feathery Balls.”  It is believed that Jewish vaudeville comedians started dubbing them as “Matzo Balls.”  The texture of the matzo balls can be light as a feather and float on top of the soup or denser causing them to sink down the soup.  Many refer the matzo balls as either “floaters” or “sinkers” and the topic is of much debate on which is preferred.

History source:
Celebrating Passover:The History and Symbolism of Matzo Balls, The Salt What’s On Your Plate, NPR.org, April 3, 2015
How to Master Matzo Ball Soup, Bon Appetit, Recipes section, by Alison Roman, April 2nd, 2014

Chicken Matzo Ball Soup Recipe:
Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
1 hr
Total Time
2 hrs
 
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Jewish
Keyword: Chicken Matzo Ball Soup Recipe
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
Chicken Matzo Ball Soup:
  • 6 cups (1 1/2-quarts) chicken broth*
  • 1/2 cup celery, chopped
  • 1/2 cup carrots, sliced
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 whole chicken breast (about 2 pounds), skinless or 5 or 6 chicken tenders
  • 1 teaspoon Reva Paul’s seasoning mix**
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon of curly parsley, finely chopped
Matzo Balls:
  • 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or rendered chicken fat aka "schmaltz"***
  • 1/2 cup Manischewitz® Matzo Meal
  • 1 teaspoon of Reva Paul's Seasoning Mix**
  • 2 tablespoons curly parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Manischewitz® broth or soup broth****
Instructions
Chicken Matzo Ball Soup Instructions:
  1. Stovetop Instructions:

  2. In a large pot over medium heat, add the chicken broth, celery, carrots, onion, chicken, seasoning mix, and parsley. Stir together and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 30 minutes.

  3. When the chicken turns white, remove from the pot; dice or shred into small bite size pieces and place chicken back into the pot.  Keep on a low heat. While the soup is cooking, prepare the matzo balls. See Matzo Ball recipe and instructions below.

  4. Reheat soup mixture over medium heat until boiling.  Drop matzo balls into a pot of boiling soup.  

  5. Matzo Ball Soup-matzo balls added to broth

  6. Cover with a lid and reduce heat back down to medium-low.  Let simmer until matzo balls are thoroughly cooked, about 30 to 40 minutes. (Do not open lid to disturb the matzo balls or soup during this time). Salt and pepper the soup to taste.  Serve soup while warm.

  7. Matzo Ball Soup-matzo balls expanding

  8. Matzo Ball Soup-ready to eat

  9. Ladle 2-3 matzo balls with chicken soup into each individual bowl.  Garnish each bowl with fresh parsley or dill and enjoy!

  10. Serves 6

  11.  

  12. Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Instructions:

  13. Add the chicken broth, celery, carrots, onion, chicken, seasoning mix, and parsley to the inner pot and stir everything together. Cover with a lid and close the lid to the sealing position. Make sure the pressure valve is also closed to the sealing position. Press the Manual button and adjust to a High-Pressure setting. Next, set the cooking time for 15 minutes. When the cooking time is finished, let the pressure naturally release until you see the pressure float pin drop (this should take about 15-20 minutes). Open the lid and set aside.  

  14. Remove the chicken from the inner pot; dice or shred into small bite size pieces and place chicken back into the inner pot. While the chicken soup is cooking, prepare the matzo balls. See Matzo Ball recipe and instructions below.

  15. Drop the matzo balls into the inner pot with the chicken soup. Note: Make sure not to overcrowd the matzo balls, you need to leave room for expansion while they steam in the pressure cooker.  Keep in mind, they will double in size when done cooking so make sure there is room for them to grow! You can freeze extra matzo balls to use another time. (You can probably fit 9-10 uncooked matzo balls in a 6 quart Instant Pot, about 12 matzo balls should fit in an 8 quart Instant Pot.) Cover with a lid and close the lid to the sealing position. Press the Manual button, and adjust to a High-Pressure setting. Set the cooking time for 15 minutes. then quick-release the remaining pressure. You may need to cover the pressure valve with a towel to catch any liquids they may spurt out. Salt and pepper the soup to taste.

  16. Ladle 2-3 matzo balls with chicken soup into each individual bowl.  Garnish each bowl with fresh parsley or dill and enjoy!

  17. Chicken Matzo Ball Soup

  18. Serves 6

  19.  

  20. Matzo Ball-prepping dry mix

Matzo Ball Instructions:
  1. Remove chilled matzo ball batter from refrigerator.  Moisten hands with olive oil.  Place a sheet of wax paper on the countertop surface for your work area.  On wax paper form batter into matzo balls, approximately 1 inch in diameter. (No need to make the matzo balls bigger as they will expand while cooking)

  2. Matzo Ball prep-forming matzo balls

  3. Matzo Ball Freezing Tip:  You can freeze the cooked matzo balls for later use.  Place the matzo balls on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer uncovered for one hour.  After the matzo balls are individually frozen, you can then place them in a resealable freezer bag to store in the freezer for up to 6 months and they will not stick together.  When ready to use, let the matzo balls thaw to room temperature before adding to the soup stock.

Recipe Notes

*For homemade chicken broth see recipe for Traditional Jewish Chicken Soup.

**Reva Paul's Seasoning Mix:
2-1⁄2 tablespoons onion powder 
2-1⁄2 tablespoons garlic powder 
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together.  Store in a container, preferably with a dual shaker with an easy to spoon out top.  Store in a cool, dry place until ready to use.

*** If making homemade chicken broth, rendered chicken fat (or schmaltz), is the layer of fat that thickens at the surface of the broth after it has cooled down. Scrape the fat off the surface to use in the matzo ball mixture or wrap in plastic to freeze for later use in recipes like homemade biscuits instead of shortening.

****Can substitute water

Chicken Matzo Ball Soup


TEA TRAVELS™ – Wishing You Happy TEA TRAVELS!™  Tea is the luxury everyone can afford!™ and Good $ense for $uccess are the trademarked property of Ellen Easton/ RED WAGON PRESS

Ellen Easton, author of Afternoon Tea~Tips, Terms and Traditions (RED WAGON PRESS), a lifestyle and etiquette industry leader, keynote speaker and product spokesperson, is a hospitality, design, and retail consultant whose clients have included The Waldorf=Astoria, Plaza Hotels, and Bergdorf Goodman.  Easton’s family traces their tea roots to the early 1800s, when ancestors first introduced tea plants from India and China to the Colony of Ceylon, thus building one of the largest and best cultivated tea estates on the island.


Purchase Ellen Easton’s Tea Books:

Each 5 x 7 book is $20 postpaid Continental USA only.  Wholesale and fundraising accounts welcome.  Include name, address, zip code, and phone number for shipping.  All Sales Final. Check or MO order payable to:  RED WAGON PRESS, 45 East 89th Street, STE. 20A, New York, NY 10128-1256.  All inquires to teatravels@aol.com

Tea Travels

Tea Travels

AFTERNOON TEA…TIPS, TERMS and TRADITIONS
72 pages of how to’s, 27 photos, history, etiquette and FAQ about afternoon tea, serving styles and more.

TEA TRAVELS™ – FOR THE HOLIDAYS
64 pages, 21 color photos. A complete holiday menu includes 25 easy to prepare recipes; theme teas, decorating & gift ideas; invitation template and secret sources.

Comments and Reviews

4 Responses to “Chicken Matzo Ball Soup Recipe”

  1. Sarah Brown

    Turned out brilliant! Loved the taste, the ease of making it and just about everything about it! I’ve never had good success making Matzo ball soup in the past so I was happy to finally have something good and hearty that cooked in such quick time. Yay!! Happy girl here!! Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
  2. Ellen Easton

    Sarah, I’m just reading your comment and very pleased to learn of your success with the recipe. Appreciate you taking the time to let us all know. Thank you, Ellen Easton

    Reply
  3. Cailyn

    These matzo balls were delicious! I think the Reva Paul seasoning was just the thing that my matzo balls have always lacked. Super flavorful broth and matzo balls and I appreciated that this recipe was quicker to make than most. I will definitely make it again and store this recipe like gold.

    Reply
  4. Norman Roland

    When my wife was cooking (until she turned 80 and retired) she made this basic recipe with a few changes. We used a much bigger pot and put 5 pounds of chicken in the pot and made the soup fresh. She added seasoning as well as onion, carrots and celery ( sliced in the Cuisinart). The balls she made in salted boiling water and transferred them hot into the soup. The balls were also used as dumplings at subsequent meals with gravy

    Reply

Leave a Reply