Chicken Albondigas is Mexican meatball soup made with ground chicken and shredded veggies for an easy, comforting, and healthy soup.
Recipes for albondigas will vary by region and preference. While more common recipes have the vegetables diced in the soup, this recipe has them shredded inside of the meatballs. Which is great if you have picky eaters since the veggies are mixed in with the meatballs.
Chicken Albondigas are perfect for a weeknight meal since they come together quickly and only take about 20 minutes to cook.
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Ingredients for Chicken Albondigas
What you’ll Need: Ground Meat (Chicken, Turkey or Beef), Carrot, Zucchini, Egg, Rice, Chili Powder, Onion Powder, Salt, and Pepper.
Ground Meat- In this recipe I’m using Ground Chicken. However it is more common to see albondigas made with ground beef. I’ve also made it using ground turkey which is another great lean option.
Carrot and Zucchini- I used my food chopper to grate the Carrot and Zucchini. I’ve also shredded them by hand using a cheese grater. If you prefer to have your veggies in the soup then simply chop them into small chunks and set them aside.
Soup Base- Chicken broth or bouillon, tomatoes, onion, and garlic. The broth mixture is the same one used in my Fideo recipe. You can either use chicken broth or bouillon to make the soup base.
Make Ahead Tips and Storing Albondigas
The meatball mixture can be made a day ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Just be sure to squeeze out as much liquid from the shredded zucchini.
When making the meatballs immediately, it helps to store the meat mixture in the fridge while you prep the soup base. This makes it easier to form the meatballs. Use a spoon or ice cream scoop to make uniform meatballs.
Serve the albondigas with a squeeze of lime, extra cilantro, and some hot sauce if you want it to be spicy. My kids also enjoy eating albondigas with a simple cheese quesadillas or extra rice on the bottom.
Leftovers can be store in the fridge up to 4 days and reheated on the stove.
Check out these other delicious Mexican soups:
Lentejas, Caldo De Pollo, Carne en su Jugo
Chicken Albondigas Recipe
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 pound Ground Chicken Or substitute Ground Turkey or Beef
- 1 Large Carrot Grated
- 1 Zucchini Grated
- 1 Egg
- ½ cup Cooked White Rice Preferably cold
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Pepper
Soup Base:
- 2 Roma tomatoes Halved
- ½ Small White Onion Quartered
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- ¼ cup Water
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 6 cup Low Sodium Chicken Broth or use Chicken Bouillon and Water
- Lime wedges, Rice, or Tortillas for serving
Instructions
- Shred Zucchini and Carrot and place between 2 paper towels and ring out liquid. Place in a large bowl. Add ground meat, egg, rice, spices, salt and pepper. Mix lightly until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to firm up while you prep the soup. Alternatively the meat mixture can be kept in the fridge overnight if making ahead.
- Place the Tomatoes, Onion, Garlic, and Water in a blender and blend till smooth.
- Heat a large soup pot over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the blended tomato mixture and saute for a minute. Slowly add chicken broth or water plus chicken bouillon. Bring to a boil.
- Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon to form uniform meatballs, I was able to make 18 meatballs. Once broth is boiling, carefully place formed meatballs into the soup.
- Once all the meatballs are added, place the lid on the pot and gently boil for about 10 minutes. Once meatballs are fully cooked, they will rise to the top. Taste broth for seasoning and see if extra salt is needed.
- You can serve the soup with extra rice in the bowl, tortillas, or my kids like it with cheese quesadillas. Top with a squeeze of lime, cilantro, or hot sauce for spice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and depends on ingredients and amounts used. Thai Caliente makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Neesha says
Thanks for sharing!! I can't wait to make this
Renee says
Hi Neesha! Sorry I just saw your comment, hope you had a chance to make the soup. The weather is finally cold now! Enjoy 🙂 -xo Renee