I developed this vegetarian matzo ball soup for meatless guests at my Seder. After that, as I started adopting a more meatless lifestyle, I began making it for my own family. One secret ingredient makes this the ultimate meatless matzo ball soup. As a result it has a savory chicken flavor without the meat, and no need for bouillon cubes. This recipe has a wonderful traditional flavor, and it’s kosher for Passover.
How do you infuse vegetable stock with savory flavor, golden color, and all of the yummy qualities that make chicken soup such a comfort? Of course it’s a challenge, but that has never stopped me from trying. Accordingly, over the years I’ve made several attempts at homemade vegetarian matzo ball soup with varying degrees of success. However the broth always turned out too sweet or too dark– just not quite right. Basically I was searching for a chicken-y flavor, but I didn’t want to resort to bouillon cubes or store-bought chicken-less broth. There had to be a better way.
It wasn’t until I added saffron to the mix that everything fell into place. Saffron spice is magic. It really is. The downside is that it’s pricey. However, a little goes a long way in helping to round out the flavor of meatless dishes. Consequently I use it in my Vegan Saffron Hollandaise and my Dairy-Free Saffron Scalloped Potatoes with amazing results. Here, adding it to a simple vegetable broth along with a touch of olive oil added the necessary “oomph” my previous vegetarian soup recipes were lacking. As a result a golden, savory stock emerged, as close to real chicken broth as I’ve ever gotten. I am really proud of this recipe.
The matzo ball part of the recipe below contains eggs. Undoubtedly I tried hard to develop a vegan recipe, but all of my attempts fell flat. I’ll keep trying… you know I love a good challenge! Since most vegetarians I know are ok with eating eggs, I opted to keep them in. Consequently this recipe works great for ovo-vegetarians. However if you’re vegan, please know I am hard at work on a vegan version of matzo balls. Whenever I get it just right, I’ll be sure to post it.
This soup is glorious. I couldn’t stop inhaling it. For vegetarians who are missing the chicken flavor of traditional matzo ball soup, give this recipe a try… you won’t be sorry!
Meanwhile, for more vegetarian Passover ideas, check out my Passover holiday index with vegetarian Ashkenazi and vegetarian Sephardic options.
Please see the note about saffron below. It’s important to buy a good quality saffron or this soup won’t have the proper flavor.
Looking for traditional chicken soup with matzo balls? Click here!
Need a gluten free matzo ball recipe? Click here!
Note: certain strictly kosher groups may consider saffron to be kitniyot on Passover; if you are concerned, please consult a trusted Rabbinical authority.
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Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup
Ingredients
Soup Ingredients
- 1/2 pound carrots (about 3 medium carrots) sliced into 1/2 inch chunks
- 1/2 pound celery (about 5 stalks) sliced into 1/2 inch chunks, including leaves
- 1 onion (rinsed and halved, skin on)
- 1 leek, sliced and cleaned (white and light green parts only)
- 1 bunch fresh dill + 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill, divided
- 1 bunch fresh parsley
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 whole peppercorns
- 6 whole cloves (spice cloves, not garlic)
- Pinch saffron threads (Buy the good stuff! It's expensive but necessary in this soup. Do not sub turmeric! The flavor is completely different.)
- 2 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt
Matzo Ball Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 tablespoon seltzer water
- 1/2 cup matzo meal (see notes for gluten free option)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (if making for Passover make sure the brand is certified KFP)
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- Pinch of saffron threads
NOTES
Instructions
- Combine all soup ingredients in a large pot with 1 tablespoon sea salt (reserve the 2 tablespoon chopped fresh dill for later). If you're salt sensitive, you can start with 2 tsp salt, however please note that for the saffron flavor to shine here, you do need salt in the mix. I really recommend 1 tablespoon if you're not watching your salt intake.
- Cover ingredients with 4 quarts (16 cups) water. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer (around medium heat). Let the stock cook uncovered for 60-90 minutes until the liquid reduces by a third and the stock is flavorful. Note: the olive oil may taste strange in the beginning, but don’t fret. As the stock slowly cooks the flavors will meld, and that olive oil will give the broth some much-needed richness and depth.
- While the stock is cooking, make the matzo balls. Whisk eggs in a small mixing bowl with vegetable oil and seltzer water. Use a fork to stir in the matzo meal, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder and chopped fresh dill to make a thick batter. Place the batter in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- While the batter is chilling, in a second pot combine 3 quarts (12 cups) of water with a pinch of saffron and 1 tablespoon sea salt. Bring to a simmer, stir to dissolve the salt. Keep the salted saffron water hot until the matzo ball mixture is fully chilled.
- Place a small dish of cold water beside the pot of saffron water. Take the chilled matzo ball batter out of the refrigerator. Bring the saffron water to a simmer. Wet your hands and roll the matzo ball batter into walnut-sized balls, then gently drop them into the simmering saffron water. Wet your hands between each ball; this makes forming them easier. Don’t make them larger than walnuts, they’ll expand a lot as they cook!
- When all of the matzo balls are in the water, bring back to a low bubbling simmer (not a heavy boil) and cover the pot. Let the matzo balls simmer for 30-35 minutes, keeping the pot covered for at least the first 30 minutes. No peeking! Keeping the pot covered will help the matzo balls become fluffy. Let the matzo balls simmer until they’re cooked through. When they are fully cooked, turn off the heat and keep the matzo balls in the hot saffron water until ready to serve. If you won’t be serving within an hour, remove the matzo balls from the pot with a slotted spoon and reserve (so they don’t get mushy and fall apart).
- When the vegetable stock liquid has reduced by a third, strain the stock through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth into a large bowl.
- Separate out the carrots and celery from the cooked vegetables and herbs.
- Rinse the pot and pour the stock back into the pot. Add the carrots and celery back to the stock along with 1 tablespoon chopped dill. Adjust seasoning to taste, adding more sea salt if desired. Keep the stock warm till ready to serve.
- Serve 2-3 matzo balls per bowl; ladle the hot soup and vegetables over the warm matzo balls.
Nutrition
Hi, this recipes is pretty good. I found it lacked flavour even after it was simmering for hours. I ended up adding some vegetarian chicken flavour boullion powder. More importantly, I wish I had read through the recipe, because I missed the part where your instructions say to separate out the carrots and celery (I also added parsnip). It was an awful chore sifting though all the cut up veggies! I would definitely use a soup sock /mesh bag and put those in the bag. That was you can pull out the bag and the rest you can strain and toss.
Hey Tori,
I’m making this soup today…like in an hour! (I hope you read this soon). What exactly is a pinch of saffron? I guess depends how large one’s fingers are! lol..would you say maybe 1/8 tsp. or less? Thanks! Chag Pesach Sameach !
1/8 tsp works fine as a measure. 🙂
Need to sweat the onions and carrots and celery first. Mine turned out so bland, like nothing!
Sorry to hear that Ellis! A lot of people have loved this recipe, but it can’t be to everyone’s taste.
So excited to try this! Just another thought for those seeking authentic “chicken flavor” who cannot get their hands on saffron – I have found the Imagine Foods “Un-chicken Broth” product to be a very good swap for most of my recipes! (No I do not work for them 🙂 )
I suspect this doesn’t come up often, if ever, but have you ever tried making matzo balls with butter instead of oil/schmaltz? We are having a daily meal, and I’ve been told that butter imparts a nice flavor. It seems so wrong, though, like having pastrami on Wonder Bread with mayonnaise.
I have not Dennis! It’s a little difficult for me to fathom, after so many years of doing it another way… but I’m open minded, so if you’re serving with a vegetarian broth, worth a try, perhaps?
Can this be made ahead and frozen?
Does the saffron go in to the soup stock or is it just used when cooking the matzo balls?
It goes in both – step 1 (combine all soup ingredients – this includes a pinch of saffron), and step 5 for the cooking liquid for matzo balls.
Brava! My family calls this ‘The Broth’. I have taken the liberty to add a parsnip, a turnip, and onion skins. It’s wonderful, thank you!
I love this soup and wonder can I make it 2 days in advance ? I typically make it day of.
That should be fine, however I would store the matzo balls in a container separate from the broth to avoid them becoming too soggy.
I made this for Passover earlier this year and will be making it again tonight to satisfy a Matzo Ball soup craving! This recipe tastes JUST like my great-aunt’s recipe, and I’m so glad to be able to stick to my veg diet 🙂
We absolutely LOVED this broth! But the matzoh balls were much denser than ones I previously made – is there some sort of trick to getting them nice and fluffy? The batter was very dry so I had to squeeze them a bit to get them to stick together. Any advice? Should I have added some water to the batter?
The batter for the matzo balls should not be dry. Is it possible you left out one of the liquid ingredients? Did you use two large-sized eggs?
Hi there, I cook for a bar and thinking of making this lovely recipe a special! I’ll intend to make a big batch and store the soup and matzo balls separately in the fridge… What’s the easiest/most hands-off way to reheat the matzo balls to serve them? can they be added to the broth and microwaved together?
How long does this soup last in the fridge? Can it be made ahead and frozen without affecting the flavor?
Love this recipe. It’s really the best! Can it be made using an instant pot?
I haven’t made the recipe yet because I just found it. 🙂 But I am looking forward to trying it. I noticed that you said not to use American or Mexican Saffron, which is fine, but you didn’t say the name of the kind of Saffron to use or where to purchase it. Which saffron is your preference? Thank you
I followed the recipe exactly without any modifications and it is SO GOOD. Served at passover and even folks who were initially skeptical of a matzoh ball soup without schmaltz were raving about the flavor and asking for seconds. I will be making this broth all the time now.
This was my first time making matzoh ball soup and it blew my in-laws away! The olive oil as a layer of fat is genius. Don’t skimp on good saffron!! Thanks for this awesome recipe 🙂
I love this recipe! I’ve made it several times, though I do make an adjustment to the ingredients. I like to add parsnips and a turnip to make it even more full bodied, and as a nod to how my mother used to make it when I was a child. It brings back great memories.
I once added some potatoes to the recipe as well. I never thought of using cloves in matzo ball soup, and wow… it’s great! A fabulous recipe. Thank you for sharing.
I made this soup for my vegetarian daughter who was very much missing chicken soup with matzo balls. Matzo balls were amazing and soup was delicious. I left out the saffron and it still was great. So glad I found this recipe!
If she enjoyed this, try adding a turnip and some parsnips next time. A really great addition (:
This was a really great recipe! It was my first time making Matzah ball soup & it turned out great. The only suggestions I have is to use vegetable stock rather than water (or at least do half and half stock and water) for more flavor in the soup. I also wouldn’t mind more dill in my Matzah balls! I think I will add more next time and if you like dill I would definitely recommend that! The saffron was such an ingenious way to go about this dish. I would definitely go with this recipe if you’re looking for one!