Sopa de Albóndigas (Mexican Meatball Soup)

Recipe from Wesley Avila

Adapted by Alexa Weibel

Published January 28, 2023

  • Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
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Total Time
1½ hours
Rating
4(1,038)
Comments
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Ask 10 people for a recipe for a particular dish, and you’ll probably get 10 different recipes. Mexican sopa de albóndigas is no exception. Most variations are likely to involve vegetables, rice, a tomato-based broth and, inevitably, meatballs. Wesley Avila, the chef of Guerrilla Tacos in Los Angeles, learned this recipe from his mother, who learned it from her grandmother. His meatballs are hefty in size but light in density, and follow his family’s tradition of adding uncooked white rice to the pork-beef mixture before shaping it into balls and cooking: “My mom always told me that when the rice is done, the soup is ready,” Mr. Avila said. “She used it almost as a timer.” The toppings — piled on as you would atop chili — skew cheffy, but they are entirely optional. —Alexa Weibel

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

FOR THE MEATBALLS

  • 2 pounds ground beef

  • 1 pound ground pork

  • ½ cup uncooked long-grain rice

  • ⅓ cup chopped fresh mint

  • 3 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)

  • 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper

FOR THE SOUP

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil

  • 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and diced (about 1 ½ cups)

  • 4 medium carrots, peeled and cut on an angle into ½-inch slices

  • 3 medium celery stalks, peeled and cut on an angle into ½-inch slices

  • 1 large red potato, cut into 1-inch cubes

  • Kosher salt and black pepper

  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 3 garlic cloves, minced

  • 2 bay leaves

  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano, preferably Mexican

  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin

  • 8 cups chicken stock (2 quarts)

  • 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

FOR GARNISH (OPTIONAL)

  • Crumbled queso fresco, panela or cotija

  • 2 avocados, halved lengthwise, pitted and thinly sliced crosswise or diced

  • Mini sweet peppers, thinly sliced into rounds

  • Serrano and habanero chiles, very thinly sliced

  • Small fresh cilantro sprigs or chopped fresh cilantro

  • Lime wedges, for squeezing

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

43 grams carbs; 129 milligrams cholesterol; 769 calories; 24 grams monosaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 49 grams fat; 1 gram trans fat; 8 grams fiber; 1538 milligrams sodium; 40 grams protein; 10 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare the meatballs: In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, rice, mint, garlic, salt and pepper. Using your hands, gently mix until well combined. Pinch off 2-ounce portions and gently roll between your palms to form golf ball-size rounds, transferring rounds to a sheet pan. (You should have about 28 meatballs.)

  2. Step 2

    In large pot, combine the olive oil, onion, carrots, celery and potato; season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste, garlic, bay leaves, oregano and cumin, and cook over medium, stirring frequently, until fragrant and tomato paste starts to caramelize, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and tomato sauce and bring to a simmer over high.

  3. Step 3

    Once the stock begins to bubble, reduce the heat to medium-low. Carefully add the meatballs, one by one, distributing them evenly in the pot until they’re all submerged. If necessary, reduce the heat to reach a low simmer (this will keep the meatballs tender), and cook until the meatballs and rice are cooked through, about 40 minutes. (Resist the urge to stir for the first 20 minutes, otherwise you risk breaking the meatballs apart before they’ve firmed up.) Skim any impurities from the surface as the soup simmers.

  4. Step 4

    Season to taste with salt. Divide the soup among bowls, about 4 or 5 meatballs per portion, and set out bowls of whatever garnishes you like.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,038 user ratings
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Comments

Gil Narro Garcia

My Mom’s albóndigas we’re ethereal. Combined with frijoles a la charra, avocado slices and corn tortillas and you were in heaven. One key is the tomato base sauce—-it needs to simmer at least 30-45 minutes. Then add the albóndigas. Best to repent now because you won’t get them in any place but heaven.

ana

In Guadalajara people chop a green zucchini in tiny pieces, and mix it along the mint, one egg, rice, and meat, and add water not chicken stock, the meat makes a great broth.

Alisa

I'm always looking for a vegetarian spin on delicious recipes. This one works well with gardein meatless meatballs and vegetable stock, or if you can find it, no chicken base by better than bouillon. The veggie meatballs need less time: only 15-20 minutes, instead of 40 like the original recipe suggests. I find it's enough to have the rice cook through as well, so the soup is done quicker.

Dexter

DELICIOUS! I swapped out for bison and used a higher-fat pork to compensate, but kept the measurements consistent. Really hearty and wholesome with some plain yogurt and crunched tortilla chips. Only complaint is it’s a lot of meat! I think you could probably use 1/3 less meat and still have a delicious soup.

Morganne

So I made MANY edits. 4X the amount of potatoes. Only 1lb of ground lamb. 1.5X the rice. And finally, did not use tomato paste or tomato sauce…. And it was still DELISH.

Cody

The foundation of this recipe is good but it has a few things you want to tweak. 1. You need 8 cups of stock which is two quarts not one. One will not be enough. 2. Use cooked rice. If you use raw it takes longer to cook and dries out the meatballs. 3. The meatball to veggie ratio is a bit off. Use at least two potatoes. I also added in 1 zucchini. There is almost enough meatballs to double the recipe. Which, sometimes there is the opposite problem so not a bad thing as long as you also add more veg 😁 The flavor of it was great though!

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Credits

Adapted from “Guerrilla Tacos” by Wesley Avila (Ten Speed Press, 2017)

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