Matzo Ball Soup
Does anyone else ever just CRAVE a big ole bowl of Matzo Ball Soup? I just can’t get enough of the stuff! For me, the best part is the light, super-soft, delicateness of the matzo balls paired with extra fresh dill. Mmmm. I’m already drooling.
So for this rendition of my famous Matzo Ball Soup, I’m using my Instant Pot. If you don’t know what an instant pot is, get excited because I’m about to rock your world. Check out this link and do a little light reading. Trust me on this, you’ll fall in love. I have a 6 quart, which I find is plenty for me and my boyfriend. I use it for A TON of recipes, not just soups.
Today I’m choosing to use a pressure cooker because, like many nights, I had no idea what I was planning to do for dinner until I got home and stuck my head in my pantry. Low and behold, I had Matzo Ball Mix!! The problem was that I didn’t have any thawed chicken.
Did you know that you can cook frozen chicken in your instant pot?! In a matter of minutes!
For this reason, and this reason alone, I’m sold. There are a ton of other perks, but whole cooking from frozen thing is huge. I absolutely LOVE my Instant Pot. If you don’t have one yet, you’re simply doing life wrong. You can find a link to purchase one right here.
Ok, so let’s get down to business! To make Matzo Ball Soup, you don’t need that many ingredients, and even better you don’t need that many spices (which can really add up). I managed to make this entire recipe for less than $15. Honestly, I’m sure I could’ve gotten the price down further, I just live next to a more expensive grocery store and pay for the convenience. Guilty.
I opted to use chicken thighs because I already had them in my freezer, but breasts work just as well. The thighs are a really nice choice though because they get super tender, and the extra fat content makes the soup even more delicious.
I always start by laying out all of my ingredients and necessary equipment. For me, it helps me visualize the whole recipe and helps me stay organized. This recipe is quite simple, but it does involve a little bit of multi-tasking. Laying out all your ingredients will help you stay organized as you move through the recipe.
I also like to have an overall outline of the recipe. This one is simple:
- Make Matzo Ball Mix & let rest in fridge
- Dice veggies
- Sauté veggies in instant pot
- Add the rest of soup ingredients and start pressure cooking
- Create and cook matzo balls while pressure cooking the soup
- Shred chicken, combine all ingredients, and garnish
- Serve, and enjoy the amazing soup you’ve just created!
After you’ve laid out all your ingredients and made a bit of a mental plan, it’s time to start your prep.
First, start by making the matzo ball mix, because you have to let it rest in the fridge for 10-15 min. Grab a medium mixing bowl and fork and whisk together 2 eggs, followed by adding 2 tbs vegetable oil. Once you’ve combined well (about 35 whole seconds of effort there), add a packet of matzo ball mix. Mix lightly until just combined. Don’t over mix. Then put in the fridge uncovered.
Pro Tip: get a big pot (spaghetti sized) of water boiling to eventually cook those matzo balls. It’s the WORST when you’re ready to cook your matzo and then have to wait 10 minutes for your water to start to boil.
Now it’s time to get the soup moving. Like most soups, my Matzo Ball Soup starts with a chopped blend of carrots, celery, and onion. I quickly diced all three veggies and then plopped them right into my instant pot, added 3 bay leaves, and turned on the sauté function.
You’ll only want to sauté the veggies for a couple of minutes to get them to soften up, and to get the bay leaves nice and fragrant. The onions should just barely start to turn translucent. Then turn the instant pot off.
Next, add the rest of the ingredients (ie the chicken and your broth), and get pressure cooking! I prefer to use the Better Than Bullion veggie broth for my soups. It’s no where near as salty as the other bases, plus it tastes ah-ma-zing! You can also sub out traditional broth if you prefer.
Remember how I said you can cook frozen chicken in the instant pot? Now is the time to make that happen! Drop in 1.5 lbs of frozen chicken thighs into your instant pot, and it’s time to get pressure cooking! Turn on the steam function on your instant pot, and set the time to 15 minutes. It’s going to take a few minutes to come to pressure (there’s a lot of liquid in there) so be patient. *Note: if you’re not using frozen chicken that’s totally fine too, you’ll only need to pressure cook for 6 minutes.*
Now it’s time to get those matzo balls going! Remove the bowl from the fridge and get your adult play-doh on! You’ll want to make smaller matzo balls, as they do expand when they cook. This recipe yields anywhere from 10-14 matzo balls.
Once you’ve rolled them out, drop them into the boiling water, cover, and turn your heat down to simmer. You’ll simmer your matzo balls for 20 minutes while your soup is cooking in the pressure cooker. After 20 minutes, gently remove them from the pot, place them to the side (I rinsed out and used the same bowl I made the matzo ball mix in). They’re really delicate, so be careful! Dump out the water from the big pot, and get ready to combine everything back into that same pot.
Once the soup in your instant pot is complete (you’ll learn to love those 10 long, glorious beeps signaling your creation is ready), remove the chicken thighs and coarsely shred with two forks. CAREFULLY pour the hot soup from the instant pot into the big pot, add the shredded chicken, and carefully add the matzo balls on top. Garnish with a bunch of fresh chopped dill.
Ta-Dah! You’ve just created your own Matzo Ball Soup! Now it’s time to serve, and enjoy. Make sure to finish each individual bowl with a pinch more fresh dill, just to add that last zip of fresh deliciousness.
I hope you all love this recipe as much as I do! Let me know your thoughts, and if you have any questions please leave a comment below!
Instant Pot Matzo Ball Soup
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Big Pot with Lid
- Medium Bowl
- Cutting Board
- Chef Knife
- Mixing spoon
- Ladle to serve
Ingredients
Soup
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs frozen or thawed
- 6 small carrots
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 large onion I used yellow
- 3 whole bay leaves
- 2 tbs broth base(veggie or chicken) I prefer the better than bullion brand
- 2 quarts water
- 1 tbs chopped fresh dill
- 6 oz egg noodles (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
Matzo Balls
- 1 packet matzo ball mix I use Manischewitz
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbs vegetable oil
Instructions
Prep
- Make your Matzo Ball Mix in medium bowl. Make matzo mix by adding contents of a matzo ball mix bag into a small bowl with 2 tbs vegetable oil, and 2 large eggs. Mix with a fork until combined, then put in the fridge uncovered to rest for 15 minutes. Matzo Ball Mix instructions may vary, so check the instructions on the Matzo Ball Mix Box.
- Chop and dice all the carrots, celery, and onion and set aside.
- Get a big (spaghetti sized) pot of water boiling.
Pressure Cooker
- Turn your instant pot onto the sauté function.
- Sauté the veggies you've prepped with 3 bay leaves and salt and pepper.
- Once veggies start to soften, add 2 quarts of water, 2 tbs broth base (alternatively you can use 2 quarts of pre-made broth), and the boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Turn off sauté function, place lid onto instant pot, and select the steam function. Cooking times will vary depending on whether you are using frozen or thawed chicken. Frozen chicken – 15 minutesThawed chicken – 6 minutes
- Once you input your time, you'll hear a beep and your instant pot will say "On". Your instant pot say "On" until it comes to pressure. You'll know when your instant pot comes to pressure because steam will stop being released, and minutes will be displayed where your instant pot previously said "On."
Cook Matzo Balls
- Check on boiling water. You'll want it to come to a rolling boil.
- Pull Matzo Ball Mixture out of fridge, and begin to form matzo balls. Form matzo balls by taking just under 1 tbs mix and rolling into in your hands (like play-doh) to form a small ball.You should be able to form 10-14 small balls. I made 13 this last time. You don't have to form them that small, but I prefer to have a larger quantity since I always seem to eat a ton whether they're big or not.
- Once you've formed your matzo balls, drop them into the rolling boiling water, cover, and turn down to simmer. If your lid is see-through, watch as your matzo balls begin to grow!Cook matzo balls for 20 min. They're delicate, so be careful when you stir.
- Optionally, you can add egg noodles into the boiling water the last 10 minutes the matzo balls are cooking. This makes a heartier, noodle filled soup.
- Once Matzo balls are complete, remove them from the water with a spoon and place them aside. (I put them in the rinsed bowl I prepped the mix in). If you added noodles, strain noodles, and store them with matzo balls.Dump out remaining water from big pot, as you'll use the big pot to combine all ingredients before serving.
Combine and Serve
- Once your pressure cooker time is complete, release the pressure by turning the release valve to the left or right.
- Once all pressure is released, remove chicken thighs and coarsely shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.
- CAREFULLY pour soup from instant pot into your big pot, add shredded chicken, matzo balls (and egg noodles if you opted to use them), and stir gently to combine. Remove bay leaves, and salt and pepper to taste.Top with most of the chopped fresh dill, saving a enough to garnish individual bowls.
- Portion into individual bowls (I usually portion 2-3 matzo balls per bowl), garnish with remaining fresh dill, and enjoy.
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