Growing up, it was always the best time of year when my Mom would make matzo ball soup. For any of the Jewish holidays it would be her go to, and we were so grateful for it. True story, it is so beloved in our family that my mom once shipped a batch to Florida for my grandma so you know it's good.
I always had plans to learn how to make her matzo ball soup but knew we had time, and then the pandemic hit. This year, instead of skipping out on matzo ball soup, my mom, my sister, and I got on FaceTime and made it together! I knew my soup wouldn't be exactly the same as my mom's, so instead of replicating I decided to make my batch inspired by the flavors in her soup.
One of the key things is keeping the ingredient list low. The chicken cooks in your stock for quite a while so don't worry about any lack of flavor.
The most important lesson from my mom when making this soup is to trim the fat from your chicken breast before it goes into the soup to cook. This step is CRITICAL. If you don't do this, you may have an oily broth at the end, and I promise your chicken is still going to taste incredibly flavorful. I used my boneless skinless chicken breast from ButcherBox and that way I only had to trim a small amount off.
Another thing to note, if you've never had matzo balls they are hard to explain but it's almost a replacement for any sort of noodle or rice in your soup. After chilling in the fridge, they cook right in your soup, and they soak up all of the incredible flavor. If you don't have access to matzo meal (you can find it at most grocery stores or even on Amazon) or if it's not something you'll use, you can always make the soup without and keep it very low carb or add in cooked noodles or cooked rice at the very end.
Ingredients:
Soup:
1 tsp minced garlic (I use a jarred, minced garlic)
12 cups chicken stock
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic salt (optional but great to use if you have)
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breast uncooked (about a pound)
Dried dill weed
Matzo balls:
3 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (you can use vegetable oil, I used these vegetable spread sticks)
3/4 cup matzo meal
Salt and pepper
Cooking time: About 4 and a half hours total, with under an hour of active time.
Cooking instructions:
Prep your carrots, peel and then chop them to your liking and ensure they're the right size to fit a few on a spoon.
In a large pot, put minced garlic, carrots, and chicken stock over a medium to high heat. Bring to a light boil.
Meanwhile, trim your chicken of all skin and fat. Then, place your chicken into your large pot (it should be covered by your stock) and add salt and pepper. Bring your soup to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cover. Leave it cooking for about an hour at a simmer.
After an hour, remove your chicken, shred it (I used two forks to do this) and place your back into your soup. Keep your soup partially covered and simmer for two and a half to three hours. Sprinkle in additional salt and pepper, and you can add garlic salt here as well if you have it!
If you'd like to make matzo balls, as you're getting to the end of your two and a half to three hours of simmer time, mix all your matzo ball ingredients together until fully incorporated and then place into the fridge for about 15 minutes to chill.
Remove your matzo ball mix from the fridge, and with wet hands divide and shape your mixture into four balls. Place them into your soup and bring your soup to a simmer/low boil and keep covered for 30 minutes. If your matzo balls aren't fully covered, flip them halfway through.
If you’re going to store your soup or need to cook it longer (taste the soup at this point and see how it is, you can always cook more to reduce or add water/additional stock and continue simmering for another 30-45 minutes), you can remove the cooked matzo balls and continue to simmer your soup. Once everything tastes to your liking, sprinkle on your dill weed (or you can use fresh dill) and any additional salt and pepper if needed.
You can serve right away, or you can store your soup and matzo balls separately. When you're ready to serve, add a matzo ball or two into your soup and allow it to sit and soak for 5-10 minutes before reheating and enjoying! Your soup and matzo balls will stay fresh in the fridge for about 5 days, or you can freeze them and defrost when you're ready for some matzo ball soup.
Carb and serving info:
Servings: 6
Carbs per serving: 14.9
Carbs per full batch: 89.3
Carbs per serving (6, no matzo balls): 15.5
Carbs per full batch (no matzo balls): 2.6
Carbs for matzo balls only: 73.8
Carbs per matzo ball (6): 12.3
Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.
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