Whether you are a big fan of matzo ball soup or have never tried it before, we're sure you'll love this vegan adaptation of the classic Jewish recipe. With its signature fluffy dumplings, this humble and comforting stew will make you come back for more.
In this plant-based spin, we started with a pot of vegetable stock where we simmered diced carrots, onions, and celeries. Then, we made the dumplings with a mix of matzo meal, flaxseeds, nutmeg, and ginger. Finally, we cooked the matzo balls in the broth until spongy and served all with a good sprinkle of fresh parsley.
If you're not familiar with this dish, matzo ball soup is a traditional meal served during the Jewish holiday of Passover. The dumplings consist of matzo meal combined with beaten eggs and chicken fat into a moist dough. These soft balls are slowly cooked in chicken stock until nicely puffed up; they are a real delight! But the classic ones are not vegan. We are changing that.
For us, what makes the dumplings so delicious is the matzo meal itself. Matzo meal is nothing more than matzo crispbread ground into flour. This flame-baked, unleavened bread gives the ball dough a unique charred flavour that we absolutely love. If you can't find matzo meal, we'll show you how to make it from matzo crackers.
The main issue with making vegan matzo balls without eggs is to get the matzo meal to hold together. Since the meal is already baked, it doesn't behave exactly as flour; and without the eggs keeping the dough together, the balls can quickly fall apart when cooked. Luckily we have flaxseeds! When combined with water, these tiny seeds form a gel that binds the ingredients similarly to eggs. Moreover, flaxseeds are allowed during Passover, so if you celebrate that festivity, you have nothing to worry about.
Preparing this soup is super easy, and it can be done in just 30 minutes, perfect for a quick family dinner. One big bowl provides less than 400 calories, and it covers only 15% RDI of carbs but almost half of your RDI for fibres. Awesome!
Ingredients
| Matzo Balls | |
| Matzo Meal | 140 g |
| Ground Flaxseeds | 30 g |
| Water | 210 mL |
| Cracked Black Pepper | 1/2 tsp |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp |
| Ground Nutmeg | 1 tsp |
| Ground Ginger | 1 tsp |
| Extra Virgin Olive Oil | 50 mL |
| Soup | |
| Vegetable Stock | 1.5 L |
| Carrots | 4 |
| Celery Sticks | 2 |
| Large Red Onions | 1 |
| Garlic Cloves | 2 |
| Parsley (to garnish) | to taste |
Step 1
If you can't find matzo meal, you can easily make it yourself using matzo crackers.
Break the crackers into pieces add them to a food processor. Then, blitz them until finely ground; they should look like a fine meal, similar to flour.
Step 2
Bring a pot of stock to a boil and add diced carrots, celery, sliced onions, and minced garlic.
Simmer the vegetables for 15 minutes.
Step 3
Meanwhile, let's make the matzo balls.
Mix the flaxseeds with the given water in a cup and let them soak for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the matzo meal with pepper, salt, nutmeg, and ginger. Add in the flax mixture and olive oil as well.
Mix all with a spoon and briefly work it with your hands until you have a compact, moist, and slightly sticky dough.
Step 4
To shape each matzo dumpling, scoop out about 35g (1 oz) of dough and roll it into a ball, roughly the size of a table tennis ball.
Repeat this step until you have used all the dough.
Step 5
Now, add the matzo balls to the boiling soup and cook them covered for 5 minutes.
They're ready when they float to the surface; avoid cooking them for more than 8 minutes, or they could break and fall apart.
Step 6
Divide the soup and matzo balls among bowls and top them with chopped parsley.
Tips
You can add other veggies to the soup, such as leeks, turnips, or kohlrabi.