Joan Nathan’s Matzo Ball Soup
Updated April 11, 2025
- Total Time
- 1¼ hours, plus 3 hours’ or overnight refrigeration
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 4large eggs
- ¼cup schmaltz (rendered chicken fat), coconut oil or vegetable oil (kosher for Passover)
- ¼cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1cup matzo meal
- ¼teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 to 2tablespoons freshly grated ginger
- 2tablespoons finely chopped parsley, dill or cilantro
- 1teaspoon salt, more for cooking
- Black pepper
Nutritional analysis per serving (15 servings)
61 calories; 5 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 56 milligrams sodium
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
- Step 1
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, schmaltz, stock, matzo meal, nutmeg, ginger and parsley. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Gently mix with a whisk or spoon. Cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours or overnight.
- Step 2
To shape and cook the matzo balls, fill a wide, deep pan with lightly salted water and bring to a boil. With wet hands, take some of the mix and mold it into the size and shape of a Ping-Pong ball. Gently drop it into the boiling water, repeating until all the mix is used.
- Step 3
Cover the pan, reduce heat to a lively simmer and cook matzo balls about 30 to 40 minutes for al dente, longer for light. If desired, the cooked matzo balls can be transferred to chicken or vegetable soup and served immediately. Alternatively, they may be placed on a baking sheet and frozen, then transferred to a freezer bag and kept frozen until a few hours before serving; reheat in chicken or vegetable soup or broth.
Private Notes
Comments
So, where's the soup recipe? This headline is extremely misleading!
Ok, haven't departed from my approach to matzoh balls for 44 years...why change what works? Comments for this recipe gave me courage and a new world opened up in consequence. We all loved the ginger and dill, but the real revelation was that I could cook them ahead and freeze them successfully. Wow, does that change the hours leading up to the meal!
my soup recipe - 1 whole chicken in a large pot with a large sweet onion, a tablespoon of sea salt and water to cover chicken. While bringing to boil, skim off foam and fat into a bowl for Matzos. Once you're up to a boil lower to slow simmer and cover for 30 minutes. Remove chicken and separate meat from bones..return bones to pot. (You might want to use gloves since chicken is hot.) Put meat in frig for later. Simmer bones for 3 hours.
I just made them. They are good. Kids liked them. However, my ideal standard is set by the matza balls my mother-in-law makes, which melt in the mouth... No idea how! I tried her recipe, and the matza balls came out as tough as soccer balls. I won't try again. Maybe she withdrew a central piece of info? J. Nathan's ones are solid but very tasty. I didn't have fresh ginger, so I used the powder. (I wonder if I could have used the maror, instead--we have a giant piece, left over from the Seder.)
Is there any use for the matzo ball water?
This complicates one of the easiest recipes in the world. Chicken pieces, carrots, fresh dill, salt. Cover in water and bring to a boil, then simmer till it’s soup. Honestly if you cook the matzo balls in the soup, just use the boxed ones. No need for smaltz. Honestly, have you tried finding smaltz this century? And making your own is a lost art.
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