Would you believe me if I told you I look forward to Passover every year? Seders can be long, you can’t eat any grain that has been given the chance to rise, and you know you have seven long days of Matzah ahead. However, from my experience, it’s also a time filled with good food, family, and some really fun traditions. Now, just to be clear, this blog post isn’t going to dive too deep into the traditions and story behind Passover, but is more to tell you about why I love this holiday. So why do I love Passover so much? Well, mostly because I was born into a family of wine-lovers, great cooks, and loud singers, but also because of one very specific food I eat every day during this time. Can you guess what food that may be? Ding Ding! It’s Matzo Ball Soup! So, I did what any matzo-ball loving Jewish gal with an egg intolerance would do. I made an amazing homemade recipe for the BEST Vegan Matzo Ball Soup you have ever had.
Give me that Matzo Ball Bliss: Jump to Recipe
It’s pretty remarkable if you take a look at traditional Jewish cuisine and realize almost everything has egg in it. Especially the good stuff like challah (Jewish bread), kugel (made with egg noodles), and matzo balls. That’s not even counting the meat or fish filled dishes like brisket or gefilte fish! Most of that though, I am okay not eating. However, Matzo Ball soup is NOT something I plan to live without. So alas, I began my recipe testing adventure!
Some of you may know that Matzoh Ball Soup is traditionally made in a chicken soup broth. Also, the matzah balls themselves are traditionally made out of matzah, eggs, water, and oil. I’ve been vegetarian for a long while now, so making a matzo ball soup slightly edited with a vegetable broth base has been the norm the last few years. However, for this recipe I really had to get creative to create that desired fluffy texture I was looking for. I did a few recipe tests which consisted of a lot of yummy soups with some really broken apart matzah bits floating in them. Not exactly bringing back those fond Passover memories there! The key to this recipe for me turned out to be leaving the matzah balls in the fridge overnight. I actually scientifically have no idea why this worked, but am seriously happy that it did! After that, all it took was coming up with a good broth to complete the recipe. While I’ve seen this soup with carrots and onions before, I was yet again inspired by my recent Imperfect Produce Box to add in some parsnips and the flavor came together SO perfectly. Seriously, if you add any vegetable to this soup, let it be parsnips!
Jewish cuisine brings me so much joy and I am so happy I still get to eat my favorite soup at this year’s Seder. If you are looking for a fun new soup to try, I highly recommend this be your new recipe! And P.S- I won’t be offended if you try the egg- included version first. Then you can truly appreciate just how good this soup is compared to the OG version!
-TSG
In case you are looking for some of the tools & ingredients used in this recipe, I’ve put a few of my favorites for you here:
- If you’ve never tried matzo ball soup before, my go to matzo meal is always Manischewitz brand! I actually have an easier time finding this online than in many stores.
- Spectrum Organics Ground Flaxseed is one of my favorites and is perfect to make the flax eggs that hold the matzo balls together!
| Prep Time | 5-10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 20-30 minutes |
| Passive Time | 18-24 hours |
| Servings |
servings
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- 8 oz silken tofu
- 1/2- 3/4 cup matzah meal ( start with 1/2 and add more if mix too sticky)
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 flax egg (1Tbsp ground flax seed mixed with 3 Tbsp water, soaked about 5 mins)
- 2-3 sprigs fresh dill leaves only, no stems
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 large parsnip peeled and chopped
- 3-4 medium carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 large onion chopped
- 8 cups vegetable broth
- 1 Tbsp oil
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- salt & pepper to taste
Ingredients
Matzo Balls
Soup Ingredients
|
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- Please note: You will need to make your matzah balls 18-24 hours ahead of cooking your soup.
- Begin by adding your silken tofu to a blender and blend until it is smooth and creamy. Next, add in your matzah meal, flax egg, oil, salt, pepper, and dried parsley. Blend until combined. Start with 1/2 cup matzah meal and add up to 3/4 to make into firm, yet sticky mix. Lastly add in your fresh dill and blend about 10-15 seconds. At this point you have your matzah meal! Place in the fridge for 30 minutes- 1 hour to help firm.
- Once the matzah meal has firmed remove from the fridge and form into balls. You want the balls to be small and the mix should make about 14-16 matzah balls total. Once the balls are formed, place on a plate, cover, and put in the fridge for 18-24 hours before making your soup.
- Add 1 Tbsp oil to a large pot. Once hot, add in your chopped onions, turnips, and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Saute about 5 minutes.
- Next, add your 8 cups of broth to the pot along with additional salt and pepper, dried parsley, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in your matzah balls one at a time.
- Turn the temperature down to medium heat and cook soup for about 8-10 minutes (no longer, you don't want to overcook everything!). Turn off the heat, remove the pot from the heat, and serve immediately! If you are storing your soup as leftovers, make sure to store the matzo balls separately from the soup broth for the best results.
Of course, Jews of Ashekenazi descent, who eat no kitniyos (aka kitniyot, aka legumes and rice) over Passover won’t find this recipe KFP.
Thanks Rivka, that is absolutely true as this recipe contains tofu (soy/legumes). However, hopefully it will be a good recipe to try at other times of the year if you are looking for a vegan matzo ball soup outside of Passover!