Instant Pot Matzo Ball Soup is the best traditional Jewish soup to help you keep warm in the colder months. Serve it for holidays, such as Rosh Hashanah and Passover, or eat it up year-long. It's made with light and fluffy Jewish dumplings served in chicken broth. Learn how simple it is to make homemade matzo ball soup!
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📋 About the Recipe
- Perfect for any occasion. Matzo ball soup is the answer to every problem. Feeling sick? Matzo ball soup. Cold rainy weather? Matzo ball soup. Holiday dinner? Matzo ball soup.
- Has health benefits! Known as the “Jewish Penicillin,” matzo ball soup has healing qualities. Listed as number 2 of The 7 Best Soups to Help Get Over Colds and Flu, it has anti-inflammatory properties that help boost your immune system.
- Authentic and homemade. You may have seen matzo ball mix or pre-made chicken broth on your grocery store shelves, but the best way to enjoy matzo ball soup is making it 100% from scratch with wholesome ingredients. Not to mention, it's easier than you think!
🛒 Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Chicken thighs - Making Instant Pot matzo ball soup with chicken thighs adds a tremendous amount of flavor to the broth that you simply can't get from boneless skinless chicken. Use any extra chicken thighs to try my Instant Pot Chicken Rice Soup too.
- Parsnip, carrots, celery, onion - These vegetables also add flavor to the broth. If you've never cooked with parsnips before, they look like pale yellow carrots and are found in the produce section of the grocery store.
- Matzo meal - The main ingredient in matzo balls. You should be able to find matzo meal in most larger grocery stores, particularly in the international or kosher section.
- Eggs - Similar to making homemade meatballs, eggs are used in the matzo balls as a binder to hold them together. Without the eggs, the matzo balls are likely to fall apart.
- Oil - Oil is used in the matzo balls to help keep them moist and tender when boiling. I used vegetable oil but you can also use avocado or a neutral tasting oil.
📓 Instructions
- Begin preparing the chicken broth. Place the chicken thighs, parsnips, carrots, onions, and celery into the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Add seasonings. Season with dill and kosher salt, then fill the Instant Pot with about 11 cups of water, or to the max fill line in the Instant Pot. Note that the amount of water your pressure cooker will be able to hold will vary depending on how large it is. I am using a 6 quart Instant Pot.
- Pressure cook. Cover the pressure cooker, place the valve in the "sealing" position and cook on manual high pressure for 45 minutes.
- Allow a 30 minute natural release. After the pressure cooker has completed pressure cooking, allow the pot to naturally depressurize for 30 minutes before manually releasing the remaining pressure.
- While the broth cooks, make the matzo balls, egg noodles, and carrots.
- Make homemade matzo balls. Add all of the matzo ball ingredients to a large bowl. Mix to combine. Place bowl in the refrigerator and let mixture chill at least 20 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove. Season the water with kosher salt. Scoop 2 tablespoons of matzo ball batter and form a ball. Place ball in the salted boiling water.
Repeat with the rest of the mixture until there is no batter remaining (you should have 10 total matzo balls).
Cover and simmer matzo balls for 30 minutes, or until they double in size and become light and fluffy. - Strain the broth. Strain the broth into a large pot or bowl. Discard the vegetable scraps. Set chicken aside and remove the bones, cartilage, and skin from the chicken meat. Use shredded pieces of chicken in the soup or store for later to make Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad or Chicken Minestrone Soup.
- Serve. Place 1 matzo ball, 1 boiled carrot, egg noodles and shredded chicken into a soup bowl. Ladle broth over top and season with additional salt, pepper, and fresh parsley, as desired.
⁉️ Substitutions and Alterations
- If preferred, you can use fresh dill in the chicken stock.
- Although matzo meal is similar in texture to breadcrumbs, they are not the same. Make sure to use matzo meal only.
- Make sure to buy chicken thighs that have skin and bones. Boneless, skinless thighs do not provide the same amount of flavor.
- If making this recipe for passover, be sure to use kosher for passover matzo meal and baking powder! However, if you do not feel comfortable with using baking powder, you can simply swap the baking powder for ¼ cup of unflavored seltzer water.
❄️ How to Store
How long is matzo ball soup good for? Leftovers will last for up to 3 days. Store leftover Instant Pot matzo ball soup ingredients separately and make the soup per instructions right before reheating.
Can you freeze matzo ball soup? The chicken broth, shredded chicken, and matzo balls all freeze well but freeze each soup component separately.
Pour the soup into freezable soup containers, cover with a tight lid, and place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
For the matzo balls, pat them dry with a paper towel and add them in a single layer to a freezable container or Ziploc bag. Keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months, as well.
To reheat: Reheat any Instant Pot matzo ball soup leftovers in the microwave in 30 second intervals until warm. Alternatively, you can reheat the soup on the stovetop on low heat or in the Instant Pot using the sauté function until warm.
🔍 FAQs
Yes, matzo balls are made with matzo meal which is made from ground up matzo (unleavened cracker-like bread). This bread is made from wheat and is not gluten free.
Traditionally, matzo ball soup is served as an appetizer to a large holiday meal.
Serve paired with sliced homemade challah for soaking up the broth. Or, serve with Roasted Asparagus and Brussels Sprouts with Lemon Tahini Sauce, Jerusalem Salad, and Brown Sugar and Dill Roasted Carrots as side dishes to the main meal.
Round out the meal with this delicious Kosher For Passover Cheesecake (great served year-round too) for dessert.
Matzo ball soup is essentially chicken noodle soup with traditional Jewish dumplings: the matzo ball. Matzo balls are similar to dumplings, but they are made with matzo meal instead of flour. Check out my Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie or Instant Pot Chicken Rice Soup for similar Instant Pot chicken soup recipes.
💭 A Few More Tips
- How to make an even more flavorful chicken broth: If you cook with bone-in chicken often, keep the wing tips and chicken backs in the freezer and add them to your broth before pressure cooking. Start saving the excess bones next time you make Air Fryer Garlic Parmesan Wings or Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Wings.
- How to skim the excess fat out of the chicken broth: To do so, refrigerate the broth overnight. The fat will solidify and look like butter at the top of the soup. Using a spoon, skim the solid fat off the top of the broth. Discard the fat and use the remaining broth for the soup.
🍴 Related Recipes
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know! Tag @yourhomemadehealthy on Instagram or leave a comment with a rating and some feedback at the bottom of this page!
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Matzo Ball Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chicken Broth
- 3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs kosher is preferred
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 parsnip, quartered
- 3 carrots, cut in half
- 2 celery ribs, cut in half
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 11 cups water or enough to fill the instant pot to the max fill line
For the Matzo Balls
- 1 cup matzo meal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder SEE NOTES
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 large eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill or parsley
Extra Additions
- egg noodles prepared according to the package
- boiled carrots
- shredded chicken leftover from the broth
Instructions
- Add chicken thighs, onion, parsnip, carrots, and celery to the instant pot.
- Season with dill and kosher salt. Pour water on top.
- Cover instant pot, place valve in the “sealing” position, and cook on high pressure for 45 minutes.
- Naturally release the pressure for 30 minutes before switching the valve to the “venting” position and manually releasing any remaining pressure.
- While the soup cooks, prep the matzo balls, egg noodles, and boiled carrots.
- To make homemade matzo balls: Add matzo ball ingredients to a large bowl. Mix to combine. Place bowl in the refrigerator and let mixture chill at least 20 minutes. Bring a large pot of water to boil on the stove. Season the water with kosher salt. Scoop 2 tablespoons of matzo ball batter and form a ball. Place ball in the salted boiling water. Repeat with the rest of the mixture until there is no batter remaining (you should have 10 total matzo balls). Cover and simmer matzo balls for 30 minutes, or until they double in size and become light and fluffy.
- When the soup is done cooking. Strain the broth into a large pot or bowl. Discard the vegetable scraps. Set chicken aside and remove the bones, cartilage, and skin from the chicken meat. Use shredded pieces of chicken in the soup or store for later to make homemade chicken salad.
- To serve, place 1 matzo ball, 1 boiled carrot, some egg noodles, and some shredded chicken into a soup bowl. Ladle chicken broth over top. Season with additional salt and pepper, as desired.
Notes
- What is matzo meal? Matzo meal is made from ground up matzo (unleavened cracker-like bread). It is similar to coarse breadcrumbs. It can be found in the Kosher aisle of the grocery store and is usually sold in a round tin can.
- Parsnips look like pale yellow or white carrots. They can be found in the produce section of the grocery store.
- Make sure to buy chicken thighs that have skin and bones. Boneless, skinless thighs do not provide the same amount of flavor.
- If making this recipe for passover, be sure to use kosher for passover matzo meal and baking powder! However, if you do not feel comfortable with using baking powder, you can simply swap the baking powder for ¼ cup of unflavored seltzer water.
- To freeze: Keep the matzo balls and any other toppings separate. Pour the soup into freezable soup containers, cover with a tight lid, and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. For the matzo balls, pat them dry with a paper towel and add them in a single layer to a freezable container or Ziploc bag. Keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months, as well.
- I like to skim the excess fat out of my chicken soup. To do so, refrigerate the broth overnight. The fat will solidify and look like butter at the top of the soup. Using a spoon, skim the solid fat off the top of the broth. Discard the fat and use the remaining broth for the soup.
Nutrition
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*This recipe is dedicated to my mom. One of my biggest fans and a devout supporter, my mom taught me everything I know in the kitchen that the Food Network forgot to teach me. She allowed me to make a mess, although she had just cleaned; experiment, although she bought those exact ingredients for something else; and learn, although she had to taste the good AND the bad. Without her unwavering encouragement, I would not be where I am today: following my passions and my dreams. ❤️
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