Instant Pot Matzo Ball Soup is the best traditional Jewish soup to keep warm in the colder months. Perfect for Rosh Hashanah, Passover, or year-round! It's made with light and fluffy matzo balls served in homemade chicken broth.
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.