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Home » Jewish Holidays » Easy Gluten-Free Matzo Ball Soup Recipe

Easy Gluten-Free Matzo Ball Soup Recipe

Last Updated March 18, 2021. Published March 18, 2021 Good For You Gluten Free

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Easy Gluten-Free Matzo Ball Soup Recipe
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Matzo balls (aka matzah balls) are dumplings made from matzo meal, eggs, water, and oil (fat). They are traditionally served in a broth (typically chicken soup) during the Jewish holiday of Passover. In this post, I’ll show you how I make my gluten-free matzo balls soft and fluffy. No dense balls here! This post contains affiliate links. Please see my disclosures.

Passover is a Jewish holiday marking the exodus of Jewish slaves from Egypt.

Jews are prohibited from eating leavened bread for the seven-day duration of the holiday to symbolize the fact that Jews left Egypt in haste when they were freed from bondage and therefore didn’t have time for the bread to rise (leaven).

During the Passover seder, a dinner with a strict order and where the story of Passover is recited, matzo ball soup is all the rage.

Matzo ball soup is typically made from a combination of matzo meal, which contains wheat. However, you can purchase gluten-free matzo meal and make gluten-free matzo balls with little fuss or change in taste.

In fact, the gluten-free matzo balls will taste exactly like the gluten-y matzo balls, so no one even needs to know you made the GF swap.

I’ve had a lot of matzo balls in my lifetime, and most Jews will agree that the best matzo balls are fluffy and light in texture. I’ve had some dense matzo balls in the past, and they just aren’t that fun to eat.

In this post, I’ll share the secret to getting a light and fluffy matzo ball every time whether you use gluten-free or gluten-y matzo meal or matzo ball mix.

The Key to a Fluffy Matzo Ball

The key to a light and fluffy matzo ball is the addition of baking powder, which contains sodium bicarbonate, a leavening agent.

Baking powder, in general, is know for lightening the texture of baked goods because it releases carbon dioxide gas into the food, resulting in the formation of bubbles that expand (leaven) the mixture.

Adding a little baking powder will fluff up those matzo balls, making them perfectly palatable for Passover.

Picture of ingredients in gluten-free matzo ball soup mix

Daniel Gritzer at Serious Eats experimented with a variety of ways to make matzo balls, and he tested a variety of techniques to see what netted the best matzo balls. He found that a little baking powder goes a long way in fluffing up those matzo balls.

You might be wondering, is baking powder even Kosher for Passover? This article in the New York Times will set your mind at ease. According to prominent, orthodox rabbis, prohibition against leavening bread is different than the prohibition against the use of leavening agents such as baking powder and baking soda.

Perhaps the most observant Jews won’t touch my matzo balls, but for my family, and for most Jewish families across the U.S., a little baking powder enables us to enjoy this meaningful ritual in a delicious way.

How to Make Chicken Broth

Before we talk about how to make those fluffy and light gluten-free matzo balls, you’ll want to first get your broth cooking.

To make a basic but delicious chicken broth, gather up the following ingredients:

  • 3-4 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks or thighs
  • 1 tbsp Kosher salt plus more for the broth, to taste
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3 carrots, chopped
  • 3 celery sticks, chopped
  • 8 cups water
  • 1-2 chicken bouillon cubes optional, to taste (make sure it’s Kosher for Passover)
Ingredients for chicken soup and matzo balls - chicken, carrots, celery, matzo ball soup mix, etc.

Add salt to your chicken and set it aside. Adjust the salt to taste, keeping in mind that if you use kosher chicken, it will already be salted, so go easy on how much you add.

Heat vegetable oil in a large stock pot, then add chicken and cook until it’s lightly browned on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan and set it aside.

Add the carrots and celery to your pot and cook until slightly softened. Add the lightly browned chicken back into the pot along with 8 cups of water. Bring mixture to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer broth for 2 or more hours. Skim the fat off the top, if any, as you go along. The broth will have a stronger chicken taste the longer you simmer it with the chicken pieces.

Once the broth is finished cooking, remove the chicken from the broth and separate the meat from the skin, bones and fat. Add the meat back to the broth and discard the rest.

Season your soup with additional salt and/or bouillon cubes, to taste, and keep your broth warm until you’re ready to serve it.

How to Make Matzo Balls

Now you’re ready to make your matzo balls, and they come together fast!

Start by gathering up the following ingredients:

  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 package of gluten-free matzo ball soup mix*
  • Water or chicken stock

*I enjoy working with a gluten-free matzo ball soup mix as the sodium bicarbonate (aka, baking powder) is already in the mix, and the balls taste amazing every time.

However, if you’re working with gluten-free matzo meal, add 1/2 to 1 tsp of baking powder per cup of gluten-free matzo meal.

To assemble your matzo balls, combine eggs and oil in a medium bowl and mix together with a fork. Add matzo ball soup mix (or matzo meal + baking powder) and mix together with your fork until well combined.

Combining ingredients in matzo ball soup  mix in a bowl

Cover the mixture and refrigerate it for 30 minutes or longer to stiffen up the dough and make it easier to work with.

Before assembling your matzo balls, bring a large stock pot of water or chicken broth to a boil. If you use water, add some Kosher salt for flavor. Make sure your chicken broth is not only Kosher for Passover, but also gluten free. Many Kosher for Passover bouillon cubes and broths contain gluten and questionable ingredients like yeast extract and maltodextrin.

Using lightly wet hands, roll about 15-16 small balls. The balls will be tiny, but don’t worry, they will fluff up in the boiling water. Don’t make your balls too big. You’ve been warned.

formed gluten-free matzo balls on a plate ready to be cooked

When the water is boiling, and all your balls have been rolled, add the matzo balls to the water. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and allow matzo balls to cook for 30 minutes undisturbed. The balls are ready when they float to the top and are cooked through.

Remove matzo balls from broth (remember, the balls are like sponges; do not leave them in the water or they’ll overcook). Tap each ball over the broth to drain as much of the liquid as possible before placing them in a rimmed glass dish until you’re ready to serve your soup.

cooked gluten-free matzo balls, fluffy and light, in a casserole dish

Ready to Serve Your Soup?

When it’s time for soup, place 1-2 matzo balls in a soup bowl, then top with hot chicken soup broth mixture (inclusive of chicken, carrots and celery), then top with your favorite toppings (optional).

two bowls of matzo ball soup topped with scallions and dill

Soup Toppings

A lot of people will enjoy the soup as is, or they add crushed matzah to the top. My family loves when I buy Passover-friendly gluten-free soup nuts and croutons. They eat these soup nuts like candy!

Paskesz mini croutons (soup mandel) - gluten free

I also like to top my soup with some chopped scallions and/or fresh dill for added color and flavor.

Matzah balls soup topped with gluten-free soup nuts

Matzo Ball FAQs

Here are answers to some of your most frequently asked questions. I will add to this list as more questions come in:

Prepare Balls Ahead of Time: If preparing the matzo balls ahead of time, allow the hot balls to cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and place them in your fridge. About an hour before serving, place them on your countertop so they come to room temperature before adding them to individual portions of hot soup. Alternatively, add the cold balls to your hot broth and allow them to heat through before serving.

Add More Vegetables: Want to make it a more hearty soup? Add more carrots and celery.

Is There an Egg-Free Version? I’m sure you could find an egg-free version of matzo balls somewhere on Google, or you could try using a flax egg (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal + 2 tablespoons water per egg). However, eggs are an essential ingredient to getting light and fluffy matzo balls. For my egg free guests, I simply serve them a hearty portion of soup with lots of vegetables and chicken.

Upclose picture of matzah balls inside the soup

Other Passover Recipes

Try these gluten-free Passover recipes to make your Passover seder a bit more tasty:

  • Passover Charoset
  • Homemade Gluten-Free Oat Matzah
  • Easy Beef Brisket
  • Sweet BBQ Cola Chicken
  • Chocolate Quinoa Cake
  • No-Bake Gluten-Free Chocolate Matzah Cake
  • Lemon Crinkle Cookies
  • Overnight Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies
  • Gluten-Free Flourless Chocolate Torte

Gluten-Free Matzo Ball Soup

Enjoy these Jewish dumplings for Passover or year round. Be sure to use a gluten-free matzo ball mix or gluten-free matzo meal to create your delicious, fluffy matzo balls (also known as kneidlach).
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Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Soup
Cuisine: Jewish
Keyword: chicken soup, Matzah ball soup, matzo ball soup
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Refrigerate matzo ball mix: 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 209kcal
Author: Jenny Levine Finke

Equipment

  • 2 large stock pots

Ingredients

For the Soup/Broth

  • 3-4 lbs bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks or thighs
  • 1 tbsp Kosher salt plus more for the broth, to taste
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 3 carrots chopped
  • 3 celery sticks chopped
  • 8 cups water
  • 1-2 chicken bouillon cubes optional, to taste
  • 4 scallions chopped, reserved for topping
  • fresh dill chopped, optional
  • gluten-free soup nuts optional

Matzah Balls

  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 package of matzo ball soup mix *see alternative instructions in the Notes when working with GF matzo meal
  • chicken broth or salted water

Instructions

For the Soup/Broth

  • Generously salt the chicken with Kosher salt. If chicken is Kosher, it is already salted so add less salt. Adjust to taste. Set aside.
  • Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in large stock pot, then add chicken and cook until lightly browned on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
  • Add carrots and celery to pan and cook until slightly softened, then add chicken back into the pot along with 8 cups of water. Bring broth to a boil, cover and lower heat to a simmer. Allow broth to simmer (rolling boil) for 2 or more hours. Skim fat off the top, if any, and discard. The soup will have a stronger chicken soup taste the longer you simmer the broth with the chicken pieces.
  • When broth is finished cooking, remove the chicken pieces and separate the meat from the skin, bones and fat. Add the meat back to the broth and discard the rest. Season soup with additional salt and/or chicken bouillon cubes, to taste.

For the Matzo Balls

  • In a medium bowl, combine eggs and oil and mix together with a fork. Add matzo ball soup mix and mix together with fork until well combined. (See notes for instructions for using matzo meal and baking powder.) Cover mixture and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer.
  • While mixture is chiling, bring a stock pot of salted water or chicken broth to a boil. While the water comes to a boil, form mixture into about 15-16 small balls and set aside. When water or broth is boiling, add matzo balls. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and allow matzo balls to cook for 30 minutes, undisturbed. The balls are ready when they float to the top and are soft and cooked through.
  • Remove matzo balls from broth (remember, they are sponges and should not be left in the broth) and place them in a rimmed glass dish. Place 1-2 matzo balls in a soup bowl, then top with hot chicken soup broth mixture (inclusive of chicken, carrots and celery), then top with scallions, dill and gluten-free soup nuts.

Notes

Nutrition Information:  Nutrition information is for the chicken soup only and NOT matzo balls. Please see the side panel of your matzo meal or mix for nutrition details.
Serving Size: Each serving is 2 matzo balls each plus broth (inclusive of chicken, carrots and celery). The soup is meant to be served as an appetizer, not a main course. If you are making it as the main course, you will want to make more matzo balls and broth. I always make extra. In fact, I make 2 balls per adult and 4 balls per kid. I know my kids and nieces always go back for seconds.
Don’t Deplete Your Broth: Do not cook matzo balls in the chicken broth you’re going to serve to guests as it will deplete your broth and you won’t have enough soup. 
Remove Balls from Liquid: Remember, matzo balls are sponges, so season the water you cook the matzo balls in with bouillon cubes and/or salt, and be sure to remove the balls from the liquid when they’re finished cooking to prevent them from overcooking and falling apart.
Read Labels: Make sure your chicken broth or bouillon cubes are not only Kosher for Passover, but also gluten free. Many Kosher for Passover bouillon cubes and broths contain gluten and questionable ingredients like yeast extract and maltodextrin. Beware.
Prepare Balls Ahead of Time: If preparing the matzo balls ahead of time, allow the hot balls to cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and place them in your fridge. About an hour before serving, place them on your countertop so they come to room temperature before adding them to individual portions of hot soup. Alternatively, add the cold balls to your hot broth and allow them to heat through before serving.

Nutrition

Sodium: 1140mg | Calcium: 32mg | Vitamin C: 3mg | Vitamin A: 3940IU | Sugar: 1g | Fiber: 1g | Potassium: 350mg | Cholesterol: 105mg | Calories: 209kcal | Trans Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Fat: 12g | Protein: 20g | Carbohydrates: 3g | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @GoodForYouGlutenFree or tag #goodforyouglutenfree!

Filed Under: Appetizers, Dinner, Jewish Holidays, Sides, Soup Leave a Comment

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Hi, I'm Jenny Levine Finke and am passionate about the gluten-free lifestyle. I'm a certified integrative nutrition coach and self-taught expert on [most] gluten-free things. I have celiac disease and know the struggles you're going through first-hand. This is why I've dedicated this blog to serving the celiac and gluten sensitive communities with important information, product and restaurant reviews, and simple recipes I hope you'll love. Read More…

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