Whether you’re a big fan of matzo ball soup or have never tried it before, we’re sure you’ll love this vegan adaptation of the classic Jewish recipe. With his signature fluffy dumplingsthis humble and comforting stew will have you coming back for more.
For this plant-based spin, we started with a pot of vegetable broth in which we boiled diced carrots, onions, and celery. Then we made the dumplings with a mixture of matzo flour, flaxseed, nutmeg and ginger. Finally, we cooked the matzo balls in the broth until they were spongy and served everything with a good pinch of fresh parsley.
If you are unfamiliar with this dish, matzo ball soup is a traditional meal served during the Jewish holiday of Passover. The dumplings are made from matzo flour combined with beaten eggs and chicken fat to form a moist dough. These soft balls are slowly simmered in chicken broth until nicely puffed; they are a real delight! But the classics are not vegan. We’re changing that.
What makes the dumplings so tasty for us is the matzo itself. Matzo meal is nothing but matzo crispbread ground into flour. This flame-baked, unleavened bread gives ball dough a unique charred flavor that we absolutely love. If you can’t find matzo flour, we’ll show you how to make it from matzo crackers.
The main problem with making vegan matzo balls without eggs is keeping the matzo meal together. Because the meal is already baked, it doesn’t behave exactly like flour; and without the eggs holding the batter together, the balls can quickly fall apart as they cook. Luckily we have flaxseed! When combined with water, these tiny seeds form a gel that binds the ingredients in a similar way to eggs. Also, flax seeds are allowed during Passover, so you don’t have to worry if you’re celebrating this festival.
Preparing this soup is super easy and can be made into only 30 minutes, perfect for a quick family dinner. A large bowl delivers less than 400 caloriesand it only covers 15% RDI of carbohydrates nearly half your RDI for fiber. Impressively!