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Healthy meatball soup in a bowl with turkey meatballs and chayote.
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5 from 34 votes

Sopa de Albondigas (Healthy Meatball Soup)

This delicious sopa de albondigas (meatball soup) is a traditional Guatemalan dish that's easy to make and low in carbs. Serve it with rice, avocado and homemade corn tortillas for a meal the whole family will love.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Guatemalan, Mexican
Servings: 4
Calories: 310kcal
Cost: $7

Equipment

  • large cooking pot
  • Large Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
  • 1 small Tomato (chopped, with seeds and liquid removed)
  • 1 small Onion (chopped)
  • 1 pound Lean Ground Beef
  • 10 Mint Leaves (chopped, reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)
  • Cilantro (chop a generous handful, reserve 1 tablespoon for garnish)
  • 1 Egg (beaten)
  • ½ cup Soft Breadcrumbs toasted
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • ½ tsp Pepper
  • 6 cups Beef Broth (homemade or Campbells Low Sodium, Ready to Use Beef Broth recommended)
  • 1 Huisquil (cut into quarters, also known as chayote)
  • 1 cup Carrot (julienned)

Instructions

  • Heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Fry the tomato and onion until softened, but not browned. Allow to cool to room temperature.
  • Mix the softened vegetables with the ground beef, mint, cilantro, egg, bread crumbs, salt, and pepper. Allow it to cool in the refrigerator while you slice the vegetables.
  • Form meat mixture into small, firm meatballs.
  • Meanwhile, bring beef broth to boil in a large Dutch Oven or soup pot and reduce heat to a simmer.
  • Drop meatballs gently, one at a time, into the simmering broth.
  • When the meatballs have floated to the top, add the sliced huisquil and julienned carrots, and simmer until the vegetables are tender.
  • Sprinkle with reserved cilantro and mint.

Notes

Simmer the broth very gently at a low temperature so the meatballs don't fall apart while they're cooking. 
Skim the fat from the top of the soup. If you use a higher fat ground meat you will need to cool the soup a bit before skimming.
Don't skip the fresh herbs when serving. It adds a nice punch of flavour to the soup.
Please Note: Nutritional information is created by online calculators and is not guaranteed to be accurate as the figures are only estimates. 

Nutrition

Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 111mg | Sodium: 1165mg | Potassium: 1391mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 5701IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 4mg