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 mins
Cook Time20 minutes mins
Total Time30 minutes mins
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Guatemalan, Mexican
Servings: 4
Calories: 310kcal
Cost: $7
large cooking pot
Large Mixing Bowl
- 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)
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.
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.
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