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Instant Pot Albondigas Soup is a delicious Mexican meatball soup. The meatballs are very flavorful and bright with herbs, and the broth is savory and full of vegetables. Pressure cooker Albondigas Soup is a family favorite. Who doesn’t love meatballs?!
Instant Pot Albondigas Soup
The Instant Pot is so great for cooking soups. The flavors are infused, and more of the nutrients stay in there than with stove top cooking.
Today’s Instant Pot soup recipe is the amazing Albondigas.
This Instant Pot Albondigas Soup recipe shares a similarity with the equally amazing Italian Wedding Soup, but with a different flavor profile and more vegetables.
What is Albondigas?
Albondigas means ‘meatballs’ in Spanish (Pronounced: al-bon-dee-gus, emphasis on the “al”). This is a traditional Mexican meatball soup.
As with most recipes, the ingredients will vary by region, and by taste preference. You can switch up the meat and/or veggies to your taste!
Something Special in the Meatballs!
The special ingredient in the meatballs is spearmint! It adds a bright flavor to the meatballs that is delicious. Spearmint is way better than peppermint in this recipe.
I like to add a little fresh cilantro as well. If you don’t like mint, use all cilantro. If you don’t like cilantro, use all mint. The idea is to give the meatballs a fresh herb flavor.
Which Meat is best for Albondigas?
You can use ground beef, ground lamb, ground chorizo or other sausage, or a mixture of any two of these meats. You can also use ground turkey (80%-85% lean as you need the fat in there).
Rice in the Meatballs
This recipe calls for rice in the meatballs instead of breadcrumbs. Use rice that is cooked to al dente (not completely cooked), or use a parboiled rice such as Minute Rice®.
Instant Pot Hamburger Soup
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Instant Pot Creamy Lemon Chicken
Instant Pot Taco Soup
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If you make this wonderful Mexican pressure cooker Albondigas soup, please leave a comment below with a star rating. I’d love to know how you liked it!
Instant Pot Albondigas Soup
Equipment
- 6 t or 8 qt pressure cooker
- 1 Tbsp (.5 oz) #60 Scoop or a Tablespoon
Ingredients
Meatball Mixture
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- ¼ tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- ¼ tsp Pepper
- ½ tsp Cumin
- ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
- 2 tsp Oregano
- 1 lb Ground Beef, Turkey, Sausage, or a combination of any two
- 1 Tbsp Chopped Cilantro Leaves
- 3 Tbsp Fresh Spearmint Leaves, chopped fine
- ½ cup Cooked Rice, al dente (or par boiled rice)
Soup
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 lg Onion, chopped
- ¼ cup Celery, diced
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced fine
- 1 (14 oz can) Diced Tomatoes, with juice (undrained)
- 6 cups Chicken or Beef Broth, low sodium
- 1 cup Water
- 2 med Carrots, chopped
- 1 lg Potato, peeled & cubed
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 2 tsp Oregano
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 1 sm Zucchini, diced
- 1 cup Corn Kernels (frozen is fine), optional
- 1 (15 oz) can Cut Green Beans, drained
Garnish
- Cilantro, Sour Cream, Avocado, or whatever you like!
Instructions
Make the Meatball Mixture
- Whisk the egg in a mixing bowl, then add the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, cumin, cayenne pepper, and oregano. Mix well.
- Add the meat, cilantro leaves, spearmint leaves, and rice. Mix together until well combined. Set aside.
Make the Soup
- Turn on the Sauté setting. When hot, add the oil.
- Sauté the onion and celery until softened.
- Add the garlic, stirring constantly, and cook about 20-30 seconds.
- Add the can of diced tomatoes and stir.
- Add the broth, water, carrots, potato, bay leaf, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring to a simmer/low boil.
- Using the 1 Tbsp scoop or spoon, scoop out one meatball at a time and gently add them to the simmering soup.
- After all of the meatballs are in the soup, close the lid and seal it.
- Turn off the Sauté setting. Then press the Pressure Cook or Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 4 minutes. High Pressure. The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.
- When the cook cycle has finished, turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to Quick Release the steam/pressure. Watch it to be sure no broth spurts out with the steam. If it does, close the vent and release in bursts.
- When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid and very carefully stir the soup.
- Add the zucchini, corn, and green beans. Let the residual heat soften the vegetables before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Albondigas Soup recipe and more
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The taste is so delicious!i will highly recommend the recipe.
The potatoes do come out a little over done, but I will release in bursts to avoid this. Thank you again. If my mom was alive she would definitely agree.
Maria
Thanks for this great Instant Pot recipe, it is fantastic, Sandy! I used 2 lamb burger patties we had in the freezer, mixed half with ground beef and it turned out great for the third time! We will try the Wedding soup next. Tomas
Hi I was wondering if it is ok if I use regular uncooked rice? Or if it would stay hard if I did? I want to make this tonight for dinner, thanks!
have not made this with uncooked rice, however if you let it naturally release a few minutes before depressurizing, the rice should be cooked. If not fully cooked, just let it sit a few more minutes before serving.
It was my first time making Albondigas! I wanted a recipe for the IP and came across this one. It came out perfect loved all the flavor and smell! I didn’t have cooked rice but it did cook with the time I left it heating for the zucchini. Thanks again!
I actually made a few mistakes and put the zucchini in to soon. I had no cayenne, mixed chicken broth with beef broth.. Made it with ground venison. This is my second recipe in my new foodi deluxe and it was still delicious. We topped it with a dollop of sour cream and a half avacodo. My husband is not an emotive guy and he really loved it.
So glad it worked! Venison is wonderful!
Thank you it turned out great! I added some red pepper chili flakes for a lil spice.
I have made this soup 3 times everyone loves it.
Oh my gosh…first time ever using my Instant Pot for anything but rice and first time making this soup, which is my favorite. It turned out great. I did tweak and add some tumeric for inflammation and it was delicious. My family loved it.