Plate Diaries

Food & Family

Trader Joes Albondigas soup

Albondigas is one of FAVORITE dishes, whenever I am out to eat and they have it on the menu I always order it.

Another thing I love about this soup is you can customize it so many ways.  Its an easy thing to make if you have veggies you want to use up, and you can totally make it meatless too!

All my ingredients for this recipe came from Trader Joes!

For Meatballs
  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice, I used Basmati
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh oregano chopped or about 1 tbsp dry oregano ( I used dry)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
For Soup
  • 1/2 onion chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 large carrot chopped to your liking
  • 2 medium potatoes peeled and chopped into 1 inch cubes
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 3 cups water
  • 14.5 oz diced tomatoes 
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • juice from 1/2 lemon
  • dash of cayenne pepper
  • fresh cilantro or parsley for garnish
  • Top with cojita or shredded Cheese and add in sliced avocado
Instructions
  1. In a bowl add all the meatball ingredients together and mix well. Shape into meatballs about 1 inch in diameter. You should get about 30 to 35 meatballs, depending on how big you make them. Place meatballs in fridge until ready to add to soup.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom 5 qt pot to medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until onion is translucent, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add chopped carrots and potatoes to pot and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until you get a nice caramelization going.
  3. Add broth, water and can of tomatoes and seasonings. Bring to a boil and turn down heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
  4. Add meatballs to pot one at a time, slowly. Using a wooden spoon slowly stir. Cover and let cook over low to medium heat for another 15 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through. Add lemon juice  herbs, cheese and avocado. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Note:  You can also crock pot this recipe!