Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup with Roasted Parsnip, Ginger, and Basil Broth (Instant Pot Friendly)

Richly flavoured, herbal and savoury, Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup with Roasted Parsnip, Ginger, and Basil Broth will delight and satisfy all of the eaters at your table. Roasted vegetables, ginger, and fresh herbs flavor the aromatic broth, which is Instant Pot friendly. The broth can easily be made in advance, ready when you are to receive and cook pillowy matzo balls enriched with olive oil and subtly spiced with basil, ground coriander, and a touch of fresh grated ginger. It all comes together in a comforting and fragrant bowl of soup that can rival traditional versions, with golden hued broth, fluffy matzo balls, tender slices of carrot and parsnip, a sprinkle of savoury nigella seed, and fresh lemon and basil adding a balancing note of brightness.

Sisters have the best soup advice

I owe the genesis of this soup, and in general my success as a matzo ball soup maker to my two sisters, both of whom create the most effortlessly delicious matzo ball soups. My sisters taught me to add ginger and parsnip to flavour and sweeten the broth, to add extra seasoning to the matzo ball mix to banish blandness, to delicately handle the matzo balls so they have that “just right” fluffy texture, and above all, to refrain from putting the matzo ball mix into the fridge, no matter what the matzo ball mix packet says! Like so many comforting, delicious, and meaningful culinary traditions, this soup is the product of familial know-how, and all the better for it.

Homemade broth

For a truly excellent vegetarian matzo ball soup, a homemade broth is a must, and because memories of savoury chicken broth are hard to beat, the homemade broth for this soup has a straightforward two stage process to enrich and develop deeper flavour.

First the parsnips, carrots, leeks, onions, garlic, and ginger are roasted for about 30 minutes, imparting a deeper richness to the resulting broth than raw vegetables. At many times of the year parsnips and carrots are storage vegetables, so unless your produce is freshly picked, the skins can be bitter and are better off removed. However, there’s no need to remove the skins of the onion, garlic, or ginger, as they help contribute both flavour and a beautiful natural tawny colour, and will be removed when the broth is strained. 

Instant Pot or stovetop, it's up to you!

Once the roasted vegetables are nicely browned, they are combined in the Instant Pot, or on the stovetop, with water, the fresh ingredients, and spices. Here, fresh basil, celery, parsley, and bay leaves add green herbal notes, and black pepper and coriander seed add earthy tones. Dried kombu adds minerals and an umami flavour boost, and a slice of fresh turmeric helps to develop that familiar bronzed hue.

If you’re using the Instant Pot, 5 minutes of cooking time may seem strangely short for a broth which otherwise takes an hour on the stove. As the broth contains a large volume of water and vegetable ingredients, the Instant Pot takes a while to come up to pressure (about 15 minutes in my IP) and then again quite a bit of time releasing the pressure (about 45 minutes in my IP) so actually the overall heating, steeping, and cooking time is equivalent to that of the stovetop cooking time. The great thing about using the Instant Pot is that it is almost totally hands off, with no checking or stirring required, freeing you up to complete other tasks.

Getting ahead

Once the broth has cooked and cooled, it is strained through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth to catch all of the vegetable matter and spices, leaving you with a rich, burnished broth ready to turn into matzo ball soup. If you want to get ahead, as I usually do, you can always make the broth a day or two before you plan to use it, and store it in the fridge, or make it even longer ahead and freeze the broth in glass jars, defrosting it before heating and proceeding with the rest of the recipe. 

Matzo ball magic

When your broth is made and you are ready to create your soup, the matzo ball mixture is quickly assembled with store bought matzo ball mix, and enriched with extra virgin olive oil, slivered basil, ground coriander, freshly grated ginger, and black pepper. No matter what other recipes or even the package instructions demand, do not refrigerate your matzo ball mix! In my experience, this leads to dense, leaden matzo balls, so follow my sisters’ imperative and refrain from refrigeration.

20 minutes to comfort

As the matzo ball mixture firms up at room temperature, the prepared broth can be heated up, with extra fresh basil and finely slivered carrots and parsnips added to cook at the same time as the matzo balls. You can pre scoop and shape the matzo balls before gently adding them to the hot broth, or if you are a speed scooping demon, you can scoop the matzo balls directly into the soup.

If you want the absolute lightest and fluffiest matzo balls, don’t roll your balls much if at all after scooping - your cooked matzo balls will look a bit more rustic but they will be heavenly pillows. If you like a slightly firmer matzo ball and prefer a more finished rounded matzo ball aesthetic, gently roll your matzo balls with oiled hands. 

Once your matzo balls are delivered into their hot broth destiny, only 20 minutes of unattended cooking stands between you and a finished bowl of Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup with Roasted Parsnip, Ginger, and Basil Broth. I hope you enjoy this soup as part of your Passover table, or anytime the craving for a comforting and delicious bowl of homey goodness arises.

Special thanks to Debra Gellman and Mimi Gellman for their inspiration in creating this recipe.

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Print Recipe

Vegetarian Matzo Ball Soup with Roasted Parsnip, Ginger, and Basil Broth (Instant Pot friendly)

Richly flavoured, herbal and savoury, this deeply amber vegetarian broth cradling tender and fluffy matzo balls will delight and satisfy all of the eaters at your table. Roasted vegetables, ginger, and fresh herbs flavor the aromatic broth, pillowy matzo balls are enriched with olive oil and subtly spiced with basil, ground coriander, and a touch of fresh grated ginger - it all comes together in a comforting and fragrant bowl of soup that can rival traditional versions.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 50 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings. Each serving is 1 matzo ball and approximately 1.5 cups of broth

Ingredients

• For the roasted vegetable broth:
• 5-6 carrots approx. 700 gm, prepared and divided as noted
• 5-6 parsnips approx. 700 gm, prepared and divided as noted
• 2 leeks white and light green parts, approx 300 gm
• 1 head garlic
• 1 large knob ginger approx. 50 gm
• 1 large sweet onion
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 stalks celery approx. 100 gm
• 1 bunch parsley
• 2 large handfuls basil divided as noted
• 1 small knob turmeric approx. 10 gms
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon whole dried coriander seed
• 1 piece dried kombu
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 8-9 cups water
• For the matzo ball mixture:
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 packet store bought matzo ball mix
• ½ teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 heaping tbsp finely slivered basil
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• Freshly ground black pepper
• For garnish:
• Two basil leaves per bowl
• 1 lemon thinly sliced into 6 half moon slices
• nigella seeds optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Prepare the vegetables: peel the carrots and parsnips, then thinly slice on the diagonal until you have about ¾ cup of each, and reserve for later. With the remainder of the peeled carrots and parsnips, chop roughly into medium size pieces for roasting.
• Trim the leeks of their roots and dark green parts, leaving only the lighter green and white sections. Cut the leeks in half lengthwise and then into half, so that you have manageable sections that you can thoroughly rinse under running water to remove any grit that might be hiding between the layers.
• Cut the head of garlic in half widthwise, cut the chunk of ginger in half, and cut the onion in half, reserving one half for another use. No need to remove the skin from any of these items.
• Put the prepared carrots, parsnips, leeks, garlic, ginger, and half the onion into a large roasting pan with 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Toss to coat and roast for 30-40 minutes until well browned, turning the veg around a few times while roasting. Remove from the oven and set aside.
• While the vegetables are roasting, roughly chop the celery. Wash the parsley and the basil, reserving one big handful of basil for later on, and cut the turmeric in half lengthwise, reserving one half for another use.
• If using an Instant Pot: Put the remaining basil, all of the parsley, and the celery into the stainless steel inner pot of your Instant Pot. Add the salt, black pepper, coriander seeds, kombu, bay leaves, and one piece of turmeric. Scrape the roasted veggies out of the roasting pan and add to the other ingredients in the inner pot, and then pour in 8-9 cups of fresh water. Place the inner pot into the Instant Pot, secure the lid with the pressure release valve set to “sealing”, and set to cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. *See important note about releasing the pressure of your Instant Pot.
• If using the stovetop: Follow the instructions as above, but instead of using the Instant Pot, use a heavy bottomed pot, such as a dutch oven or stock pot. Bring the ingredients to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer vigorously for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• For all methods: Once your broth is cooked, allow it to cool. Set up a large fine mesh strainer lined with reusable cheesecloth over a large bowl. Ladle all of the cooked ingredients and liquid into the lined strainer and let drain. Press down with a large wooden spoon, and/or gather up the cloth and squeeze out as much flavourful goodness as you can. Compost the remaining vegetable matter left in the strainer, and either proceed with the recipe or decant the broth into glass jars and refrigerate/freeze.
• Make the matzo ball mix: Loosely following the packet instructions, combine 2 eggs and 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a medium size bowl and whisk until evenly mixed. Add the matzo ball mix, the grated ginger, slivered basil, ground coriander, and about 4 grinds of freshly ground black pepper. Mix well until fully combined, cover the bowl, and leave out on the counter for at least 15-20 minutes until the mixture has fully hydrated and thickened considerably.
• To cook the matzo balls and finish the soup: If you want, you can pre scoop or roll your matzo balls just before putting them in the soup. Set out a piece of parchment paper or other non-stick surface, and using a 1.5” diameter ice cream scoop, scoop out your matzo balls ; you should be able to get 6 or 7 matzo balls from the mix. You can also use a spoon; your matzo balls should be about 2 tablespoon of prepared mix each. If you want the absolute lightest and fluffiest matzo balls, don’t roll your balls much if at all after scooping - your cooked matzo balls will look a bit more rustic but they will be heavenly pillows. If you like a slightly firmer matzo ball and prefer a more finished rounded matzo ball aesthetic, gently roll your matzo balls with oiled hands, trying not to compress them very much. The unrolled and more rustic matzo balls do leave more matzo ‘bits’ in the broth, whereas the rolled balls leave the soup with less sediment, so keep that in mind, but for me, the softness of the almost unrolled matzo balls is preferable.
• Pour your completed broth into a large heavy bottomed pot such as a dutch oven. If your broth amounts to less than 9 cups add an additional cup of fresh water to top it up as the broth will reduce again during this next stage. Heat the pot over medium high heat until your broth is at a steaming simmer, then taste for salt. Add more if needed but undersalt slightly. Add the reserved finely sliced carrots and parsnips and one big sprig of basil from the amount you reserved earlier, continuing to keep a handful aside for the final garnish.
• Bring the broth to a vigorous simmer just short of a rolling boil, then gently place your prepared matzo balls into the broth - you can also just scoop your matzo balls directly in the hot broth without pre-preparing them if you can work quickly enough to get them all in within about a minute. Cover tightly with a lid and reduce heat to a moderate simmer until thoroughly cooked, about 20 minutes.
• While the matzo balls are cooking, prepare the garnish for the soup: set out your soup bowls and place a half moon of lemon and 2 basil leaves into each bowl. When the matzo balls are thoroughly cooked, gently ladle one matzo ball into each bowl, followed by a few slices each of cooked carrot and parsnip and a generous ladle of broth - each serving should be about 1.5 cups of broth give or take a little bit. Sprinkle a few nigella seeds on top of the soup and serve. Enjoy!

Notes

Important safety note: Once your Instant Pot has completed its cooking time, DO NOT release the pressure manually (as this will put you at risk of releasing boiling hot liquid out of the pressure release valve). Let the pressure release naturally on its own, making sure the locking pin has released and dropped down, and no more pressure remains inside the pot before you slowly unlock and remove the lid.