I haven’t had a matzah ball for years. These soup dumplings are traditionally made from matzah meal and eggs and served with chicken soup.
But for the first time in years, I decided to make soup with matzah balls for Passover. I previously tried an almond flour version but it wasn’t a hit in my family.
I was inspired by the new kind of gluten free flour available now from Otto’s Naturals – Cassava flour. It can be used as a 1:1 replacement for wheat flour in many recipes so I thought it should work for grain-free matzah balls.
My first two tries came out very dense (no difference if I mixed the egg whites separately or not). For my third try – I added more liquid to the mix and that came out great! I served it with my ginger chicken soup that I make in my slow cooker for an easy and delicious starter.
Please share your feedback if you make tweaks to this recipe! I did not have time to attempt the seltzer water version – maybe next year 🙂 but let me know if you do!
Gluten-free and Nut-free Matzah Balls
For denser dumplings omit the water/stock. The turmeric and parsley are optional but adds great flavor to the dumplings.
4 large eggs
1/3 cup chicken stock or water (try seltzer water for fluffier matzah balls)
1/4 cup melted fat – rendered chicken fat (schmaltz), beef tallow, or olive oil
1 cup Otto’s Cassava Flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1-2 tablespoons chopped parsley or other herb (try dill or cilantro)
1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl whisk the eggs, chicken stock or water, and fat until well combined. Add the flour, spices and herbs and whisk until no lumps remain.
2. Refrigerate for a few hours.
3. Fill a large pot with salted water or chicken stock and bring to a boil.
4. Form the mixture into small balls (I like using a 1/2 tablespoon size cookie scoop) and drop them into the boiling water. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for about 30 minutes.
5. Add matzah balls to your chicken soup or store in a covered container in the refrigerator. If refrigerating, simmer matzo balls for 15 minutes in your chicken soup before serving.
These look delicious! I have struggled with finding a gluten free healthy matzoh ball recipe I liked. I actually skipped them this year for Passover and served the other traditional foods we usually enjoy. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I will have to look up this cassava flour. I’m encouraged that it can be used 1:1 for wheat flour!
Julie recently posted..March 2015 Reading
These were pretty darned good! Glad I found your blog. Thanks!
Thanks for the feedback!
Has anyone tried freezing them? Would like to prepare these before the holiday.
have you tried making them ahead of time (say a day or so)? My experience with other cassava flour recipes is that they are great at first but then they get gluey and chewy the longer they are in the fridge before eating. Just wondering if that would happen to the matzo balls.
I haven’t tried making it more than a day ahead. Let me know your experience if you do.