Beetroot Kubbeh Soup Recipe

3.50 from 56 votes
A white bowl filled with a vibrant red soup containing chunks of vegetables and what appear to be meatballs, placed on a wooden surface.

Beetroot kubbeh soup is a Jewish-Iraqi dish that is very popular in Israel during winter time (in Hebrew: marak kubbeh selek). Kubbeh are semolina dumplings filled with delicious meat mixture and cook in beetroot soup. There are several types of kubbeh. This is my favorite; beetroot kubbeh soup (also known as red kubbeh soup). This soup is the perfect comfort food for cold winter days.

A white bowl filled with a vibrant red soup containing chunks of vegetables and what appear to be meatballs, placed on a wooden surface.

Beetroot Kubbeh Soup Recipe

3.50 from 56 votes
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
WORK TIME 30 minutes
DIFFICULTY Medium
Cuisine Middle eastern
Servings 8 yields

Ingredients
 

For the dumplings:

  • 400 g 14oz Ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 Onion grated
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Paprika
  • 1 tablespoon Baharat
  • ½ bunch Parsley chopped
  • 3 cups 500g Semolina
  • 1½ cups 360ml Water

For the soup:

  • 2 tablespoons Oil
  • 1 Onion large
  • 3 Beetroots chopped
  • 3 Celery stalks chopped
  • 2 tablespoon Tomato paste
  • 2 teaspoons Paprika
  • 2 liters 8 cups Water
  • 2-3 tablespoons Lemon juice
  • Salt
  • 2 tablespoons Sugar

Instructions
 

  • DIRECTIONS
    1. Make the dumplings: in a large bowl stir semolina and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add water and stir again until all parts of the semolina are covered with water. Let sit for 20-30 minutes to absorb the liquids.
    2. Meanwhile make the meat mixture: in a large bowl, place meat, chopped onion, chopped parsley, oil and spices. Mix well until all combined.
    3. Shape the kubbeh balls: with wet hands, take a small ball from the dough, flatten each ball, placing a 1-2 tablespoons of the meat mixture in the center and closing the dough around the meat. Arrange all the kubbeh balls. At this point you can freeze some of the balls for the next time.
    4. Make the soup: heat oil in a large pot over low-medium heat. Add chopped onions, sauté until translucent, add celery, beets, paprika, tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes.
    5. Add sugar, salt, water and fresh lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, carefully drop the kubbeh into the hot soup, one at the time, without crowding them.
    6. Put the lid on and simmer for 40-60 minutes, if the soup become too thick, add some water.
    7. Turn the heat of and serve.
    Notes:
    • You can freeze the kubbeh before boiling.
    • Baharat is a middle eastern spice mix.
    More recipes you may like:

Video

YouTube video
Nutrition information is automatically generated and thus we can not guarantee it is 100% accurate.

One Comment

  1. this instructive video is excellent. I’ve made this soup but with cooked meat filling and this looks much easier to manage to make the dumplings with raw meat mixture I first had this delicious soup in Israel and searched for a great recipe. I have made it several times but always had difficulty with the dumplings. I had to add flour to make it all stick together. this recipe solves the problem and I can’t wait to try it. thank you

    August 1, 2023
3.50 from 56 votes (56 ratings without comment)

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