Matzo Ball Mix substitute

Best substitute

Matzo meal plus your own seasoning

Use 1 cup matzo meal, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon pepper, 1 tablespoon chopped dill for every packet of mix

Best for matzo ball soup

Close match

This is the box's ingredient list reassembled. Whisk the dry ingredients together and use it exactly as the packet directs.

Other matzo ball mix substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Matzo you grind yourself
Close match
4 sheets of matzo makes about 1 cup of matzo meal
Break plain matzo into a food processor and run it until it is the texture of coarse sand, about 20 seconds.
What changes
Then season as above.
Best for
matzo ball soup, Passover cooking, when only whole matzo is in the house
Home-ground meal is slightly coarser and less even than commercial matzo meal, which actually gives a pleasantly rustic ball with a little more bite. Sift out any large shards or you will find hard bits in the middle. Otherwise identical.
3Fine unsalted cracker meal or ground panko
Different taste
Use the same amount for the matzo meal, then season as above
Grind unsalted crackers or panko to a sandy texture and use it in place of the matzo meal, keeping the salt, pepper, herbs and baking powder the same.
What changes
Best for
matzo ball soup outside Passover, dumplings in chicken soup, when no matzo is available
The balls come out slightly firmer and browner-tasting, with a toastier flavor than matzo gives, and cracker meal is often salted so taste before adding the teaspoon of salt. Neither is unleavened, so this is not an option during Passover. Perfectly good chicken soup dumplings the rest of the year.
4Potato starch and ground almonds, for a gluten-free version
Taste and texture differ
Use ¾ cup potato starch plus ¼ cup ground almonds for every cup of matzo meal
Combine with the same salt, pepper and herbs, and use three eggs instead of two because there is less starch structure to bind.
What changes
Best for
gluten-free guests, grain-free Passover, wheat allergy
The balls are noticeably denser, smoother and more slippery, closer to a gnocchi than a knaidel, and they are more fragile so handle them gently and simmer rather than boil. The almond gives a faint sweetness. It works, and it is clearly a different dumpling.
5Gluten-free or oat matzo meal
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount plus 1 extra egg per cup
Grind gluten-free or oat matzo and season as above.
What changes
The extra egg compensates for weaker binding.
Best for
gluten-free Passover, oat-matzo households
Oat matzo meal makes a browner, nuttier, slightly heavier ball with good structure. Potato-and-tapioca gluten-free matzo makes a paler, gummier one that needs gentler handling. Both are recognizably matzo balls, both are a little denser than wheat.
6Serve the soup with noodles or kreplach instead
Taste and texture differ
Per serving, as you like
If matzo balls are simply not happening, egg noodles, kreplach or even rice in the chicken soup fill the bowl.
What changes
Best for
weeknight chicken soup, when time has run out, children
This abandons the dumpling entirely and is worth saying plainly. Noodles are chewy and neutral rather than soft and savory, and they soak up broth in the bowl, so add them at the last minute. Nobody at a seder will consider this a matzo ball, but the soup is still good soup.

What is Matzo Ball Mix?

Matzo Ball Mix is boxed matzo meal, sold as knaidel or kneidlach mix, already blended with salt, dried onion and herbs and usually a little leavening, so it is a seasoning shortcut rather than a distinct ingredient.

Cooking tips

Seltzer is the single biggest lever on floaters versus sinkers. Half a cup of cold seltzer in place of water lightens the balls considerably. Beyond that, mix as little as possible, chill the mixture 30 minutes so the meal fully hydrates, and keep the pot covered the whole time it simmers.
Do not add baking powder if you are actually using a boxed mix, since most mixes already contain leavening and doubling it makes balls that blow apart in the pot. The quarter teaspoon in the scratch recipe above replaces what the box was providing.
Keep the water at a lazy simmer, never a rolling boil, and resist lifting the lid. Hard boiling tears the balls apart and every peek drops the temperature and stalls the rise.
Cook the matzo balls in salted water rather than in your soup. They shed matzo meal and cloud a clear golden broth, and they also drink up a surprising amount of it. Cook them separately and lower the finished balls into the soup to warm through.
Wet your hands with cold water between every ball and keep them loose. Packed, dry-handed balls come out as dense as pebbles, which is fine if sinkers are what your family expects and a disaster if they wanted floaters.
Schmaltz instead of oil is what makes matzo balls taste like the ones people remember. Two tablespoons of rendered chicken fat per cup of matzo meal adds savory depth that neutral oil cannot. Whether leavening in a Passover mix is acceptable is a question of your own household practice, so check the box and follow what your family does.

Frequently asked questions

Can I make matzo balls without a mix?

Yes, and it is a two-minute change. For each packet of mix use 1 cup matzo meal, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon pepper and a tablespoon of chopped dill, then follow the packet's instructions for eggs, fat and liquid. That is essentially what is inside the box, minus the extra sodium.

Is matzo ball mix the same as matzo meal?

No. Matzo meal is only ground matzo. The mix is matzo meal plus salt, dried onion or herbs and usually a chemical leavener. If you swap plain matzo meal for the mix without adding seasoning, the balls will taste flat and be denser, so add the salt, pepper, herbs and a pinch of baking powder yourself.

Can I just leave the matzo balls out of the soup?

You can, and you will have chicken soup, which is a fine thing. But at a seder or a holiday meal the knaidlach are usually the reason people are excited about the soup, so serve noodles, kreplach or rice if you cannot make them rather than sending out plain broth.

How do I get floaters instead of sinkers?

Use cold seltzer for the liquid, mix gently and only until combined, chill the mixture for at least 30 minutes, shape the balls loosely with wet hands, and simmer them covered in plenty of gently bubbling salted water for 30 to 40 minutes without lifting the lid. If you want sinkers, use water instead of seltzer, pack them firmly, and skip the baking powder.

What can I use if I have no matzo meal at all?

Grind four sheets of matzo to make a cup of meal, or outside Passover use fine unsalted cracker meal or ground panko in its place at 1:1. For a gluten-free version, three-quarters cup potato starch with a quarter cup ground almonds and an extra egg makes a denser but workable dumpling.

Related substitutes

More grains & starches substitutes

Matzo Ball Mix substitute

Other matzo ball mix substitutes

2Matzo you grind yourself

3Fine unsalted cracker meal or ground panko

4Potato starch and ground almonds, for a gluten-free version

5Gluten-free or oat matzo meal

6Serve the soup with noodles or kreplach instead