Romanian Meatballs Sour Soup, or Ciorbă de Perișoare, is one of the most beloved Romanian recipes. This delicious soup is a staple in every household and a favorite in Romanian cuisine. Ask any Romanian and they’ll tell you, this is one of the first soups they grew up with.
I remember eating this soup since I was a child. My mom would make a big pot, especially on Sundays or when we had family over. The meatballs, small, tender, and full of flavor, were always my favorite part. We’d serve the soup hot, topped with a dollop of sour cream and a fresh chili pepper on the side. It was filling, comforting, and always made with love.
Most Romanian families make this soup all year round, not just in the cold months. We use fresh vegetables in the summer and frozen ones in the winter. It’s one of those dishes that works with what you have. Whether it’s lunch, dinner, or the next day’s leftovers, this soup never gets old. Children love it, adults crave it, and every cook has their own version.
However, Christmas and New Year's Eve are perfect opportunities to make this soup, as people believe that sour soups work perfectly for a hangover.
Jump to:
What is "ciorba"?
Romanian cuisine has many soup recipes, "ciorba" being the sour version. To say it better, a "ciorba" is a soup, but not every Romanian soup is ciorba.
These soups are made with vegetables and meat. What makes them different is the addition of vinegar, lemon juice, or sauerkraut juice. Sour cream is also used in abundance to complement the dish.
One of the most traditional herbs to flavor Romanian sour soups is the lovage. I know you can find it in the US, but personally, I never saw it in my area. I usually bring dried lovage from Romania when I visit or order it online on Amazon (affiliated link) when available.
Why You’ll Love This Traditional Romanian Soup
- It’s a hearty soup with vegetables, small meatballs, and just the right amount of rice.
- Uses simple ingredients like ground pork, ground beef, or even ground chicken.
- Packed with fresh herbs like parsley and fresh lovage for an authentic touch.
- The sourness is adjustable to your own preference.
- Great for leftovers and easy to store in an airtight container.
- Loved by kids and adults alike,this one pleases the whole family.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- Ground meat : You can use ground pork, ground beef, or a mixture. Ground chicken works well for a lighter version.
- Uncooked rice: Helps bind the meatballs and gives them a tender texture.
- Large egg: Holds the mixture together.
- Large onion: Adds moisture and flavor to the meatball mixture.
- Fresh parsley: Brightens the meatballs and balances the richness.
- Salt and black pepper: Simple seasoning to bring everything together.
For the Soup:
- Olive oil or vegetable oil: For sautéing the vegetables.
- Carrots: Add natural sweetness and color.
- Celery stalks or celery root: Contribute depth of flavor.
- Bell pepper: Optional, but adds a pop of color and sweetness.
- Large onions or green onions: Essential for building a flavorful base.
- Potatoes: Make the soup more filling and kid-friendly.
- Tomato paste or tomato sauce: Adds richness and a touch of acidity.
- Chicken broth, vegetable broth, or liters of water: The base of the soup. Use low sodium if needed.
- Fresh lovage or chopped parsley: Classic Romanian herbs that give the soup its distinct flavor.
- Optional: Chili peppers – Serve on the side for those who like some heat.
How To Make Ciorbă de Perișoare
Step 1: Prep Your Veggies: Chop all your root vegetables: carrots, celery, onions, bell pepper. Peel and dice the potatoes but set them aside.
Step 2: Sauté the Vegetables: In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Sauté the vegetables (except potatoes) for 3–4 minutes until fragrant.
Step 3: Add Broth and Tomato Paste: Pour in chicken broth, vegetable broth, or liters of water. Add the tomato paste or sauce. Bring to a boil, then lower to medium-low heat. Let simmer for 10–15 minutes. Add potatoes next.
Step 4: Make the Meatball Mixture: In a large bowl, combine your meatball ingredients: ground meat, raw rice, beaten egg, diced onion, chopped parsley, salt, and pepper. Mix everything until it sticks together like a paste.
Note: These meatballs are not made with breadcrumbs, like the Italian ones, for example. We use only plain rice in the mixture.
Step 5: Form the Meatballs: With wet hands, shape the mixture into small meatballs and gently drop them into the soup.
Step 6: Simmer: Cook for another 10–15 minutes. The meatballs will rise to the top once they’re done. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
Step 7: Add the Sour Element: Use lemon juice, citric acid, sauerkraut juice, or pickled cabbage juice to sour the soup. Start with 1–2 tablespoons and adjust to your own preference.
Step 8: Garnish and Serve: Sprinkle in chopped parsley or fresh lovage. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream, a slice of crusty bread, and hot soup on the table. Add chili peppers for extra zing. Serve hot with fresh slices of bread.
Storage Tips
Reheat on the stove or microwave. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freeze up to 6 months. Let come to room temperature before refrigerating or freezing.
Serve it with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt. It also goes well with spicy, hot peppers like the ones in this recipe.
Recipe FAQs
It’s a type of soup in Romanian cuisine that’s traditionally soured with ingredients like lemon juice, bors, or sauerkraut juice.
Yes! Romanian children grow up loving this soup. It’s mild, balanced, and the small meatballs are always a hit. It is also nutritionally balanced, as it has protein, vegetables, and a small amount of rice.
If you grew up with this soup like I did, leave a comment and share your memories. And if this is your first time making it,welcome! I hope it becomes one of your go-to soup recipes too.
More Recipes to Love
- Romanian Meatballs (Chiftele) Recipe
- Chicken Soup With Sour Cream And Garlic
- Traditional Romanian Sour Soup with Pork and Vegetables
- Instant Pot Beef Vegetable Soup
- 43 Chicken Soup Recipes Made From Scratch
Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Romanian Meatball Soup (Ciorba De Perisoare)
Equipment
- 1 6 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground meat pork, beef or a mixture of both
- ¼ cup uncooked rice long grain
- 1 medium onion diced
- ½ bunch of parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
For the soup:
- 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil or extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 medium size carrots diced
- 2-3 celery stalks diced or one small celery root diced
- 1 medium onion diced, or 2-3 diced green onions
- 1 medium bell pepper diced
- 3-4 medium potatoes peeled and chopped in cubes
- ½ cup tomato sauce or 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 cups water or chicken broth
- ½ bunch parsley chopped or lovage-as it is traditional
- Optional: hot peppers sour cream, or yogurt for serving.
Instructions
- Clean and chop/dice the vegetables.
- In a soup pot, pour oil and add the chopped vegetables except for the potatoes. The potatoes cook faster than the other vegetables, so they go into the pot later. Saute the vegetables until they develop the flavor, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add water or chicken broth. Add tomato paste or tomato sauce and cubed potatoes. Simmer the soup until the vegetables are half cooked, about 10-15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the ground meat, rice, egg, chopped onion, parsley, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Mix everything to incorporate all the ingredients and make a paste. Set aside.
- With wet hands, grab a dollop of the meat mixture and roll it between your palms to create a meatball. Keeping your hands wet, drop the meatballs into the soup.
- Let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes so the meatballs get cooked. Taste for salt.
To make the soup sour:
- Add two tablespoons of vinegar or lemon juice. Taste and add some more as you prefer.
- Chop the parsley and sprinkle it over the soup.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt and hot peppers.
Sean says
You mention Lovage. When and how much do you add to the soup?
The Bossy Kitchen says
Hi Sean,
The same way you would add parsley, you add chopped fresh lovage or dried. At the end, before you take the soup pot off the heat.
Sean Dobbs says
Duh, of course. 🙂 Thanks
The Bossy Kitchen says
🙂
Mihaela says
How are you making it sour? Aren't you using sauerkraut juice or "bors"?
The Bossy Kitchen says
Hi Mihaela, it says in the article : "We make[the soups] them sour by using vinegar, lemon juice, sauerkraut juice etc. We also use a lot of sour cream to complement the "ciorba"." You are right, if you live in Romania, you can use sauerkraut juice or "bors", but most people in United States do not have access to these ingredients, so another option is to use lemon juice or a little bit of vinegar. Bors is definitely not available here or heard of.
Kimberly says
Delicious! One of my favourite soups. Reminds me of my childhood. I have missed the Romanian cooking of my childhood and am looking forward to adding these recipes to my dinner rotation. In SE Pa we do not have Romanian stores. You can actually get Bors on Amazon. I use the vinegar lemon juice or sauerkraut as we are gluten-free.
Gabriela says
This is indeed a good soup. There are a few more Romanian recipes on the blog that you might like. Check them out! Thank you for visiting.
Mihaela says
That'S true. I live in Toronto and consider myself lucky to have a Romanian store close to my home where I can find lots of Romanian products, among them of course borsh and sauerkraut juice. And for this kind of soups (chorba ) the lovage is a must which I have plenty in my backyard.
I am glad I found your website with lots of Romanian recipes I know from my childhood and which I missed a lot since I left Romania 40yrs. ago. I can't wait to make the no bake orange mousse cake. It looks exactly like my mother used to make. Thank you for making known the wonderful Romanian cuisine.
The Bossy Kitchen says
You are very lucky. Here in Minnesota we do not have any Romanian store. I bring a lot of dried ingredients from Romania when I visit. I stock up on dried lovage and other spices for my specific recipes. Thank you for visiting and I hope you make that cake. It is absolutely delicious and so popular back there!
Mihaela says
For sure I will and I hope my family will love it as much as they like the cremschnit.
RE the meatballs sour soup I made and it was delicious with sauerkraut juice and fresh lovage. Even my son in law, who is not romanian and tried it for the first time, loved it.
Carol says
I am wondering about that orange mousse cake mentioned here. If I look it up I find Orange Charlotte and some other recipes but nothing looks like the orange mousse. Can you tell me what the name is?
Gabriela says
I think the recipe is the Orange Charlotte Cake. The inside of the cake is an orange mousse made with orange juice.
Claudia says
I never heard or seen anyone put celery and potatoes in the perisoare soup. Onion, carrots, red and green pepper yes.
The Bossy Kitchen says
Hi Claudia, I would suggest you do some more research on this matter. This type of soup is made with vegetables you have available each season, and that could be carrots, parsley root, parsnip, potatoes, celery root(celeriac), red/green peppers, sometimes zucchini etc. Each Romanian makes it different and it is not a right or wrong way to cook it. I also adapted this recipe to fit the ingredients I have available in the US. For example celeriac is not wildly available, so I replaced it with green celery, to be closer to the taste I know from my childhood.My family always put potatoes in this soup and also all kinds of root vegetables, especially in the winter. You can skip the potatoes if you do not like them. The rest of the vegetables bring flavor to the soup and also nutrients, so why not add them?
Joseph says
great answer. folks think before ya post !! no lovage ,yet will grow this soon,200 sq ft garden in progress ,,will make this soup with Italian parsley got plenty in containers nuttin like home grown. will make those meatballs raw rice intriguing. some stuffed cabbage calls for raw but never seems to cook wit for me Ill try anyway ,and also try some with ardent rice and post after I make this recipe ,,,thank you ,,,from a Lithuanian Italian Polish. old man
Cristina says
WOW - I thought I knew how to make soup and hardly ever followed a recipe. This one is beyond excellent, all the flavors blended nicely reminding me of Romania. Even without the lovage which doesn´t exist here where I live, it came out perfect, splendid taste. Thank you Gabriela!
The Bossy Kitchen says
Thank you, my friend! I am happy you liked the soup, this recipe is a good one indeed!
Joseph says
Is the rice raw or cooked ??
The Bossy Kitchen says
it is raw rice.
Heather says
This recipe sounds great! What type of vinegar do you recommend using? White? Red wine?
The Bossy Kitchen says
Both kinds of vinegar are OK to use.
Joseph says
great soup. willl pickled hot peppers change this recipe in stead of vinegar if so how many would I add. and should I cut them up ????
Gabriela says
Hi Joseph, for an authentic Romanian flavor, I recommend seasoning the soup with regular vinegar or lemon juice. Using the vinegar from pickled hot peppers might make the soup too spicy and overpower the traditional flavors. Traditionally, the soup is served with hot peppers, either fresh or pickled, on the side. However, if you enjoy spicy soups, feel free to experiment with your idea! I'd love to hear how it turns out.