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The Best Swedish Meatballs are smothered in the most amazing rich and creamy gravy. The meatballs are packed with such delicious flavor. Savory, comforting and smothered with a sauce that melts in your mouth. You will quickly agree these are the BEST you have ever had!
Serve these scrumptious vittles over buttered noodles or rice with a Caesar Salad, Fruit Salad and Rolls for a dinner to satisfy!
The Best Swedish Meatballs
Swedish meatballs have always been super delectable, and Ikea has made them popular. With this recipe you can make them in the comfort of your own home without the making an adventure to the store. And I dare say they are even better! Super easy to make you’ll be surprised you haven’t made them sooner. So what are you waiting for?!
The secret to these heavenly swedish delights is the unique spices of allspice and nutmeg. And then in the sauce you add worcestershire sauce and dijon mustard for tantalizing flavor. The combination is irresistibly the best meatballs ever!
Swedish Meatball Ingredients
There’s a list of ingredients here, but don’t stress, it’s super simple and totally worth it.
- Ground Beef: Regular ground beef
- Bread Crumbs:Â I used Panko
- Parsley: Freshly chopped
- Allspice and Nutmeg: Trust me, these spices are what make it uniquely delicious.
- Onion: Finely chopped
- Garlic Powder: Gives flavor without the bulk.
- Salt and Pepper To taste.
- Egg: The binder for the meatballs
- Olive Oil: To brown the meatballs in.
- Butter: Creates the perfect flavor while helping the beef brown, you’ll add more for the sauce.
- Flour: The thickener.
- Beef Broth: Creates the base for the sauce
- Heavy Cream: This creates the creamy velvety sauce.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Secret ingredient that creates a rich flavor.
- Dijon Mustard: Spice
Constructing these Swedish Vittles
These will come together quick and cook in about 30 min total, so dinner is quick.
- Mix: In medium sized bowl combine ground beef, panko, parsley, all spicee, nutmeg, onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper and egg. Mix till combined.
- Roll: Roll into 12 large meatballs or 20 small meatballs. In a large skillet heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter.
- Brown: Add the meatballs and cook turning continuously until brown on each side and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.
- Sauce: In the same skillet add 4 Tablespoons butter and flour and whisk till it turns brown. Slowly stir in beef broth and heavy cream. Add the worcestershire sauce and mustard and bring to a simmer till it starts to thicken.
- Simmer: Add the meatballs back to the skillet and simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Tips and Variations
A few ideas to keep in mind for a dinner that’ll tickle the taste buds.
- Meat: You can use a combination of beef and pork for this recipe. Using pork add extra fat which will give a moist tender meatball. You can also use ground turkey, chicken or combination of meats.
- Spices:Â The nutmeg and allspice are unique to this swedish dish. Don’t leave them out if you want truly divine fare.
- Overmixing:Â Be Careful to not overmix the meat mixture or it can become tough.
- No Bread crumbs:Â You can get the same result by making a panade (bread and milk mixture) Use two pieces of bread and process till crumbs, add in 1/4 cup milk to create a paste. Add the egg and mix. Add to your meat mixture.
- Saute:Â For softer sweeter flavor to your onions saute them first.
- Bake:Â Brown the meatballs in the skillet in oil and butter. Then remove to a baking tray and finish cooking in the oven at 350 degrees F. till done. There shouldn’t be any pink.
- Cream:Â Do not substitute out the heavy cream for half and half, it could separate. You can also cut some of the cream for sour cream for a nice tang to the sauce.
Freezing and Storing
One of the best things about this recipe is I can double it and freeze some for another meal.
- Freeze:Â After cooking the meatballs transfer to a cookie sheet. Make sure they are not touching or they will freeze together. Freeze for 2-4 hours on the cookie sheet, then transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag. These will keep for up to 3 months. To thaw you can cook in the microwave,or oven. I like to partially cook them in the microwave and then finish heating them in the sauce.
- Don’t freeze the Sauce:Â Dairy, especially a sauce with heavy cream can sometimes separate when thawing and turn grainy. I don’t recommend it. Make the rich gravy fresh when ready to serve.
- Freezer to Pan: As long as you cook them through you can also freeze these raw and cook them in the pan the same way. They will take longer to cook through however. This is a great way for your meatballs to keep their shape. Frozen will hold up better than fresh. Just be sure to cook till no longer pink.
More Meatball Loving Recipes
Meatballs are just fun to eat and the flavors in these recipes are spot on!
- Saucy Asian Meatballs
- Easy, Delicious Porcupine Meatballs
- Chipotle Honey Meatballs
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Meatballs
- Slow Cooker Cranberry Balsamic Meatballs
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The Best Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup onion finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- â…› teaspoon Pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 5 tbsp. butter
- 3 tbsp. flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl combine ground beef, panko, parsley, allspice, nutmeg, onion, garlic powder, pepper, salt and egg. Mix until combined.
- Roll into 12 large meatballs or 20 small meatballs. In a large skillet heat olive oil and 1 Tablespoon butter. Add the meatballs and cook turning continuously until brown on each side and cooked throughout. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.
- Add 4 Tablespoons butter and flour to skillet and whisk until it turns brown. Slowly stir in beef broth and heavy cream. Add worchestershire sauce and dijon mustard and bring to a simmer until sauce starts to thicken. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the meatballs back to the skillet and simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Serve over egg noodles or rice.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I substitute the egg with something else
I have seen people use applesauce with baking powder but I have not tried that. Let me know how it turns out! XOXO
Meatballs are one of my “go-to” meals and I can usually spice them either up or down, depending on my sauce recipe. These were just okay.
I used a half & half mixture of pork and beef, and added just a touch of paprika for added taste. I baked them in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes, they were perfectly browned without the effort of frying. They looked great and were moist and tender. But for me, they tasted really bland. Even with the mustard, worchester sauce, and other spices, they tasted more like plain old burgers, nothing special. The sauce was good though, and the only cheat I had there was upping the salt and pepper to taste. But I cook only for myself, and don’t have to worry about toning down spices especially for kids. All in all, I will make them again but I’m going to doctor up the spice factor for a bit more punch. They were easy to make which is the main issue for me. Here’s a tip I learned from another blogger,** helpful for getting the most flavor from onion and breadcrumbs. I grate the onion and mix in the breadcrumbs**, and let that sit for about 20 minutes. The breadcrumbs absorb all the juice from the onions and keeps you from getting bites of raw onion in the final dish. It also gives the breadcrumbs lots of moisture which is sometimes missing when using a lean cut of meat. Thanks for posting this recipe, it gives a good basic start to a simple meal plan.
**NAGI: RecipeTinEats
I actually agree with you. This was my second time making this and I doctored it up by adding slap ya mama seasoning and the Tony’s Cajun seasoning as well. I thought the sauce needed more flavor so I added some chicken buillon cubes, seasoning salt, and sour cream. It turned out pretty good. Both of those seasonings will change your life! I recommend purchasing them!
I make mine with cream of mushrooms soup and sour cream, adding g in heavy cream all of these sound so good! Super bowl Sunday and swedish meatballs! Let’s go !
The thing is Swedish meatballs are all about the meat and texture with simple seasoning. Most of the flavour is in the sauce. If you’re used to more heavily flavoured meatballs then this probably isnt the right recipe for you.
To many comments on how you do your own recipe… If you have your own post it on another site… This is a basic fast dinner for moms on the go… Plus all the mistakes you made the first time or couple of times tells me to are a newbie to cooking…
I tried the recipe but I cheated and bought a bag of swedish meatballs and just made the sauce but tge sauce was wonderful! I added just a little allspice and nutmeg to the sauce just for extra flavor! Next time I will do it all from scratch. Delicious!
haha! That is awesome! I am so glad that it tasted great! That is a great idea! Thank you for sharing! XOXO
What do you think if I added some dill to this?
MMM! Sounds delicious!
This was delicious and so easy! I served mine over mashed potatoes and I could see this being great with some sautéed mushrooms added into the sauce… I’ll try that next time!
Thanks for this recipe. Exactly what I was seeking for tonight’s meal.
Could i use regular bread crumbs instead of panko?
Yes, that is a great idea! Enjoy!
Can you freeze this dish
Yes! That is a great idea and easy to warm up too! Thanks for following along with me! XOXO
I got complimented for this dish and was asked to repeat it another time. The sauce is the secret for this success. I cooked the meatballs in one skillet and cooked the sauce in another skillet before combining both. I only got 4 main course servings over egg noodles.
Can this be made a day ahead
Yes, that will be good! They are so good and easy to warm up. XOXO
Tested and my kids & hubs Love all these recipes.
The mongolian beef in crockpot recipe was absolutely delicious. My husband liked it also and he is a picky eater. Thanks i will try other recipes
I made this as a great base. I caramelized the garlic and added chopped mint leaves to the meat mixture and added a tablespoon of Lingonberry jelly to the sauce and didn’t have to add any salt or pepper at the end to taste. Spooned over egg noodles…fantastic!
Can I make this recipe with ground chicken and chicken broth?
Yes, that sounds great! Let me know how it turns out! XOXO
Absolutely positively delicious!!!!!! This was my first time ever making Swedish Meatballs, and decided to try this recipe! Thank you SO much for sharing your family recipe with us!!!!!! We love it!!!!!!! Yummmmmmm!!!!!
Yes this is the best Swedish meatball recipe. Thank you.
Any suggestions on how to prepare this in an instant pot?