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This Swedish meatball recipe is a top favorite recipe on the site for a reason! Juicy meatballs, rich creamy gravy, and SO MUCH FLAVOR! They’re easy to make and, in my opinion, way better than IKEA’s.
Reasons This Recipe is the BEST!
- Fan Favorite: With 400+ five-star reviews, these meatballs are actually the best.
- Creamy Sauce: The secret lies in the sauce. It’s rich, creamy, and full of flavor thanks to classic spices. You will be licking the spoon, I promise.
- Better than IKEA: Ever had IKEA Swedish Meatballs? These ones are so easy and WAY better!
A Reader’s Review
This is my absolute favorite Swedish meatball recipe. The flavor is mouthwatering. Thank you for sharing this with us!
-Renee
Ingredients in Swedish Meatballs
- Use lean ground beef: It helps keep the meatballs tender without making them greasy.
- Spices: Trust me, nutmeg and allspice are what make these Swedish meatballs special. Don’t skip them if you want that authentic flavor.
- No Panko Breadcrumbs? No Problem: If you’re out of breadcrumbs, make a panade by blending two pieces of bread into crumbs and mixing with 1/4 cup of milk to form a paste. Add an egg, mix it all up, and you’ll get the same great texture in your meatballs.
- Go for low-sodium beef broth: This keeps the creamy gravy from turning too salty and gives you more control over the final flavor.
How to Make Swedish Meatballs
These will come together quickly and cook in about 30 minutes total, so dinner is fast and easy! I have a few variations of this recipe you have to try! Swedish meatball casserole, soup, and slow cooker method!
- Combine: In a medium-sized bowl, combine ground beef, panko, parsley, allspice, nutmeg, onion, garlic powder, pepper, salt, and egg. Mix until combined.
- Roll Meatballs: Roll into 12 large meatballs or 20 small meatballs.
- Cook: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add the meatballs and cook for 7-8 minutes, turning continuously until brown on each side and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.
- Make the sauce: Add 4 Tablespoons butter and flour to the skillet and whisk until it turns brown.
- Whisk: Slowly stir in beef broth and heavy cream, and whisk to combine.
- Add meatballs and simmer: Add Worcestershire sauce and Dijon mustard, and bring to a simmer until the 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 mashed potatoes.
All Things Swedish Meatballs
I know how much you love my Swedish meatballs! I’ve rounded up every version of a Swedish meatball recipe that I have on my site, from quick and easy to homemade favorites! You can find them all in one place!
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Swedish Meatballs
Tender, flavorful Swedish meatballs that simmer in a rich, creamy sauce are pure comfort food! They're easy to make and impossible to resist.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 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
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
Sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine 1 pound ground beef, 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs, 1 tablespoon parsley, 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ cup onion, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ⅛ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1 egg. Mix until combined.
- Roll into 12 large meatballs or 20 small meatballs. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add the meatballs and cook for 7-8 minutes, turning continuously until brown on each side and cooked through. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.
- Add 4 tablespoons butter and 3 tablespoons flour to the skillet and whisk until it turns brown. Slowly stir in 2 cups beef broth and 1 cup heavy cream. Add 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce and 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard and bring to a simmer until the 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 mashed potatoes.
Video
Notes
Can You Freeze Swedish Meatballs?
- Freezing Cooked Meatballs: Let them cool, then freeze them on a baking sheet until solid (2–4 hours). Transfer to a freezer bag or an airtight container. They’ll keep up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave or warm them up in the sauce.
- Skip Freezing the Sauce: Creamy sauces don’t freeze well—they can separate. For best results, make the gravy fresh when you’re ready to serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 499kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 17gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 162mgSodium: 712mgPotassium: 327mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 987IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @alyssa_therecipecritic or tag #therecipecritic!
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This was SO GOOD. I actually bought ready-made veal meatballs from Longos. I cooked the meatballs in the pan and followed the recipe exactly for the gravy. Turned out delicious! My husband couldn’t get enough.
Good to know cause I have frozen meatballs also. 🙂
I made the meatballs and my daughter made the sauce. She added baby bella mushrooms to the sauce.She did sauté the mushrooms after I cooked the meatballs. This was served with small egg noodles and was delicious!!.We will definitely cook this again
Love this recipe. Heading to Swedish midsummer this weekend and I will make the meatballs ahead and freeze them. Is it ok to freeze the sauce or do you think it’s better to make the sauce on the day? I will double the recipe as I have 10 to feed.
It is best to make the sauce 2 to 3 days ahead rather than freezing.
This was amazing. I have wanted to make Swedish meatballs and was often intimidated by other recipes, until I found yours. My 5 kids, 8 years and under gobbled this right up. Next time, I’ll have to double the recipe so we can have it for leftovers!
This recipe is fabulous! I had some ground pork to use up so I did a beef and pork mixture. I’m also Gluten Free so I subbed almond flour for panko in the meatballs and GF flour for the gravy. Highly recommend!!
I made this tonight with a couple of tweaks. I used pre-made meatballs & I used half & half instead of heavy cream (saves 500 calories). It was really good!
Great recipe! My brother and I made this yesterday and didnt have allspice, Panko breadcrumbs or cream so left out the allspice, used regular breadcrumbs and milk. Still amazing! Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe!
Delicious and easy to make. I like where you can change the serving size, it’s hard cooking for just one person. This is something I will make again and it is going into the family cookbook.
This was one of my favorite dishes my mother would make when I was a kid. I don’t know what recipe she used but this one brought back fond memories! Thank you! My family loved it and I am now a culinary god! It will definitely be added to our book of recipes.
I’ll have to admit that I was in a hurry and used store bought frozen meatballs. I was a bit worried it might not turn out good but the sauce was unbelievable so it didn’t matter. Next time I’ll follow the recipe completely and see if it turns out even better.
Excuse me,
can i use chicken broth instead of beef broth?
Please advice
Yes, that will work great. Thanks for trying one of my recipes!
I made this tonight and the meatballs and sauce were amazing…. I served it over rice and was truly disappointed because it took away from the flavour of the sauce and made it seem bland to me. Cant wait to try it again with mashed potatoes lol
Such a delicious recipe. Will be making it again
Best Swedish Meatballs ever. The creamy sauce is just delicious
For those who are lactose intolerant, you can get lactose free half and half. While not as rich as cream, it does better than milk.
So good, even my Swedish grandma would approve, just don’t tell her I used ground turkey. Since I was using turkey, also used extra panko to get them to hold together. Didn’t have heavy cream, but less milk, plus a bit of cream cheese worked great. Kiddo claimed they were better than grandma’s and Ikea.
I am looking Forward to trying this recipe
Yum! These were so good! I will definitely be saving this recipe for the next time I make them. Thanks for sharing!
Not sure what happened to this but we really disliked the sauce. Meatballs were fabulous and I would definitely make those again but the sauce was terribly bland. We added extra salt, pepper, Worcestershire, hot sauce, smoked paprika, and HP sauce. Nothing really helped and I am a seasoned cook who followed the recipe exactly. What saved it for us was adding cranberry sauce on the side. It added a brightness that just seemed to be lacking. I’ll have to research other sauce alternatives before making this again.