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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 ¼ 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
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
Serves: 6
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
I just made these, and they were soooooo good!!! Thank you for the recipe!
This recipe is excellent!
I really can’t believe people are so harsh! All the ingredients and step by step directions are listed. Instead of finding fault and commenting, just say nothing, that would be nice!
Love these! A few changes I made for our family was onion powder instead or chopped onion and I like to make double the meatballs (2 pounds) and still had plenty of sauce. We served over no yoke noodles. Thanks!
Terribly not unique – may as well have made stroganoff
1/4 teaspoon of allspice is nothing – and where is the cream of mushroom.
Trust me, authentic/classic Swedish meatballs are baked not pan fried and laid on top of noodles.
May as well be stroganoff – no need for meatballs if I’m just going to break them up into my noodles.
I was disappointed – should have called mom.
@Eric Ewing: Absolute BS! I lived in Sweden, and I can attest that this is an excellent and quite authentic recipe. The ratio of allspice is correct, unless you have an allspice fetish! While Swedish meatballs are traditionally served on mashed potatoes, they should not be baked in the oven, since they never come out as moist, and you lose the drippings after searing, which are instrumental here. Personally, I prefer a mixture of breadcrumbs and pre-soaked bread in order to accomplish the meatball fluffiness, and I also use ground pork and ground lamb together with beef. Else, TOPS!
My family loves these Swedish Meatballs! So yummy and easy to make, I’ve made them many times. Only thing I do differently is bake the meatballs.
Not sure why others are complaining about there being no measurement amounts, they are clearly posted on the recipe card.
These were amazing!! I will add for a few of the comments I read through if you are critical of the ingredients and making corrections, why are you looking for a recipe? And the measurements are there.. Basically you passed them and jumped to leaving a comment. Anyways, amazing recipe!! Thank you
You list the ingredients, but no quantities. Not helpful!
Hello! All of the ingredients and quantities are are the bottom of the post on the recipe card! Let me know if you need anything else!
Made this a few times and always SO delicious! My husband requests all the time. We use ground turkey in ours and do not miss the beef!
I see no quantities on this recipe. Nothing. And you expect someone to make that?
Hello! The recipe card is at the bottom of the post and lists all of the ingredients, measurements and instructions!
Absolutely delicious! Made twice the meatballs and froze them for another day.
This recipe is awesome! Love these recipes but oh my goodness to many advertisements….my phone jumps around constantly….
Excellent and easy recipe! For those who say they used store bought frozen to save time the mixing of the meat takes 10 minutes max and forming them less than 5 minutes. Try it next time! I used 93% ground beef with just sour cream because I didn’t have heavy cream and they were very good. So good I will make them again using 50/50 beef and pork. I served over Amish egg noodles with a salad for 2 of us and have leftovers for 3 tomorrow for work.
This sauce is rich and delicious. It’s also easy to make. I served the Swedish meatballs over papardelli egg noodles. My family loved the dish and even asked me to think of other dishes to serve the sauce with. I’m hoping to add this to our regular fall/winter meal rotations.
I’ve always wanted to make homemade swedish meatballs.. found your recipe last night, ensured I had all the ingredients (didn’t have panko, but substituted with panade), made them tonight and they were WIFE APPROVED! These turned out so good!
Honestly, for Swedish meatballs this is so easy and tastes delicious! I used ground turkey and had to sub sour cream instead of the heavy cream because I didn’t have any. The meatballs had great flavor and the sauce did as well! I was worried about the mustard flavor, which is kind of strong, but when served with the meatballs and on mashed potatoes it was a perfect balance! Thank you!
I totally cheat and use frozen Kirkland brand meatballs. Put the frozen meatballs in a crockpot. ( about 4 pound) Pour the sauce over. Heat for 4 hours on low. These are a hit at every party.
Brilliant! Thank you, Costco! 🙂
Just for the record, traditional Swedish meatballs do not have garlic and the meat mixture is 50/50 ground beef and ground pork. It is the simplicity of the flavor that makes them so comforting.
I love this! I didn’t have heavy cream so substituted for sour cream and it came out amazing! I used the full tsp of Dijon and didn’t think it was overpowering at all. However we love mustard so no one seemed to notice. Served it over mashed potatoes and was great! Even my daughter that doesn’t like meatballs said it was good!
I made this for the family. I did double the recipe because we eat a lot lol but this turned out amazing and it was really good! Definitely one to add to the books. My whole family loved it including my picky toddler.
I also used ground turkey and they tasted great. I did find the gravy too rich, all the butter and then all that cream. Also, the time listed for cook time should be at least double. To properly brown and cook the meatballs through I had to do two batches in the pan, no way is the average 10-12″ skillet going to fit them all in one shot. I would have still made them, I just think the time is underestimated
The meatballs were good, but the sauce was ruined by the mustard. It totally overpowered the sauce. My family and I could barely eat it. It’s worth retrying without the mustard.
I think you got your tsp and tbsp mixed up, there’s no way 1tsp made it overpowering.
I agree with Yur Dumm.. and I even used a sweet bourbon Dijon (the real stone ground). Heck, I almost wanted to add a little more than just a teaspoon! Ha
I made this with ground turkey. I used a little half&half even though it said not to. It turned out super delicious! Great recipe, thank you.
Is that fresh parsley or dried? Thanks!