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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.
This looks like a very tasty recipe, and I will try it for sure. I bet it will win over the hearts of my Norwegian kids. I will add, however, these bare rather little resemblance to Swedish meatballs. You will never, for one, find oregano in Swedish meatballs. That is purely Italian/Mediterreanean. I’m sure it is delicious, though, and I might try it, myself. A more Scandinavian twist would be to use nutmeg. Calling these Swedish is comparative to Mexican and Tex-mex. Perhaps even further.
Where are you seeing oregano in this recipe?
It’s odd that there’s no allspice or nutmeg, that’s pretty much what gIves Swedish Meatballs their distinctive flavor compared to another gravy. I’ve seen it in the meatball mixture and gravy ingredients, and sometimes both, but never missing. I hate to be critical but this recipe needs to be renamed. It’s like calling a recipe Italian Meatballs but having no basil, oregano or garlic.
All spice and nutmeg ARE listed in the ingredients.
Made this delicious recipe tonight. It’s a keeper. Quick and easy. Cooked it in the oven. I added fresh mushrooms and served it on garlic mashed potatoes.
Does anybody have an idea of what the calorie count might be for a serving of this? I plan to make it for dinner tonight, it looks so good! Accidently hit the five stars so don’t go by that until after I try it! Lol
These are NOT SWEDISH MEATBALLS! It looks like a wonderful and tasty dinner, but NOT SWEDISH MEATBALLS.
Swedish Meatballs are seasoned with ALLSPICE.
A better name for this dish would be ‘Super Tasty Creamy Meatballs”.
Made this dish for dinner tonight and served with egg noodles. It was delicious!
These are not Swedish meatballs. Real Swedish meatballs have nutmeg and sour cream in the mix.
This recipe looks really delicious! I have a couple questions cause I’m going to make it tonight. Can I use nutmeg in the recipe? Also do you have any non-dairy substitutes for heavy cream? And can I add garlic because there’s only garlic powder in the recipe or should I substitute the garlic powder for two cloves of garlic?
I made these non dairy by using coconut milk (about a half a cup in 3 pounds of meat) and another 2 cups mixed with 2 cups of beef broth and they were amazing.
sounds really good and will try, but have been making Swedish Meatballs for at least 40 years and they always call for nutmeg and have never used oregano in them
I agree with others who have said that in order to be Swedish meatballs they have to contain either nutmeg, cinnamon, or cardamom. Your recipe is good but it’s a basic meatball recipe. Instead of heavy cream I use a can of cream of mushroom soup along with some beef broth. I refer to them simply as meatballs in gravy. Yes, they are yummy!
This recipe looks delicious, but Swedish meatballs (at least in my experience) are made with a combination of beef, pork and veal; NO garlic nor oregano, but nutmeg is used. I’ll make the meatball recipe, but won’t call it “Swedish”.
Looks so good. I’m going to try to make this this week. Thanks for the recipe!
The recipe looks and sounds delicious, but they are not Swedish meatballs. From my very Swedish grandparents’ recipes, a mix of ground pork and beef make for a very tender meatball. And no mustard, garlic, or oregano….use allspice, perhaps even a hint of nutmeg. And serve with lingonberry jam on the side. So thank you for the recipe; it just needs to be renamed! 🙂
Can I use something in place of the heavy cream?
Can u use milk instead of heavy cream? It’s something I don’t keep in my fridge. Lol
In my experience milk might separate while cooking. Cream is better for this kind of dish and gives a richer consistency. I think I read somewhere you could use evaporated milk -but the thought of milk in a can kind of grosses me out! Just plan ahead and get a carton of cream 🙂 You won’t be sorry 🙂
This is a great recipe! It’s also very flexible, I add mushrooms to mine It also freezes well.
These might be tasty, but please don’t call them Swedish meatballs, there is absolutely nothing Swedish about them, they bear no resemblance to any kind of Swedish meatballs, the spices and the ingredients are all wrong. Please get your facts/ingredients right before you call something by the wrong ethnicity.
You mean nationality? Swedish is a nationality, not ethnicity. Please use the right term. Thanks.
Yours can be called “Anette Meatballs”. So can all of you others, call them your choice. There you are !
Make Meatballs Great Again !!