This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.
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
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
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.
Made this the other night and it was fantastic! Doubled the meatball part of the recipe to freeze some and did half beef, half turkey. I’m gunna try making the sauce with milk next time instead of heavy cream.
Fantastic! For Gluten Free I uses crushed GF pretzels and Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 flour.
I normally cook in advance. Made the meatballs and the rue on Sunday then made sauce on Tuesday. My first time making them from scratch, I will never go back to the package. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Thank you for this recipe. Made this recipe as stated. My husband and I enjoyed it very much…..so tasty, as most of your recipes are.
The meatball is good but the sauce was missing something.
Also too much grease
I always add a little bit more of Dijon and Worcestershire sauce
Usually a recipe is as good as it is rated or not bad. This is terrible! Way too much fat and grease. Is this a joke? I feel stupid for making this. I should have known it was a joke recipe when it said to put both butter and olive oil in the pan. That should have been a red flag. So much oil it is disgusting.
Kitchen professionals add olive oil when browning with butter to keep the butter from burning. Sounds like too much fat came from a high fat content ground beef. Not taking sides, just saying.
I agree with your post, I use butter with my oil and it has never made my meals greasy. A lower fat content of beef would have worked out better.
I bake meatballs, turns out so much better and I also do half beef half pork in meatballs
Use this recipe as a basis for a keto swedish meatball. Really good starting point. I suggest adding some cardamom to the spices.
WOW what a hit!
I doubled the recipe and didn’t have the patience to cook them in a pan. I baked them in the oven on a cookie sheet at 350 for 30 minutes. I made the gravy while they baked in the oven. The meatballs were perfectly browned!!! I added the cooked meatballs and their juices from the pan right into the gravy.
Did you use a drip pan on the cookie sheet or put the meatballs directly onto the cookie sheet?
They sound delicious. I think I will try them.
These are not only straight forward and simple, especially browning and tossing in the oven, they taste like a high end restaurant made dinner! I browned mushrooms as well for the sauce which just added in my family the cherry on top! I’m looking forward to trying your other meatball recipes!
MATH!!!!!!!
recipe calls for 3 TBLS flour
instructions call for 4 TBLS flour
4-3 = 1
there is an unaccounted for 1 TBLS of flour!
what is the solution?????????????
Instruction say to add 4 Tablespoon Butter and the Flour .
Recipe list 5 Tablespoon Butter, You use 1 Tablespoon to fry meatballs with the Olive oil .
Your not reading it right .
Add 4 Tablespoon remaining butter and the 3 Tablespoon Flour to skillet .
Swedish meatballs are a classic for a reason; once you know how make them, you need a different excuse to whip around to IKEA. I had several hungry mouths to feed – not just myself, but my big sister with her husband, five kids (albeit one is a baby), and the parents. I needed to go big and up the quantity.
Cooking the meatballs in the oven was a good call, and serving them and the sauce separately. Something about cooking meat, even ground meat, for a longer period of time that truly treats it with respect. This was a hearty meal that was the pick of a small bunch of recipes I had done shortly before writing this message. I know that there will be all sorts of times that these will be dinner in the future, and experimenting with all different sides outside of the standard spaghetti.
Smells like my grandmas kitchen! Can I freeze to take away? I don’t want to make the sauce if I can’t freeze and thaw
Does GF flour work with this recipe? I can use the GF Panko, but I’m wondering about the flour.
Yes, it should be fine!
I used gf panko and rice flours for this and it was amazing!
This is a excellent recipe and I’ve made it several times. Absolutely nothing needs to be changed
Quick and easy recipes.
I made this and love it!!
The allspice and nutmeg warm with their festive flavors. This is such a happy, good, comforting supper for a cold December evening. The gravy really completes the dish. We garnished it with lingonberry preserves at the table. Copying this into our recipe book! Thank you!