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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!
More Yummy Meatball Recipes
For everyone stating their opinion that these are NOT your grandmother’s famous swedish meatballs…PLEASE. It’s a recipe. Not the bible. There will be as many variations as there are for fried chicken. Read the recipe, appreciate the time the blogger took to do the post, and either like it, pin it, or move on. Use mustard, or not. Use spices…or not. Rant over. 🙂
Good rant! With all the problems in the world, oh why, must we fuss over the name of a meatball?! Either enjoy them or not, call them what you want! Just be nice and say thank you for the delicious recipe!
We are following a low carb diet, so I adjusted this recipe by adding a ¼ cup almond flour to the meat and a tsp of Konjac powder in place of the flour in the sauce. It came out perfect! I browned the meatballs first, and finished them off in the oven at 350 for 20 mins. I also added mushrooms to the sauce, because we’re not eating rice, noodles or potatoes right now.
Thanks for the tip about the almond flour. I am eating low-carb as well, so I will use psyllium husk to thicken the sauce and serve this with riced or mashed cauliflower for myself, and noodles for my family.
Looks good….So far so good….But….DAMN!!!!! I Could have used 2 lbs. Of GR.beef (or at least another 1/2 lb.)there’s SOOO much sauce!!… Just waiting for Hubster to try it…..Still waiting….”Holy…OMG!!” HE said…So… It’s GREAT!!! THANKS ?
Outstanding recipe ?? but I made too much can I freeze it ??
This recipe is a keeper! So delicious. My occasionally picky 6-year old son even loved it. I will make it a routine option for sure!
What’s with everyone getting all huffy about these being called Swedish meatballs? The recipe DOES include nutmeg and allspice, which seem to be the necessary spices most people are so concerned about. The whole point of sharing recipes is that we’re actually providing something new or a little different. Otherwise we would all just be making the exact same dish over and over. I doubt that Swedish people are so boring that they never want to add anything new to their recipes.
Does think make enough sauce for a package of egg noodles or should I double the sauce?
Now this stuff is g o o d!
Definitely a keeper recipe for us.
Food.com has an Ikea recipe which includes 2 Yukon riced potatoes. Definitely allspice and no garlic or Worchestershire. My Scandinavian cookbook includes 1/4 tsp nutmeg.
I haven’t made this yet, but they do look tasty. Pinned to my meatball board. People need to learn how to read a recipe[and read it at least twice] before commenting or cooking it and realize that there is more than one way to make an ethnic dish which totally depends upon where your family lives. I normally bake my meatballs, but for this dish they need to be pan fried so there are nice crispy flavorful bits for the gravy. Thanks for all you do to share wonderful FREE recipes with us.
These were great! I don’t care what you call them, but if someone is offended by using the “swedish” you can call them the melting pot meatballs or the mixing pot meatballs! If the gravy was too thin, you could thicken it, if it was too thin, possibly add more beef broth…. Just saying, how about using a little common sense and not blaming the recipe for your inept at cooking.
Amazing sauce/gravy! I made everything as listed, with the exception of leaving out the allspice since I didn’t have any, and baking the meatballs instead of sautéing in a skillet to reduce calories. The meatballs had a lot of great flavor and were moist, and the sauce flavor was so yummy and rich, and had a very pretty velvety texture. Saving this page, and can’t wait to make it again! Thank you for sharing your recipe. 🙂
We use ground wild game meat & these turn out fabulous! Thank you!
One more observation. Obviously the ingredients have been altered due to the overwhelming response from readers who suggest that allspice is the commonly used ingredient in Swedish Meatballs and not oregano. I’ve had this recipe imported into Pepperplate for awhile now, and it says oregano. There’s no allspice or nutmeg the way it is written now. I just wanted to help solve the confusion for those wondering why people are seeing the recipe differently. I think those who are seeing/using oregano did it prior to when the recipe was updated. 🙂
Can I make this in the crockpot after I make the meatballs?
Made these and they were the best meatballs ever. I used just half of the cream and the sauce turned out good and rich. Spices were perfect! Thanks Alyssa
Wondering if anyone has made these ahead and frozen them. Trying to simplify the Christmas Eve Banquet by cooking ahead. Thought about maybe leaving out the cream, making the sauce extra thick and then adding in the cream after all is thawed? Looks yummy!