Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs

I remember when the the first IKEA was built in my area and it was all everyone could talk about. Oddly enough, I heard mention of IKEA’s Swedish Meatballs just as much as I heard about their awesome products. I had friends who would stop in for lunch just to have the meatballs!  If you’ve never had Swedish Meatballs before, or if you love them but need a great recipe, TRY THESE!

What is so special about Swedish Meatballs?

Swedish Meatballs actually originated in Turkey and are a meatball dish that is served with a creamy gravy or Swedish Meatball Sauce.  Swedish Meatballs are sometimes confused with Italian Meatballs but there are some differences between the two types of meatballs.

Swedish Meatballs are typically smaller in size than Italian meatballs and they are usually made with a 50-50 ratio of ground pork and ground beef.  Swedish Meatballs also tend to use spices like allspice and nutmeg for flavoring where Italian meatballs rely more on parmesan and garlic flavoring.

Ingredients in Swedish Meatballs:

Swedish Meatballs are made with onion, ground beef, ground pork, breadcrumbs, egg yolks, allspice, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

The ingredients in Swedish Meatballs Sauce include butter, flour, beef broth, sour cream, salt and pepper.

How to make Swedish Meatballs:

Start by cooking the onions in a little olive oil until they are translucent.

Make the Swedish Meatballs by combining ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, egg yolk, allspice, nutmeg, and sautéed onion.  Season with salt and pepper.

Stir the meatball mixture until well combined.  Use clean hands to roll the mixture into meatballs about 1 inch in size.  This should make about 30 meatballs.

Cook the Swedish Meatballs in a hot skillet with oil, rotating them with a fork until all sides are browned. The meatballs don’t need to be cooked all the way through.

Remove the meatballs to a plate to rest while we cook the Swedish Meatball Sauce.

How to make Swedish Meatballs Sauce:

• Melt butter in a skillet and whisk in flour until it gets slightly browned.
• Gradually whisk in beef broth, stirring constantly until slightly thickened.  

• Stir in sour cream and season with salt and pepper.  

• Add the Swedish Meatballs into the Swedish Meatballs Sauce and serve the meatballs and sauce over cooked egg noodles, or rice.

This is one of those meals that has really simple ingredients and flavor but it’s soo comforting and yummy! Any time I ask Jeff for some dinner ideas this is always at the top of his list. He requests them all the time!

I love to serve Swedish Meatballs with a big side of steamed veggies or a green salad.

Consider trying these popular dinner recipes:

• Slow Cooker Pot Roast
• Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
• Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas
• Italian Grilled Cheese
• Gourmet Baked Mac N Cheese with Bacon
• Crispy BBQ Chicken Wraps

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5 from 4 votes

Swedish Meatballs

Print RecipeSave to Meal Plan

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

45 mins

 

Homemade Swedish Meatballs are homemade meatballs smothered in creamy Swedish Meatball Sauce served over egg noodles or rice.  This easy recipe is very kid friendly!

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: swedish meatballs, swedish meatballs recipe, swedish meatballs sauce

Unit: cup, large, pound, Tablespoon, teaspoon

Servings: 9

Calories: 491 kcal

Author: Lauren Allen

Ingredients

For the Swedish Meatballs:

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil , divided
• 1 onion , diced
• 1 pound ground beef (*see note)
• 1 pound ground pork (see note*)
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste

For the Gravy

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 3/4 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
• 2 Tablespoons fresh parsley leaves , chopped
• Cooked egg noodles or rice for serving

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, bread crumbs, egg yolks, allspice, nutmeg and onion. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

3. Stir mixture with a wooden spoon until well combined. Use clean hands to roll the mixture into meatballs about 1 1/2-in in size (It should make about 20-24 meatballs).

4. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.

For the Swedish Meatball Sauce:

1. Melt butter in the skillet. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in beef broth and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. 

2. Stir in sour cream; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and thickened, about 8-10 minutes.

3. Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Recipe Notes

*I've also made this with all beef, or half beef and half ground turkey, with great results!

To Freeze:

The meatballs freeze great! I like to freeze them after cooking them. Then when I want to make this recipe I make the sauce, pull the meatballs from the freezer and let them warm up in the sauce. You could also freeze them raw, then thaw them in your fridge. Brown them in a skillet, as the recipe states, and then continue to cook them in the sauce. 

*1 serving equals 3 meatballs

Have you tried this recipe?!

RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

*I originally shared this recipe August 2014. Updated March 2019.