Get my Cookbooks! Swedish Meatball Recipe
These juicy and flavorful Swedish Meatballs are smothered in a savory gravy cream sauce and are perfect over noodles or mashed potatoes. This is like no other recipe you’ve ever tried!
Be sure to try my Chicken and Dumplings and Slow Cooker Beef Stew recipes next!
Swedish Meatballs
I’ll just go ahead and say it: I do believe that these Swedish Meatballs are quite possibly the best of the best!
These are not an IKEA replica, (I’ve actually never been to IKEA! 🤯) and I can’t say that I’ve been to Sweden either, but they are amazing, and include some standout ingredients that we’ve come to know and love in America when it comes to this particular dish.
The meatballs themselves are made with a combination of ground beef and pork, along with a touch of allspice and nutmeg. Onions and garlic add flavor and texture, and milk, egg, and breadcrumbs act as a binder. Finally, Parmesan cheese is a little “Cozy” touch that acts as an additional flavor enhancer.
The sauce itself is an amazing combination of beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, and sour cream. My secret ingredient? Chicken Bouillon. It adds the best depth of flavor and contrasts perfectly with the beef broth.
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, egg, milk, onions, garlic, salt, oregano, allspice, nutmeg, and pepper. Gently incorporate the meat until evenly combined.
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Roll into 1+ 1/2 inch meatballs and chill for 15 minutes, (or overnight). Brown in batches and set aside.
Melt butter in the same skillet and whisk in flour. Add the sauce mixture (beef broth, chicken bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, and parsley), in small splashes, stirring continuously. Add the sour cream to a medium bowl along with some of the sauce, and stir until combined. Stir it into the skillet.
Add the meatballs back and spoon the sauce on top. Cover partially, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles!
Using Frozen Meatballs
- Frozen meatballs can be used in a pinch, just note that the allspice and nutmeg seasonings are what give the meatballs themselves that traditional Swedish meatball flavor, consider adding 1/4 tsp. of each to the sauce itself instead.
Make Ahead Method
- Roll out the meatballs, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days prior to serving, then follow recipe as outlined.
- You can also flash freeze the uncooked meatballs on a tray for 1 hour. Transfer them to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then follow recipe as outlined.
Pro Tips
- The chicken bouillon in the sauce adds depth of flavor and contrasts nicely with the beef broth. Beef bouillon can be used instead if needed.
- Use full-fat sour cream to ensure that it doesn’t curdle.
- Heavy cream can be used instead of sour cream if preferred.
- Any combination of ground beef, pork, and veal can be used in this recipe.
- 1 + 1/4 lbs. of meat is perfect for fitting in a 12-inch, high-walled skillet.
- 📘 Find this recipe on page 136 of my 2nd cookbook, Let’s Eat!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Leftovers freeze fairly well, let them thaw prior to reheating.
- Reheat in a makeshift double boiler for best results. Refrain from reheating over heat that is too high, as the sauce can break.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- 3-Quart Stainless Steel Sauté Pan– The same size as pictured in this recipe.
- Small Cookie Scoop– This is perfect for creating perfectly uniform meatballs.
- Box Cheese Grater– For grating the Parmesan cheese.
- Better Than Bouillon– This is what I always use for broth in my recipes. It takes very little space and makes it easy to measure out customized amounts of broth.
Try These Next
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- Creamy Chicken Pasta
-
- Meatball Pasta
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- Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
-
- Marry Me Chicken Pasta
-
- Baked Ravioli
-
- French Onion Pasta
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Tried This Recipe?
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Swedish Meatball Recipe
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided in half
- ½ cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg, whisked
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon EACH: dried oregano, ground allspice, ground nutmeg, pepper
- ¾ lb. ground beef, 80% lean
- ½ lb. ground pork
Sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 chicken bouillon cube, see notes
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, can sub mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat ½ of the olive oil in a large, high-walled skillet over medium heat. Add the finely diced onions and garlic. Soften for 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, whisked egg, milk, cooled onions/garlic, salt, oregano, allspice, nutmeg, and pepper. Gently incorporate the meat until evenly combined, but without overworking it (otherwise the meatballs will be tough instead of tender).
- Roll into 1 ½-inch meatballs and place on a plate. (A small cookie scoop makes it easier to roll balls of uniform size.) Transfer to the fridge and let them chill for 15 minutes, or up to overnight. Cover if chilling overnight.
- While the meatballs chill, combine the beef broth, chicken bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, and parsley in a large measuring cup with a spout. Set aside.
- Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Brown the meatballs in batches, leave plenty of room around each so that you can easily rotate them with a spoon to brown on all sides. Brown for about 1 minute per side. Remove and set aside. Decrease heat slightly as needed throughout cooking. Drain any excess oil when finished.
- Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until it begins to brown.
- Add the beef broth mixture in small splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Place the sour cream in a medium bowl. To prevent curdling, slowly stir in about ¼ cup of the warm sauce until smooth. Pour the tempered sour cream back into the pot and stir over low heat until incorporated.
- Add the meatballs back to the skillet along with any juices from the plate. Spoon the sauce on top. Allow them to heat through over low heat for 10-15 minutes (or until cooked through), partially covered. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
Notes
- The chicken bouillon in the sauce adds depth of flavor and contrasts nicely with the beef broth. Beef bouillon can be used instead if needed.
- Use full-fat sour cream to ensure that it doesn’t curdle.
- Heavy cream can be used instead of sour cream if preferred.
- Any combination of ground beef, pork, and veal can be used in this recipe.
- 1 + 1/4 lbs. of meat is perfect for fitting in a 12-inch, high-walled skillet.
- 📘 Find this recipe on page 136 of my 2nd cookbook, Let’s Eat!
Storage:
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Leftovers freeze fairly well, let them thaw prior to reheating.
- Reheat in a makeshift double boiler for best results. Refrain from reheating over heat that is too high, as the sauce can break.
Nutrition information is an estimate, is per meatball, and includes the sauce. This recipe makes 33 meatballs.
Quite possibly the best meatballs I’ve ever made. My only feedback would be there’s not enough gravy 😁! I could drink it for breakfast!!
I’m soooo happy to hear that Keith!! Drinking the sauce for breakfast is 100% acceptable!! Thank you SOOO much for taking the time to leave a review, you are the BEST! 🙂 -Stephanie
Amazing recipe. My family loved it. Thank you!
I am soo happy to hear that Claudia! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review! 🙂 -Stephanie
Great recipe, overall. I’d say the flavor is perfectly spot-on. But as someone who cooks very often, I do have a few critiques:
First, browning the meatballs on medium-high heat as the recipe suggests is too much and will dry them out. I instead brown them over medium-low heat and they turn out perfectly.
Another note regarding the meatballs:
I incorporate the ingredients as much as I can in order to make everything as evenly distributed as possible, for both flavor and moisture purposes (and for even more moist meatballs, I like to do half breadcrumbs and half oatmeal).
Contrary to what the recipe says, the meatballs will not come out “tough” if mixed more than just enough (mixing too much generally applies to baking, not to cooking). This isn’t possible for a ground meat mixture. If anything, overcooking them on too high heat will dry them out; so, I say use your judgment and mix to your heart’s content.
When it comes to the sauce, cook this low and slow. The first time I made this recipe, I thought the sauce came out too thick. This is because I let the sauce cook on too high heat, as the recipe suggests.
This sauce, like any other, needs to be cooked gently. Think of it like cooking the meatballs; if you turn the heat too high, you’ll just suck all of the moisture out. The sauce should finish more on the loose side, as it will thicken up when it cools.
As I said, this recipe is great flavor-wise. However, the cooking method needs a few adjustments.
Thanks for trying the recipe! I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor. I do think there’s some misunderstanding about the cooking techniques used here, so I’d like to clarify a few points for readers.
Browning the meatballs over medium-high heat is intentional—we’re creating a quick sear to develop flavor and color, not cooking them through. They only sear for about a minute per side before finishing gently in the sauce, which is what keeps them tender and juicy. A lower heat won’t produce the same quick browning that’s intended here.
Likewise, the recommendation not to overmix the meat is deliberate. Working ground meat excessively develops the proteins, which creates a denser, firmer texture. This is one of the most widely accepted principles for making tender meatballs, burgers, and meatloaf—it definitely isn’t a concept that’s limited to baking.
As for the sauce, the instructions are to bring it briefly to a boil and then reduce it to a simmer, which is standard technique for a flour-thickened sauce.
Everyone has their own preferred techniques, and substitutions like adding oatmeal are certainly a personal choice. That said, I’ve tested this recipe extensively as written and stand behind both the ingredients and the cooking method.
“As someone who cooks very often”… like Stephanie doesn’t cook very often? She has two published cookbooks! 😂 And I’m pretty sure my 8 year old knows that you don’t overwork ground meat for meatballs. At the very least, fact check yourself first, as that’s just an undisputed truth, not an opinion. Also, if you don’t bring the sauce to a brief boil as outlined in the recipe, the flavors won’t meld properly. Reducing to a simmer afterward is obviously standard. And browning meatballs over medium-low heat isn’t browning them. It’s slowly cooking them. 😑 At that rate, don’t even bother.