Swedish Meatballs

These Swedish Meatballs are the mother of all meatballs in an epic creamy gravy. These savory and delicious meatballs are perfectly seasoned and spiced a hint of nutmeg and allspice. They’re great served over noodles or creamy mashed potatoes.

The Best Swedish Meatballs Recipe

Let’s talk Swedish meatballs. You all know I love my meatballs, and this is a recipe I originally posted in my early blogging career, which believe it or not was over a decade ago. These juicy meatballs are one of my favorites and it’s primarily because of the delicious creamy gravy, and you won’t believe how easy they are to make.

I love shopping at Ikea, but more than shopping we love to go there and eat. Besides the really cheap breakfasts they have, I go there for the Swedish meatballs. It’s not that the meatballs at Ikea are so good, it’s more the fact that they are so cheap and I always love a good deal.

Meatballs

• Ground Meat – I’ve used ground beef here, but I’ve made these before with a combination ground beef and ground chicken, or ground beef and ground pork which will give you the juiciest meatballs because pork is normally fatter.
• Bread and Milk – While you typically see breadcrumbs in meatballs, these babies use plain white sandwich bread that’s soaked in milk, resulting in extra soft meatballs.
• Spices – You’ll need some nutmeg and allspice to give these meatballs their signature flavor.
• Onion – Make sure to grate your onion using a box grater, to avoid big chunks in your meatballs.
• Eggs – We only need 2 egg yolks to bind the meatballs. You can sub this with one whole egg if you wish.

Gravy

• Butter and Flour – You’ll need butter and all-purpose flour to make a roux which is the base of our Swedish meatballs sauce. I like to use unsalted butter, then I can season my gravy with salt and pepper to my liking.
• Chicken Broth – I always opt for a no salt added or low sodium chicken broth.
• Sour Cream – The sour cream is what’s going to make our gravy extra creamy. You can sub this with ½ cup of heavy cream.

Meatballs

You know meatballs are not hard to make at all, the only time consuming part is the shaping of the meatballs. But don’t be afraid to make them. But here’s how I make them.

1. Soak the bread. Add the bread to a large bowl along with the milk and toss. Set aside to let the bread soak up the milk for a couple minutes.
2. Combine meatball ingredients. Add the ground meat, grated onion, egg yolks, salt, pepper, nutmeg and allspice to the bowl with the bread. Mix the meat mixture well using your clean hands. Shape the meat into 1 inch meatballs, see below for instructions on how to easily roll your meatballs.
3. Cook the meatballs. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add another tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet. Add the meatballs and fry until golden all around, about 7 minutes. If your skillet isn’t big enough to fit all the meatballs, you will have to do this in batches. Transfer the meatballs to a dish.

Gravy

1. Make gravy. Melt the 3 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet you used for frying the meatballs. Stir and scrape all the pan drippings. Add the flour to the pan and whisk well. Add the broth and continue whisking. Season with salt and pepper and other spices if preferred. Cook for a couple minutes until the gravy thickens from the flour. Whisk in the sour cream.
2. Add the meatballs to the gravy. Bring the gravy to a boil then add the meatballs to it and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure meatballs don’t stick to bottom of pan.
3. Garnish and serve. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve over pasta, egg noodles or Mashed Potatoes.

What Are Swedish Meatballs?

Perhaps the better question would be what differentiates Swedish meatballs from Italian meatballs for example. There are a few differences. The most noticeable one is that Swedish meatballs are a bit smaller than Italian meatballs. The other difference is in the spices used. Swedish meatballs tend to use spices like nutmeg and allspice, sometimes ground ginger.

The main difference, of course, is the meatball sauce. Unlike their Italian counterpart, these meatballs are served in a rich and creamy sour cream/gravy, roux based sauce, alongside Mashed Potatoes with lingonberry jam.

How To Roll Meatballs

Rolling meatballs is super easy. Best way is to use a cookie scoop with a lever, an ice cream scoop is too big, these meatballs should be golf ball size. Start by scooping out all the meatballs and placing them on a baking sheet or cutting board. After you scooped them all, roll them each between your hands so they’re perfectly round.

Can I Bake The Meatballs?

Absolutely! Simply coat a baking sheet with cooking spray, or use a baking rack. Bake in the oven at 375°F for 25 minutes until golden brown. Don’t worry if they’re not completely cooked inside because they will continue to cook in the gravy later on.

Leftovers

Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 or 4 days. To freeze the meatballs and gravy, let them cool completely at room temperature. Transfer them to a freezer safe container and place them in the freezer for up to two months.

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Recipe originally shared August 26th, 2012