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Swedish Meatballs

September 3, 2024

These Swedish meatballs are the best you'll ever have. Gently warmed with spices and covered in a heavenly creamy gravy sauce, then served with fluffy mashed potatoes.

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a bowl of homemade swedish meatballs served on top of mashed potatoes sprinkled with parsley

An Easy Swedish Meatball Recipe To Stay In For

Ikea Swedish meatballs have a time and a place (namely when you’re there anyway, and super hungry from all of your wanderings), and that’s great. But homemade Swedish meatballs are so tender, so fresh, and so flavorful. Rich with both pork and beef, and seasoned generously with parsley, allspice, nutmeg, grated onion, salt, pepper, and garlic, Swedish meatballs get half of their goodness from the creamy, peppery gravy that they’re simmered in, and our Swedish meatball sauce is totally irresistible. You know that meatball recipes are one of our most beloved dinnertime staples. Though mashed potatoes are a go-to side for serving authentic Swedish meatballs, you could also try serving them with Steamed Broccoli, Garlic Bread and a big salad.

ground beef, ground pork, panko, spices, eggs, butter and flour in prep bowls to make swedish meatballs

Swedish Meatball Ingredients

  • 80/20 ground beef

  • Ground pork

  • Flat leaf parsley

  • Onion

  • Garlic

  • Panko breadcrumbs

  • Eggs

  • Extra-virgin olive oil

  • Butter

  • All-purpose flour

  • Beef stock

  • Lemon

  • Spices: Ground allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper

  • Heavy cream

beef, pork, parsley, allspice, nutmeg, grated onion, salt, pepper, garlic, panko and eggs in a bowl
raw meatballs on a baking sheet made with beef, pork, parsley, spices, grated onion, panko and eggs
meatballs made with beef and pork being fried in a skillet
butter and flour being stirred in a pan to make gravy

How Do You Make Swedish Meatballs

  1. Prep the onions and garlic, noting that we’re asking you to grate the onion instead of slice or dice it. Grating it with a box grater will allow it to melt seamlessly into the ground beef and pork mixture.

  2. With a light touch and taking care not to overmix, mix Swedish meatball ingredients in a large bowl and roll them out onto a sheet pan.

  3. Fry the meatballs in a large skillet, working in batches. Tongs are handy for this. Set them aside so that you can…

  4. Use the same skillet to make the greatest sauce for Swedish meatballs you’ve ever tasted.

  5. Add the meatballs back to the pan and simmer them in the creamy, spiced Swedish meatball sauce!

homemade gravy being cooked in a skillet
gravy being made in a skillet with butter, flour, beef stock, salt, pepper, lemon juice, allspice, nutmeg and cream
a pan of homemade swedish meatballs made with ground beef and pork in creamy gravy
a bowl of homemade swedish meatballs served on top of mashed potatoes sprinkled with parsley

How To Store + Tips for Making Delicious Homemade Swedish Meatballs

  • Take care to not make the meatballs too big. These meatballs are pan fried and contain pork. The last thing you want to do is undercook them. They should be about the size of a rounded tablespoon.

  • Take care while forming the meatballs that they are tight so they don’t fall apart in the pan. We like to dip our hands in water as we roll them to make them nice and smooth, and to keep the mixture from sticking to our hands. The breadcrumbs and eggs also help hold the mixture together.

  • Fry the meatballs in small batches. If you crowd the pan, the meatballs will steam instead of brown.

  • What do you eat Swedish meatballs with? Swedish meatballs are traditionally served over mashed potatoes or egg noodles, but you can do whatever you want, really. They make terrific party food, too, served on little toothpicks. You could also try serving them with Steamed Broccoli, Garlic Bread and a big salad.

  • Leftover Swedish meatballs and sauce can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, and they reheat perfectly in a covered casserole dish. Heat oven to 350° and pop them in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Cover with warmed sauce and you are good to go!

  • For even more meatball recipe deliciousness, check out our One-Pot Chicken Meatballs & Green Curry Rice.

a pan of homemade swedish meatballs made with ground beef and pork in creamy gravy
a bowl of homemade swedish meatballs served on top of mashed potatoes sprinkled with parsley

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Swedish Meatballs

  • Serves:  8
  • Prep Time:  20 min
  • Cook Time:  40 min
  • Calories:  463

Video

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1 pound​ 80/20 ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • ¼ cup flat leaf parsley, minced
  • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 small yellow onion, grated
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Cream Gravy

  • ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups beef stock
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup heavy cream

For Serving (optional)

Method

  1. Make the meatballs. In a large bowl, combine the beef, pork, parsley, allspice, nutmeg, grated onion, salt, pepper, garlic, panko and eggs. Mix well, then with wet hands, form golf ball–size balls (about 2 tablespoons each). You should have about 30-35 meatballs.

    raw meatballs on a baking sheet made with beef, pork, parsley, spices, grated onion, panko and eggs
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or braiser over medium-high heat. Once the oil is glistening, add half of the meatballs in a single layer. Cook, undisturbed, until the meatballs are just browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn them carefully and cook to brown the opposite side, about 3 more minutes. Transfer the meatballs to a plate. Repeat with remaining meatballs. Pour any excess grease from the skillet into a heatproof vessel.

    meatballs made with beef and pork being fried in a skillet
  3. Using the same skillet, reduce the heat to medium and add the butter and stir until melted. When the butter begins to bubble, sprinkle in the flour and cook whisking, until fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Whisk in the beef stock, salt, pepper, lemon juice, allspice and nutmeg and cream, until fully incorporated. Bring to a simmer and cook, whisking until smooth and slightly thickened.

    gravy being made in a skillet with butter, flour, beef stock, salt, pepper, lemon juice, allspice, nutmeg and cream
  4. Add the meatballs to the sauce and turn to coat. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the gravy has thickened and the meatballs reach an internal temperature of 165°F on a meat thermometer, about 10 minutes.

    Swedish Meatballs 8
  5. Serve warm over mashed potatoes or egg noodles, with lingonberry jam on the side if using.

    a bowl of homemade swedish meatballs served on top of mashed potatoes sprinkled with parsley

Nutrition Info

  • Per Serving
  • Amount
  • Calories 463
  • Protein 27 g
  • Carbohydrates 11 g
  • Total Fat 35 g
  • Dietary Fiber 1 g
  • Cholesterol 157 mg
  • sodium 1050 mg
  • Total Sugars 1 g

Swedish Meatballs

Questions & Reviews

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  • Deb

    You used to have a section in this recipe for making slurry with cornstarch instead of flour. I dont see it. Whats the ratio?
    Thanks!

    Gluten Free Version: if you want to keep this recipe gluten free, you can sub the breadcrumbs for a gluten-free version. To keep the gluten out of the gravy, you will want to reserve 1 cup of beef stock and mix it with ⅓ cup corn starch. Add it to the gravy at the end to thicken it up.

  • Rene

    Just saw someone's recipe for sweedish meatballs and they just dumped frozen regular meatballs in a crock with plain gravy and not a speck of nutmeg. It's great to see a good recipe done right

    Thanks Rene!

  • Stacy

    Can this be frozen with mashed potatoes?

    If you are freezing before adding the gravy lay them out on a parchment lined baking sheet to freeze then you can add them to a freezer bag. We haven't tried freezing this with the gravy but if you do just put all contents in a freezer bag then thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. We would freeze the mashed potatoes separately.

  • Karen

    Can you freeze the sweetish meatballs in the gravy?

    Yes, just thaw in the fridge before reheating.

  • Barry

    Looks yummy! How many people serving? 4 or 6 people

    This serves 8 people. It makes between 30-35 meatballs. Hope you enjoy Barry!

  • Kristin

    This is one of my family's favorite recipes. About halfway through grating the onion I'm sniffling and have tears running down my face and I start to question all my choices. When it's done, though, I remember it's worth it, lol. I make my meatballs on the smaller side and end up with about 60, which means pan frying them takes longer but the browned bits at the bottom of the pan make the gravy so much richer. I serve it with fluffy mashed potatoes, peas, and lingonberry or cranberry sauce. Other than doubling the spices in the gravy, I make no changes. I'm going to try lower sodium beef stock next time because it is a little salty, but that's a nitpick. Thanks for the amazing recipe!

    Thanks Kristin, we are so glad you loved it!

  • Angela

    Made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit!! Honestly my favorite recipe I have tried!!

    Thanks Angela, we are so glad that you loved it!

  • Dana

    This was so delicious! As others mentioned, I'm not even a big allspice/nutmeg fan, but I did double the spices in both the meatballs and the sauce as I thought they could use more flavor, and split the lemon juice in half with worcestershire. Otherwise everything is so spot on! Will be making again soon:)

    Thanks Dana, so glad you loved it!

  • Kristin

    Everything about this was wonderful, and totally worth rolling meatballs (which I generally do not love doing!) I used ground turkey and ground pork because those are what I had on hand, and it worked very well. If my stomach would allow it, I would drink this sauce - ha! Thank you so much for this recipe, I will definitely make this again.

    Thanks Kristin, we are so glad you loved this recipe!

  • Sara

    This came out good though I made some changes. I didn't have allspice on hand so I substituted with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. I'm not sure if I did something wrong but the taste of the sauce was a little off and bland for me. I had second thoughts about the lemon juice which I tested on small batch so I tried Worcestershire sauce which I thought was a good sub adding a little tang. I also added some Better than Bouillon chicken base. My picky kids who initially complained "why are we having meatballs" got seconds!