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Simple Recipes for Every Day

Swedish Meatballs

Easy swedish meatballs on a plate of mashed potatoes covered in creamy gravy and sprinkled with fresh parsley.
  • Serves: 8
  • Prep Time:  20 min
  • Cook Time:  40 min

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 1 lb ​ground beef
  • 1 lb ground pork
  • ¼ cup flat leaf parsley, minced
  • ½ tsp ground allspice
  • ½ tsp ground nutmeg
  • ¾ cup yellow onion, grated (about 1 medium onion)
  • 2 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp pepper, freshly ground
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • ¾ cup panko*
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

Cream Gravy

  • ½ cup butter
  • ½ cup flour*
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp ground allspice
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup heavy cream

Method

  1. In a large bowl, mix the beef, pork, parsley, allspice, nutmeg, grated onion, salt, pepper, garlic, panko and eggs until combined.
  2. Using a tablespoon or cookie scoop, measure out the meat mixture into roughly 35 (1.5 inch) balls.**
  3. In a large pan, heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add ½ of the meatballs and cook until browned on all sides. This takes about 5 minutes. Set aside **
  4. When all of the meatballs are browned, pour off any excess grease in the pan, into a heatproof vessel. Lower the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan. When the butter begins to bubble, sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Add the beef broth to the pan a little at a time.***
  5. Whisk the gravy until the broth is all incorporated. Add salt, pepper, lemon juice, allspice and nutmeg. Whisk a few more times. Slowly add the cream.
  6. Once the gravy begins to simmer****, add the meatballs back into the pan.
  7. Simmer until the gravy has thicken up a bit and the meatballs are cooked all the way through*****, about 8-10 minutes.
  8. Serve warm over mashed potatoes or egg noodles, alongside steamed veggies and lingonberry jam.

Cooking Notes:

*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.

** I like to shape the meatballs and place them on a piece of parchment paper for easy clean up and less dishes. Then I use another piece of parchment to place the browned meatballs on, again, easy clean up, less dishes.

*** If you take your time adding the beef broth, your gravy will stay thick, taking less time overall.

**** Take care not to boil the cream. It might separate if you do. Keep it at a simmer until the meatballs are cooked all the way through.

***** The meatballs should reach an internal temperature of 165° F and no longer be pink on the inside.