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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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  • Winter
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
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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

Join the discussion below.

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  • 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!

  • Tim

    This looks a LOT like grandma’s recipe (which I lost along with Mom’s Blueberry pie when they “cleaned” my house). A suggestion/tip on the mixing part though. I use a pastry/dough blender for the mix. Saw one at Target recently. Oxo Softworks Dough Blender with Blades. That’s not MY tool but it’s VERY close. Works GREAT with meat mixtures you don’t want to squish into submission. Do a search for the Oxo tool to get a visual then subtract the brand name to see what’s out there.

    Nice tip. Sorry to hear you lost your grandma's recipe.

  • Judy

    Can sliced mushrooms be added for a little more umph

    Sure! hope you enjoy Judy!

  • 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!

  • Sarah

    This was SO delicious. I never write reviews but this was really so easy and delish. Highly suggest

    Thanks Sarah, we are so happy you loved it!

  • Toots

    I made this recipe, following the recipe, but I baked my meatballs. The meatballs were CHEF’S KISS! The sauce was good but I do not understand the lemon juice. The lemon juice made it a little strange. Next time, I will omit the lemon juice and add Worcestershire. Aside from
    The lemon juice, this recipe was AMAZING!

    Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

  • Olivia

    This recipe is my go-to. I like that it uses heavy cream for the gravy - this is the authentic way. Sour cream is not authentic so I had to search around for a recipe that didn't use sour cream for the gravy! This recipe tastes just like what you'd find in Sweden.

    It also works to use a combination of ground venison and pork as well; that's my husband's favorite, but I prefer just beef and pork!

    Thanks Olivia, always fun to hear when something is a go-to. Glad you love it!