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This is the BEST Swedish Meatballs Recipe — a genuine recipe from a Swedish grandmother — with a little twist!
This Swedish Meatballs recipe has been passed down from a Swedish grandmother to her beautiful granddaughter, and are the best Swedish meatballs I’ve ever tasted! Even better than Ikea! Easy to make meatballs full of flavour, swimming in the most amazing creamy gravy sauce! ~ Karina
Swedish Meatballs
Hi there! My name is Helena! I was born in Sweden and lived there for the first 20 years of my life before I moved to Australia in 2010. Ask any child aged from 5 years and over in Sweden what they like to eat and they will definitely say MEATBALLS!
It’s safe to say that Meatballs are tied to a lot of childhood memories of family dinners. Another thing Swede’s love is tradition. Swedish Meatballs are on the table in every household at every special occasion and holiday, guaranteed!
When I moved to Australia, the one thing that I noticed about this dish was that a lot of people who weren’t Swedes had their own opinion of what ‘Swedish Meatballs’ are. So here is a recipe inspired by my Grandmother Gerd’s and my father Anders’ cooking along with my own little twist. I hope you will love them as much as I do!
How To Make Swedish Meatballs
I use a mixture of ground beef and pork (mince) in my recipe, but you can use all beef if you don’t have or like pork.
The breadcrumbs are mixed together with milk to make these meatballs extra juicy, keeping them moist while cooking. Let the milk absorb into the mixture before adding in the onion and parsley, then mix well with your hands, pressing the ingredients into the meat. You can roll the mixture into 24 small balls or 16 larger balls.
I like to use a combination of butter and oil to fry them in for added flavour. Fry in batches of two so they sear nicely, then transfer to a warm plate and cover with foil.
Swedish Meatballs Sauce
Serving our meatballs with the brown/creamy gravy sauce is not the Swedish traditional way. However, since I do know how much non-swedes love it (yup, us Swedes have folded too… just look at IKEA meatballs!), I’ve included it in this recipe.
Once the meatballs are fried, keep the meat juices in the pan (this is where the flavour is) and add the butter! Whisk in flour until it dissolves, pour in the broth (or stock) and the rest of the ingredients, mixing the sauce well to combine all of the flavours together.
What to serve with Swedish Meatballs
We usually serve these Meatballs plain, with either boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes OR pasta (Macaroni if I get to pick!) and with Tomato sauce (Ketchup). That’s the kid version. If you want the more grown up version, we usually serve the meatballs with boiled potatoes, creamy sauce and lingonberry jam!
Some Tips:
- To make the meatballs lower in carbs, use almond meal to replace the breadcrumbs. Also, use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water to replace the flour in the gravy sauce. Just add the cornstarch mixture at the end, while continuously stirring over low heat until sauce has thickened.
- Replace heavy or thickened cream with reduced fat cream if you wish to reduce calories. If using half and half, be careful not to bring to a boil or it may separate.
- Garlic is not usually found in Swedish meatballs, but I prefer it and have included it for this reason. Omit if you don’t want to include it. I like to grate my garlic clove with the small part of a grater. You can use minced garlic if you prefer.
Smaklig måltid kära vänner!
PHOTOGRAPHY BY: KARINA CARREL | CAFE DELITES
WATCH HELENA MAKE THEM RIGHT HERE!
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The Best Swedish Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 35 ml cream
- 1 egg large
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/3 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon Grillkrydda or all spice or all purpose seasoning
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 1 pound ground beef mince
- 1/2 pound ground pork mince
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
Gravy Sauce (OPTIONAL):
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1/4 cup plain flour all purpose flour
- 250 ml vegetable broth or stock
- 250 ml beef broth or stock
- 1 cup thickened or heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 pinch salt to season
- 1 pinch pepper to season
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the breadcrumbs together with the milk, cream (If using), egg, garlic, salt, peppers and spice. Allow the milk to soak into the breadcrumbs for at least 10 minutes.
- Once the milk has absorbed some, add in the onion, meat(s) and parsley. Mix well with your hands to combine.
- Roll meat into about 24 small balls, or 16 larger balls.
- Heat 1 tablespoons of butter and 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan on medium-high heat. Fry meatballs in batches of two so they don’t stew or simmer. Transfer to a warm plate and cover with foil.
- Add the 1/3 cup butter to the juices in the pan to melt. Whisk in the flour until it dissolves and turns brown in colour. Pour in the broth (or stock), cream, soy sauce and dijon. Bring to a to simmer and season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix the sauce through well to combine all of the flavours together.
- Continue to simmer until thickened.
To serve:
- Non Swedish way: Place meatballs into the gravy in the pan and serve
- Traditional Swedish way: Do not make the cream sauce at all. Serve meatballs over plain or stewed macaroni, plain or mashed potatoes, and lingenberry jam (optional)
Notes
1) I use a mixture of ground beef and pork (mince) in may recipe, but you can use all beef is you don't have or like pork
2) To make the meatballs lower in carbs, use almond meal to replace the breadcrumbs. Also, use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water to replace the flour in the gravy sauce. Just add the cornstarch mixture at the end, while continuously stirring, over low heat until sauce has thickened.
3) I like to grate my garlic clove with the small part of a grater. You can use minced garlic if you prefer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is a keeper! I want to rate it five stars but for some reason am having trouble getting it to work. Anyhow, made this gluten free by toasting a few heels of gluten free bread, then grinding them in a spice grinder to get 1/3 cup breadcrumbs. For the spices, I used 1/4 tsp allspice and about 1/8 tsp nutmeg in mine, but kept everything else the same. To the person concerned about cooking times and pork, get a meat thermometer and make sure it reads 160 degrees F and you’ll be okay. This took a bit longer to cook than I expected and I will admit to putting more than two at a time in the frying pan (I made 24 meatballs). But so worth it. To make the sauce gluten free, I used King Arthur All Purpose Gluten Free Flour mix and it was perfect as a sub for regular flour, making a nice roux. Also subbed GF tamari for the regular soy sauce (tastes the same). Tangy, thick gravy. Served with boiled new potatoes tossed with butter, dill and salt (you can find super simple traditional recipes online), and lingonberry jam. Haven’t had this since i visited Sweden 20 years ago and it brought a smile to my face. Husband and kid loved it! Thank you!
These are amazing! The BEST swedish meatball recipe and gravy ever! Thank you so much! The only thing I did different was added another tsp of dijon mustard because I like that flavor & prepared my meatballs in the airfryer.
Cook the meatballs in 2 batches, not just two at a time.
That’s what the instructions stated. 2 batches.
This looks so good. Do you have any suggestions for a dairy free alternative for the milk and egg? My youngest is allergic to dairy. I know he would love something like this.
Thank you
Hi, Jackie! If it were me, since egg is just a binder here, I’d probably look up a recipe online for a flax or chia “egg” substitute. For the milk, I’d be inclined to use plain, unsweetened cashew milk or oatmilk, as these will have some body without giving too much flavor (like coconut milk would). 🙂
Looks delicious! Made this but tweaked it because I was out of heavy cream…I used cream of mushroom soup instead (I know, I know. Please don’t hate me.) Also I added Worcestershire sauce and reduced stock and left out soy sauce. Came out great! Thanks for the inspiration!!!
Making this for a large gathering and would like to prepare meatballs in advance and then freeze them. I see this same question has been asked several times but never answered so I will try again: if preparing in advance, should the meatballs be frozen before they are pan-fried or after? I plan to make the gravy on the day they are served so just need advance freezing instructions for the meatballs themselves. Please respond…others are inquiring too!
Yes you can freeze these meatballs in a freezer bag ! Not a problem. Just be sure to make sure that they are room temp and the air has been completely removed from the bag before sealing.
I hate to confess this, but my son requested that I make swedish meatballs for his office staff party. We were at his home visiting from out of town. Unfortunately, he told me the DAY of the party, and just 7 hours before the party. I did not have all the ingredients for the meatballs and no vehicle to go to the store, so I used a family size bag of homestyle, bite sized meatballs instead of making the meatballs myself. I browned them in the oven and then put them in a crock pot. I made the sauce according to the directions and poured it over the meatballs and heated them for 5 hours on low in the Crock-Pot. They turned out ok in a pinch, but making the balls yourself are much better.
Sorry – quick question! How long do the meatballs take to cook through (in the pan assuming no sauce)? I’ve had pork related food poisoning once and – whilst I really don’t want to overcook them- I’d want to be sure they were. Poked through!
Thanks!
I’m rating them based on how reading the recipe makes me feel!!
great recipe but i used sour cream and add 1/2 onion and can of mushroom mmm tweech saskatoon self
All I have to say is that these meatballs and gravy are absolutely delicious!! I make them with your mashed potatoes recipe and a side of asparagus. My family loves it!! Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes!!!
The meatballs came together nicely and now I am debating whether to freeze them before cooking or put them in the freezer after cooking. What do you suggest?
WOW WOW WOW! I’m blown away by how good this turned out. My entire family loved it. I want to say ive made swedish meatballs 3 other times in my lifetime(one of which being a vegan version) and this recipe is by far the best batch i’ve ever prepared. All the times i made swedish meatballs the recipe didnt called for dijon mustard and that was the missing factor for that sour kick(i added extra dijon to my servings). Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. Next time i’ll sub the pork for turkey as i ought to be eating kosher.
FYI, you will need to sub all the dairy (milk, butter and cream) if you actually want to make this recipe kosher – not just replacing the pork (no mixing of dairy and meat in kashrut).