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I made my own Swedish meatballs for the first time!!! And gosh it wasn’t difficult at all! Thank you so much for the amazing recipe.
Shiela
All Hail These Swedish Meatballs!
I grew up eating a lot of Swedish meatballs, and I have to say – Swedish meatball recipes are varied and they all kind of have their own personality. But after testing several ingredient combinations and methods, this is the one that I like best.
Cream-soaked bread mixed with ground beef and ground pork with plenty of salt and pepper, baked to golden meatball perfection, and finally rolled around in a rich and savory cream-based gravy. It is mellow, ultra comforting, and deeply flavorful all at the same time.
Swedish meatballs may or may not be something that you want to make on a random Tuesday night because they’re gonna take a little time to make. You’ve got the rolling, you’ve got the baking, you’ve got the gravy-making…
But they are SPECIAL. And they aren’t hard. They are perfect for holiday meals or dinner club or just a little something extra when you’re looking for a good reason to live your best life.
May your gravy be creamy and your meatballs be extra-savory and your special dinner be one to remember. ♡
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How To Make These Swedish Meatballs
1
Soak The Bread.
You’re going to soak some basic white bread in heavy cream. Yeah, I know. But trust that this is where the tenderness and flavor start coming into the picture!
2
Make Your Meatballs.
Mix everything together – pork, beef, BREAD, butter, onions, garlic, all that’s good. Then roll them into meatballs on a sheet pan and bake until cooked through.
3
Make The Gravy.
Whisk the gravy: butter, flour, beef broth, Worcestershire, little bit of nutmeg (and/or allspice if you want), and some heavy cream for that delicious creaminess. (Some recipes will use sour cream, but traditionally the creaminess comes from cream!)
4
All Together Now.
When the gravy is finished, add your baked meatballs to the pan and stir it all up. HELLO Swedish Meatballs!
What Are Swedish Meatballs?
Whether it’s from frequent IKEA trips, Christmas dinners at grandma’s, or the generally strong Scandinavian pride of the midwest, Swedish meatballs feel synonymous with Sweden.
Traditionally, Swedish meatballs are made with pork and beef, cream, egg, and onion, and are served alongside mashed potatoes, lingonberries, and tangy pickly cucumbers. It’s the perfect balance of savory, sweet, and tangy.
If you want to REALLY dig deep, back to be beginning of the history of these beautiful little bites, Swedish meatballs are actually based on a dish brought back from Turkey in the early 18th century by King Charles XII of Sweden. Which means… they might actually be Turkish meatballs? Excuse me? Intrigue!
Tips For Making The Best Swedish Meatballs
Like I said, this isn’t exactly a made-for-a-weeknight recipe, so let’s talk about some tips.
- The meatball mixture will be a little wetter than most meatball recipes you’ve probably made, and that’s how it should be! This is what makes for the most tender, delicious, meatballs.
- When baking your meatballs in the oven, make sure they’re not touching. This will ensure the meatballs get crispy instead of steamy!
- SAVE YOUR GREASE! After the meatballs are made, save that grease to make your gravy for the BEST flavor. (Don’t worry, the recipe reminds you to do this!)
- Make the sides. I repeat: MAKE THE SIDES! These meatballs are so delicious and savory and go so well with creamy mashed potatoes, but the balance of it with the tangy/sweet lingonberries (affiliate link) and zippiness of the cucumbers truly brings this all together.
- If you need a vegetarian option for this recipe, whether for yourself or someone at your table, this Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs recipe is the ticket!
What To Serve with Swedish Meatballs
The meatballs in and of themselves are a world wonder, but let me fill out the plate for you for what to serve with Swedish meatballs.
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes <– I like these, obviously, because they’re very easy and have so much garlic herb flavor. (If you’re not into potatoes or don’t have the time, you’ll often see Swedish meatballs served over egg noodles, though we are VERY much partial to the mashed potatoes.)
- Tangy Lingonberry Sauce, for which we use the recipe on the back of the lingonberry package.
- Vinegary Cucumber Salad, which seems a little strange at first glance but is so delicious and essential for cutting through everything. It wakes the whole plate up.
Swedish Meatballs: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! The flavor combo of the two meats is really good, but I’ve also enjoyed the all-beef versions that I’ve made.
You make a basic roux and add cream and Worcestershire to it – and if you want to add all the pan juices from the meatballs in there, too, that’s delicious! If you like a smoother gravy, don’t add all the juices because they will create some flecks in the gravy. (But I don’t mind the flecks personally! And the flavor is top notch.)
The meatball mixture is pretty wet! That’s normal, especially because there’s not any dry elements in this, like cheese or breadcrumbs. The reason for the wet texture is that the cream-soaked bread makes for a very tender meatball once it’s cooked. If you get your hands slightly wet, you’ll have an easier time rolling them.
You can! If you are using thin, plain white sandwich bread, you may want to use 6-8 slices instead to make a thicker bread mixture.
The meatballs in the recipe freeze amazingly well. Just cook them as the recipe states and then freeze in a bag. Keeps for up to two months, and then you can easily whip up a batch of gravy and toss the meatballs in!
The best way to prep this ahead of time is to make the meatballs! That way, when it comes time to serve, all you need to do is make your sauce and then pop them out of the fridge or freezer and add to the pan.
The mashed potatoes and lingonberries also prep beautifully and will keep in the fridge for a few days!
We do have a different recipe for Vegetarian Swedish Meatballs that is equally delicious and popular!
I listed a few ideas right here! But the basic formula for me is this: meatballs and gravy, mashed potatoes, tangy vinegar cucumbers, and sweet lingonberry sauce. Perfection.
Sure could! Target sells frozen pre-made Swedish Meatballs, or you can take a trip to IKEA to get their frozen meatballs in the market. Then just warm them up in the gravy and you’re good to go!
A previous version of this recipe used raw onions and garlic in the meatball mixture; we’ve since changed that as we felt the whole process was made significantly easier by using granulated onion and garlic with no sacrifice in flavor! Find the previous version here.
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The Best Swedish Meatballs
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 5–6 servings 1x
Description
Swedish Meatballs that are perfectly tender and spiced, served with creamy, savory, gravy. Comfort food at its best!
Ingredients
Swedish Meatballs:
- 4 slices white bread, no crusts
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 pound ground beef (I use 85/15)
- 1 pound ground pork (you can also sub with another pound of ground beef instead)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- a few shakes of black pepper
Gravy:
- 2 tablespoons butter (you can also use some drippings from the baked meatballs)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth (more as needed)
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (more to taste)
- 1–2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (to taste – I recommend adding it last so you can taste and adjust for how much you want)
- Very slight dash of nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
- Meatball Mixture: In a small bowl, soak the white bread in the heavy cream for 5-10 minutes. Mash with a spoon or you hands. Mix the bread paste in a large bowl with the garlic and onion powder, beef and pork, egg, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. When it’s all well-mixed, roll into smallish meatballs. (If you find the mixture is too wet to handle, you can add a bit of panko or a tablespoon of cornstarch to help them hold a bit more. But don’t panic – wet is normal for this mixture. It makes for very tender meatballs!)
- Bake the Meatballs: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place meatballs on a sheet pan or baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cooked through.
- Gravy Time: In a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat. (You’re going to add the meatballs back into this pan so make sure it’s a nice big skillet, saute pan, or braiser casserole dish.) Whisk in the flour; let it bubble for 2-3 minutes. Add the beef broth, slowly, stirring after each addition. Gradually a smooth gravy should start to form. Stir in the heavy cream and season with Worcestershire sauce, sugar, salt, and a bit of nutmeg if you want. Taste and adjust to get it just right! That’s where the magic happens.
- Add meatballs in with the gravy. Cover to keep warm until you want to serve them, or transfer the pan to the oven where they can hang out on low / warm heat and continue to get tender and delicious. (The meatballs are already great on their own, but the longer they soak in sauce, the more tender and delicious they get.) Serve over mashed potatoes, with a cucumber salad and lingonberries.
Notes
If you prefer, you can use all ground beef in this recipe instead of half beef, half pork.
The gravy thickens and the meatballs get more tender as you let them rest in the sauce. I like to make this in the afternoon so it has a few hours to settle in before I serve it in the evening – I just keeping it warm if it’s for 2-3 hours, or put in the fridge if it’ll be longer. If it will be in the fridge, the gravy will probably need an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of broth to help it get back to a saucy consistency!
A great make-ahead option for this is to make the meatballs, and either bake them and freeze them, or just freeze them raw and bake day-of. That way, when it’s time to serve day-of, all you really have to make is the gravy!
For a real easy version of this, use your favorite store-bought meatballs! I’ve had many readers tell me they do it that way and love it!
The cucumber salad (or just any salad with a vinegary punch) is very important in balancing this meal! I would highly recommend doing a simple Swedish cucumber salad – the flavors and textures were just made to create a beautiful balanced plate!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Sauté
- Cuisine: Swedish
Keywords: swedish meatballs, meatballs, swedish food, gravy recipe
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super tender meatballs, even using all ground beef ,best recipe ive tried, thank you!
Delicious! I swapped for gluten free bread & it still tasted amazing and held well. Approved by our 1 year old 🙂 Simple & easy, will be adding to our routine.
Hi! I’ve made these before and they are fantastic. However lingonberry has gotten too expensive, can you suggest a sub for this? Thanks so much!
cranberry would also be great!
Can I use breadcrumbs instead of white bread slices?
Just delicious and cozy and hitting all the cold-weather nostalgia vibes. Much more flavorful than the Swedish meatballs of my childhood memories (Minnesotan here). They kept well in the oven for a few hours, they paired perfectly with your IP mashed potatoes and the recommended sides. Tummies full of contentment over here!
Excellent! 5 stars *****
“Cooked through” should have temperature classification.
What should the meatball size be? How many meatballs should I this recipe make ? I tried to follow your pictures and you pan shows only 15 meatballs but I found this recipe to make closer to 30!
absolutely delicious!
Oh my goodness, yum!! Made this tonight and it was so delicious. We put over egg noodles but would be great on mashed potatoes. Wouldn’t change a thing about this. Sooooooo good!
My family loves these… my husband even said they were some of the best meatballs he has ever had. I didn’t have white bread but I did have King’s Hawaiian rolls and it was a killer substitute!
These were so so good!! Highly recommend! Another family fav
These were awesome for the holidays – this time I made them in advance and pulled out of the freezer and they were still delicious! The cucumber salad is a perfect side for this rich meal. Love!
These were even better than I expected! I was worried about the brown sugar in the gravy, but it was SO delicious!
A family favorite! We are not Swedish, but enjoyed this on Christmas Eve. So delicious!
These were creamy and delicious! I loved the addition of the nutmeg in the sauce. Made it extra festive and perfect for a holiday meal!
These were a perfect quick dinner during the holiday rush and super tasty! I added some mushrooms that needed using up and it turned out perfect!
Awesome recipe!! Super easy to make and delicious. I used double portion of beef and vegetable stock and it worked great.
So yummy! Our Christmas tradition!
My German husband took one bite, stopped chewing and looked at me with tears in his eyes, no lie. I’m very happy that I doubled the recipe and froze the other half of the meatballs. I normally can’t eat a meal more than once or twice in a row but I happily ate the leftovers for at least 4 meals in a row. This one is a keeper in our book.
This is one of my favorite meals/recipes of ALL TIME. Just so comforting and delicious and hearty and flavorful. I may or may not have made it on a random week night more than once…it’s THAT good.
These are the BEST Swedish meatballs! We double the recipe every holiday season and our family still can’t get enough!!
The perfect combo of sweet and savory in a meatball!
LOVE this recipe. It’s relatively quick and everyone in my family of five likes it — that’s always a win.
I made a triple batch of this, and missed the part about 85/15 ground beef. I bought lean… and they are really dry, so I realized my mistake! But in re-reading the recipe this morning, your article says something about adding butter and onions….but that isn’t listed in the actual recipe. Also the recipe says 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. But someone commented that it said 350 degrees. Do you have an updated recipe somewhere that I can’t find?