Swedish Meatballs
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Amazing homemade Swedish Meatballs smothered in a rich and creamy gravy are the best ever! These meatballs are packed with flavor, savory and comforting, plus the creamy, homemade gravy is heavenly. Make these for dinner or when you serve guests!
Learn how to make Swedish meatballs with this incredibly easy recipe. Swedish meatballs are known for their creamy sauce and cozy flavor. This super simple meal is a classic that everyone needs a recipe for! Serve them with a buttery dinner roll or some delicious breadsticks and you’ve got the ultimate comfort food dinner.
I love to make Swedish meatballs for other people too. It always seems to be a dish that anyone loves! So I’ll make it for meal trains or even as dinner when we are hosting guests. They just have so much flavor, so they always turn out well. If you need solid dinner recipe that is packed with protein, then give this easy Swedish meatball recipe a try.
Why You’ll Love Swedish Meatballs
- Make this entire recipe form scratch in just under an hour. It may seem like it would take a long time to make homemade meatballs, but it really isn’t too much time spent in the kitchen!
- Cooking the meatballs and the sauce in the same skillet drastically reduces clean-up time. Spend more time enjoying dinner than washing your dirty dishes!
- Swedish meatballs store well and make a great meal prep item. You can have dinner for a few nights if you make a double batch!
Ingredients for Swedish Meatballs Recipe
- Ground beef – Use a more lean ground beef so that there isn’t much fat cooked out that will make the dish really greasy.
- Low-sodium beef broth – It is important to use low sodium broth so that the dish isn’t too salty.
- Italian style breadcrumbs – Plain breadcrumbs will work if that is all that you have on hand, but Italian style provides more flavor. Panko breadcrumbs would also work if that’s all you have.
- Butter – I recommend using unsalted butter so that you can more easily have control over the salt level of the dish.
- Minced garlic – Freshly minced garlic elevates the flavor profile of this dish so much! Don’t skip this ingredient.
- Dried parsley flakes – Use dried parsley to add even more flavor to this creamy and delicious Swedish meatballs recipe.
- Olive oil – A little olive oil will help you brown and cook the meatballs. You could also use vegetable oil.
- Salt and pepper – Season with salt and pepper, all of the other ingredients provide so much flavor!
- Sour cream – The secret ingredient to the most creamy gravy for these easy Swedish meatballs.
- Minced onion – Make sure to finely mince the onion since it will be in the meatballs!
- All-purpose flour – Use all purpose flour as the thickener for the cream gravy.
- Heavy cream – I do not recommend subbing heavy cream in this sauce. The heavy cream makes all the difference and keeps the sauce super creamy and flavorful.
- Egg – One large egg will act as the binding agent to hold each meatball together.
Helpful Tools
- Large mixing bowl
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Mixing spoon
- Cookie scoop or spoon
- Large skillet
- Whisk
- Plate
- Paper towels
How to Make Swedish Meatballs
Follow these super simple steps to make the best swedish meatballs ever:
Make the Meatballs
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley flakes, minced garlic, minced onion, egg, and salt and pepper.
Stir with a wooden spoon (or your hands) until thoroughly combined. Then use you hands to roll scoops of the meat mixture into meatballs that are about 1 ½ inches in size. You should have 20-24 meatballs.
Pour some olive oil into a skillet and let it warm. Then add the meatballs in batches and cook until all sides are browned. This should take 4-5 minutes and then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
Drain excess grease out the pan.
Make the Gravy
Melt butter in the same skillet that you used to cook the meatballs. Then whisk in the flour and stir for about a minute until it is light brown.
Gradually whisk in the beef broth and cook the mixture until it is slightly thick. You need to stir continuously on this step!
Stir sour cream, heavy cream, salt and pepper into the mixture. Once combined, add the meatballs and coat each of them in the gravy.
Simmer the meatballs and Swedish meatball sauce for 8-10 minutes until the meatballs are warm all the way through.
Garnish with chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Serve immediately with you favorite side dishes!
How to Store Swedish Meatballs
You can store homemade Swedish meatballs with or without the cream gravy. If you are freezing the meatballs, I recommend not freezing with sauce. A cream based sauce, such as this one, will not freeze well.
FRIDGE: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
FREEZER: Place fully cooled meatballs onto a baking sheet. Then place them in the freezer for about 2 hours. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
How to Reheat Leftover Swedish Meatballs
To reheat, add some cook time to frozen meatballs and pop refrigerated meatballs into a skillet or the microwave.
What to Serve with Swedish Meatballs
I highly recommend serving these creamy meatballs with egg noodles, mashed potatoes or rice. These buttered noodles would also be a yummy pairing.
Serve these tasty meatballs with some veggies too! These glazed carrots would be perfect and some green beans with bacon are a great option as well. Some easy roasted vegetables are a great quick side dish for tons of your favorite meals.
Want a side dish that has minimal clean-up? Then make some air fryer potatoes to go with your Swedish meatballs!
Can I use pork in my Swedish meatballs?
Traditional Swedish meatballs are made with a blend of ground pork and ground beef. So, yes, you can absolutely add pork into the mix! Feel free to split the amount of beef this recipe calls for, or double the recipe and use an equal amount beef to pork.
How do you keep Swedish meatballs from falling apart?
It is very important to use egg and breadcrumbs in your meatballs so that they thoroughly bind together. But it is also important not to use too many breadcrumbs.
If you find that your meatballs are falling apart, you likely did not use the correct amount of ingredients and they are either dry or not wet enough. Try again and make sure to carefully measure out the breadcrumbs and remember the egg!
Pro Tips for the Best Swedish Meatballs Recipe
- Don’t overcook the meatballs when you first brown them or they will likely be too dry after you heat them in the gravy.
- Feel free to season to taste if the creamy gravy sauce is not salty enough for you!
- If you are unsure if the meatballs are fully cooked, just use an instant read meat thermometer to check the internal temp.
This is the most amazing Swedish meatballs recipe! I can’t wait to hear what you think once you try it out.
More Easy Dinner Recipes You’ll Love
- Chicken Alfredo Stuffed Shells are packed with protein and so much creamy and delicious flavor. The ultimate comfort food.
- Need a quick dinner for busy evenings? Then give this Frito Pie a shot.
- Marry Me Chicken is the creamy chicken dinner of your dreams. You’ll love this tasty dish!
- Make the perfect Tuna Melt right in your own kitchen! Just so tasty and delicious.
- Chicken ala King is one of those classic recipes you just have to try out.
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!
Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Swedish Meatballs:
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef
- ¾ cup Italian style breadcrumbs
- 1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ cup finely minced onion
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Gravy:
- ½ cup butter
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
For the Swedish Meatballs:
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, bread crumbs, parsley flakes, minced garlic, minced onion, egg, salt and pepper.
- Stir mixture with a wooden spoon until well combined. Use clean hands to roll the mixture into meatballs about 1 ½ inches in size (it should make about 20-24 meatballs).
- Put the olive oil into a skillet. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- Drain the excess grease out of the skillet.
For the Gravy:
- Melt butter in the skillet. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in beef broth and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in sour cream, heavy cream, salt and pepper Stir in meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
- Serve immediately. We recommend serving them with egg noodles, mashed potatoes or rice.
Surya-Patricia Lane Hood says
Having lived in Denmark many years and learned to make Swedish Meatballs from a friend who was a Swede and a chef, I can tell you that Swedish meatballs are made in Sweden of 1/3 beef, 1/3 pork, and 1/3 veal and that combination makes all the difference in the wonderful taste.
Courtney says
Interesting to hear. Thank you for sharing!
Surya-Patricia Lane Hood says
Swedish meatballs contain equal parts beef, pork, and veal.
Courtney says
Hmmm.. interesting to hear that.