Swedish Meatballs

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These Swedish Meatballs are a wonderfully comforting meal. Made with a combination of beef and pork, simmered in a creamy gravy, and served over egg noodles or even mashed potatoes!

Swedish meatballs piled high on top of egg noodles with a side of green beans.

Swedish Meatballs

**Originally posted January 2016.  Photos, text and recipe updated**

Ahhh, Swedish Meatballs have a very special place in my heart!!  They are hands down one of my favorite meals and it was one of the first meals I learned to cook when I was young.  I’m sure I cooked it way too much and I think my mom and dad probably got tired of me making the same thing over and over.

But they taste so good!!  And they really aren’t that hard to make either.  Sure it does require you to roll up your sleeves and get your hands a little dirty making the meatballs, but it really is worth it!!  Read on to find out a few make-ahead tips to speed things up!

Some of our other favorite comforting meals are: One Pot Hamburger Stroganoff, Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuit Topping, Chicken in Garlic Mushroom Cream Sauce, and Slow Cooker Pot Roast.

Pan of swedish meatballs with a spoon lifting one out.

How to make Swedish Meatballs: 

  • In this recipe, I pan fry the meatballs but you can also bake them.  Just form the meatballs as usual and place them on a foil lined baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-20 minutes.  Then add them to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Make ahead tips:
    • Make the meatballs and either fry them or bake them and place on a baking sheet and freeze them for later!  Just freeze them on a baking sheet for 30 minutes to 1 hour so they don’t stick together.  Place in a freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.  To use: add them to the sauce, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.
    • Another option is to mix up the meat according to directions and keep in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

A big bowl of egg noodles topped with Swedish meatballs and a side of green beans.

What to serve Swedish Meatballs with:

  • We serve them with hot cooked and buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes.
  • Traditionally Swedish Meatballs are also served with Lingonberries but I haven’t tried them with it.  I know they are hard to find but a close substitute would be to use fresh cranberries and make a cranberry sauce.
  • Simple Roasted Green Beans or any steamed vegetable.

Top down view of Swedish Meatballs in a cast iron skillet. Garnished with parsley.

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Pan of swedish meatballs with a spoon lifting one out.

Swedish Meatballs

Course: Main, Main Dish
Swedish Meatballs- made with a combination of pork and beef then simmered in a creamy brown gravy.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4 -6
Author: Countryside Cravings
Print Recipe Save Recipe

Ingredients

Meatballs:

  • 1 small onion, grated or finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 cup (20g) dry bread crumbs
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) milk
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • pinch allspice
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 pound (250g) lean ground beef
  • 1/2 pound (250g) ground pork
  • olive oil (for frying)

Gravy:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup (30g) all purpose flour
  • 2 cups (475ml) beef broth
  • 3/4 cup (180g) sour cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
  • Hot cooked egg noodles

Instructions

Meatballs:

  • In a large mixing bowl combine the first eight ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes.  Add ground beef and pork and mix just until combined.  Form into 1 inch meatballs and place in hot skillet with olive oil.  Fry on all sides until cooked through (about 10-15 minutes).  
  • Remove from skillet and cover loosely with foil to keep warm, set aside. 

Gravy:

  • Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet over medium to medium low heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in the beef broth scraping up the bits stuck at the bottom of the pan (there's a lot of flavor there!).  
  • Reduce heat to a simmer and stir in the sour cream.  Add meatballs and simmer covered for 5 minutes.  

Notes

  1. In this recipe, I pan fry the meatballs but you can also bake them.  Just form the meatballs as usual and place them on a foil lined baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 18-20 minutes.  Then add them to the sauce and simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Make ahead tips:
    • Make the meatballs and either fry them or bake them and place on a baking sheet and freeze them for later!  Just freeze them on a baking sheet for 30 minutes to 1 hour so they don't stick together.  Place in a freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months.  To use: add them to the sauce, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until heated through.
    • Another option is to mix up the meat according to directions and keep in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
  3. What to serve with Swedish Meatballs:
    • We serve them with hot cooked and buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes.
    • Traditionally Swedish Meatballs are also served with Lingonberries but I haven't tried them with it.  I know they are hard to find but a close substitute would be to use fresh cranberries and make a cranberry sauce.
    • Simple Roasted Green Beans or any steamed vegetable.

 

Swedish Meatballs- made with a combination of pork and beef then simmered in a creamy brown gravy. | countrysidecravings.com

18 thoughts on “Swedish Meatballs”

  1. 4 stars
    This makes A LOT of meatballs! Enough for a party. We halve the recipe and add a teaspoon of salt to the meat mixture. I also add chopped mushrooms to the sauce. Yum.

    Reply
  2. 1 star
    The recipe for the meatballs is delicious. the sauce is a different story it was very Tangy from the sour cream and did not have much flavor other than sour cream we will use the meatball recipe for future dishes but not the sauce.

    Reply
    • I am so sorry this didn’t turn out as you hoped. If you would like to try it again you could use 1/2 cup of cream in place of the sour cream and add in some beef bouillon for more flavor.

      Reply
  3. I love how this was one of the first meals you learned how to cook! I’ve never made OR eaten Swedish Meatballs, so clearly, I need to fix that ASAP.

    Reply
  4. Oh my gosh! I must make this for my dad, he’d flip. And honestly, I would too. The pictures are making me drool!

    Reply

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