Swedish Meatballs
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Nothing beats homemade meatballs smothered in a creamy gravy sauce, and yes, they taste so much better than the IKEA version!
Remember those trips to Ikea where the budget-friendly furniture finds are the last things on your mind but all you can think about are those amazing swedish meatballs? Well, that was always me. But since we’ve moved to the Bay Area, our nearest Ikea is in the middle of the most trafficked area in the entire city so it’s really hard to get my swedish meatball fix when needed. Thankfully, I’ve found a homemade version that tastes even better than the original.
These Swedish meatballs have been on my bucket list for nearly 3 years, and I’m so glad to finally cross this off my list. I don’t know why it took me so long to make it – it’s so easy to make, and it really tastes a million times better than the Ikea version. Plus, you can always make a huge batch of meatballs (by either doubling or tripling the recipe) and storing the uncooked meatballs in the freezer. When you have that Swedish meatball craving, you can just defrost these babies overnight. So simple and easy, right?
And the sauce – you can’t forget about that creamy, heavenly gravy sauce that these meatballs are smothered in with the browned up meatball bits. Those meatball bits stuck to the bottom of the pan really make the gravy what it is. I could practically drink it! Just be sure to make a little bit extra if you serve these over a bed of egg noodles – you’ll really want a portion to slurp down!
Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground pork
- ½ cup Panko*
- 2 large egg yolks
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
For the gravy
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 4 cups beef broth
- ¾ cup sour cream
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, Panko, egg yolks, allspice, nutmeg and cooked onion; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate.
- To make the gravy, melt butter in the skillet. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in beef broth and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in sour cream; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in meatballs and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through and thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Very good recipe love it a little personnel touch (Worcestershire)in the sauce )
But your sauce is very good done it before………
thank you
Great recipe. I have used it a couple of times.
My little trick is to add a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce to the white sauce.
This is one of my family’s favorites! I have made this recipe for many family get togethers. It’s so delicious and easy to make. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!!
So good! Definitely one that I will be making again soon!
So fantastic. We all just gobbled it up – great with mashed potatoes because the gravy is so tasty too.
The sauce on these meatballs is to die for! I tried to make this meatless and used Impossible Burger, but that was a mistake, even though the recipe calls for them to be well seasoned. Can’t wait to make this again using real beef!
I’ve been making this recipe several times over the years and it’s always a hit! Super comforting and flavorful and to me tastes way better than ikea!
I absolutely love this recipe! I make this every winter!!
Excellent! Great homemade meal.
I didn’t change a thing.
This is one of my families favorites! It is on our regular fall/winter rotation. I always serve over egg or kluski noodles.
I’ve also increased the meatball to gravy ratio and served as an appetizer in a crockpot.
It’s better when you make the meatballs per the recipe but I have also used frozen swedish meatballs for quicker weeknight meals. When I do that I add a little nutmeg and allspice to the gravy.
Soooo yummy!!! We always love this eating this!
I used pre-made meatballs and added onions to the roux. This sauce is really good. An awesome alternative to recipes that use heavy cream, and you can use lactaid sour cream if someone in your family is lactose intolerant. Would make this again!
This turned out amazing. When I googled Swedish meatball recipes and saw Damn Delicious had one I knew it would be because you never disappoint, but I wasn’t expecting the level of how much I loved these.
Super simple and easy to make. I did worry about my ability to brown all sides so after the first minute I flipped the balls and put a lid on for the last 4 minutes and shook the pan occasionally.
Served over mashed potatoes with a side of green beans. 10/10 will put in my regular rotation.
This is my go to recipe for Swedish meatballs!
Best recipe ever. My family loves this. Making this again tonight for dinner.
Can I add sautéed mushrooms to the gravy or do you think it would taste funny because of the nutmeg and allspice?
I have not made them but my reaction is go for it. Mushrooms add greatness to all recipes. Just my opinion.
Looking forward to making this recipe and I wanted to ask if you or others have added sautéed mushrooms to the sauce?
Thank you .
Been making this receptor for years it’s my fav go too !!!
I have made this dozen of times with no ingredient substitutions and love it. I find making the meatballs the night before and putting in the fridge helps them from falling apart. This is our go to MN Vikings Sunday football party appetizer (put in crockpot on low/warm). Thank you very much for this delicious recipe.
great recipe, been using it for a few years! panicked because i could not find it in my mobile browser history because i havent made it since last winter! lucky it was still in my desktop history! i love the addition of pork it makes for really yummy meatballs -will be making tonight with tagliatelle noodles . will sub sour cream with greek yogurt to avoid another trip to the store. thanks so much!
My go to that everyone loves!!!
I’ve made this several times and is delicious each time. The only thing I change is to use all ground beef.
Always a hit at our house. Thanks for the recipe.
I made these meatballs a while back and they were really the best . I’m going make them again for a special occasion , like maybe a milestone birthday coming soon . Love them !
i absolutely love your recipe. I have been using it for a few years now and I needed to let you know that it has withstood the test of time. I go to this one everytime I want swedish meatballs. I cannot hank you enough!!
This has been my go to recipe for Swedish meatballs for years now. Figured I should contribute a comment. Haha. It’s a very straight forward recipe. Easy to follow and never disappoints!
These were amazing!!! We made them as is other then did not add any additional salt and pepper, it did not need it. We served over mashed potatoes…added sour cream and sharp cheddar cheese to the potatoes. Thank you
Last night, I couldn’t get to the store for beef broth, so I substituted chicken demiglace, and it made the texture and taste of the gravy really excellent! I threw in some Worcester sauce to make up for the missing beef taste.
I bought some instant demiglace mix for a recipe once, and it hangs out in my fridge. Whenever I need broth for a sauce and sub it in, it always ends up improving the recipe! I don’t even really know what demiglace is, but it’s magical!
This has been my go-to recipe for Swedish meatballs for about a year now because my husband loves Ikea Swedish meatballs. I had been using a German grandma’s recipe for ages, and this has so much more flavor! Thanks for helping me break out of tradition : -)
I made these before and they turned out excellent, so I’m making again for Christmas morn. One vital question and I’ve seen other people asking this, but they got no answer……
Can you freeze these (with gravy) after they are cooked and cooled???? thanks for your response
You can freeze the meatballs only. The sauce will be grainy or may split when reheating after being frozen.
You can freeze the meatballs. I triple the meatball recipe only, Prepare the sauce. When I want to make them again, I defrost the meatballs, bake them off (350° F for 30 minutes or so), prepare the sauce using the pan drippings. Tasty and quick.
I have frozen the meatballs with gravy many times. Heat on low and add a bit of milk and it is just as creamy and delicious.
Great recipe. I use onion dip in place of sour cream for extra flavor.
Excellent recipe. I use frozen meatballs with the sauce for a quick, weekday meal.
I used frozen meatballs and seasoned them with above seasonings and the sauce. It was a hit with the family. Great recipe
Damned delicious! Even my home chef brother-in-law liked it! I served it over egg noodles and had plenty of sauce!
I love this recipe and made it many times. If I’m in a hurry I cook the meatballs in the oven at 400 for 20 minutes while making the gravy on the stove.
What size skillet should I use? Thank you. Can’t wait to make.
Excellent recipe! I made just the sauce and used frozen ready made meatballs and it was so simple, fast to make and delicious. I added freshly ground pepper, parsley and a dash of smoked paprika at the end. Yum! Thank you for a great staple recipe as always!
Finally a Swedish meatball recipe that I love. Thank you.
Omg!!! These meatballs were absolutely delicious. I will one hundred percent make these again!!❤️❤️
This recipe is a favorite of my family in regular rotation! Thank you
Nice flavours. Easy to follow recipe. However, the sauce didn’t thicken up as much as I would have liked and the sour cream should be added at the end when the heat is turned off. Otherwise it curdles and splits.
We enjoyed this recipe very much. I followed the recipe and after I sauteed the meatballs there was a substantial amount of grease in the pan. I drained most of it leaving the browned bits of onion and meat. I added the butter, flour, and broth as directed. While the gravy was initially thin, it thickened up after I added the sour cream and then the meatballs to heat through. The gravy was just the right consistency. I wouldn’t add any more flour to this mix–it would be too thick. The recipe made 28 meatballs, but I made them a little smaller than the recipe stated. The allspice and nutmeg really complimented the pork and beef and the gravy added even more flavor!
First time trying to make Swedish meatballs. I used turkey as I had some that needed to be used. Followed the rest of the recipe as written (except I did not read the directions and didn’t sauté the onions ) but it was very tasty and flavorful. I had the same issues as some others with my sauce not thickening, so thank you for those comments, I used the cornstarch suggestion. I did add Dijon mustard to the sauce as I thought it was smidge bland. Served over egg noodles- delish! Lots of leftovers and sauce.
Made this last night and it turned out excellent! Took some of the reviews to heart and went “light” on the nutmeg and allspice. (about half) and it turned out great. 2 pounds of meat is enough for dinner and some leftovers. Will definitely make this again to freeze.
Very good flavor in the meatballs and sauce. Sauce/ gravybwas way too thin, added 2 Tbs. of cornstarch , it turned out great.
Fabulous recipe! So delicious .. although I used pork mince. So light & tasty! Now a family favourite. Yummy
Your recipe is awesome! I made mine into a meatloaf and added Worcestershire sauce to the meatloaf and the sauce. Also threw in some mushrooms in that lovely sauce. Yum!!!!
Loved this but added more flour and sour cream to thicken and add more flavor
These meatballs and gravy have excellent flavor! They are easy to make and get a lot of flavor in such a short cooking time. BUT, the gravy as written was way too thin. Next time I’ll lessen the broth by a cup or keep the 4 c. of broth and up the amount of flour to 2/3 cup. I also added a healthy dash of Worcestershire Sauce. My family enjoyed the recipe. Served with roasted red potatoes and veggies.
Sooo delicious! It is unanimous with my whole family, including my grandchildren, this recipe’s a keeper and there was enough sauce/gravy miammnm!
Thank you!
My family loved these meatballs. A fabulous meal on a cold night.
After weeks of snow shoveling and Nordic Skiing this month, I thought the family was entitled to Swedish Meatballs. This recipe is delicious and quick! I love the tweak of cooking the onion before adding to the ground meat and preparing the gravy in the same pan that is used to brown the meatballs. For those that asked, I drain the grease but keep the brown bits to make the gravy. I use Better than Broth for Beef Broth. It’s tasty and doesn’t have the extra vegetable stock flavor that makes some of my recipes taste like beef stew. My only change is to reduce the broth to 3 cups as the recipe makes lot of gravy.
This recipe is a favorite at my house. It’s so easy to make and everyone loves it.
I have a silly question: Is there any reason why I can’t freeze the cooked leftover portions? I don’t normally freeze leftovers but thought I might double this and freeze some of the cooked portion, then just defrost and heat up.
This is the 13th time (my baker’s dozen) I’ve made this recipe. And I’m grateful every single time I taste it. Perfect for cold winter days.
I have a friend from Sweden, and a cousin-in-law who travels to Sweden quite often. They keep asking for the recipe but I refuse to give it to them.
I know. I know. It helps the post to get as many likes as possible, but I feel clever knowing something they don’t.
They’re just so damn delicious!
I made this to the letter. No changes whatsoever, and it was perfect. This dish brought me back to the IKEA store that I’ve not visited in a looong time (we have none in the Philippines) so I’m so happy! I also made the cranberry orange sauce that’s also posted here, and maaannnn. That sealed the deal for me. My family loved it and I got major compliments. Thank you!
I haven’t made these yet. But I was wondering just anyone done the nutrition info?
Made this tonight and found the gravy a little bland. I added in some Worcestershire sauce and that did the trick. I think next time I might add some diced shallots too.
Overall good, quick and easy. Will make again.
Seriously the best – I threw two whole eggs in, subbed the beef broth with whatever broth I had in the cupboard and water to equal 4 cups (I added more salt to comp for the broth), plant butter because DH and I are lactose intolerant and coconut cream with four spoons of lemon juice for the sour cream. Excellent with steamed potatoes and lingonberry sauce. Family loved it! Thanks!
Tank u so much. Now I can make this for my sister.
My family loved these meatballs. The gravy was awesome. It was my first time getting gravy right.
I used 1/4 cup sour cream, about 2 tablespoons of no salt seasoning and chicken broth. I substituted gluten free flour and breadcrumbs, plant based meatballs and lean turkey meat. Definitely adding to my regular menu. In addition I made mash potatoes and cranberry sauce for topping.
I made this tonight! I decided to bake the meatballs for 20min at 200 and added just a dash of wor Hester shire to the gravy. It was so so delicious. My family gobbled it up. Definitely adding it to the regular monthly menu.
Help – how do I “season to taste” raw ground pork and beef? Can someone give me a better measurement. The worst meatball is an under/over seasoned meatball. Thank you
I have a heated skilled ready, and I cook a tiny amount of the seasoned meat to taste it for seasoning. Just a little teaspoon’s worth. Hope this helps!
The “general rule” is to use 1 tsp salt for each pound of meat.. according to many sites I’ve encountered..
Molto buono! Very good recipe. My family does not like sour cream, so we substituted 1 cup of heavy cream. The meatballs come out tender and extremely flavorful, and the gravy is an excellent topping. This recipe is going in the family cookbook!
After searching through all of the recipes that come up, this one has by far been the best and is my go to. I’ve made it several times this year. On Egg noodles, rice, or mashed potatoes is delicious, I’m not even sure which i like best they’re all so good. Sometimes I add Campbell’s beef consommé in with some of the beef broth, really adds a robust beef flavor. Not great for sodium but…oh well! Thank you for posting this amazing recipe 🙂
Yes to the beef consume. It has a kick and helps thicken the gravy as the consume has a bit of gelatin in it.
FANTASTIC. I PAN FIEND THE MEATBALL TO GET THE TEXTURE I wanted. Then baked for 20 nins at 400 (160 degrees internal) . Add I added a big spoonful of Dijon mustard to the sauce. Wow!
They were very good! Can the meatballs and gravy be frozen?
Ive made this numerous times! It is wonderful.
Just made this , oh damn is it good. Cause could of been a little thicker. But great taste. Put a little extra spice in but filled the recipe for most part put it over butter noodles
I’m planning on making these but I’m wondering if I could sub out the beef and pork for chicken?
I make mine with ground turkey, so you could use ground chicken if you choose to. It does change the taste and even the consistency of the meatballs a bit, but they are still very delicious.
I wanted to thank you for adding a regular meal in our routine! I was missing the nutmeg (but discovered I had 5 other Allspices hiding in my cabinet!) it was still fantastic!! I actually have never ate the meatballs from IKEA. We never had one in our city! My family and I love this recipe! Thank you!
Excellent recipe. I added a pinch of garlic powder and allspice to the meat, used a bit less broth for the gravy, and served it, some crema, and home made cranberry sauce on the side to accompany baby potatoes – for a more upscale, but still IKEA-adjacent experience! My guests were very pleased. This is an excellent base recipe that I’ll be using again and again with minor modifications. Thank you muchly.
Made this for dinner tonight, family loved it! Only things I did different are: I added cornstarch (to water, mixed, & then added to gravy) because I found 4 cups of broth was too much & it wasn’t thickening at all. & the other thing, I added extra seasonings to the gravy. Parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, & a bit of seasoned salt (as well as the regular salt). We served it over egg noodles! Yum!
I understand that some people loathe when others rate recipes after they’ve modified them, but I did so with ingredients that should be pantry staples for most. Firstly, I used a blend of half turkey thigh and half turkey breast meat as our household does not eat red meat. For the meatball mix, I only cooked down half an onion and added: a couple teaspoons of minced garlic, roughly 1/2 t both onion and garlic powder, ~1 t both Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce, and a pinch of white pepper / salt (I wanted them to be flavor-bombs and they were!). I had to add a smidge more panko since my mixture was a bit more wet than it would have been had I used beef/pork and considering my liquid additions. I let them chill in the fridge for about an hour then formed and baked them (at 400ºF for 20 minutes, turning once).
For the sauce I also added a couple teaspoons of each soy sauce and Worcestershire, 1/2 t onion & garlic powder, a pinch more nutmeg/allspice, and salted to taste. The sauce needed to thicken for about 10 minutes on low heat, which was fine since I wanted that oh-so-good fond that had formed on the meatballs get incorporated into the sauce. I do not believe this made a “ton of sauce” as some stated considering how many meatballs there were. Served over egg noodles. I’m not going to pretend this is a healthy meal with the sodium content (especially with regard to my modifications, lol), but I really enjoyed it and know leftovers will be even better. Also, this was not nearly as labor intensive as I had anticipated (because I chose to bake them, I’m sure), and took under an hour and made a ton of food. Thank you so much for providing a wonderful backbone recipe!
If you are going to change a recipe that much, why don’t you start your own blog?
Exactly! Thank you!
First, I loved this recipe! It is a good base for many or no adjustments. Thank all of you open minded people for all of your ideas. I added some garlic to the meatballs and used Worcestershire sauce in the gravy also. Now ,why would someone tell another that they should “ start their own blog”? Really?! Your attitude just tells everyone to ignore you. You are one of those haters. I personally and I believe most of us WANT to hear the additions. People have varied tastes. Can you imagine alllll these reviews saying nothing but…” it’s a good recipe”?! Lots of times people don’t have a spice or herb OR have eating restrictions and these people want to hear how others fixed the recipe. How boring that someone wants all of us to not change the recipe. ( your comments were cruel, not realistic, and now we know what kind of person you are, go start your own blog, LOL)
I would say use sausage instead of just ground pork. It’s already seasoned. That and the allspice and nutmeg along with the onion and beef stock, sour cream etc, i can’t imagine how it could possibly be bland
I agree with you Beth. I like to read what tweaks people do to a recipe because people do have different taste buds and food does taste differently to people due to their own personal biology. Plus turkey and chicken may need more flavor as they may be more bland. A friend of mine does not eat pork and is allergic to beef so if you don’t like tweaking a recipe than don’t and keep that to yourself as not everyone is like you either!
I personally don’t mind hearing what other people did but then don’t go RATE the recipe, you didn’t make it! If I’m reading this review it’s because I want to knock how THIS turned out, not your homemade version!
I found your additions helpful! I look through comments partly to get new ideas. Will do a couple of them, thanks!
Thanks so much for sharing your changes. I’m searching the contents specifically to see if any one had success using ground turkey. The addition of Worcestershire and/or soy sauce seems to be a pretty common adjustment to the recipe. I’ll probably skip the soy sauce, but I love some Lea & Perrins!
I agree with Mary Ann! Do what you want to the recipe but don’t come on here with a completely different recipe and rate it as this one? It’s not this recipe any modifications done to this recipe I NOT this recipe. I wasn’t planning on commenting but I had to because people don’t understand a dash of this and a tad of that is NOT this recipe!!! I made is exactly as its posted for a dinner party and everyone loved it. I doubled the recipe and put it in a slow cooker on low for a few hours and they came out so delicious I would definitely do that again. Thank you for a fabulous recipe it brought back memories of my Swedish Grandmother-in-laws Swedish meatballs.
Quit being a “Karen”! Some of us like to brainstorm with other ideas and I am sure Chungah would agree
I make mine with ground turkey, so you could use ground chicken if you choose to. It does change the taste and even the consistency of the meatballs a bit, but they are still very delicious.
This was super tasty! I used all lean ground beef for my meatballs as I am not a fan of pork, and used ripped up bread bits mashed in milk instead of Panko crumbs (which I didn’t have.) I have a question though: I found the gravy to be a bit fatty – do you drain the fat from the meatballs before making the gravy? It wasn’t in the recipe but thought perhaps that was just implied. Thank you!
How are you going to change the recipe and then rate it low?
Doesn’t make sense
We just had an amazing dinner tonight, thanks to you sharing your recipe! Already bookmarked and waiting for the next time we “crave” this heavenly taste…which will be soon!
My family and I highly recommend trying this dish…as is, no substutions or additions needed! Perfection in a pan…thanks again!
So good! My husband found this recipe and I made it today as part of our game day munchies. I made it as directed and we loved it! The gravy!! OMG! I could bathe in that! I’ll admit, I used to make the IKEA meatballs using their mix, but I will just make these from now on. They’re that good.
Oh. My. Goodness. What a wonderful recipe. I made this last night following the recipe to the letter. My husband couldn’t stop oohing and aahing all through dinner. There were a few meatballs left and he decided to claim them for lunch today. We WILL be having these again — sooner rather than later!
I love IKEA Swedish meatballs, I didn’t use homemade meatballs, I made frozen turkey meatballs, I also added 3 beef bullion cubes for extra pizazz. This recipe rocks!
Thank You!
Love, love, love this, made it for the first time today. Followed the recipe to a tee, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m a single person, so I’m going to freeze some of it and hope it will be fine since it has sour cream in it. Thanks for the recipe and keep them coming
Chungah, love this! I probably reviewed this the first time I made it but today was the best! I followed your recipe exactly. I sauteed the onions until they were melting soft. Mixed it all up and left it in the fridge for 24 hours. Then made the balls and served with papardelle. There is sooo much gravy, I want to drink it. I actually made extra meat mix and froze the balls so they’ll be ready to go next time. Thank you for your great recipes!
I’ve been making this recipe for my family for several years now. My husband always asks for this when I ask him what he wants for dinner…..easy and yummy. i serve mine with steamed rice.
I’m definitely going to try this recipe soon. Could I use half and half cream instead of sour cream?
I wouldn’t. You need the tang from the sour cream to make it taste right. I used fat free sour cream and it tasted great.
Delicious as is cook the meatballs in half olive oil half butter, will make this again. Going in the family rotation.
Excellent meatballs and sauce. I too added two Tbsp worcestershire to the sauce. Also added about 1/4 tsp garlic powder and 1 tsp onion powder to the meatball mix. Want to kick it up a notch? Parbroil 4-8 oz of sliced mushrooms and put them in the sauce. I bake my meatballs at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. Less splatter and less grease.
These were so good! My family loved them. In order to add extra flavor to the gravy, I used the grease from the meatballs, I also used butter rather than oil for cooking the onions and meatballs, which gave everything a richer more desirable flavor. The meatballs came out flavorful and juicy and the gravy was perfectly rich and creamy. Together it was a superb combo that I served over zucchini noodles. I highly recommend this dish as its is delicious and can easily be adjusted and personalized to add more flavor or creaminess in to the dish.
It was really easy. We enjoyed it. Since had other meatballs I added some nutmeg and Worcestershire sauce to the gravy as it was a little bland to start. Will make again for sure.
what is the serving size for the Calories 553.8? thanks
So good! I baked my meatballs and added some soy sauce to gravy. Otherwise followed recipe. Definitely a keeper.
This was excellent recipe. I do confess I used butter in stead of olive oil. Other than that, I did exactly as the recipe was written. I highly recommend this recipe!
This was a huge hit with the whole family. Delicious!
I’ve used this recipe several times and have modified the recipe but this is an excellent recipe and one that I will continue to use. I would like to add that for sides, I made roasted red potatoes and wide eye egg noodles.
Anyway, this recipe is Damn Delicious!
My familys favorite meatball recipe! I first found and cooked this recipe about 2-3yrs ago. It is absolutely wonderful. The sauce is in no way too thick and the whope process is very simple. I have never cooked it with ground beef as I always have ground venison (elk or blacktail deer) of some variety in my freezer. I do brown the meatballs for much longer than the recipe calls for, I brown them till they are cooked through. I serve them over wide egg noodles. Try this recipe, your family Will thank you for it!
Question?? If I use frozen meatballs should I modify the sauce in any way? Like add the allspice or nutmeg to the sauce? Thanks!!
This is my go-to for Swedish meatballs. I mostly make it from scratch but sometimes I use frozen Swedish meatballs if I’m short on time. In that case I sauté the onions a little first and add in the meatballs to cook. Then I add a little nutmeg to the gravy. Either way I also add a little Better Than Boullion beef to the gravy to give it a richer flavour.
This has become my all-time favourite meatball recipe.
It’s so simple and can be adapted easily – don’t have time to make meatballs? Use frozen. Don’t want to go through the hassle of frying up homemade meatballs? You can cook them in the oven on a foil-lined tray to save mess, while you prepare the sauce on the stove-top. And you can pour them on anything – rice, egg noodles, potatoes.
Even though some of the ingredients are rich, it never seems too overdone. I made a similar meatball & mushroom soup recipe, and it felt so much heavier and stodgier than this one. This is a perfect comfort food recipe, that I will return to forever!
I love Damn Delicious recipes! The wife and I like it for ideas!
I hate that people post about what they changed and how much. Keep to your self. We change it to our own taste all the time, but don’t feel the need to post it! Cooking should be each to there own. Just thankful for the tasty ideas!
Hi Chris, sorry but I ALWAYS look for what people changed in the recipe. It is very helpful in case all items are not on hand or something we don’t like
I made this tonight for my husband and I. Of course with slight modifications as I had to use what we had on hand. My husband thought that it smelled so good and had to try a piece to see what it tasted like mid cooking… I of course kept telling him I wasn’t sure what it would taste like as I had made so many changes to the recipe. he tried it so that he could tell me it was okay and I had to run him out of the kitchen so that there would be meatballs for the actual meal. He also said that he was full but wanted to go back for more. (Yup he just got more while I’m typing this.)
The things that I had to change:
Used only 2.25 pounds of ground beef as I had no pork (I will be trying this with the pork next time)
Used Italian Breadcrumbs instead of Panko
Used 1 tsp Italian seasoning instead of All Spice and Nutmeg
Used 1 whole egg (I wish I had more than just 1 egg as I think 2 yolks would have held it together better) instead of 2 egg yolks
Used 2/3 c Heavy whipping cream instead of Sour Cream
While my meatballs did have a lot of onion in them and I made sure to press all the onion at the bottom of the bowl into the meatballs. The meatballs did not fall apart while cooking but a lot of the onion came out in the oil and I just left it in the bottom of the pan to add flavor to the gravy. Something that the above recipe doesn’t specifically mention. I would add that to make the gravy add the butter to the drippings in the skillet.
There was enough for leftovers that I’m sure my husband will eat for lunch for several days. I can’t wait to make this again!
My family loves this recipe. I am allergic to beef so we modify but it still tastes damn delicious. I use ground turkey with turkey sausage or ground chicken, depending on what I have on hand. Of course, I can’t use beef broth but chicken broth works just as well. I usually just use breadcrumbs but I did have to add more last time because the sausage doesn’t bind as well. I think it was more like 3/4 cups breadcrumbs.
These are absolutely delicious! I had a package with 1 1/2 pounds ground beef and two 14 oz cans of beef broth. Other than that I followed directions exactly. Meatballs held together nicely. Great texture! Sausage gives it even more flavor. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Very tasty!
I wanted to love these but they weren’t very good. The gravy was too thick and lacked flavor. I followed the recipe exactly.
We love this recipe and have been making it for years. I modify slightly by using onion powder instead of diced onion, plain 2% greek yogurt instead of sour cream and besan flour (chick pea flour) instead of panko in both the meatballs and the sauce. I also reduce the amount of broth to 3 cups. It IS Damn Delicious!
As an avid fan of the IKEA meatball sauce, came here yesterday to quench my craving during this quarantine. I must admit I was skeptical about adding so much sour cream but it truly worked and neutralized the beefiness of the beef stock I used. I froze the excess batch I made for lunch but couldn’t help myself had used it for dinner too! Felt it was a bit too beefy during lunch (might be the brand of the stock I used) so when I was heating up the frozen batch later on, I added 2 tablespoons of cooking cream to balance it out.
Other adjustments that worked for myself:
* Used frozen meatballs instead (takes around 10 mins in my air fryer on 200 degrees celsius)
* Use a wooden spoon instead of a whisk (the whisk was plastic and wouldn’t done well in the heat – the flour mixed well but the sour cream did leave little bits that I didn’t mind)
* Swapped fresh parsley with my Italian herb mix (recommend you just buy bottles of this to add to pantry!)
Very delicious, I will try it with chicken stock next time and see how it goes!
Love!!! I am quite fussy but these were great and my family loved them. I wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you
I made these and I had to run my husband off because he wouldn’t stop eating them while I tried to make the salad and finish the roasted potatoes. Needless to say…he will be asking for these again and again.
I made these with gluten free bread and corn starch and couldn’t wait for butcher to grind pork so used all ground beef. Turned out great! thanks
Ok….so we don’t eat beef and very little pork. Soooooooo….I made these with ground turkey and ground chicken. Followed the recipe exactly…..ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!!!
This recipe is SO delicious! It’s a big hit with my sister and her family, and I have to double the recipe all the time! Thank you for sharing this.
Made this for dinner tonight it was absolutely delicious! I followed exact recipe dinner for two and had enough to freeze for another night of dinner wonderful thank you!
I made this for my mother and brother and myself. I’m a new chef, only the second time I’ve ever really cooked on my own and this was a big undertaking- not the recipe’s fault, I just got a bit too ambitious.
Here’s what I know: This made A TON of meatballs. Way more then the described amount, so we had a ton of leftovers. Which we love, but some people don’t. Keep that in mind. Also, my meatballs fell apart on the skillet. Be sure to spend time packing them as tight as you can, it’ll help later, so adding another egg might help? Not sure.
Finally, don’t use a skillet with ridges on it, be sure to use one that is a flat bottom pan so nothing gets in the way when you’re whisking the gravy.
This was “ok” for us. First, I found the combination of both allspice and nutmeg a little overwhelming. It was still highly present when eating these meatballs post cooking. Second, one whole onion (and I specifically picked a small one) is just way too much. I dumped in the whole chopping board’s worth into the bowl (after cooking) and then spent time picking onions out when I saw how many there were relative to the two pounds of meat. They made the meatballs not stick together as well, too, because they overwhelmed the two egg yolks. Lastly, the whole container of beef broth (4 cups) made a TON of sauce. This meant the regular 10-12″ skillet shown in the pictures cooking the meatballs wasn’t nearly enough, and I was transferring balls and sauce to different containers mid-cooking. In the end, this tasted all right but wasn’t that worth all the modifications. Next time, I’ll try only 3 cups beef brother, half the spice, and adding mushrooms to the sauce for a little bit of interest. I also think I’ll make it a day ahead and reheat because I think the flavors MIGHT develop more overnight.
I make this recipe whenever I have a taste for this dish and I’m never disappointed. I found that using half the meat this recipe calls for is perfect for me, as I’m typically cooking for one. I leave all the other measurements the same except the spices, I just sort of add those by smell & intuitive guidance lol. This also gives me some extra gravy to put over egg noodles….yum. Thanks for this!!
I forgot to mention that instead of plain ground pork I use both sweet & hot Italian sausage. My local grocery store sells a combo pack. That really kicks the flavor up.
Thanks for the ‘cooking for one’ comment. I always have to cook for one.’
Wonderful recipe, the whole family loved it. I stuck the half done meat balls into the oven in a tray at 275F to continue cooking while I made the gravy in the meatball pan. If you can find salt free or low sodium beef broth, I recommend using it and salting the gravy just before you add the sour cream. Taste for seasoning.
Tasting good so far. I’ve put them in the slow cooker to finish cooking..
This recipe is easy to make and delicious. Made a double batch; one for now one for when life is hectic. I used my own bread crumbs that I keep in freezer. There are so many quick and tasty recipes on Damn Delicious.
I have a (probably) dumb question: I just finished browning the meatballs and have quite a bit of grease left in the pan. (I am not a cook by any means). Do I wipe the pan out before making the gravy? Thank you
My opinion is leave the grease/fat it’s what adds taste. Not healthy for an everyday meal but okay for a treat.
Wow! Delicious! I browned the meatballs in the air fryer then added to the sauce. Served over rice for pure awesomeness.
I made these over the weekend and they are amazing! Thank you for another great recipe!
Not sure if I ever rated this recipe, but I know that I found it a few years ago and since then this is the only recipe I use when I feel like Swedish meatballs. These are way better than Ikea 😀 Thanks for sharing, girl!!
So I’m making these meatballs tonight for dinner but with minor substitutions. My family dosent like any type of breadcrumbs in their meatballs so I’m leaving that out. Instead of pork, I’ll be using ground lamb and ground beef. In the sauce I’ll add portabella mushrooms. Im sure it will be great!
I’ve made this recipe several times now. The only substitution that I make is lamb instead of the beef, and it is delicious!
I love this recipe!!
I only made a half batch, which was plenty for two people. These were absolutely delicious and I will definitely be making these again
They’re pretty good. I followed the directions, but in the end the gravy tasted exactly like sausage gravy for biscuits. I’m not complaining, I love those too. It’s an alright recipe, I will try making again with a few alterations. Thanks
Another Damn Delicious recipe! Something so comforting about meatballs smothered in gravy, right? Yum! These meatballs are fantastic, even without the gravy! LOL
I do not like the mess pan searing meatballs leaves on my stovetop, so I placed them on a baking tray, lined with parchment and baked them at 375 F for 20 – 25 mins. or until cooked through. (Works great)
For the gravy, I had to use Greek yogurt in place of sour cream because that was what I had on hand and it worked great too. The sour cream, or yogurt in my case, really lightens and lifts this gravy so make sure you add it. I added a bit of nutmeg and some finely diced, sautéed mushrooms to my gravy for added depth of flavour – but that was just a personal flavour tweak!
Thank you FOREVER for your recipes and your inspiration in our kitchens!
I was wondering if I could sub greek yogurt for the sour cream, which I do in most dishes where it doesn’t cook. Thanks for adding that to your comment so now I’ll try it!
Thank you for this recipe!:-) The meat mixture turned out so AMAZING- the flavor was loved by even my picky 4yr old! The sauce for me didn’t have a ton of flavor… what do you recommend? Maybe my beef broth lacked flavor. After browning the meatballs there was a lot of grease in the pan- should I have gotten most of that out first before adding the butter for the roux (sp?)? I’ll definitely make again!
I usually add a dash of worchestire sauce to my sweedish meatball gravy so maybe try that?
In addition to Worcestershire sauce, I also added garlic and onion powder, parsley salt and pepper.
Has anyone mde these in a crockpot if so, how did you do it?
I’ve made this recipe probably 15 times now. It’s my husbands favorite meal. After I cook it all I put the meatballs and gravy over cooked rice and bake for 15 min. Thank you for a delicious way to make my man smile.
I Love this recipe! I make a ton of the Meatballs and freeze them so I can use them whenever I don’t feel like cooking and just make the sauce fresh. My Boyfriend loves it! I don’t even put it on noodles we just eat them by itself with a salad ( trying to be somewhat healthy). I wish I could do noodles though lol that would be amazing
Excellent! I made it just how you posted.
Since we were not going to eat it all on night one I reserved half of the broth before adding the sour cream. I hope this way it freezes nicely and I can add the sour cream when I pull it out of the freezer.
Very yummy but it was more like stroganoff with the sour cream than Swedish meatballs. I will make again. Thx
Delicious! My family really enjoyed this recipe. The meatball flavour is perfect. For the sauce, I added some onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, and a splash of apple cider. After adding to the sauce I heated the meatballs covered in a 350F oven and baked for about 15-20 minutes.
Fantastic recipe! Very easy to follow and delicious!
I can’t get over how amazing these are! My husband requests once a week! Thank you for sharing this ❤️
I liked the recipe except for the Panko crumbs. They didn’t break down and blend in with the meat even tho I mixed it in quite well. Came out looking like porcupine meat balls. Should have used just bread crumbs as mentioned in another review instead. Otherwise, it was quite good!
First time making, so took a little over an hour start to finish. So so so worth it. Family has been raving about this recipe since they were stealing “tastes” on the stove as if was cooking. The finished product over egg noodles was outstanding. I spent too much time down the rabbit hole of the comment war, but did make small alterations – mushrooms and a splash of white wine to finish. Adding this one to the rotation. Thanks Chung-ah and Damn Delicious team!
Hi! I have been scouring looking for a great Swedish Meatball recipe and thankfully found it now! Out of curiosity, why sour cream instead of creme fraiche or heavy cream?
You can substitute crème fraîche or heavy cream if you prefer, Irene! 🙂
These were so good! It made a good bit more than 24 meatballs for me, so I cooked some and put the rest in the fridge for the next day. The first night we had these with mashed potatoes, and the second night we served them with rotini pasta. We liked them with the pasta the best. My husband said this is now one of his favorite meals, so it will be a regular recipe in our house from now on!
Used regular breadcrumbs instead of Panko (they were on hand), as well as double sour cream (whoops). Still turned out absolutely delicious!! My husband loved it. Will remake soon with proper portions. Also used only pork instead of pork and beef and they meatballs were just fine and browned nicely.
Hey! LOVE LOVE LOVE Every Recipe that I’ve made thus far!
So I am sure you have gotten this question before, but what can I substitute the ground pork for, trying to make this for my friend, but she doesn’t eat pork. Any suggestions?
Hi Courtnie! You can try to substitute ground beef, turkey or chicken. I would personally go with turkey but as always, please use your best judgement when making substitutions and modifications. Hope that helps!
Omg!!! I love Swedish Meatballs and have tried several different recipes. This is the best!
Every recipe one of your recipes that I have tried has been a winner.
Thanks for making my kids (and hubs) think I am the best cook EVER!!! ☺️
We love it, Summer! Glad you found a favorite! 🙂
NOM! Great recipe… Damn Delicious.
We made this to celebrate Ragnarok (Viking end of days – Feb 22nd). Yes… it’s Swedish, but it’s the boar that my kids would eat. Served it over noodles with salad and glasses of mead. This recipe was easy and delicious! Ohhhh, the gravy! Everyone loved it! Some poetry reading, boasting of this years adventures while banging on the table and lots of silly candles (thats how my kids envisioned the Vikings dining) made for a great evening. Thanks for the deliciousness! We’ll make this again next year… and probably a lot more than that!
That’s awesome. Thank you, Erin!
Tasted grate… we used store bought meatballs. The sauce was to runny so I boiled down before I put the sourcream in. Then I added the meatballs… covered and simmered slightly to heat through.
Seasons01. You goofy bitch. You don’t get it do you?
When you make a rue usually the ingredients are equal. Why do you have 1/4 cup unsalted butter and
1/3 cup all-purpose flour?
If you prefer to make the ingredients equal for the roux, you can certainly do so. 🙂
I have tried some many meatball recipes. I have found a forever meatball recipe. This recipe is very versatile. I made the recipe as written, made a meat loaf. Thank you very much.lsm
Your sweedish meatballs are a staple in our house!!! Thank you. Do you have any input on doubling the gravy… I assume double everything, but I know certain things change when doubled. Love! this recipe, cooking it right now!!!
What a great idea! Yes, I recommend doubling everything but unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Let me know how it turns out! 🙂
This recipe is outstanding!. I’ve made at least a dozen times for my family. I sometimes I’ll make it in the morning and then slowly reheat it for dinner. I’ve also made the meatballs ahead of time and froze them and just made the sauce when I needed it. They taste so delicious, it’s one of my dinner go to recipes. It’s easier to make than you think. Usually you have the ingredients on hand. Most stores do you sell ground pork and it’s easy to find. I also always keep frozen chopped onion on hand which makes it easy as well.
I am a big fan of your recipes! I feel like you totally understand me and my tastebuds! haha
Anyway I am excited to try these and I was wondering if you have any tips about adding the sour cream? In the past when adding sour cream to a gravy I ended up with curdles 🙁 , are you supposed to let the sauce cool a bit? Or could it be because I was using lowfat sour cream? Any help in that department would be most appreciated. Thanks!
I never have any issues with curdling in this recipe so the culprit could be the lowfat sour cream. Hope that helps!
Hi there,
There are a few ways to lessen the chances of the sour cream curdling. If you can, heat it just below the point of boiling; boiling often causes curdling. You can also try adding a small amount of a starch, such as flour or cornstarch. I hope that this helps you some. Have a great day!
Delicious! Easy to make, easier to eat!
I used turkey since I don’t eat a lot of beef or pork and followed the recipe as is after that substitution. They turned out great.
We made these last night and I thought they were wonderful. I will say that I followed the recipe exactly and it made much more than 24 meatballs. I was skeptical about using all 4 cups of beef broth but trust the process! It ended up thickening beautifully. I served over mashed potatoes which was great, may try egg noodles next time since there was plenty of sauce. Thank you for a great recipe!
Absolutely delicious!
Great!
P.S. I will also be adding crimini and onions to my adaptation. I’m a rebel in the kitchen and usually use recipes as inspiration and guidance. I love your beautiful step by step pictures also. Wish I could make the recipe as is but I have autoimmune issues and inflammation ( hence keto) trying to check for food sensitvities, so flour and breadcrumbs are off my list but thanks to you I can still make some comfort food! Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! This is just the recipe I have been looking for! I have been looking for weeks! It calls for all the ingredients I have in the proportions I have on hand (mostly). What I was looking for was something easy to covert to keto. I will be using almond meal, arrowroot and full fat Greek yogurt as subs. I only have 1.5 lb beef and .5 lb pork so I will have to adjust that as well. I know that I won’t be making the recipe as is but I really appreciate the work you have put into this and it’s so hard to find recipes that are easy to convert. I plan on serving on a bed of cabbage noodles. I am so gratefull my search is over! As Autumns chill sets in, I have been craving a savory warm dish like this.
These look soooo good!!!! I am definitely going to make these later today, as it’s getting chilly out!! Thanks for the recipe 🙂 Was getting tired of my usual stuff, saw this suggestion and said Bam!! This is what’s for dinner. I personally like them over noodles and with green beans, simple and delicious.
I made these tonight. My husband liked them, for me it was so-so. We both thought they were kind of bland. Please note that I’m not a huge fan of Ikea meatballs either, so I guess it’s just a personal taste thing. I had them once to see what the hype was about, I wouldn’t bother again. No offence to Chungah!
Oh. My. Goodness! These were amazing! I just substitute whatever gluten free bread crumbs I have on hand and my Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose GF ( my go- to for gravy & sauces) flour for the gravy. The whole family loved these over mashed potatoes. I now make triple batches to freeze, such a quick and easy meal!
These were great! Recipe was easy to follow, and we’ll definitely make them again.
Made this tonight and loved it! Delicious “Swedish” flavour. The gravy was phenomenal, I could have eaten it like soup. Most critical factor, though, is our kids loved it (ages 5, 2, and 10m).
This recipe is a keeper. Thanks, Chungah!
I’m comfortable with adjusting recipes, so here’s what I did (these did not fundamentally alter the recipe):
– added 1 stalk finely diced celery to the onions
– doubled the spices (love the flavour-bomb)
– used the whole eggs, not just the yolks
– did not pan-fry, but baked in oven 425 for 30 minutes, turning once
I will be trying these tonight. They sound so good like so many of your recipes. Thank you for sharing, I am truly appreciative unlike some that live to complain or whine.
Honestly the best swedish meatballs I’ve ever had! I’ve now made this recipe several times and it never fails.
I only made the sauce and added a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Absolutely fantastic! Thank you for the recipe. This will be going in my dinner rotation often!
Great!
I’d just like to give you a hearty thank you for this recipe! I have used it countless times. When i have gotten lazy about making homemade meatballs, I still use the gravy recipe and my family love it every time. From one blogger to another, keep doing you. This will be a stable for our family for years to come – oh and tested with Ikea, yours is definitely better 😉
Thank you, Ashley! That’s so sweet!
Made these last night and the whole family gobbled them up! Yummm!
Every single recipe I’ve got off this website has been DAMN DELICIOUS and this one takes the cake! The gravy was outstanding and recipe was super easy. My guest even got some bread to soak up the gravy!
Thank you so much!
I’m making these tonight. I’ve never had swedish meatballs … I’ve always thought the ones at IKEA look good in photos, but I’m a bit freaked out by the idea of eating food at a furniture store, so I’ve never eaten anything from there. Any who, these look good and I’m excited to make them! One question, however: any suggestions regarding what to pair with them? I’m not talking grains, but veggies. My family is a bit tired of eating salads and roasted green beans. Trying to avoid starchy vegetables too.
Hi JKS! My absolute favorite side dish is the garlic parmesan roasted potatoes. But please feel free to check out all of my side dish recipes here.
Hi there,
Made these tonight (or, rather, I made THIS – didn’t have the energy to make meatballs, so plunked the whole mess into a pan and made Swedish meatball-loaf !) and it was fab. Added in a bit of cardamom, along with the nutmeg/allspice, and a few grating of orange zest. Was excellent with some mash, your excellent gravy and my lingonberry jam! Thanks!
That sounds so yummy!
These were really good. I halved the recipe & served over egg noodles. I made the following changes: I only used ground beef because I didn’t have pork on hand, I used one whole egg, I used crushed crackers because I didn’t have panko, I omitted the parsley because I didn’t have fresh or dried, I added the meatballs to the sauce earlier so I could be sure they were cooked through, & I added the sour cream later because I was afraid it would curdle. I will make this again & make sure I have ground pork & panko on hand.
Thank you for sharing with us!
Hi! I just maid your recipe for my family. It was so delicious!! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you!
P.S. don’t forget the lingonberry
I made this recipe for my family and it was delicious. I followed exact directions until I add one packet of Beefy Onion for added onion flavor. Thanks Chungah.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I made these and they were amazing. But let’s say I want to be lazy and make them in the crockpot or instant pot instead of having to babysit them over the stove 🙂 Has anyone tried this with success!? If so, what did you do?
made this for dinner tonight and it was a huge hit! even my picky 9yo approved! i originally found your site while searching for asian inspired dishes, and it quickly became my go to website. i’ve made a dozen dishes following your recipes and have yet to be disappointed! from one korean to another, 감사합니다!!
That’s awesome Erin, thank you!
I made this a few days ago and served it over egg noodles. It was quite tasty. I made a few changes to the meatballs and they still turned out great – used Italian bread crumbs instead of panko because it’s what I had, used one egg instead of two yolks because I didn’t want to waste the white, doubled the all spice because I wasn’t paying attention the the measuring spoon.
I prefer my gravy thicker though. As written in the recipe (and I followed it precisely for this part), it was more of a soupy consistency, even my daughter called it “meatball soup”. The gravy did thicken up the next day.
Overall, I give the recipe an A- and will definitely try it again but reduce the liquid. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your feedback!
I reblogged this recipe on my site a couple of years back, and it is still my favorite meatball recipe, bar none! I have made them differently, at my own risk, and they came out delicious, but different from the original, which I have also made as written. In fact, I have 5 meatballs sitting in my deep freeze that are made of all beef when I didn’t have pork. The originals were made at Christmas and they were oh so yummy!
Thank you for posting and sharing this recipe with the world. I and many others appreciate it!! Don’t let the haters get ya down, Chung-ah. Keep on cooking on.
You are very sweet Wendy, thank you! So happy you’ve been enjoying these for so long and continue to share with us!!
Why on earth is IKEA used as a reference with the implication that it should be some kind of GOAL? I live in Helsinki down the street from IKEA and had them a few times – they are Edible – but that’s it – Edible – nothing more!!
Made this recently. Didn’t change recipe at all. The meatballs were quite nice, although I felt they needed something to boost the flavour. The sauce, funnily enough, tasted like ‘mushroom sauce’ lol. I don’t like mushrooms and I don’t know why it seemed to taste like that so unfortunately I didn’t enjoy this as much as my family. I may try again another time to see if that ‘mushroom’ flavour comes through again – or have my taste buds examined considering there are no mushrooms in the recipe! hahaha. Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
I am so excited. I too have been wanting the perfect Swedish meatball recipe.
I have a question, pardon my ignorance but I am not sure what the size “Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch” means. Can you please explain that better?
The diameter of the meatballs should be around 1 1/4 inches. Hope that helps!
This looks amazing!!!! Im wondering tho, I dont have any beef broth, is it ok to use beef stock?
Yes!
This is my very favorite Swedish meatball recipe! Thank you so much for sharing with your readers and for all the hard work you put into each post.
I’ve seen a few people ask about freezing the sauce and I think I can answer that, albeit a bit indirectly. When I was single I would make recipes like this in full, not scaled down, to make my own single serving freezer meals to take to work for lunch. I would mix all the sauce and meatballs with either pasta or mashed potatoes, depending on my mood, and freeze them in single serving sized Tupperware. When I took them to work, they’d thaw for a bit in the refrigerator and then at lunchtime I’d pop it into the mircrowave and, to make a long story short, the sauce always held up beautifully.
Made this for dinner tonight – all I had in the house was ground beef, am I complaining about the taste/texture? Nope lol. At the last minute I realized I was out of beef broth – but I DID have one beef bullion cube and one fine herb and garlic cube. Am I going to complain about the difference in taste because I made substitutions? Nope…I decided to make this last minute so I baked the meatballs in the frying pan in the oven….am I complaining about how they turned out? Nope….Since it was a last minute idea I didn’t have time to let it cook in the slow cooker so I just took the meatballs out of the pan and cooked up the sauce in that. Did that change the flavor any? Maybe….Am I complaining? Nope lol…This turned out to be the yummiest dinner I have made in weeks! Thanks for the inspiration and great recipe!
This was super yummy. And yes, BETTER than IKEA – which are amazing! I will definitely be having in my meal rotations….I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes up once a month!
Hi Chungah,
I made these meatballs for the first time yesterday. They were our Christmas dinner. I always wanted to try Swedish meatballs but for some reason, I just never did. They were so delicious that I wanted to eat straight from the pan! I know they will become one of my “regulars” as I already have a craving for them! Thank you. Happy New Year!
Thank you so much for the recipe Chungah. I’m going to be making this for our Christmas Eve dinner served over some German Bechtle Christmas noodles (different Christmas themed pasta shapes in red, green, and plain)
Easy and festive!
Happy holidays to you and yours… Keep up with the great blog. It was quite an “adventure” to scroll down to the bottom to post my thanks… If you know what I mean 😉
I know this is a super late comment but I was wondering if anyone has made these paleo-fied? I have LOVED this recipe, exactly how you wrote it but now I am mostly Paleo/Whole 30. I was thinking of subbing the panko for almond flour, the flour for arrowroot, and the sour cream for cashewgurt. Anyone done this? Thanks!!!
I have been making these for years, thank you Chungah for giving us such a great recipe! (In truth I’m not even sure how I found your recipe but it’s a staple at many family meals ever since my first batch).
Thank you again and keep it up – Without people like you providing us with great recipes I’m not sure what my culinary skills would be like – yikes!
Being a swede, i’m amazed by the aggressive and outright rude comments in the old string about substitutes. It’s the mix of beef and pork that is the ‘swedish’. Every country has their own version of balls, adapted to what meats are traditional. In Scandinavia, it would have been calves slaughtered after their first summer (wouldn’t make sense to use valuable land to grow the fodder to keep them over winter) and the pork, which is the other ‘big’ traditional meat. The pork is great because the fat helps the balls to hold together when cooking. You can make meat balls of any meat… I’ve made them with 100% kangaroo mince since i now live in Oz. Since roo is a very lean meat, some egg white is needed to bind them together. I would never use fancy products like panko. The crumbs are there to make the meat go further. Traditionally, you would add milk and live the mixture stand so the crumbs soak up the liquid. Makes beautiful tender, juicy balls. If there are no old bread kicking around, a traditional variation is some cold cooked potato
This is THE BEST! I have tried several recipes for this dish, and honestly, this recipe is the only one I will use. Perfect seasoning, perfect for doubling up and freezing, (minus the noodles, I Mae those on the day of reheating defrosted portion). I find that this site has always yielded perfectly tasty meals and have shared it with friends and family. THANK YOU CHUNGA!
You are so welcome!
This sounds like a great recipe. I always like to make Swedish Meatballs for supper on Christmas Eve. I am inspired to give them a try for “Christmas in July”. Another winner, no doubt. Thanks for the great work Chungah!
I have always heard IKEA Swedish meatballs were tasty, but I’ve yet to try them. Based on all the positive reviews here, I will be giving this recipe a shot!
On a side note, I am stunned at all the obnoxiously rude comments. Chung-ah has been incredibly gracious in her replies…far more than I would be!
If you can’t use the specified ingredients, that’s fine – but don’t expect other people to suggest substitutions for you. God gave you a brain for a reason. Use it. Better yet, if you don’t like what you see here, start your own damn recipe blog!
Keep up the great work, Chung-ah!
Swedish meatballs are sooo yummy. You have done a fantastic job of them.
Wow! I never realized how popular Swedish meatballs are in America. I learned to make Swedish meatballs in Sweden during the time I lived in Denmark (30 years) and they were made of equal parts beef, pork and veal. I eat Ikea’s meatballs four times a year as my brother and I go to all four of their all-you-can-eat-buffets near Easter, midsummer, in the fall when the crawfish run and near Sct. Lucia’s day (Dec. 14th). Ikea makes the meatballs like most American recipes but nothing tastes quite a good as the ones with beef/pork/veal in them.
My mom told me the secret to my grandmother’s Scandinavian meatballs was she had the butcher grind the meat together 3 times so the meat became like pudding. I’ve gotten into more battles with the butcher trying to get this done because I can tell when it hasn’t been ground 3 times and of course this is time consuming for them. They’ll grind it together once if you’re lucky, but the texture is a game changer. I agree – make friends with a good butcher. And serving over noodles with that lovely thick gravy is a must too, as is the side of Lingonberry jelly.
Wonderful suggestions!
This recipe has never let me down, my only problem was that I couldn’t find what ‘safe place’ I had put it in and needed to search through ‘copycat ikea meatball’ recipes until I found it again.
I have lost track of how many times I’ve made it and everyone loves them, plus they make for great leftovers the next day!
DELICIOUSLY PERFECT meatball with amazing sauce. I plan on making this again for a party.
This was delish! Have tried a couple other swedish meatball recipes and did not think swedish meatballs woul ever be something I like. Being 9 weeks pregnant, it was what popped into my head as something that might taste good and stay down….I have tried a few of your other recipes and always enjoy them, so when I saw that you also had this recipe, it was my first choice! Followed it exactly and it was very yummy. Thank you for such an awesome meal recipe.
Chungah I have never met one of your recipes I/we have not liked. Being pressed for time I made this this the other night using Costco meatballs. I followed your gravy to the letter and it was delicious! I am certain made with your meatball recipe it would be twice as good but just thought I would throw this out there for someone looking for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
WORSE recipe ever!!! Just think about, 4 tablespoons butter, 1/3 cup flour, and 4 cups beef stock (that’s 32 ozs), all I got was white water!!!
I buy ground pork all the time because it’s so cheap here, and it’s always on sale. How can I pass that up? But I have only a handful of ideas on ways to use it. Tomorrow I’m going to make a big batch of these bad boys and freeze ’em. Thanks for the great idea! I’ve yet to have a dinner dud trying out recipes on this site!
LOVED This recipe! I will admit that I didn’t make the meatballs, but the sauce for them was delicious. I was just surfing for a quick and easy recipe for dinner and already had some meatballs. I just wanted something different and happened upon this. I’m very glad that I found it and have book marked for future use. I will make the meatballs in the future when I have time one evening. This was so simple and really didn’t require any additional seasoning. The only thing that I did different was that I only had the reduced sodium Beef Better Than Bouillon paste and I didn’t have any salt free butter and just used regular (real) butter. The 2 equaled each other out though and it did not turn out too salty since the paste was reduced sodium. I have 3 guys at home and they all loved this recipe and didn’t leave a bite on their plates. I served them over egg noodles and with steamed asparagus that I seasoned with a little garlic powder and fresh ground pepper with some butter. This was a great and easy meal! I will also be on the look out for other recipes in the future. Thanks so much for sharing!
Note to anyone that wants to complain ….you can always substitute or adjust any recipe to your own liking. If you cant figure it out..google it and don’t bash or hate on others that are nice enough to share.
searched the web high and low for a good recipe, keep coming back to this one. I am going to make these tonight I think! they look delicious, DAMN DELICIOUS that is 🙂
will keep ya posted
Hi Chungah ,I was wondering what the reason is for not putting the entire egg in,just the yolks? just curious!Thanks!!
You can use whole eggs if you’d like – it’s really based on personal preference. The yolk will provide such moistness and serve as a binder.
OMG,OMG,OMG, These swedish meatballs & sauce are AWESOME!! ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!!! Thank you sooooooo much for this AMAZING recipe!!!! I will be bringing these to a super bowl party!! Oh, and I love reading all the comments on the people who seriously don’t know how to read a recipe correctly!!!! Thank you to them as well!!!
Thank you for this recipe. I’ve been looking for a Swedish meatball recipe I can recreate at home, and this worked perfectly as a starting point.
I know how easy it is for people to misinterpret your tone when you write something on the Internet, so I’m sorry that you’re getting so much slack for an innocent reply to a comment. I am actually in the same boat as the original poster, but I made do with what I had, like I usually do.
Since I don’t eat pork, I omitted it altogether and cut the recipe in half to accommodate for that. Instead of panko, I used regular bread crumbs because that’s all I had. I also used a sour cream substitute since I didn’t have that either, made up of whole milk and vinegar (I used 3oz of milk and 1/2 tbsp of vinegar for my recipe). I also used chicken stock instead of beef because there aren’t any halal options for beef broth at my local stores. Everything else I kept the same, and it turned out great. It might not be “Swedish meatballs” per se, but it was a delicious meal to me and my kids loved it too. Thanks again!
I have this recipe bookmarked, because I have used it every several weeks for a couple of years now. It is a family favorite. My daughters both ask for it from time to time. I figured after using it so many times, I should stop in and say thank you for taking the time to share it.
Have a 2 Questions:
First off, thanks so much for this recipe. I plan on making it today!
Question #1:
In researching other similar recipes. I noticed that this recipe calls for 2 Pounds of Meat (Beef + Pork) and other recipes call for 1 Pound of Meat. The thing that puzzles me is that the proportions or ratio of the spices seem to be consistent in all recipes regardless if it is a pound of meat or 2 pounds. Am I missing something here?
Question #2:
I plan on service this with Egg Noodles and was wondering which gravy style would be best suited for it. Sour Cream or Heavy Cream?
Thanks in advance
-Pat
1. You can add more spices as needed, to taste.
2. Sour cream.
Hope that helps!
I made this today….followed the recipe but when all the sauce ect was made put it in the crock pot for 2 hrs and turned out lovely…all I would say is…FOR OUR TASTE not enough spice in the meat balls…Id defo add more next time…the meat balls were a little on the heavy side…so would add more bread crumbs next time…the sauce was delish though….I did add a little more beef stock than said as it was a little too thick for our taste and to add to pasta…but all in all with a little adjustment to suit your own taste is a good all round recipe 🙂
Can I make this recipe in the crockpot and just add the sour cream prior to serving? Please let me know what you think.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I made the sauce tonight. I took the easy way out and bought frozen meatballs. I live alone so I can just dole out meatballs whenever I feel like it. I made the whole batch of sauce so I’ll have it on hand when I crave meatballs. I’ve never had much luck making good meatballs, but I will give this recipe a try. It looks good – and easy!
But here’s my question: My sauce came out thin. Is it supposed to be that way? I make a great beef gravy and I thought this would be a gravy texture. Maybe that’s wrong for Swedish meatballs.
Nevertheless it was still delicious. I didn’t have beef broth so used chicken (figured that substitute out all by myself!) and it was still super tasty!
You can add additional flour, as needed, to the gravy until the desired consistency is reached.
Amaaazing! I’ve made this recipe many times. I follow it exactly for the most part; my only additions are about 2 tsp each of paprika and ground mustard. I also add just a pinch of all the seasonings to the sauce with the salt and pepper to taste. Get those mashed potatoes or egg noodles ready to sop up that delicious gravy. Ultimate comfort food!
Made this for dinner tonight. My husband loved it, I thought it was just ok. I found the gravy to be a greasy but that could have been my own fault if I bought a higher fat ground beef. I’ll retry with a 90-95% ground beef and see if that helps. I thought the meatballs were a bit bland as well. I didn’t have allspice so I just used an extra amount of nutmeg. Maybe I need the allspice. I also did buy an unsalted beef broth so maybe that was another issue. I did add my own salt though. I used greek yogurt instead of sour cream since I always substitute with that. Overall not a terrible recipe. I think I just need to make a couple adjustments and see if it improves it. Will let you know how it goes when I do 🙂
It’s been ages since I’ve made Swedish meatballs and my 29 year old son requested them for dinner. Your recipe is EXACTLY what I needed- I followed the directions to a T and they came out absolutely fantastic. Thank you!
I made this last year for my cousin’s annual Christmas party. They were a hit! I am ready to make them again for tonight’s party. The panko adds a great touch. I had no problem cooking them in the sauce. BTW, I used a heavy Staub cast iron dutch oven. This vessel kept the meatballs really hot throughout the 30 minute drive to Cousin Jack’s. They were cooked perfectly.
Super disappointed with this recipe and with so many great reviews too! WARNING, do NOT make meatballs any larger than half a gold ball or else they will NOT COOK THROUGH. I made them slightly larger thinking they would cook in the sauce. Boy was I wrong. Sauce was super super sludgy and sour cream curdled when it hit the broth. Not to mention WAY too much sauce. Just overall not an easy recipe and definitely takes wayyyyyy more than 30 mins.
This is just like my old faithful recipe except I put my allspice and nutmeg into the sauce instead of the meatballs. I am going to try it this way for lunch today and see what the difference is.
YUM YUM YUM! LOVED IT! And if I took the time to scroll all the way past the other comments just to say so, you know it’s true 😉 My whole family – baby, toddler, kids, adults – enjoyed this dish. Thank you! It was great over egg noodles the first night and rice the second 🙂 mmmm! This recipe is definitely a keeper! Sending it to my sister now…
Can I refrigerate left over Swedish meatballs?
Yes.
This is my most favourite recipe!! Ive never tried Swedish meatballs but I fell in LOVE with these! I serve them with mash potato and they are amazinggggg!!!
I also used Chicken stock as I had no beef in the cupboard and now I just use chicken!
Thank you so much for the great recipe!
This is about my 3rd or 4th time making these and have not changed a single thing.My family loves this recipe. Everything I tried from Chungah recipe website has been great. Thanks Chaungah for your recipes with us. =D
Is there a specific fat content for the ground beef I should be using for this recipe? Thanks so much!
I prefer to use 80/20, but really, it’s up to you.
I have made an altered version of your recipe several times and my family loves it. Instead of making meatballs from scratch, I use the frozen swedish variety. These cook in 10-15 minutes in the oven, meanwhile I use your recipe for the gravy except I use the 1/4 cup of butter to fry an onion before adding the flour and broth, at the same time I boil a full package of extra broad egg noodles, when the gravy is done, mix the whole works together and let sit covered for 10 min while the noodles soak up some of the excess gravy.. Boom, swedish meatball pasta! (BTW that gravy is the best!!) 😉
Gonna try these tonight – they look great!
Holly http://www.authorhollyryan.com
Thanks for a great recipe. I made a double batch and froze half. I’m happy I found your site.
I made these tonight and they were really great! It was a hit with my teenaged boys, I like that the recipe yields a lot (I’m usually doubling and tripling recipes). I’ve never had time on my trips to Ikea to try the meatballs, my exposure to Swedish meatballs is courtesy of Lean Cuisine (embarrassing to admit!). Nice to have a reliable recipe to make them (better) at home. Thanks for posting.
Wow. Looks like there was all kinds of drama when this recipe was first posted regarding substituting the ground pork. Whatever. People like to be difficult,I guess. I found this recipe because I needed something easy for a throw together,spur of the moment, last minute dinner. All I had on hand was 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef, so that’s what I used. I also halved the gravy recipe. (I was only feeding 4 not very hungry people). I served these with Hasselback potatoes. Perfect. Tons of compliments. Next time I will make this exactly as written. I’m sure it will be that much better. If you have ground pork, use it – if you don’t, or don’t want to use it- then don’t- just understand that the meatballs will taste a little different,thats all.
Thank you for sharing this! Looks amazing! I am going to try this tonight! Not everyone in my family eats pork (health reasons) so, I will be using all beef. I know it will turn out amazing… Again, thank you! You should get your own cooking show! I have tried another recipe from you and it was amazing! You also seem to be very sweet and respectful! (I made that deduction by reading the comments…)
Wow this comment section is like “Hi, yeah, I’m allergic to onion, beef, pork, egg, nutmeg, and all forms of dairy but I’ve decided to make this anyway so I’m going to need you to personally provide me substitutions for each of those ingredients. Also, my personal assistant/unpaid intern Peter isn’t around to read me the recipe so could you do me a solid and make step-by-step audio instructions (with a soft voice, please, I find loud voices to be abrasive) as my eyes get ever so tired when I am forced to read something for more than 8 seconds and your instructions aren’t clear enough :(”
Seriously though, I tried these meatballs last night and they were delicious. Thanks so much for the awesome recipe.
Had to scroll waaay far down to get past the snotty comments and leave my own not snotty comment saying I made these per the easy to read recipe and they were lovely. I hope your other recipes (which I’m sure are just as lovely) don’t result in similar snotty comment-leaving by ignorant or entitled people. Thanks for posting.
I just stumbled on this recipe and I have to comment – this is the most insane comments section I’ve ever seen for a recipe. Chungah, you should be applauded for your polite responses to everybody. Who knew posting recipes online could lead to such abuse. I’ll try the recipe tonight – I’m sure it’s wonderful.
I found this recipe because I was looking for something to do with some thawed ground turkey I had. Maybe it would taste better with the beef and pork called for I don’t know. All I know is that I will be making these again and again and again. They were SO good! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
I made these the other night. I get “Try the World’ every other month and the most recent delivery was Sweden and I decided I wanted to make Swedish meatballs to eat with some of the other things in the box. My wife was a bit surprised since I’m not really a fan of having meat, gravy, and potatoes (yeah, I know, I’m weird) but I was inspired to do something Swedish!
We absolutely loved the outcome. The gravy went so well over our smashed potatoes and it really did taste great. Our meatballs were a mix of beef, pork and veal. We served them with lingonberry preserves which I highly recommend since they really added a dimension to the meal. It was like Swedish thanksgiving! 8)
I’ve probably made hundreds of recipes online in the past years but have only left a review once or twice. I wanted to let you know I LOVE this recipe. The first time I made it a few years ago, I remember thinking it was one of the best things I ever made/ate. I’ve made it many times since and still love it (as do all those I make it for), so I wanted to thank you for sharing it. I was picking up ingredients at the store last week and saw the comments at the top for the first time and was in shock! What a bunch of crazy, delusional, entitled wackos. I know you must work very hard on this site and you share it with us for free, who do these people think they are? I am a teacher and deal with a lot of parents with exactly the same attitude, luckily they are not all like that and I love the kids, but I know it can be gut-wrenching to have people crap all over something you pour your heart and soul into. So, thank you for your contribution, this recipe has made many people happy over the years!
I made these exactly as posted. Fantastic!!!!!!! AND, btw made them gluten free by using gluten free panko and brown rice flour.
I have made Swedish meatballs for several decades. They can tolerate some variation. In my opinion the importance of fatty meat in the ball is that it renders out when you fry it leaving caves and holes for the sauce to fill. Turkey meatballs will probably just have a surface covering.
Fat is also key to thickening the sauce. Flour cooked in fat and then thinned with a water base liquid makes gravy. If you just add flour to a fat free environment you will get flour and water paste. Fat is good for you if you aren’t ridiculous about the amounts.
My friends and family keep telling me I should do a cooking blog. The rude people on here are exactly why I don’t. Geez people, most bloggers aren’t professional chefs. Just cooks having fun. If you can’t figure out how to change a recipe to suit your needs, then don’t use that recipe. You don’t have to drag the poor blogger thru the mud! Maybe you shouldn’t even be cooking if you can’t figure it out for yourself. Start buying the pre made crap at the grocery store.
Made these Swedish meatballs today and fell in love with them! They are SO GOOD! I used ground chicken and turkey instead of beef and pork and salted butter instead of unsalte and I can’t stop eating these things!
I will DEFINITELY make these again in the future. Thanks Chungah!
HI there,
we have difficulties finding sour cream here, what can you advise as a subtitutes? heavy dream or full cream milk?
Thank you
Greek yogurt would be a great substitute.
I made these tonight, and everyone in my family loved them-thank you!
Made these for a party and they were delicious. I usually don’t fry my meatballs but I am glad I followed the recipe because without frying them you don’t get all of that beautiful fond left in the bottom of the pan and that’s what makes the gravy so delicious. I added a pinch of the allspice and the nutmeg to the gravy to marry the spice flavor in the meat to the flavor of the gravy.
I must have made my meatballs a little smaller because I got 35 from the recipe, but that was ok, more to go around. There were none left by the end of the night. I’ll be making these again!
And as to all the back and forth about substitutions, really. We are on these sights because we all love to cook and eat good food. If you sub something out a fat the recipe doesn’t come out well, that’s on you, not on the recipe. Let’s keep it civil, there’s too much snarkiness from both sides of this issue.
On the day I was planning to make this, there was no ground pork at the grocery store. On a whim, I subbed ground Italian sausage for the ground pork and left out the nutmeg and allspice (because the Italian sausage is already spiced). It was (damn) delicious! I have made it a couple of times since then the same way. Definitely a fave!
Made this last night. Delicious and easy!
I finally got around to making this. Followed recipe to a T. Totally amazing…..love it!!!
I love Swedish meatballs but have difficulty finding them. I googled recipies and could not pass on this one based on reviews. Thank goodness I did.
These are the best Swedish meatballs I have ever had. I consider myself a novice in the kitchen, but this recipie was easy to follow. Thank you Chungah!
Was really excited to try this recipe but I’m sorry to say that it wasn’t very good. The meatballs didn’t have much flavor and the gravy was pretty bland also. I added some garlic powder and onion powder to the gravy and that helped a little bit. Other recipes that I’ve tried have been very good so I’ll have to try some others that I have saved.
I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well. However, I understand that we all have different taste preferences, and I really appreciate your honest feedback.
I don’t get why some are saying the reply is rude when a link to the answer was given. Probably lack culinary competency… I’m muslim. I don’t eat pork. I substituted it with chicken. Didn’t have sour cream so I used creme fraiche. I dunno how much it differs from the original recipe but it tastes just fine to me. Thanks Chungah for the recipe. Keep it up.
I followed the recipe as written and the dish is bland – not bad but bland. I might try again using just ground beef. Also, the gravy is better when refrigerated and re-warmed. No disrespect meant.
I’m sorry that this recipe did not turn out the way you had imagined. I only post recipes that have been successfully tested in my own kitchen, and as you can see from the comments here, many of these readers have had great outcomes in the final dish as well. However, I understand that we all have different taste preferences, and I really appreciate your honest feedback.
Hi there! I made these with some substitutes, and they came out AMAZING. I’m sure yours are better, but I figured I’d use the ingredients I already had in the house (all beef, regular bread crumbs and greek yogurt). The gravy is the star in this dish, and I love how much gravy your recipe yields. I can’t wait to pour these on some mashed potatoes.
First off, thanks Meredith for that hilarious link, still laughing. Next, HOLY GAMOLY I have never read comments quite like these!!!!!! I’m going to make this today, I don’t have ground pork so all by myself decided to use all ground beef and if it doesn’t turn out well I’m not going to post a complaint. And to all you whiners, Chung-Ah was never rude in her replies. I thought she exhibited amazing restraint.
I was looking for a recipe for Swedish Meatballs for an Oscar party I was attending, and came across this one. No big surprise that they were a huge hit with all the party guests. Absolutely delicious! Thanks for another great recipe!!
Just made this recipe in response to having Swedish Meatballs in a restaurant recently– nice but expensive. Well, these ones I made were just as nice– probably nicer. Thank you for a fabulous recipe.
I’ve never attempted to make homemade meatballs, but when I saw “better than the Ikea version!”, I had to try this! And I was not disappointed! Just finished right now, and they are so warm, delicious, and comforting. Thanks for this recipe!
Great recipe
Can the sauce be frozen?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Last year, I made a large batch of these and I had good luck freezing the cooked meatballs with the sauce. I put 5 meatballs in a square freezer container and covered with sauce. When defrosted and reheated, the sauce wasn’t quite as creamy (the sour cream separates some) but the taste was the same.
I grew up eating my mother’s Swedish meatballs – she made hers in a pressure cooker. This is the closest I’ve had to the taste and texture of hers. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Thank you for this. I must admit, I can’t be faffed making meatballs when they are readily available from supermarket. But the gravy, well now that requires a trip to IKEA, and although our IKEA is only 8 miles away, I still seem to never have packets of gravy mix in the cupboard. Your recipe for the gravy is amazing, it’s so easy, tastes as good, probably better, doesn’t take any longer to cook, and is cheaper than the packets! Thank you thank you thank you!!!
This is a pretty good recipe- ingredients are readily available, methods are simple. Really a pretty basic sort of meatball with some spices that set it apart. I’d never had a Swedish meatball before (I make my own furniture, so haven’t delved deeply into the Ikea culture), but these are quite good. I looked at a few other recipes, which didn’t differ greatly, though some insist on mace as a vital ingredient. I halved the gravy amount, and it was still plenty to cook the meatballs in.
Oh, by the way, I love the use of egg yolks only. I think they make a more tender meatball and they do have all of the vitamins of the whole egg and half the protein. Yum!
I use a lot of pork because we love the flavor don’t you? : )
I have read a least half the comments here and I am surprised that people engage in negative comments. Negative comments breed negative comments.
As for changing the recipe, I don’t usually have panko crumbs in the pantry. I have been cooking for over 45 years and I am sure this is a great recipe.
However, (brace yourselves), I am adding brewed coffee as it does give a nice bottom note to Swedish meatballs. This is how I was trained about 50 years ago when I first had them at a famous steak house and was told the recipe which I never forgot.
Aside from those 2 changes according to my personal taste, this is an outstanding recipe Chung-Ah and I thank you. : )
This recipe isn’t all that specific to begin with; the cuts of meat, how they
re ground, the type of broth, the types of parsley and onion, brand of sour cream all will have considerable effect on the outcome. The pork/beef combo is near universal for meatballs, at least from European backgrounds; if you really have problems with pork, veal would probably be the best substitute. The procedure is very straightforward, but if you want the meatballs to stay round, you should fry them in at least 1/4″ of oil.
These look delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe 🙂
Being Swedish I have made meatballs a lot of times. I have made them with only pork, only beef , a mixture and with chicken. What I can say is that they need a bit of fat. If you use too lean meat they become very dry. If you cannot eat pork then use fat beef. In Sweden I have bought beef mince with 20% fat. That works.
You can also add any seasoning you want. I love to use lots of garlic and I have added Feta cheese sometimes. Basically, the stuff you like to add to a meat loaf can also be added to meat balls. We usually eat them with mashed potatoes and gravy but also with pasta. Lingonberry jam is a must and my son needs ketchup.
Personally, I dislike fatty meats, and this recipe in no way needs fat- if you buy your meat ground, it will have more than enough- probably far more than enough. The gravy itself contains a good deal of fat, the egg yolks and sauteed onions add fat to the meat mixture- even with very lean meat, this is a moderately fatty recipe.
I made these meatballs tonight and my partner and I loved it! Flawless!
these are amazing!! my family loves them! thanks for sharing 🙂
I came to the website today to take a look at some of the other recipes, since my family loves this Swedish Meatball recipe so much. I bet I have made it at least 10 times. I have always used two pounds of ground beef, due to a child who cannot eat pork. I had no idea that there was such a firestorm going on regarding the recipe. We LOVE this recipe. I can tell you that this is great with just ground beef. I use a 90% lean beef. Lingonberry jam is a must, though!!
My Hubby made this for dinner tonite, it was damn delicious.. We had the meatballs over mashed potatoes, the next time I think I’ll do egg noodles.. Was a very easy recipe to follow. Thank you for sharing
Made this for dinner last night and followed the recipe as written. Turned out perfect and has been added to our “family favorite” list!
Made this tonight for hubby! Yummy! Simple, yet really good, thank you!
I followed your recipe sans pork because I didn’t have any on hand. My boyfriend was skeptical when I added the allspice and nutmeg but was very pleased with the outcome. This was incredible! Thanks for sharing.
This was my first attempt at swedish meatballs, and I am on my way to celebrate with my friends and family with this dish! I tasted two before heading out the door, and I am very pleased! Sauce was a great consistency, I did make substitutions for gf all purpose flour and gf panko crumbs, as our diet requirements are gluten free. I definitely wanted others who are gluten free to realize it is possible to use this recipe. No doubt, it may be different from the original outcome, but I am pleased I get to eat and enjoy something that otherwise I’d not be able to have! I used the pork and beef. Delicious. I also used a little white pepper after reading someone’s comment about it and it added a little kick to the sauce! Will definitely be making this again, THANKS ever so much for posting this recipe – and thanks for allowing all comments to be read, despite the negative nature of some posters, others do sometimes allow for differences in diet and preference which is helpful to other home cooks who are not professionals, but enjoy our kitchens and trying new foods. Vive la difference! Happy 2016, Chungah!
Sorry, Jessica, but replacing pork with veal is NOT an appropriate substitute. I thought your redress was quite snotty and condescending.
Folks. Avoid substitutions. They create a different recipe. Period!!!!
And, in MY opinion, no one should EVER eat veal. For any reason. Substitution? Sardines. See my point?
Made these for our Christmas dinner over mashed potatoes. The flavor was wonderful, but my gravy was way too thin. Next time I’ll use less broth or add some cornstarch at the end. It also took a lot longer than the time indicated to cook the meatballs all the way through. I browned mine, then simmered in the gravy for another 15 minutes and I still had some that were pink. Cheers for a wonderful recipe!
This was a HUGE hit with everyone!!! Thank you so much for posting!
Before I make these, I’m wondering is it really only 4 servings? Because doing the math means that’s almost 1,000 calories per serving 🙁 If it’s more like 6-8 servings I may be able to swing it.
Mary, you can stretch this out to as many servings as you’d like.
Hi, regarding the sweedish meatballs, has somebody tried to cook them in the oven over parchemin papier ?
And has someone tried to freeze them after they are cooked and without the sauce ? I was thinking of doing it this way and just make the sauce when I need it to serve de meatballs ? Or is it necessary that the meatballs cook in the sauce ?
Thanks ! and sorry for my poor English…
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I made them tonight for the second time. They are now a favourite.
Thank you for this recipe. The first time I made these meatballs with the ground pork/ground beef combination as recommended, I tripled the recipe. I froze the extra meatballs on trays in my freezer and then packed them in ziploc bags to store in my freezer. They were great simmered in pasta sauce as well. I made these again last night and got a little more adventurous. Trying to be healthier this time, I made them with ground turkey and ground bison. They turned out great!
I made this recipe tonight and my family loved it! Thanks for sharing.
A nice recipe! BUT, with four Swedish grandparents, three of whom were born in Sweden, please let me make one change to your recipe for Swedish meatballs! INSTEAD of Panko crumbs, use bread soaked in milk for the binder!! You can use any kind — white or wheat! I tend to use Pepperidge Farm sandwich bread for the taste! I’m making meatballs today and don’t have the Pepperidge, but any bread, even Challah bread, will do! Nice texture and taste in place of Panko! I use Panko as well, just not for my Swedish meatballs! I have them with gravy, mashed potatoes, ligonberries and a veggie!
So easy and extremely delicious and our family loved them
I am so happy to find this recipe. I was looking for something to take to a carry in dinner at our church the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I wanted something easy and not of the Thanksgiving menu. I think I will be tired of turkey by then and so will most others. These sound perfect and I can transport them in a crock pot to boot!!
OMGGG These were so good. Moist and juicy meatballs. However the sauce was a little thin and didnt really thicken up. Is it meant to be this way?
The sauce is meant to have more of a thick gravy-like consistency.
Good recipe. Needs improvements. Less pork. I’d go 1.5 lbs of organic beef and .5 of pork. The biggest thing off is the rue. There is not enough rue to thicken. I doubled it. Other than that not a bad recipe.
I just made this for dinner. It was really tasty and definitely hit the spot. I actually made the meatballs with ground lamb and it tasted great. Served it with mashed yams and cranberry sauce. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Thank you for posting this – I normally don’t like Swedish meatballs but I had all of the ingredients so I fixed them exactly as your recipe instructed. Fabulous! Family likes them also ~ 🙂 I’ll make these again.
This is delicious! My family are veggie so we used vegetable stock and Quorn meatballs for speed. Was great with mashed potatoes and piles of vegetables 🙂 Thank you 🙂
Can you make and freeze the sauce separately?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
I’ve made this recipe a couple times, and each time the gravy has tasted really… Buttery? Is this how it’s supposed to taste? I followed the directions exactly, but it doesn’t seem to taste right to me..(although I’m not sure exactly how it’s supposed to taste, which is why I ask..) I think of the gravy with Swedish meatballs with a more mild taste… However the meatballs themselves come out PERFECT!
Ak, you can reduce the amount of butter as needed to suit your taste preferences.
i used approx triple the amount of flour contained in this recipe. 1/3 cup wasn’t enough,the sauce was too runny
Just want others to know!
well, after I got done reading the entertaining fights on the message board, all I have to say is great recipe! I used frozen meatballs, and half the beef broth and served it over rich, fluffy mashed potatoes. My mom couldn’t get enough
As someone who loves to cook & experiment in the kitchen… I rarely use the same recipe more than once. But I’ve made this one three or four times now, and will continue to use it. It’s absolutely delicious, exactly as written (I’ve omitted the parsley once when I forgot to buy some).
Also, the comment section on this post was hilarious and made my afternoon. Cheers to the author 😉
I make this recipe all the time….I even use the meatball recipe to make the best hamburger patties ever! My parents don’t eat pork so I always substitute it with ground turkey. I’ve never made it with pork. It comes out delicious every time with turkey. Thanks Chungah for a great recipe!
You know.. I have sat by and read all the comments on this blog about recipe substitutions and what not. I think its stupid to call the author rude because she doesn’t know how YOUR food will taste in YOUR kitchen once YOU substitute something. Its like the dumbness level for some of you ig-nits are its just thru the roof! If you can pull the word rude out of your bum, then perhaps you can pull this out of there as well… FIGURE IT OUT FOR YOURSELF oooooor USE THE FREAKEN INTERNET TO FIND ANOTHER VERSION OF THIS RECIPE.. bunch of idiots, i tell ya! Lazy arm chair food critics and what not… If you can’t stomach pork.. then don’t use it! What else besides beef can you stomach? Chicken? Turkey? Its not rocket science. You want this author to think for you, well I’m sure she’s too darn busy for all that! Stop being dum-dums and do something for yourself. Jeez! Never in my life have I gotten this irritated looking up what to make for dinner! Just.. numba sign all of your worthless hides down and stop being dumb. Common sense just isn’t common anymore! So freaken frustrating.
Now… To the author. I have been looking for a nice recipe like this, and I will try it tonight. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing. I love your professionalism when dealing with the cyber trash on your blog. You are not rude, because trust me, I have been far worse to far greater people. So you just keep doing what you’re doing, and making us happy with your home cooked recipes 🙂
Chung-Ah, the meatballs are cooking as I type, and they smell DIVINE! Ignore the haters, the world is full of them. Those who can’t, critique those who can. And you my dear, CAN! Thank you SO much for sharing this amazing recipe!
Wow. I look for recipes as an inspiration, a guideline. And enjoy the comments from those who’ve made the dish, as is or what they had on hand. I feel cooking is an art, or a labor of love.
Chungah, you put forth great recipes for greater inspiration. And although I am not fan of those who comment beforehand, I can say when I make this tomorrow for Sunday dinner with mashed potatoes and fresh green beans, I know this will be a family favorite.
Just made and with a side of mash potatoes …….OMG.
THANK YOU so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Cheers 🙂
I just made these tonight, with one change, but they turned out delicious! I did substitute the pork for veal but other than that I followed everything precisely. I’ve never eaten a Swedish meatball, so I don’t have much to compare it to, but it reminds me of a Middle Eastern recipe I make, macaroni bechamel, which if I had added white pepper and pasta it would have been just that!! I will be making this again next week for a party I am having, I’m glad to have made this ahead of time to test it out. Oh, definitely add the freshly chopped parsley, it really makes all the difference!!!!!
I find this website by Chungah very useful and entertaining. Honey, don’t pay any attention to the haters. Some people need to complain about everything. Keep up your good work 🙂
So I made these awesome meatballs with my 6 year old. She did a great job. They were so good that this tiny 6 year old ate 6 of them. Then asked: Why would anyone want to substitute anything. I love this kid. Thank you so much for the recipe. The two of us looked and found many of your recipes that she really wanted to try. She is a very picky eater. your recipes were so good and with helping to prepare them (very simple recipe) she is eager to get started. I look forward to your recipes.
thank you so much.
Cid
I plan on making this tonight, and I might make some rice or noodle to smear it on top of :O I wonder how that would turn out! I shall post once I find out.
No offense but my point was that she said she didn’t know what to substitute and that this recipe was what she did. How many times did she have to explain that. Then ended up having to defend herself from these same people. These are the arrogant people I was referring to. I am sure that if you read all those entries that you could see that. I’m sure you didn’t write again asking for a substitution or berating her for not wanting to change her recipe. I hope you find what your looking for.
I’ve been browsing around for Swedish Meatball recipes for a party I will be having soon. I do not eat pork for religious reasons as many people do, so I am researching what I can do in substitution for the pork. Reading over the comments, many were offensive.I don’t see an issue with someone asking what’s a good substitute for an ingredient, it’s a recipe for goodness sake!! I could see where Rebekah was coming from, I don’t think she was expecting that kind of answer which was very formal and insisting she must stick with the original pork or else get mediocre (aka crappy) results. But Chungh-Ah answered the best she could. I don’t believe substituting pork will ruin a dish, there are groups of people who have created sophisticated culinary works of art out of meat with a pork less culture.
I love how most came to defend Chungh-Ah but then completely ignored this comment:
joe says
November 6, 2014 at 11:14 AM
Many people I know are Jewish and are forbidden to eat pork..so when they come to my house I tell them there is no pork in the recipe even though I put it in…I really do not give a fat rats ass if they are forbidden to eat pork..I love it and will use it…get over it……OMG…..how shameful is that…lllooolll
And to Joe, you must really only love Joe. What a huge disrespect and betrayal to your Jewish friends. Is it all that necessary to lie about it? Is it that much to ask that when your friend asks if there is pork in something, you just tell them the damn truth? I assume that your actions are based in bigotry.
I agree with this. In all honesty, the question did not require the sort of response many of the bloggers gave. The author answered the best way she could. However, I do not think one should immediately resort to being butt-hurt because a chef doesn’t know how best to suggest something to you. That would require her to know what you like, and don’t like. Only you can answer that question, so why waste time asking it? And another thing, if you happen to ask this question.. don’t resort to being a twat just because the chef/cook simply doesn’t know how to answer it.
And to the Joe person you pointed out.. I agree with that as well.. he is very disrespectful to mislead his friends. It goes to show how much he values them as people. Can he truly even call them friends? Now, my husband doesn’t eat pork.. not for religious reasons, but because he literally can’t stomach it. It makes him sick. So, out of courtesy, I don’t cook it. His family is Muslim, and they don’t eat pork for religious reasons. So when they come visit, I am sure to keep my packet of bacon, that make for my breakfast, hidden in the back from sight. Is this a lot of hoops to jump through for family or friend? No. I choose to respect my friends and family even if I don’t agree with their customs.
I cannot believe what I have just read!!!!!!! What is wrong with you people? I realize this is a late post, as I just found this site while looking for and AUTHENTIC Swedish meatball recipe. What part of “authentic” Swedish recipe do you not understand? If you want to make this specific recipe, then you would need to follow the recipe that makes the dish what it is! If you change it, it is no longer that recipe but a “SUBSTITUTE. Call it what you want, but it is not the same recipe posted. It will never taste the same as what this person has made with these ingredients,therefore it is different. For those of you who are so ARROGANT that you cannot understand the simple FACT, that a substitution for the ingredients IS NOT THE SAME RECIPE, Please look up the word ARROGANT.) How difficult of a concept is this for you BULLIES! Why was this so hard for you people to understand? You were mean and nasty! Are you adults? My six year old asked that as we read it. Smart kid. It is not a problem to change a recipe and make it your own! That is encouraged. So, the next time you ask for a substitution and the author replies with the fact that this is how they made it and didn’t know of a substitute, as this is their recipe, then figure it out for yourself!!!! NEVER continue to bully and berate a person for SHARING THEIR RECIPE!! DON’T BE RUDE. I hope that someday someone does what most of you did, happens to you. Maybe then you will learn manners (again from the mouth of babes). I feel very sorry for this GRACIOUS person, who has SHARED this recipe. Thank you Chungtah for this AUTHENTIC recipe!! I am making them today and my six year old can’t wait to help! For the rest of you BULLIES out there, every school in America has a NO BULLIES policy. Maybe you should try bullying the person in the mirror and see just how far you get. …………Cid
I’m making these right now for dinner. yummy. ..this recipe sounds delicious. Making it just as it says, but have about 1/2 more pork to use so added about another 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and an extra egg as they were small. the meatballs are delicious so I’m sure dinner will be a treat. I will make this again.
××××Judy….use what éver meat you like. .
I made the recipe today as written. I did find that 4 cups of beef stock created a thinner gravy. I did allow thickening time and double checked the ingredient list. Next time I will use 3 cups of stock and see how it goes. The meatballs were great and my young kids ate them up! Will make again for sure.
One question. Should it have a strong nutmeg taste? Mine seems a little strong, but other than that it is awesome and will use this recipe again but maybe half the nutmeg. I put it over mashed potatoes. Really good.
The nutmeg taste should be very subtle. If it is too strong to taste, it may be best to reduce the amount as needed for next time.
I made this last night, and it turned out delicious!
Only difference is that I baked them in the oven at 180C for 30min, instead of browning them in a skillet because I didn’t have one big enough. 🙂 It turned out nicely, and was a lot easier!
It made me 36 meatballs.. I froze the leftovers and will be looking forward to more meatball meals soon!
Thanks Chung Ah. 🙂
You make your meatballs with Panko bread crumbs! I just recently discovered Panko bread crumbs I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love them!
I am excited to make swedish meatballs with Panko instead of regular from now on.
Thanks for the recipe!
Great recipe! As a college student cooking on her own, this recipe was super easy to follow and came out delicious. What do you think of eating it with cranberry sauce rather than ligonberry sauce?
That sounds great but without having tried it myself, I can’t really say with certainty. Please use your best judgment.
I’ve had it with cranberry sauce and lingonberry sauce….both were delicious! Great recipe Chungah!
This looks amazing, I can’t wait to try it. I don’t have any pork, so I will just try it with the beef and cut the recipe in half, but make the full gravy recipe so I can put it over noodles. I’ll plan ahead and buy some pork the next time I make it. Thanks for this recipe!
I love your recipes! I made 4 of them this week alone! Last night I made the Swedish meatball recipe. It was very tasty but did not look quite as rich and creamy as your picture. I used light sour cream instead of regular. Do you know if this would change the flavor quite a bit or can light and regular sour cream be used interchangeably? Thank you in advance for your time 🙂
Light and regular sour cream can certainly be used interchangeably with very minimal flavor changes.
These were fantastic! I doubled the recipe and now have some ready to be cooked in my freezer! (I’m so glad I did this). I’ll say I *did* change one little thing: I added about a 1/4 of a cup of red wine to the gravy towards the end of cooking to give it more flavor. Everything else I made as written and was very happy with the results! Great job!
I am so excited to try your recipe tonight for the first time. Swedish meatball cravings…. thank you for sharing!!:)
this looks yummy – can’t wait to try it – thank you.
i followed the recipe to the letter and the meatballs are good but, the gravy was just OK. I will make the recipe again and make a few corrections on my part. I will use either homemade beef broth or high quality boxed…not low sodium. Additionally, I will add the sour cream just before serving. Well written recipe that was very easy to follow!
The recipie is almost perfect. The only thing I would change is the time of the butter and the flour. Keep it on the stove longer to get darker brown color and better taste.
Tried this recipe a few months ago during winter & it is awesome! I am someone who does not measure exactly when cooking (kinda like Rachael Ray), but when I try a new recipe I do measure, then I know how I can guesstimate next time. Recently went to Ikea & it happened to be on a Friday which is their $3.99 Swedish meatball special nite. I have to say that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I used to since trying your recipe, Chungah. I have bookmarked many more of your recipes to try – can’t wait, they all look “damn delicious”!
Hey Chungah, thanks for the recipe, and I agree, those are definitely better than the IKEA version… unless you prefer horse meat 😉 Prepared kottbullar yesterday and served them with lingonberry jam, pressgurka (pressed cucumbers) and potatismos (mashed potatoes). That was absolutely DELICIOUS! I am ready to go back to Stockholm and celebrate Midsommar next week 😉
I know this is from a long time ago but I just found your recipe on pinterest. I doubled the recipe and OMG so good! So happy this made enough meatballs for 3 more dinners for my husband and I! Seriously, so good and not a tweak needed in the recipe!
Dear Chungah,
This is a fabulous recipe, couldn’t ask for a better one to try. Since I had no pork on hand, I simply Googled results for a good substitute, and found about a million results. It’s a shame so many expect you to have that info on hand when all they need is a pc and an ounce of common sense. It came out tasting great, and I’ve shared it with all my friends.
Wow, the meat balls were delicious. I did vary the recipe in that I double the quantity of spices and boy did that work out well. I also added a squeeze of lemon juice to the sauce to reduce the intense flavour of the beef stock and that also worked a treat. Thanks for the recipe mmmmmmm
Hey Chungah,
I’m sure you are completely over this whole post and all of its comments,
BUT
I just wanted to let you know that I follow pretty much everyone of your pinterest boards and am a huge fan of your recipes and blog.
I have made a whole mess of them for my vegetarian self and carnivorous other half and they have turned out excellent every time!
I never ever comment on food blogs, but I thought this was a good place to let you know that I think you and your recipes are kickass.
I also think it is amazing that you reply to comments, anytime I’ve had a question about one of your recipes it was already answered in your comments section.
Not all bloggers reply.
So thanks for sharing all of your wonderful culinary creations with the world!
Also, I’m making Swedish meatballs right now.
😉
Just made these as your recipe, outstanding thank you so much for the recipe. Sorry about all the rude comments you encountered, some people are just generally rude and nasty. I think they crave the attention.
Thanks again for the outstanding recipe!!! Susan
Thanks a lot for this recipe. I had never tasted Swedish meatballs before but I just knew I would love them. Your recipe turned out perfectly and was so, so delicious. Couldn’t believe how good the sauce was. I want to make it again very soon!
Hi my mum doesn’t eat beef. What would you advise to substitute the beef stock with? Thanks!
You can use vegetable or chicken stock.
Was reading some of the posts that are older from the top of the page and WOW…the people getting their knickers in a knot over a recipe! I can see that now you have been worn down by the people asking for subs. Lol, poor thing. I have just tried it and won’t tell you the subs I did but I will say I am baking it in a slow oven for an hour so the sauce can really get in there! Thanx for the recipe, Chungah.
Chun-ga..you get an “atta-girl”!! . You always answer folks so tactfully. I am making these as the recipe calls. They sound awesome..and I’ve been cooking for 45 yrs.
No drama – just high praise! My family loved these,and i’m adopting (and adapting) the recipe for Italian spaghetti and meatballs tonight. Thank you
Made these for my daughter’s Frozen themed birthday. I made these exactly as written and they turned out soooo delicious! I received so many compliments at the party! Throwing them over a bed of egg noodles made them even more amazing! Thank you so much for this receipe! The only thing I could say inmthe form of a negative was that the gravy came out way too soupy and not really thick. It traveled all over the plate into the other food. That was the only complaint……I don’t know how to thicken gravy otherwise I’m sure I could have fixed it myself. 🙂 Thank you again!!
Jen, I am so glad you tried this recipe! As for the gravy – you can try adding more flour next time to help thicken it up.
Thanks you C!! Awesome recipe very authentic !!! To those other posters you are the rude ones C if I were you I wouldn’t even bother on replying to their nonsense…. People grow up the recipe was posted to help us… Simply said I see you not posted anything rude or wrong so I would simply shove a meatball and enjoy !!! 🙂 kudos in these they are amazing thank you
I can’t believe all the negative comments.. if you want to substitute figure it out yourself, don’t berate Chungah , who is not a chef, or make the recipe as written.. that is what I plan to do.. I can’t wait to make them exactly as written..
Done it again!
This time I’ve added chopped parsley / coriander leaves to the meat mix. Still good !
Made this tonight and it was a hit with the wife & kids. And you know what? I didnt have sour cream so i subbed heavy cream. This made the gravy a little runny so i added a 1/4 cup hot water with a tbl spoon of corn starch added to it. Thickened it right up. My super picky 9 yo daughter gobbled it up. It has a nice milld flavor. Thanks for the recipe, ma’am.
LOVE these Swedish Meatballs. SO easy, especially after making it a few times. This has been added to our repertoire. They also freeze great with the sauce then a slow, low reheat. Mashed potatoes key but also a roasted potato was great with it too. YUM!
Hi Chungah,
I loved your recipe, but being a full-blown Swede (albeit living in the US), I wanted to add a few comments, so as to make this staple of Swedish every-day cuisine even more authentic…
– Don’t use olive oil, but butter (there are no olive trees in Sweden :))
– Don’t use Panko – Swedes wouldn’t know what you are talking about… Actually, don’t use any bread crumbs at all, they only dilute the flavor.
– No parsley, unless you want to put a sprig on top of your meatballs for decorative purposes (parsley is omnipresent in Swedish cooking for this sole purpose)
– Don’t forget to finely chop the onions – no one wants to bite down on a big chunk of onion in the middle of a meatball, at least not if they are Swedish… 🙂
– Please, don’t use sour cream, but heavy cream – that’s the Swedish way… And we’re talking both food preparation and sauce!
– If using more than one egg, do use the white as well – that’s the part of the egg that binds the ground beef the best
– And talking about the ground beef, the classic Swedish ground beef mix is 70 beef/30 pork (I’m a meat “purist”, so I prefer 96/4, but that is obviously up to individual palates)
– In regards to the pepper, please don’t forget to use some white pepper as well, a spice sorely forgotten in the US of A, but much used in Sweden, and not just for fish…
– Do serve this with some mean mashed potatoes (remember the cream; Swedish food was never known to be lean – those Vikings needed the fat to support their vigorous activities [which should not be discussed here]… :))
– And don’t forget the Lingonberry sauce… That’s the secret Swedish ingredient! Today it’s found in most well assorted grocery stores in the US, and naturally at IKEA
Smaklig maltid!
Your suggestions turns this into a completely different recipe. Perhaps some people will love it despite its lack of actual Swedish content? You should post your own recipe for Swedish Meatballs and leave it at that.
YES!!!! Well said. The suggestions are nice but NO ONE likes a no it all. Especially one who criticizes some one else’s hard work (Chungah coming up with recipe for us.)
I made these for my hubby and a friend of ours. They were absolutely delicious. Served it over my garlic mashed potatoes. YUM YUM YUM. Going to be making it again for my parents tomorrow. I adore this recipe. 🙂
Hi! I’m a Swede living in Sweden and there are countless variations on meatballs and this is a good basic recipe. Never heard of Pankos. You can take bread crumbs or the same amount of oats. And I’ve never heard of using just the jolks. Using the white too helps keeping them from falling apart. You can also add basil and/or oregano. And in the sauce most just use cream instead of sour cream. Enjoy:-)!
I made this tonight and posted a picture of it on Facebook. A friend of mine thinks they should be called amazeballs instead. 😀
Thank you so much for the recipe. My family loves it so much! XOXO
Thanks for your wonderful recipes (with a “s”, yes, I tried several and loved them all).
I can’t find Panko in the stores I usually go to, and I was wondering how different from regular breadcrumb it was.
Here is a great article regarding their differences: http://www.chow.com/food-news/54616/how-is-panko-different-from-breadcrumbs/. Regular breadcrumbs should work just fine, but it is really best to use Panko to obtain the best results possible.
Thank you for the link ! I will try to find Panko – it is not the first time that I stumble upon this name, and I am really curious.
Just made these. I substituted ground turkey for the pork and it was delicious! I also added a little more flour to make the gravy thicker. Great recipe!
Now I remember – I’ve added mushrooms to the sauce.
I’ve done it! Cannot recall if I follow it 100%, but it was nice & dissapeared fast 🙂
Thank you for the inspiration!
Ziggy
I’ve made this a few times and, I made a couple changes. I think 4 cups of beef broth is way too much. The gravy was more like soup and lacked flavor. I cut it down to 2 cups. In addition, the 3/4 cup of sour cream was too much. I cut that down to 1/4 cup. These two changes made all the difference in the world! Now my gravy looks rich and thick like the pictures in the recipe do. My family loves them!
I LOVE THIS RECIPE!!! I have searched high and low for a great Swedish Meatball recipe and have found it here. My family loves it as well, there are never any leftovers when I make it. As far as the meats go, I have used the pork, I have used veal, I have used nothing but hamburger, whatever I have available and it still turns out fantastic. I have shared this recipe with many friends and they all love it as well. This is one that will stay in my cookbook for a long time!! You have a gained a fan of your recipes, great job!
I made these tonight and they were soooo good!! My picky 4 and 8 year olds even ate them! Funny thing was we were en-route to the supermarket and I quick looked up a recipe for Swedish Meatballs and when I saw it was from DamnDelicious, I didn’t even bother looking at other recipes and just got the few things I was missing. I cannot say enough how good it was! Thank you Chung-Ah, I am totally in love with your recipes! My favs are the Lemon Chicken thighs, Artichoke Dip in the slow cooker, Sesame Chicken Thighs and now this one. You have been fast tracked to the top of my list for go to places for an easy no-fail recipe! <3
I’m going to try this tonight I have loved all your dishes I’m sure this one will be fantastic cant wait thanks you for all the great recipes. 🙂
I prepared these exactly as stated and it was fantastic. Thanks.
I added to meat mixture One tablespoon each of sweet relish & worsestershire sauce.
I also added to the gravy ingredients:
1/4 cup white wine
1″ sprig of fresh rosemary.
These additions proved to be extra delicious outcome for both parts.
Thanks for the base recipe as it was great ingredients to start with.
I made these delicious meatballs, they came out perfect.. I bought an awesome Veggie Chopper (from this fantastic website http://homegadgetsdaily.com/ , highly recommend you guys ) , and I chopped the onion, (don’t really like to feel pieces of onion with meat) so, I liked it. Thank you for simple and delicious recipe!
I cannot believe I wasted precious time reading all of these comments! Some people obviously have nothing better to do than complain. Chungah, I’ve Pinned 3 of your recipes and they’ve been a hit with my picky eaters. I’m trying these meatballs tonight b/c I need something easy/quick for the beef I just pulled out of the freezer (I don’t have pork)! Wish me luck!!
i made these using venison rather than ground beef and it turned out amazing!
I made tonight and was delicious! The only difference was I omitted the nutmeg and allspice, using Italian seasoning, garlic powder, worchestshire sauce and parm instead. Very good recipe and will make again.
Those meatballs were Italian, not Swedish!
I made this last night and it came out great! I didn’t have sour cream so I used buttermilk as a substitute. Also, if you don’t eat pork, you can just use ground beef. I only had ground beef and it turned out fine.
Thanks for the recipe!
use chicken thigh meat minced with the skin and /or fat or not, but much better with it as your pork substitute
mix with beef use falda or skirt
and calm down some please
I just made these. This is a great recipe! I wish I’d trusted it a little more. I got scared that the gravy was too runny and added more flour, but then it ended up a little too thick. Trust the recipe!
Can we talk about these meatballs? Epic!!!! 100x better than IKEA! Thanks for another amazing recipe! You never dissapoint! 🙂
I’ve been looking through your site and I’m very excited to try all your recipes! I’ve never found a site where I liked almost everything! And the recipes fit my cooking style perfectly! This Swedish meatball recipe is what led me to you and I’m so happy to have a goto site now when I’m looking for something new without too much hassle! Thanks for sharing your wonderful gift of cooking and writing with the rest of us!
Made these this morning and they turned out great. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi,
these look amazing! I plan on doubling the recipe – should I use 4 egg yolks or do you think I could get away with 2 whole eggs?
It would be best to use 4 egg yolks.
I make this recipe all the time & the only difference is I up the seasonings a wee bit. I’ve been a cook & baker for over 40 yrs & I think everyone should experience tastes as they prefer. Not following a recipe 100% isn’t always a flop but these should be as is. Thanks for sharing. Cheers!
Well, I will have to admit to the error of my ways. I posted a previous review stating I left the nutmeg and allspice out of the meatballs because we didn’t like either spice. Decided to make some more meatballs for the freezer this afternoon and thought “well…let’s be adventurous”. OH MY GOODNESS! That tiny bit of nutmeg and allspice makes a huge difference in the final flavor of the meatballs, but isn’t so much that it’s obnoxious (for those of us who don’t much care for either spice)! Yummy…and yes it is ‘damndelicious’!
Thank you for taking the time to post this recipe. Don’t let the trouble makers get to you. Some people will complain about everything. That said…I did use your sauce recipe and really loved it, but made the meatballs with 100% ground chuck because I don’t care for pork (and we don’t eat veal) in our meatballs. Also left out the allspice and nutmeg because we aren’t fans. The sauce, however, was lovely! Thanks again!
I don’t usually comment on these things, but after reading the previous posts, I felt you needed some positive comments 🙂 My husband and I enjoyed this! Funny story, my daughter was born 14 months ago at Swedish Hospital in Denver. We stayed there for several days after her birth, and my husband ate A LOT of Swedish meatballs during that time. It was one of the only good things they served! So that was his basis for comparison. Not ikea. Even though I have been to ikea MANY times, I never eat there. So anyhow, he went back for seconds, and raved about it. Thanks for the recipe!
Why type of canned beef broth did you use?
I prefer to use organic but feel free to use any brand that you see fit.
Just amazing…. My grandbabies loves it And my husband said to make sure I save the recipe so we can have it again anD again!
Follow up to earlier post.
Made recipe exactly as stated.
It was perfect.
Thank you!
Heyo!
Site is awesome. Slick. Informative. So visual. Nice stuff. To those who snark about YOU telling THEM what to do for substitutions – hey – no worries – your recipe needs to be made the way it was created. End of. IT. Don’t even bother replying. If they can’t figure it out on their own, they need to do takeaway. Nuf said. Your blog rocks!
I just made this recipe for dinner tonight, I didn’t change a thing and it was scrumptious! Thank you!
I’m making this now…it smells great and my 12 year old just have me his approval after taste testing for me while they simmer in the sauce. I did make one addition. Not traditional, but I added just a touch of red wine to the simmering cream sauce. Tastes wonderful….Thanks for sharing!
I am making your recipe right now. It is turning out delish. I did make some changes, I added Bella mushrooms, garlic & onion powder, and 5 ounces of heavy cream. This is a wonderful recipe and for all of the childish remarks that were made……use your imagination. Don’t hate on Chung she shared a good recipe. Go some place else with your ugly remarks, didn’t your moms teach you any manners? Thank you for sharing your lovely recipe. My mother taught me manners
Hi, just reading comments here, and what I want to know was how Bob’s, (from Dec.), sauce was with the mushrooms? I imagine it would of tasted really good, but just want to hear from him. Thanks.
I added mushrooms and it was great!
Thank you so much for this recipe! My daughters and I want to make something special for my husband for Super Bowl Sunday and this looks like it will be the ticket! I’ve read through a few of the earlier comments and can’t believe the ruckus over the substitution question. Please don’t let negative comments stop you from posting wonderful stuff. Those of us who are too busy to experiment with new recipes and post them, totally appreciate those who can and do for others to enjoy. Thank you for sharing!
I LOVE this recipe. When I first tried it several months ago, I couldn’t believe how delicious it was.
I use this recipe (and your blog) often, my kids love it!
Thank you so much for all of your shares!
Thanks for this recipe. I made it as written and found that it was thinner than I would have liked. Next time I’ll use only 2 cups of broth and add some Worcestershire sauce. A good starting point, though. 🙂
Damn Delicious Swedish Meatballs!!! Everyone loved them. Thank you:)
Hi Chungah,
I made these tonight and they were delicious! I froze half of the meatballs and half of the sauce (minus the sour cream – I wasn’t sure if it would curdle after being frozen, then thawed and reheated, so I’ll just add it later). Thanks for a great recipe that hit my IKEA Swedish meatball craving right on the nose!
A little update – I heated the meatballs and sauce from frozen. I let everything defrost first and heated the sauce over gentle heat. The sauce was a bit lumpy from being frozen but it was nothing that my immersion blender couldn’t fix. I added the sour cream after heating and blending the sauce, and then added in the meatballs to heat up. Delicious!
These look sooooooo good, I can’t wait to try them! Especially since we don’t have an Ikea down here (plus your version looks way healthier and less processed).
I made these 3 times and their great ! Family also loved them! Thank you so much for sharing this!
Would I be sinning if I used frozen meatballs?
Not at all – sometimes shortcuts are needed!
I made these with just beef (I do not eat pork) and they were fantastic! I made half the amount of meatballs with the full amount of sauce so I could also put it on mashed potatoes. I added all ingredients as indicated. It was fantastic! Thanks for the great recipe!
I have made these meatballs twice to rave reviews from both family and friends. Thank you for a great recipe and blog. I do not understand how people have the nerve to write such nasty comments sometimes. Please do not be discouraged by them and keep on blogging.
I also made your mini lasagna cups and they were my sons new favorite way to eat lasagna!
Wow. So many comments. But not enough of what should be said. Thank u for even sharing your delicious recipe and for being so patient with some of the crazy responses. Please keep on sharing!
Also, my gravy did not thicken as much as I had hoped so I ended up using corn starch.
I made these tonight and they were great! I did make some substitutions though: turkey and light sour cream. They tasted awesome with turkey but I’m sure they would have been even better with beef and pork. They actually tasted like Swedish meatballs! The gravy was great but the sour cream didn’t blend into the sauce, it looked like little white dots, maybe because I used light sour cream. I also halved the meatball recipe because I had 1 lb. of turkey on hand but I kept the gravy the same to pour over noodles. Thanks for the recipe!
Made these tonight – they were amazing! Had everything except the sour cream. A bit of Googling and I found that mixing equal parts of heavy cream, mayo and natural yoghurt (all of which I had) makes a pretty good substitute. Link here http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/substitute-mayonnaise-sour-cream-31652.html.
Thanks so much for sharing the recipe – it’s a keeper!
After trying these for the first time at IKEA, I knew I needed to find a recipe. I’ve followed your blog for a while, so I knew I’d hit a winner with your recipe! Made them tonight and they were fabulous!
Novice cook and wondering for any help or tips – made this recipe and my gravy/sauce was thin – I expected it to be a bit thicker, like a gravy and to stick to my egg noodles but it didn’t. any helpful tips to what I could do to improve it next time would be appreciated. thanks for sharing the recipe.
Tammie, this step is crucial for a thick gravy sauce:
To make the gravy, melt butter in the skillet. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in beef broth and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in sour cream; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
It is best to be patient to really let the sauce thicken.
Made these for a funeral today, and they were delicious. I mixed and formed the meatballs yesterday, and made the sauce *but didn’t add the sour cream.* Today, I skimmed the fat off the cold beef broth mixture, warmed the meatballs, poured them in the crock pot, then reheated the broth. I added the sour cream, simmered for a few minutes, and poured the gravy over the meatballs.
Great recipe, now I’m looking for other fun recipes on your site!
I just tried this recipe this evening for dinner. I did everything exactly per the recipe and they were delicious! A very easy recipe that doesn’t take long to prepare. Great for busy weeknights.
Thank you!
Just made these tonight — overall was really delicious! This will be my go-to meatball recipe from now on :). After scanning through I didn’t see others have this issue so this is the only criticism I have. I found the sauce/meatball ratio to be a bit much, as well as the beef broth making the sauce too beefy and fatty tasting. I prefer a lighter, tangier sauce, so I wonder if chicken stock would do just as well? Also, Whole Foods carries a mushroom stock right now, so I’m looking forward to experimenting with that (love me some ‘shroom flavor). Anyway, thanks for adapting and for the yummy meal!
Used frozen meatballs, but made the sauce and it was fantastic! Will make this again for sure, because the family really enjoyed this recipe.
Ok this might be a way stupid question – I’m kind of new to the cooking thing, so don’t laugh 😉
I had ground pork and ground beef in my freezer that I took out to defrost before I left for work this morning to make this recipe. Since it’s just me and my husband (of only 3 weeks, which is why I am new to cooking) I know 2 pounds of meat will be WAY too much for us, so I thought it would be perfect to make the meatballs and then freeze them like you mentioned in another comment.
So my stupid question is can you refreeze meat uncooked meat? Would it be ok to defrost my frozen meat – make the meatballs – then freeze the uncooked meatballs for another meal? Is that Ok to do or am I going to get sick and be on my death bead from eating re-frozen meat? or do you think I would be better off cooking all of them and then freezing half of it, and then just reheating the already cooked meatballs later? Oh, and have you tried freezing the sauce? I was thinking I could just half the sauce recipe and remake it fresh when I use the other half of the meatballs, unless you think the sauce is ok to freeze too.
I read all the comments people posted on this feed – people are crazy. I promise I’m not crazy. I know you aren’t a chef, obviously neither am I! Just asking for your opinion. If it doesn’t turn out I won’t be back to post that this recipe is worst recipe ever because I understand whatever I end up doing is my own damn fault…unlike other people on here! Haha!
Thanks for sharing your recipes!! It’s people like me who appreciate it!!
Heather, I am certainly not an expert on food safety but I will say that it is best to be safe than sorry. That being said, if it were me, I would not consume re-frozen meat but please use your best judgment.
Thanks for sharing your recipe! I was wondering if you have any troubleshooting tips for a beginner cook…the flavor is right on, but the sour cream never really incorporated. And it came out a touch thin in the end. User error, I’m positive. Any tips appreciated 😀
Your heat source may have been set too high.
Can any bread crumb can be used or is Panko the best to use?
Panko is really best but please feel free to use what you have on hand.
I just wanted to say that these were amazing. I always go by the book when trying a new recipe and then tweeking it later on but with this recipe i couldnt think of anything that I would change. I used my little cookie dough scoop and made about 35 or so meatballs. My 10 year old daughter helped me make these. We had these on the table with mashed potatoes and some lingonberry jam when my husband came home from work. After dinner my husband was peeking around in the garbage can looking for the Ikea meatball bag. LOL He thought that I had bought them and the gravy! Definitely a keeper! This recipe is now printed and laminated stuck to the inside of my spice cabinet for quick use. Thank you for sharing this delicious entrée.
Made your recipe pretty much as written. I am challenged with having to make everything GLUTEN FREE and wanted to share how I did that and it still came out wonderful. I subbed the panko crumbs with an equal amout of crushed Rice Chex and instead of using flour as a thickener for the sauce, I made a cornstarch slurry. I took a hint from a previous poster and put the meatballs and broth plus 4 bay leaves in a covered dutch oven and baked at 300 for about an hour. I worried that a potentially more rigorous simmer on the stove might disintegrate the meatballs. (this has happened to me before when making spaghetti with meatballs) After I took the pot out of the oven I returned it to the stove burner, brought it up to a strong simmer and added the cornstarch slurry. Once it was as thick as I cared for it to be (used about same ratio as your recipe did for flour) Stirred in the sour cream right before serving. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you!
I used ground chicken and chicken broth with this recipe. That’s a good meatball.
Thank you for sharing!
I love your recipes. All of them; however I would like to make a comment on the Swedish meatballs. I lived in Scandinavia nearly 30 years and the recipes I ever saw on Swedish meatballs, all of the also contained veal (beef, pork, veal.)
Surya, thank you for your comment but not once did I mention that these are “authentic” Swedish meatballs. This is simply my take on it with easily-accessible ingredients.
Apologies for my last comment! I see now that someone else posted saying they used ground turkey instead. My mistake!
Has anyone tried this using ground turkey instead of beef and pork?
Thanks for taking your own personal time and sharing this nice recipe. As for all the whining asshats out there you need to stfu you are so pathetic going on about your who gives a f*ck dietary needs the author of this doesn’t owe you a friggen thing so stop being so useless and stop bothering everyone else who can think for themselves.
Last evening I was reading and finally looked at the clock and it was 8:41. I had a real craving for Swedish Meatballs, but I had never tried to cook them myself. I found your recipe online and ran to get the ingredients at the local WM. Came home and had the table set and eating just after 10:00. I have to tell you that it turned out SUPERB! I was able to put this together for my wife and I for a little less than $20.00. I am not sure who the snobs are that get down on your blog here, but from an inexperienced cook that can sometimes burn water, this was an amazing meal and all I did was FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS and it was a winner. Thanks again and Merry Christmas, Happy Chanakah, Happy Quanza, Happy Festivus or Happy Week, whatever your flavor wishes.
Stumbled upon your blog recently and love it, thanks for your ideas. I’m making these meatballs today. I am appalled at the rudeness of some comments. Do people actually troll sites looking for mean things to say? Chungah, I am sorry you experienced unkindness here on your site and you are so professional in your replies. I likely would have told some of these commenters to f… themselves. Wishing you all the best and happy holidays. 🙂
I made these tonight and they were every bit as good as you said and I am glad I doubled the sauce part because it was yummy. I can’t wait to make them again because I did make two careless mistakes hurrying. I put the whole eggs in instead of just the yolks. I also put 4 cups of beef and 4 cups of chicken stock. Again, this was my mistake at the store. It came out good though but I am interested in doing it right. Thanks for the great recipe. BONUS, my son and husband loved it!
To the author~ I want to apologize to you on behalf of all the rude people who are reading your blog. I have been pinning your recipes for an hour now and came across this~ reading the comments and shaking my head! You were MORE than nice when you responded about substitutions and did provide a link for them to use. Some people are miserable in life and I absolutely LOVE your blog and look forward to following you. The older I get more and more I realize that there are givers and takers in this world….thank you for being a GIVER and sharing these recipes with us and PLEASE ignore the ones on here who take your FREE info and choose to be ugly to you….Merry Christmas!
could these be made a ahead and frozen for a few days, then just make the sauce when I am ready to serve??
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself. I recommend using your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Thank you! How can anyone complain about free recipes?!
These are absolutely delicious!!! I made them tonight. I did not pay enough attention to the steps and put the onion in the meatballs raw… oops my fault. Still turned out fantastic!!!! I will follow it correctly next time I make them. Thank you for the recipe!!
Made these for dinner last night with egg noodles and side of carrots and green beans. My husband said they were better than the IKEA ones! My picky toddlers ate everything!
Great thanks Chungah – I was concerned that the sauce would become to thick
If it does become too thick over time, you can always add a little bit of beef broth as needed until the desired consistency is reached.
I’m thinking about making these and adding them to a crock pot as an appetizer, for a Christmas party I’m having.
Do you think these will withstand being in a crock pot for a few hours?
I’ll keep them on the “warm” setting.
Do you recommend any changes to the recipes to accomodiate a crock pot?
Thanks
If the meatballs are strictly going into the slow cooker to be kept warm, it should be fine without any changes to the recipe.
Chungah, I would like to just say thank you for giving me another idea for ground beef. Keep them coming. I have a very hungry athlete in the house, and he cannot wait to eat!! Smells delicious!
Thanks again!
Looks so delicious!
I substituted ground turkey for the other meat (that’s all we had) and I substituted 1/8 tsp clove, 1/8 tsp cinnamon for the allspice (didn’t have allspice).
Turned out amazing. Thank you so much for posting.
I made these meatballs for an internationally themed lunch party at my office, mainly because I went to Sweden a few months ago. I have to say these meatballs were way better than anything I had in Stockholm, and definitely better than the meatballs at Ikea, which taste like dog food. People at my office were taking the leftovers for dinner. Thanks for the awesome recipe!!
I made these last night for dinner and my husband says these now need to be in the line up of dinners. The only thing I omitted was the allspice because I did not have any. Overall, I would give these 5 stars.
Made these tonight. Only substitution was venison for the beef (it’s our other red meat!) the mixture of the pork and venison made them so tender. Sauce was the bomb! Picky teen devoured them! Boyfriend loved them too! We have at least one of your recipes every week. Love them and your blog! Let the ugly comments roll off your back. You are a fantastic cook and excellent photographer. We are in love with all you do. THANK YOU!!!!!
Thank you so very much Chungah for this recipe. I made it tonight, exactly as your recipe directs, and it was deliciously perfect! I’m a bit of a rebel and like to deviate from recipes and add my own flair, but I chose not to today. Your directions were well written and easy to follow. As for the strange and bordering rude comments by some of the online viewers here: 1. people need to simply READ thoroughly; 2. we need to understand that written messages can often be misunderstood due to many reasons (e.g. absence of tone); and 3. simply be grateful to those who share their wonderful recipes online.
Thank you again Chungah. I really appreciate home chefs like you who add to our “recipe box” of goodies. Bless you!
Fantastic recipe! Ours came out delicious! TY!
Outstanding! I made them as-is and served with egg noodles and peas.
After cooking could I throw these in a crock pot to keep warm for Thanksgiving appetizers? I’m a little worried the gravy will burn or make the dish dry.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried this myself! Although if you have a warm function on your crockpot, I think it should be fine.
Just wanted to let you know the meatballs are in the crockpot on warm. I put them in as I cooked them, made the gravy and smothered it over them. I’m feeding them to a house of about 30 Italians and I’m hearing “omg” coming from every mouth. They were a HUGE hit!! I tripled the recipe so simply and even had left over gravy. People are fighting over who gets to use it on their mashed potatoes.
Anyway, thank you! This is now a favorite. You rock! 🙂
SO YUMMY that my 1 and 2 year olds ate every last bite! This may be a new Sunday tradition in our home.
I just went to ikea for the first time and tried the famous meatballs. Then i had to make them myself! Thank you for your recipe. I only had veal, and i didn’t have sour cream so i used milk with a little bit of vinegar. Worked like a charm. Of course next time i’ll use sour cream, but if i can save a trip to the store… Haha
I seriously cannot BELIEVE the amount of bratty, catty women on here! Holy cow, you “ladies” should be ashamed of yourselves. I didn’t know this site was free reign to exercise your snarky ridiculousness. It’s like you’re reminiscing your idiot high school days. Grow up!!
**Anyway**
I made this recipe tonight & it was amazing. My husband overate & is currently suffering stomach discomfort! OK, we all are, but it sure was deelish!
I made this recipe tonight and it turned out great! I didn’t have ground pork, so I used ground turkey breast. I will be making this again! Thank you for the awesome recipe!
I just made this with a couple changes (due to ingredients on hand). Awesome!!!! Thank you! I will definitely make this again!
This recipe looks great! I would also substitute the pork with another meat, and have found that dairy ( a touch of cream or mayo) provides an answer for this. I admire and respect those who are faithful to their religious convictions, especially when there is so much persecution out there. Can’t wait to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing.
I just made these, gluten free, for my son. They are fabulous! I used pork and beef, and the meatballs were delicious. Instead of panko break crumbs and wheat flour, I used gluten free bread crumbs and rice flour. The seasonings were perfect too. Thank you so much! PS we served them over gluten free noodles. Great recipe!
Looking forward to trying tonight.. have some homemade meatballs I cooked 2 days ago for spaghetti and meatballs and figured I would use half for spaghetti and meatballs and half for Swedish meatballs will use those and add the allspice and nutmeg to the sauce this time next time to the meatballs and per comments add paprika and bay leaves to the sauce… but seriously on the meat guys calm down… but also don’t tell people it is pork free when it is not. I am seriously allergic and will be very sick if I eat pork I take the responsibility for the taste difference but mine will be all beef. I appreciate the author sharing a recipe for guidance and will use it as that.. it looks great.
The recipee sounds amazing and I plan on doing it tonight but I don’t know what to serve with it?
We loved this when served on a bed of egg noodles.
Made these tonight with a meatloaf mix (beef, pork, veal)—–DELICIOUS!!!! Thanks for a great recipe.
You people are a bunch idiots! The author posted a recipe she enjoys. Make it her way or don’t. This is what is wrong with the world today—the world does not need to conform to you. You need to conform to the world. It’s one thing to come back to review it or to add suggestions. That’s how recipes evolve into something new and different. Berating the author does nothing but piss people off!
Greetings from Australia! I just made these for dinner and they are amazing. It’s the first time I’ve ever made meatballs and had them not fall apart while cooking. Thanks for the recipe!
Made this tonight for my boyfriend and I. Used ground turkey instead and it was still awesome! The sauce is everything. Thanks for the recipe!
Just made these and turned out great, I baked the meatballs instead of pan frying then
I made these meatballs last night and they were fabulous! But I’m quite a bone-head. I cooked my onion and put it in a bowl and put it in the freezer to cool quickly, as I made the meat mixture the day before, and I completely forgot about them and found them after we had already finished eating, ugh!! But, they were still amazing!!!! I made a batch of garlic-y potatoes to go with and you couldn’t really tell I had left out the onion. Also, with the gravy, I used the pan drippings with flour, beef broth and sour cream, instead of the butter and, oh my word, it was amazing! My mom would have killed me if I wasted the drippings!
Some of the other reviews crack me up!! But I won’t comment on them 🙂
Thanks for an amazing recipe! I intend on making many of your recipes!
Happy Holidays!
Made these last night for the first time. Delicious! Surprisingly easy and fast. Recipe very accurate and well documented and was just as delicious as described, will be the only Swedish Meatball recipe I go to in future. Thanks a lot for sharing your great recipes!
This took me sooooo long to cook! About an hour and 45 mins. I was getting pretty over it in the end but lucky it tasted pretty good 🙂
Justine, I’m so glad you tried this recipe! Although I’m not entirely sure why this would take almost two hours – it should really only take 40 minutes!
Made this tonight. It was very good but too time consuming for a week night. I fried the meat in the pan & then finished in the oven while making the sauce & noodles. My sauce was a little runny at first but thickened after a bit. Very good!
I have been using this recipe when serving my family Swedish meatballs. My husband is swedish and so the children likes both western and asian cuisine, (I’m from Philippines). I never had done homemade meatballs before, this was the 2nd recipe I have tried and I sticked with it from that moment on.
I made these last night and they were so good, the sauce was excellent. I didn’t read the instructions all the way through before I began, so I didn’t cook the onions, just threw them in raw with the meat mixture. Oops. It didn’t seem to hurt it though. For some reason they were under seasoned, I had to add salt as I was eating which is highly unusual for me, I never add salt to my cooked food so I’ll keep that in mind for next time. I served this with mashed potatoes.
I’m so glad these still turned out well for you! It is also super helpful to read over a recipe at least twice prior to cooking. It makes a huge difference!
Thanks for sharing. I had a great recipe years ago & lost it but this is very similar to it. Can’t wait to make this. 🙂
I made these tonight, they were great. I did do a little substituting, however they still truned out great. To the ladies who said asked about what to use instead of pork, i never follow any recipe exactly, but i don’t eat pork either, so i use veal, chicken or turkey. GREAT RECIPE!!!!!!!!
i have made a few substitutions to the recipe with great results.
Ground lamb or ground veal instead of pork.
Two Chiffonade (rolled and sliced) sage leaves added to meat mixture, and the same amount used as garnish before serving.
Bread crumbs instead of panko crumbs.
2 tablespoons of milk.
Really the sky is the limit on what you could substitute or add.
Great recipe, thank you so much for sharing.
May God be with you,
Just made this tonight, didn’t have pork on hand but everything else was in my cupboard/fridge. Served over egg noodles, it was sooo delicious! Thanks for this great recipe!
I am making this recipe from my family tomorrow and I cannot wait it looks delicious. Thank you so much for posting I find some wonderful recipes on here.
This looks and sounds DAMN DELICIOUS!!!! I am making it tonight for our sons football party. I am hella doubling up on everything!!! Wish me luck!
Just made this with beef mince. Followed the recipe exactly otherwise but now that the meatballs are in the sauce there is blood from the meatballs leaching into the sauce. Is this meant to happen? I am unsure as it will be safe to eat due to this. Should I have cooked the meatballs completely beforehand? Was really looking forward to this tonight :S
No, blood should not be leaching into the sauce. I worry that perhaps there is something wrong with the beef you used.
Just made this for dinner tonight — used exact recipe — and it was delectable. I kicked the sauce up a bit with a touch of cayenne pepper which added another layer to the deliciousness of the dish. I ended up with 32 meatballs and will be freezing leftovers (including sauce and noodles separately).
Thanks for sharing such a lovely and simple dish! My husband nearly licked his plate clean ; )
Just wanted to say that I made these tonight. I only had ground beef so I used a pound of beef and regular bread crumbs. I have a new favorite meal!! My kids gave me the thumbs up and I am waiting on my husband to get home to give me his. Thanks so much for this. Your recipe was very well written, easy to follow and the pictures are great. 🙂 I have many of your other recipes saved, and if your others are anything like this one, I better make room in my family cookbook!
Oh my gosh, the slurp factor was definitely very high in this dish! I served it over wide egg noodles. I did not have Panko or any other kind of bread crumbs (and my blender is on the fritz), so I had to substitute with crushed Ritz crackers. I am surprised at how damned good it turned out! The meatballs were my favorite part, and I’m not usually a huge meat fan! Oh, and my stupid old electric cooktop is unreliable – the longer it’s on the more variable the temperature, it seems – so by the time I was done browning the meatballs, the bottom of the pan and the onion bits were far too blackened to use as the gravy base. So I started over for the gravy with a clean pan, made the gravy, added the meatballs to finish, and it STILL tasted awesome!
I will probably not make this very often because the time involved is more than I usually have on any given night, but I will say that the results were definitely worth the time I took to make it. Thank you for a very good recipe!
I bet you could do a big batch and freeze it in freezer bags and then toss in the crockpot to thaw and be hot and ready for dinner. Then just boil the noodles.
I love Swedish meatballs! I plan on making this one just the way it is. It sounds delicious!
I made these last night, I was a bit nervous with the addition of the nutmeg and all spice – but they were amazing. They were even better today (the day after!) I served over Egg Noodles and it was a fantastic meal. Thanks for the great recipe!
Made this tonight and turned out wonderful, I had to use 2lb ground turkey and fat free sour cream because that’s what I had on hand and was still fabulous. It made 30 meatballs for me using a 2T measuring spoon.
For all those asking for substitutions, just try what you think’ll work and do it! The recipe looks great as is and I will definitely be making the gravy as written.
Yum! I just made these with turkey and pumpkin spice in lieu of the other spices, about 2 teaspoons worth for 2 pounds of turkey. I sauteed one up to try it and froze the rest for a non-traditional (Canadian) thanksgiving dinner.
Instead of panko, I used up some stale white bread soaked in milk. Squeeze the milk out and add to the rest of the ingredients.
Some of you need to live a little 😉
Cripes! What a bunch of whiners. 🙁 It’s a wonder that anyone blogs at all.
Mary, You made me laugh. I have been considering starting a blog, but after reading this string….I don’t know!
Bought all the stuff to make a triple batch for potluck at work on Tuesday. I want to make meatballs ahead of time & freeze. Can I cook them 1st and then freeze them? Also want to follow ur receipe for the sauce..cant figure out if this will work ahead of time. I will be warming the whole dish in a crockpot. I was told I could just use packets of brown gravy 🙁 but I really like the creamy soyr cream aspect…help! The guys at work were requesting IKEA….I so want to impress them…please advise…help!
Lisa, unfortunately, I cannot advise if you can make this ahead of time and freeze as I have never tried it myself. I also do not recommend using “packets of brown gravy”.
The meatballs themselves can be cooked and frozen just like any other meatball (this is part of why cooks since the 50s have liked meatballs. You can make them in quantity then freeze until needed). When you want to use them, take them out of the freezer, let them sit long enough to thaw completely, warm them up a little so that they don’t cool your sauce when you add them, then proceed as per normal. What you cannot do is make the meatballs, put them in the sauce, then try to freeze the whole thing. Meatballs can be frozen, sauce cannot.
“Packets of brown gravy” sound like a bad idea. Just follow the recipe for the sauce that she gives here. It only takes like 15 min tops to make, I promise, and it will taste much better than some grocery store packet. Not doing the sauce right after the meatballs means you won’t get all the pan drippings in the sauce, but with that much beef stock it should taste plenty beefy anyway.
I usually put the sauce with the meatballs in the freezer if there is any sauce left… Usually 1 portion or for the whole familly. Meatballs frozen without sauce is great to just take a few from the package if needed 😉 Great on sandwiches if sliced and with some mustard too
I made this dish two nights ago and it was delicious! I served the meatballs with some egg noodles, as there was plenty of sauce to coat the noodles — my family raved about the meatballs. I think sauteing the onions until tender and translucent is a great idea — same thing for meat loaf. Thanks for the great recipe!
I don’t have Panko (don’t know what it is), can I use bread crumbs?
Thanks
Debbie, please refer to the notes section in the recipe.
Very good we made it last night and thats the Swedish meatballs recipe ive been looking for since my junior high basketball coach’s wife made…….well its close enough hers was still the best ever…
I made this, and it turned out delicious! The only changes I made were as follows: 1) I minced up about three cloves of garlic and added it towards the end of the onions’ saute, so the sauteed garlic got added to the meatball mixture as well (tasty, and makes your kitchen smell fantastic!); 2) I sliced up 4 oz of white mushrooms and 4 oz of baby bella mushrooms, and added those to the pan after browning the meatballs, but before adding the butter to start the sauce. The mushrooms sauteed in the remaining oil/fat from the meatballs, then got incorporated into the sauce and added a deeper flavor to that. It tasted absolutely wonderful. Seriously, try this with mushrooms, your tastebuds will thank you.
The addition of mushrooms sounds amazing – will definitely have to try that next time!
Has anyone ever made this recipe in a slow cooker? Any suggestions?
Im sorry, I followed this recipe exactly. The sour cream did NOT blend it well and left little white specks all in the gravy and the entire gravy tasted like flour.
Why? If this is how its supposed to taste, then I wont be making it again lol help?
No, Jenny, that it not how it is supposed to taste. The sour cream had curdled, and it may be attributed to your heat source being set too high.
My husband told me to give the sauce the time it is required to cook before getting upset and bent out of shape (I always get bent out of shape when it comes to cooking, I love food lol) I did as he said, the sour cream actually smoothed out and the sauce became creamier like it was supposed to. I turned down the heat to a simmer and let it thicken up and then added the meat balls, and cooked an extra 10 minutes. Came out delish! I was suprised. Next time tho (i think this had a hand in maybe the mistakes I made) I wont use so much oil (did that by accident my 5 year old wouldnt stay out of the kitchen and bumped into me as i was putting the oil in the pan)
I’m so happy to hear it was able to be salvaged!
I was skeptical about nutmeg and allspice in the meatballs – but for the sake of trying a recipe that wasn’t my own inspiration I kept it as written above and they turned out great! That being said, next time I may add a little onion powder and/or garlic salt to give the meatballs a little more “zest” since I like a lot of flavor in my meat. The gravy was SUPERB!!! Thank you for posting this!
hi there!!! i just wanted to take the time to congratulate you on your website! i was browsing for a new meatballs recipe (vs. the traditional spaghetti marinara ones), and i really liked yours. i made your adapted recipe last night, and it was soooo WONDERFUL!!! i added my own seasonings to the meatballs(no nutmeg, etc.), made the gravy with chicken broth, and with these few alterations i was able to make it “my way.” it was my first time making swedish meatballs and i’m so glad i did. your recipe inspired me to try them. they were sooooo great and tasty!!!! thank you so much for all your recipes!!! you are talented. and i will most certainly keep coming back to try other ones. God bless you! 😉
I can not find Allspice in any store what else can I use or do I need it at all?
It is best to use the ingredients listed here to obtain the best results possible. You can certainly omit it but I cannot speak for how much this will change the overall taste/texture of the dish.
Hi Mary Beth, if you can’t find Allspice, you can make it using equal amounts of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. You can play around with the amounts of each if one of them seems too strong.
Chungah, you are amazingly patient to put up with some of these nasty people! I have seen internet bullies and trolls for years, but it still surprises me when I see the pettiness and sense of entitlement some of them have. Over recipes freely given after a lot of work no less. Keep up the great work !! I do a lot of substituting because my husband is eating low carb and I’m vegetarian, so sometimes I try to figure out how to make a recipe with meat into a veggie recipe. Not this one though! Haha. But I would never in a million years demand that someone provide me with substitutions and then get huffy if she won’t guarantee results- that is ridiculous.
Found your site a few weeks ago and I’m trying this recipe out this weekend. I keep wanting to make swedish meatballs but often intimated by complicated recipes. Yours are very simple. Also, LOVE your Le Creuset pan color!
Hey there! I have tried about 15 of your recipes on your site and cannot complain about a single thing! These meatballs are up next and my mouth is already watering! My tummy thanks you for all of the effort you put behind these (free) & delicious goodies all the way from Texas.
Xoxo
Very very tasty! I used homemade venison burger tonight . This was probably the best meal I have ever made from scratch. Thanks for the inspiration
Yummy gravy didn’t thicken. Lots leftover so will add a slurry of cornstarch and water to thicken it when we have it again. But otherwise….yum! Thank you
Loved the flavor of these meatballs! Not gonna lie, I was suspicious of the nutmeg and allspice but every recipe Ive made of yours has turned out great so I set my suspicions aside and I was right to do so. Yum! My meatballs were a little dry but that was my fault, I definitely overcooked them. Thank you for posting such great recipes. 🙂
Hi there. Found this on Pinterest and made it with Venison. It was awesome!! Thanks so much for this easy to make meal. And to all the people asking about substitutions; just make it how you want it, a recipe is a guideline. Taste your food as you cook and alter accordingly. Or just don’t bother making it.
I just wanted to say a big “THANK YOU” for posting such awesome recipes. I am a little dismayed at some of the comments. You are providing an awesome free service for the “at home” cooks and you catch a lot of flack, yet handle it with grace. I was just looking for a general recipe to use all of the ground venison in my freezer Your recipe has given me a great way to have something different. Thanks again!!! I will let you know how it turns out using such a lean meat!
Cheers,
Kerri in Texas 🙂
I loved the meatballd. I made them for lunch this week, and I can’t wait for lunch to get here. I would have appreciated a guideline on how much salt and pepper you added to the meat mixture. Even a side note in the directions that said something like I used a big pinch, or several dashes, or about a 1/2 a teaspoon would have helped. I almost never make meatballs/meatloaf, so I didn’t have any idea how much to add. Because the mixture contained raw meat and raw egg, there is no way I was going to taste it uncooked. Thanks for the recipe!
KayBea, when I say “salt and pepper, to taste,” I certainly do not want you to taste a raw product. You are simply adding in these seasonings to fit your taste buds, which is different for everyone. That is why I do not include specific amounts. You can certainly add the salt needed, cook one meatball, and taste it to see if the seasoning is up to your standards. If not, you can certainly add more as needed.
This was plate licking good! IKEA can kiss my butt! This was divine. Thank you!
I used 1lb ground turkey and 4 no MSG sausage patties. I didn’t have allspice so subs Ms. Dash seasoning. Big hit.
Been craving meatballs with a brown gravy for weeks! Looked up a bunch of images and recipes online and tried this one. So simple and delicious!
I added 1tsp of garlic powder and added dried parsley flakes to the meatball mixture. For the gravy, I used all purpose gluten free almond blend flour because that’s the kind of flour I had on hand and it came out perfectly thick and creamy no lumps at all!
I used heaping scoops of the meatball mixture using the small ice cream scooper and made 40 meatballs enough for 5 hungry adults!
I’ve never had swedish meatballs before but I’m sure this will give all future Swedish Meatballs a run for their money!
Took it over to my in law’s for dinner and it was a plate licking hit!! Served it with hapa rice and steamed broccoli. “Who needs hollandaise?” were one of the comments!
I travel a lot for work and thought this would be a good dinner for my husband while I’m away.
Do you think it would preserve well in the freezer if I made them ahead of time with the gravy, would it re-heat well?
Thinking about making it all the way up to the gravy before adding sour cream, freezing it and adding the sour cream when it’s re-heated.
I’m a new fan and am excited to try more of your recipes!
Mahalo nui from Hawaii!
I’m so glad you gave this a try! And the meatballs will freeze well but I do not recommend making the sauce ahead of time. Hope that helps!
Do you have to completely thaw the meatballs before frying or can you do so still frozen?
I recommend thawing the meatballs prior to using.
Made these last night. Used onion soup mix, baked them in the oven. Made the gravy then kept it all warm in the crockpot for a few hours until dinner. They were as delicious as I had hoped. Family loved them, will be a family favorite from now on.
So fantastic! I made these with chicken mince…I know, heretic…anyway, my dad loved them! Thought it was spot on. Which is amazing because he always has something to contribute to improving meals..but not this time!
Next time I will have the oven on to keep the meatballs warmer for serving, as I can be a bit slow.
These were seriously delicious. We always made swedish meatballs using a package from McCormicks but I don’t think we’ll be doing that anymore. Great recipe!
I prepared the meatballs several hours before. I cooked on all sides on a very low flame, perhaps 15 minutes. I then set them aside to cool to use them when I cam back to making the sauce. I deglazed the skillet with some Sauvignon Blanc so as not to lose any of the wonderful juices. Set that aside as well. When I then prepared the sauce 3 1/2 hours later, I started with the deglazed sauce and proceeded as described. The meat balls were amazing. I “think” setting them aside for a while helped them firm up. I would recommend this to everyone interested in great food – not just swedish meatballs!
Nice tip!
I use ground turkey and adobe seasoning.
My kids love these and I never make them, I guess I am going to make them now. They sound wonderful and I love the meat mixture of pork and beef! 🙂
THESE WERE AMAZING!
Made them for dinner tonight with mashed yams and steamed veggies and they were a hit!
We never have to go to IKEA again!
I use Lawry’s seasoned pepper as opposed to regular pepper and added no salt and still superb! Thank you for this excellent recipe and I look forward to making more from your site!
-Robbie with a happy tummy
This recipe is amazing! In fact many recipes on her blog are awesome! I am officially addicted. Thank-you for sharing some very yummy meals with us!
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I love Swedish Meatballs. I am so glad I found your site. Your photographs are beautiful!
I am so excited to try this. My only frame of reference is Ikea, so the comments on this post have me giddy!!!! Thank you!!!!
My grandmother’s recipe is similar; however, her recipe, in addition to the allspice and nutmeg, called for an equal measure of ground ginger. If making multiple pans of meatballs, you need to make gravy after each pan…I also finish the meatballs by placing them in a casserole dish and baking at 350 degrees for an hour. The extra baking time is needed if the meatballs are made to a large size.
I have only made swedish meatballs once that was amazing. I cant find that recipe however I did find your site. lol. Tonite I am going to make these swedish meatballs and we shall see. They look so good as does so much on your site. I am glad I found it. I will let you how they turn out. 🙂 Thank you
YUM!!! Made this tonight for dinner and didn’t have panko so I used Italian breadcrumbs. Still tasted delish!
Just made these EASY to do and the house smells DIVINE and it is DELISH. IF you have to substitute the pork use lamb not turkey of chicken better flavor IMHO
You can also use frozen meatballs. Cuts the prep time down to TEN minutes. I started these meatballs at 5:35 and they were done in 10 minutes, sauce and all. I subbed 99% fat free cream of mushroom stop for the sour cream and added garlic powder for flavor. I put the meatballs over wild rice.
I also used frozen meatballs, though I’m not efficient enough to get it done in 10 minutes! This was a rare recipe that both my husband and preschooler loved and keep requesting.
I know this is a 4-year-old post, but after my experience, here’s my thought on the substitution debate. If you want the meatballs to be “authentic,” like IKEA’s, etc., try not to make significant changes. If you just want a meal that tastes good, make any basic meatballs you like (not too much of an Italian flavor), and mix them with the delicious gravy from this recipe. Personally, I think the gravy is the most important part, so the meatballs are flexible! Don’t feel like you can’t make this just because the meat is an issue. That said, I do plan to make the recipe as written this weekend…
Made these last night and they were very good. I did use ground chicken because that’s what I had on hand and it was yummy. I especially liked the taste of the allspice and nutmeg. I forgot to pre cook the onions-didn’t make any difference that I could see. My only problem was that my sauce (gravy) didn’t thicken as much as I would have liked so I added some Wondra flour and it was fine. Also cooked the meatballs in the gravy before I added the sour cream fearing it might curdle. Happy with the results and I recommend this recipe.
i will always love meatballs, and so is my roommate who always ask me to cook one..this is a such a delish.
My daughter and I like to cook together, she’s 13 and becoming a good cook!! She and I just made these, omg they are out of this world!!! She says she never wants ikea meatballs again lol!!! Thank you for such a good recipe 🙂
Loved it and so did my husband! I added a 1/4 tsp of paprika to the sauce near the end.
Why the unsalted butter? Is it worth a trip to the store or can I use salted butter and get close results???
Deborah, feel free to use salted butter but I recommend either omitting the salt or adding a small amount, to taste.
Thank you for this recipe, these were amazing!
this recipe looks great! Can’t wait to try. I think I’ll make the meatballs smaller so I might have more to freeze for days when I don’t have time to cook.
I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, and they were amazing I love them so does the family. Deff making them again!!
I made these last night and they wer fantastic! Could not have turned out better!
I made these tonight and they were amazing. I couldn’t believe how good they turned out, probably one of the best things I’ve ever made! Thanks!
Thank you so much for this! I was shocked to see how rude some people were in the comments section, pay no attention to them. You shared a fantastic recipe that was damn delicious and easy to follow. I got a little worried when i started the gravy because it tasted too much like stock. But not to worry! Once it simmered with the meatballs for 10 or so minutes it took on a delicious and deep flavor. PS. I also added a splash or two of heavy cream. Can’t hurt can it?
I also froze half the meatballs (uncooked) and half of the gravy for dinner next week, since it just my boyfriend and I. Served over egg noodles and it is a delicious and EASY dinner. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
SERIOUSLY! Some very snippy remarks for no good reason! Can’ t wait to try this recipe! It looks very comforting…. Of, course I’ve read all the comments, so may try a couple of suggestions. When I go to the trouble to cook something, I don’t want it to just taste good, I want people to be like DAY-um, this is so awesome! Thank you so much for sharing!! 🙂
Looks wonderful- why only the yolks, though – it looks like a magic trick, I want to understand!
Thanks again
Only the egg yolks are used to avoid a gummier, rough texture.
I didn’t have sour cream, so I used some French onion dip instead. It was fabulous. Thanks for a great recipe!
That is genius!
look so yummi :9
What a terrific recipe! I live in the country and get to the store once a month. I could go more often but don’t want to use gas. Sometimes I just don’t have an ingredient and have to make it up. For this recipe I had no beef broth and I used only beef for the meatballs. I made pan gravy with a roux of flour and pan drippings, added a beef boullion cube and Kitchen Bouquet. Everything else was the same. I care for my mother at home and our main meal is at noon. What a fabulous noon meal that was.
A family fav, but my recipe also included a snick of caraway seed. Very yummy. Tks
I would love to add a few pointers from my family recipe. My grandmother worked for ex Governor Levander from the very Scandinavian state of Minnesota. His wife’s recipe has been passed on through generations in my family.
This doesn’t actually differ from yours much at all, so I will simply point out her additions. First, add the chopped flat leaf parsley directly to the meat mixture. It evenly distributes the flavor through the meat ball. She also adds 2T of sugar and 2 tsp of cornstarch per three pounds of the meat. Also she adds 1 cup of milk. You get a better yield of meatballs and they are solo tender.
Chilling the meat mixture for a half hour and using wet hands can make forming the balls much easier. They can be a bit sticky.
With the sauce, adding 2T lemon juice adds just a touch of acidity which enhances the flavor of the broth.
Lastly, once the gravy has been made and all of the bits from the pan have been incorporated, transfer the meatballs, the broth, and six bay leaves to a Dutch oven. Bake at 300 degrees for one hour. Incorporate sour cream or half and half after they have rested outside the oven for ten minutes.
These are fantastic as appetizers or served over egg noodles or rice. Enjoy!
Hi Chris,
Can you tell me if, since these will be cooked longer than the listed recipe, would you shorten the browning time?
I’m not Chris, but I’ll reply! Don’t shorten the browning time; you need to make sure the meatballs are brown on each side for best results. That helps develop the flavor in the meat, and it also gives a good texture. If you want to shorten something, I recommend shortening the baking step. You could make the meatballs smaller if you want them to be cooked through more quickly. Enjoy!
These meatballs take about triple the time listed here.
Meghan, this took me 40 minutes to make from start to finish. I honestly cannot imagine this taking 2 hours to make.
Made this last night for my boyfriend and we loved it!! Definitely will make again! Served it with baked mashed potatoes.. Sooo good!
Hi Chung-Ah!
I just wanted to say that I tried this recipe on Sunday. I was suspicious about the sour cream at first but I cooked for my family and boyfriend and everyone loved it! I am so looking forward to trying your other recipes! Thanks so much!
-Sarina
Can you freeze them?
Yes, you can freeze the meatballs prior to cooking. However, I recommend making the gravy prior to serving.
After cooking….. not before 😉
I just made this and my family loved it! I put my meatballs in the oven after browning them for another 10 minutes. Mine were big and wanted to make sure they were cooked through.
I would like to make some meals for a friend and unfortunately can’t drive them to her house every day hot. Does this reheat ok?
Yes, Melinda, these reheat just fine. However, if the gravy is too thick, you can thin it out a bit with some beef broth.
Swedish Meatballs was my favorite dish growing up, and unfortunately the recipe died with my mother 15 years ago. I have been searching for the right recipe to bring back those delicious meatballs and gravy ever since. Your recipe is the closest I have found and I enjoyed it very much (and so did our guests for the evening!). Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure – I’m just so glad you had a chance to make and enjoy this!
Pingback: 3月に料理する31のうまいもの | アメリカ最新美味しい~食事!こんな新しいメニュー見たことない!
How much salt do you generally use in the meatball mixture? Do you stick with 1 teaspoon per pound of meat guideline? Thanks!
Wen, there really is no guideline on how much salt to add. This is based on personal preference.
I’m cooking these right now and my stomach is literally growling! Can’t wait for dinner, it smells delish!
Made these for dinner tonight and it was SO good!! Way better than ikea’s. Even my picky 2 year old asked for seconds. Thanks for the recipe!!
Could I use turkey instead of ground beef?
You can certainly use ground turkey but please remember that by using a substitution, I cannot speak for how much this will change in the overall taste or texture of the dish. I recommend using the specified ingredients listed in the recipe whenever possible for optimal results.
These are sooooo yummy! I think I must be doing something wrong though because the 1/3 cup all-purpose flour barely thickened up the 4 cups beef broth. Also, I ended up with way more than 24 meatballs – like double that!
I’m glad you had a chance to give this a try! As for the gravy, I recommend gradually whisking in the beef broth, rather than pouring it in all at once. If needed, you can even reduce the amount of beef broth, to taste.
Just made these meatballs, best meatballs I’ve ever had! But…. the sauce is unfortunately the opposite of healthy any way to substitute and still have a sauce that tastes good.
Kat, you can try substituting Greek yogurt for the sour cream – that should definitely help “lighten up” the sauce.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! My husband’s seconds were bigger than his firsts! The nutmeg and allspice add a nice subtle flavor.
Made these tonight and they were very delicious! I got 30 meatballs out of this recipe and there is enough for tomorrow’s dinner 🙂 We had them with mashed potatoes.
Trying these tonight 🙂
Onions vary so much in size; approx. how much onion do you use? 1/3 cup?
A medium size onion should work just fine. I personally love onions so the more the better!
I just made the meatballs tonight totally according to recipe..and will refrigerate over night,,because I did not have beef broth nor sour cream(bad planning on my part)…so guess what’s for dinner tomorrow night ?? Will also serve over cooked buttery noodles..They already smell divine, and can’t wait to chow down on them!! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Made this tonight. It was absolutely delicious!!!! Thx for the recipe. It is definitely a keeper.
What kind of vegetables would you serve with these delicious meatballs? Thank you!!
That’s really up to personal preference, Maurice. We served it over some egg noodles and loved it!
As a Swede with possibly hundreds of meatball dinners behind me, I would recommend serving swedish meatballs with mashed potatoes, lingonberry preserve and pressgurka, which is a kind of cucumber-salad-pickle-thing. It’s really delicious, and easy to make.
http://www.food.com/recipe/pressed-cucumber-salad-pressgurka-423907
If you want to keep it traditionally Swedish, that is.
Lingonberry preserve or jam can be found at IKEA, but I’ve seen it at Whole Foods as well.
Personally, I add just a tiny, tiny bit of cloves to my meatballs as well, it goes great with the nutmeg.
Anna, I agree with you. As for Chungah, I don’t quite get why you would serve egg noodles, which are asian, with a european dish like swedish meatballs. But, people can serve them with whatever they like. 🙂
Swedish meatballs are great served with pasta and ketchup too 😉 Without the sauce, ask any swedish kid….
Do you think these would hold up if you made them, and the sauce, and then put in a crock pot to keep warm??
They should hold up, but I am worried that it may thicken up too much or it may burn if left in the slow cooker for too long.
Made the Sweedish Meatballs for dinner tonight, absolutely delicious. My husband has been talking about the Sweedish Meatballs meal his mother use to do, He really loved this recipe and since we are only two, there is enough for another meal, thank you !
Holy yum! I love making meatballs, such a great way to do something different with ground meat. Can’t wait to try these!
Um, yeah. THESE look amazing! I think I would eat all the meatballs myself. 🙂
Oh, doesn’t that look delicious! I can tell it looks much better than IKEA version. Mouthwatering!
Looks soooo good! I agree that you gotta use the pork! In my heavily Italian populated neck of the woods, we’d likely add some veal as well.
I can’t resist swedish meatballs, these babies look so mouthwatering!
I think you really showed how swedish meatballs should be made with the right spices. As an scandinavier I’ve learned a little secret about the sauce ~ add a little coffee
when you are adjusting the taste, it’s makes the sauce feels a little less fat and add nice colour. Some use a little soy sauce instead. Best wishes for your blog and thanks for a lot of good recipes 🙂
Interesting – I will definitely have to try that next time!
yum! yum! totally gonna go for it! next cookout!
Heheheh glad to know I am not the only one in the Bay Area to venture to IKEA for the meatballs. However the Palo Alto store is quite a distance from my home. I made these tonight, my son agrees they’re better than IKEA!
These sound incredibly delish! Pinning!
Homemade meatballs are always best! I can not wait to try!
they sound and look WAY better than IKEA version!
Why are your recipes all so good?? I keep finding gorgeous photos on Pinterest, Foodgawker, Sulia, and then saying, “It’s that damn Damn Delicious again!” Just kidding, I’ve got no complaints, but I definitely love your style! Meatballs and gravy are one of my favs, so I’ll be keeping this recipe for sure. Thanks!
Hi. I am Australian and do not know what Panko is. Could you please explain. Ta. LB
Leah, Panko is the Japanese version of bread crumbs. If you do not have access to this, you can substitute bread crumbs.
Thanks. Will try them tonight. My kids can’t have tomato sauce (ketchup) or worcester sauce, which is what my mum always used in meatballs, so I’m excited to try these as an alternative. Cheers. Leah
Dear Chung ah.
I am doing to make your meatball tonight for supper. I am not going to bore you with what if’s. If I were you I would eve post another recipe again. What a bitch fest.
Good luck and I know I will enjoy.
Hi Leah,
Fellow aussie here and you can buy Panko breadcrumbs in Coles and Woolworths where you would by the ordinary breadcrumbs like Krummies.
P.S I am so making this recipe some time this week. Looks delicious.
I don’t know what has got into me the last year, but meatballs and meatloaf are like the Siren’s song to me. Gravy is such a forbidden word to me, but I love it. I am taking a moment here to imagine fluffy mashed potatoes. Laughing—-
I know this dish very well, beacause I’m from Europe…looks great!
Thanks for what looks like a great recipe! One question: do you drain the drippings from the beef and pork, or leave in the skillet with the butter to incorporate into the sauce? Thanks!
Oh nice! Now this will be pinned to my bucket list 🙂
Everything a meatball should be! Love the silky texture of the sauce – yum!
I go crazy for meatballs, and these are probably my all time faves!
I am trying this tonight. Looks fantastic!! I’m sorry to add this unrelated item, but I can’t find any other way to communicate this: I am having technical problems opening your website and going to home page and saved recipes. How can I get help? Thank you! and I love receiving your WONDERFUL recipes.
Pork meatball smothered in sour cream sauce? Yes, please! What doesn’t taste great in sour cream, of course, it could be my Slavic roots talking but I make no apologies. 🙂
Holy cow those meatballs look absolutely incredible! Fantastic recipe 🙂
Happy Blogging!
Happy Valley Chow
Can I broil the meatballs under the broiler instead of cooking in a pan? I try to not pan broil as my husband has had heart issues. When I go to add the butter to make the sauce is it supposed to be added to the oil from browning the meatballs in the fry pan? This recipe as written sounds amazing to me, but I am trying to think more heart healthy. 🙂
Barbara, feel free to prepare the meatballs to your preference. And yes, as mentioned in the post, the gravy is made using the browned up bits on the bottom of the pan from cooking the meatballs.
Yes you can, I usually does 😉 I tend to use 2-3kg of ground meat when I do… oven at about 250 degrees CENTIGRADES and turn them over or shake them after 10 minutes. They should be ready after 15-20 minutes, always check by dividing one large in the middle. If you use a baking sheet or hmm fatty ground meat like pork, you don’t need to use oil in the oven pan. They don’t always look as nice but the taste is just as great. And when you reheat them you can use a frying pan and get that nice colour. Oh and don’t forget lingonberry sauce 😉 or well easier for you cranberrysauce. You can use lean meat too mixed with pork as game. Moose is commonly used by hunters. To make the gravy you can add water and or stock during the last minutes in the oven and make a less fatty sauce by making a lean sauce that way and just adding a little cream instead of the butter. If you make the sauce thicker with flour whisked in water and then poured into the simmering sauce you can make it extremly lean by just adding a dash of butter and 1 tablespoon of cream. It will taste like you did use more butter and cream if you use a thickener….
These look amazing! It would be a huge hit with my kiddos! They love meatballs! Pinned!
Yum! Just yum 🙂
Wonderful, Chung-Ah! I’m hungry for these beautiful meatballs or breakfast! Pinned!
Oooooh these look SOO delicious!!!!! I want em!
Hi! I’ve also been wanting to make Swedish meatballs for years! I live on a small island and not sure if I can get ground pork. Could I use 2 pounds of ground beef instead? Thanks!
Yes, absolutely, although I really can’t predict how much this will change in the overall taste/texture of the dish.
I did find ground pork at my local store! Made the meatballs tonight…they were delicious and a big hit at our home. I think these will become a staple!
If you have a blender, you can always make your own ground pork with your choice of boneless pork cuts. 🙂 (My grocery store doesn’t usually carry ground pork, either. )
Go to the butcher counter and ask them to grind some for you. It pays to make friends with your butcher.
Commenting on changing recipes; I rarely follow a recipe exactly, start to finish. Ground meat is ground meat, some will be more fatty than others, some will alter the taste in a huge way (say, adding ground venison.) I only have 1 lb of ground veal thawed and I’ll still attempt this one, leaving out the other meat options. And, I’ll adjust (downward) the rest of the ingredients. Will it be the same? absolutely not, will it be delicious? absolutely! If you use 2 lbs of ground beef, you may need to drain off the grease, and ground pork may have the same consequences.
My recipe calls for a little nutmeg. I,m Scandinavian through and through.
This may sound like a silly question but do you take the onions out of the skillet before adding the additional olive oil and browning the meatballs? I just want to make sure since there does not appear to be any onions in the picture of the meatballs browning. Thanks for this tasty sounding recipe.
The onions are cooked in the skillet and added to the beef mixture before rolling into meatballs. Can you see the onions added in the first step-by-step picture?
You should probably add that to the recipe. Otherwise it seems that you just leave the onions in the skillet.
It’s actually already added in the recipe: “In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, Panko, egg yolks, allspice, nutmeg and cooked onion; season with salt and pepper, to taste.”
To be fair, it also read that there are two batches of onions to me, as well.
Jane, you are simply adding the cooked onions into the meatball mixture as indicated in the recipe. Additionally, the instructions states “1 onion” only, not 2. There is no mention of 2 batches of onions. My recipes are very straight-forward, and assumptions should not be made.
Jane — To be ** fair ** ? No, you are mistaken. You need to go back and read the recipe again. There is absolutely no mention of *two batches* of onions. I certainly hope when you realize that you have made a mistake and continued on to argue about it, that you have to decency to apologize. Wow.
And Bridgette – My goodness, you too? Read the recipe. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the way this recipe is written. Read it again if you don’t get it, you don’t follow recipe by the *pictures* anyway. I’m shaking my head here.
Sorry – my last comment about the pictures and the onions browning was to Becky.
I am just wondering why a few people here are having such difficulty READING. Sorry, It’s very frustrating to read so many posts of people who don’t seem to even make an EFFORT. This is a very simple and well-written recipe. If you’d ever read a cookbook you guys would know that. Is it really easier to complain first than read it through again if you’re not getting it? .
My goodness.
Becky – the recipe tells you to add the onions to the beef and other ingredients – I know it doesn’t say to remove them from the pan but that’s why I always read all the instructions before I start, it helps me understand the recipe before I get going with it … 🙂
Fun fact…the first time I made this, I left the onions in the skillet. And you know what? It still tasted fantastic! Don’t complain over something so silly.
Brigette – don’t you understand English. Read the Recipe AGAIN
you might want to add that to your instructions; nowhere does it say add onions to meat mixture. I just rolled 24 meatballs withOUT the onions. Ugh! I go by instructions; not pictures.
Judi, it’s actually already written in the instructions.
“In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, Panko, egg yolks, allspice, nutmeg and cooked onion; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs.”
It is best to read through the recipe at least twice prior to cooking – it makes a big difference!
I know, hon. I’ve been cooking for nearly 70 years. Have even written a cookbook. Oversights happen; I’m human. That’s why I apologized.
Hi Chungah,
I am reading through the discussion about your Swedish Meatballs recipe and feeling a mix of emotions. It’s quite entertaining and comedic in a way the manner in which people are arguing with one another about not complaining because their dish didn’t turn out right when they didn’t follow the recipe, arguing about what the recipe actually says, and about having common courtesy towards others, especially you, in general.
I am not much of a cook, but it is recommended that when following written directions, such as a recipe, that the directions/instructions are read through thoroughly at least once before starting then going back and re- reading parts as needed along the way however many times necessary. Even after all this rereading we may still make mistakes – we are human, and the experience is new.
I have recently read a few of your recipes on Pinterest, one of which got great reviews, and plan on trying a couple out soon.
Thank you for sharing your recipes and your joy of cooking.
Just had these thought they were very tasty and lots of lovely sauce . Great food for a chilly winters day. Thanks for sharing the recipe
Oops! Yes it does. Sorry. I can admit when I’m wrong.
But you didn’t admit anything, nor even type I am sorry.
Wow, so I guess men really do buy Playboy for the articles….. LOL Sorry for teasing, couldn’t resist. Rule # 1 when cooking: always read through your recipe in its entirety before doing anything, including shopping for the ingredients, then read through it completely again before beginning to cook (~Culinary Institute of America)
I’ve made meatballs exactly once and they were with spaghetti. They were delicious though, which makes these ones look very tempting.
And instead of pork I can use what?
Judy, I recommend using the specified ingredients listed in the recipe whenever possible for optimal results. By using a substitution, I cannot speak for how much this will change in the overall taste or texture of the dish. However, here is a great forum worth checking out regarding a possible pork substitute. http://www.nigella.com/kitchen-queries/view/Pork-in-Meatballs/2842
I understand that using the ingredients listed result in optimal results. However, some people have dietary restrictions and cannot eat pork. I would have appreciated a more straight-forward answer in regards to the pork substitution.
Rebekah, I recommend using the specified ingredients listed in the recipe whenever possible for optimal results. I understand that people may have dietary restrictions or simply do not have the ingredients on hand, but please remember that by using a substitution, I cannot speak for how much this will change in the overall taste or texture of the dish, and can also result in a mediocre outcome.
The recipe calls for certain ingredients, if you cannot use the ingredients or have access to them Chung-Ah cannot tell you how it will taste or turn out. At that point if you choose to make the recipe it would be your interpretation of the dish. People all the time want to make recipes and then change them up and then ask the provider how it will turn out or what else to use! Jeez people, this is a great recipe, if you can’t make it like it is, make something else or your own version of it… And furthermore, if you can’t use pork, you must know what the best substitution for that meat would be by now!
I’m sorry but your attitude towards substitutes says you do not know ingredients or you are just arrogant. A skilled cook or chef knows veal is a great substitute for pork. When someone asks for a substitute, try being nice and helping them out. Pork is actually a common allergy. And this writing of your recipe does not produce optimal results. Try being a little more humble about your cooking. I would also suggest ground turkey, but not ground chicken. Chicken lacks the type of flavor you are looking for from a meat in this kind of recipe. Chicken is just far too delicate.
Yes, Jessica, I am not a chef who has received any formal training. I am simply a home cook sharing recipes that I make in my own kitchen. That being said, I am never rude or mean about substitutes – I simply do not feel comfortable advising my readers on various substitutes that I have not tested in my own kitchen. Thanks for your suggestions though!
This link pretty much sums up my view on this thread. I cannot stop laughing.
http://the-toast.net/2014/09/04/eighteen-kinds-people-comment-recipe-blog/
Meredith, I absolutely love your link! I often think of things like this when I am reading reviews! People start out saying…”I followed this exactly..” and then proceed to state all of the things they changed.
Wow. What an incredibly rude response from the author. Substitutions are fairly common questions, maybe instead of repeating yourself in such a condescending manner you could try to point your readers towards some helpful outside resources.
Lisa, my intent is not to be rude or condescending. I simply cannot advise on the appropriate substitutions when I have not tried it myself. If I did, that may lead to a fail outcome, a waste of time and a waste of money, which is the last thing I want my readers to go through. It is best that readers try to follow the recipe as written but if substitutions need to be made to fit certain dietary restrictions, it should be done at his or her discretion.
I always find it interesting the number of people who complain when they don’t get their way. They expect everyone to do there thinking for them. If you want every question answered then I suggest you go pay $20 a month and sign up for the America’s Test Kitchen culinary school. That way one of their experts can give you any answers you need.
I can’t find my recipe for Swedish meatballs so I did some googling and wound up here. When I make them tonight we’ll see how well they are. I will make one addition to the recipe and that is adding mushrooms to the sauce. Will I come back here to complain about the recipe if it doesn’t work out? Nope It’s all on me if I decide to change this nice lady’s recipe even a tiny bit.
Thanks for the brilliant recipe, and the link regarding pork substitution you so kindly provided. – not for me, but will come in handy for when friends come over soon. Shame about the rude, entitled people who haven’t the good grace to thank you for providing such a great recipe. Cheers!
In Chung Ah’s defense, while she admitted that she didn’t know of a good substitute, she did find a link where an answer could be researched. From a culinary standpoint, mixing of meats such as veal and maybe ground chicken thighs, or Veal might be a viable option. Actually, beef and lamb is common mix that you will find in most middle eastern foods. Most American Gyro places or Mediterranean food spots selling “Kefta” use this mix. The meat is typically very juicy when slow roasted.
Pork is perfect because of it’s fat content. You do want the meatballs to have a palatable texture after all… 😉 If you use ground turkey or chicken breasts (relatively drier meats), more likely your meatballs will come out dry and also the color of the finished product might not be as pretty…
I hope those tips help. If you want more information or advice on cooking meats, try looking up Auguste Escoffier’s book “Escoffier: The Complete Guide to Modern Cookery” … It is a great resource that they made us go by in Culinary school for questions like this.
I have Celiac Disease and I always have to make substitutions but I know they will make a difference in the outcome of the recipe. I don’t expect anyone else to figure it out for me. I alone am responsible for taking precautions for my dietary restrictions. I plan on making this with gluten free bread crumbs and rice flour. There will be a difference but it’ll be good.
Jessica, Rebeca, Judy (probably all the same sloth anyway, hidden in some basement who enjoys being a sad rude troll) what a bunch of pathetic people you are!
Find your own way to substitute things in and out!
The author is correct in saying she won’t know how it turns out!
If you have a problem fix it yourself! Bunch of ungrateful arrogant dicks!
Anyway, I made this up tonight and it was fantastic! Thanks to the author! You are a star!
Being Jewish, I have learned to substitute pork in recipes overtime. Often, I have asked the cook for suggestions. I have to say that I am stunned at Chung-Ah’s insufferable rudeness; and not just this thread. Lady, I would be a little more humble given that this is your recipe is a tightly based adaptation of you know who.
Yes, absolutely! The blogger is fully credited 🙂
Do you always take this much abuse? This is my first time on your site and I am astonished at the number of attacks on you and the severity of some remarks. One calls you rude and arrogant, which is like saying ‘I am a humble person”, which reveals they are anything but, while aothers call you a rank amatuer. I am going to take full advantage of your recipes, which make my mouth water, before you decide to pull down your site because of such uncalled for abusive accusations, rudeness, and arrogance from those who love to sling arrows. Good luck to you!
Since pork is often called “the other white meat” I would use chicken.
Rebekah–you can use Veal and it turns out just fine. I have made the meatballs with veal for pork and it comes out delicious. Hope this answer helps you.
Thanks for the veal substitute for pork. I don’t eat pork and I really don’t cook much so usually chicken is my “go-to” which gets a bit boring. For those like me, I hope you appreciate the author’s response. The recipe is the recipe. Change at your own risk, but isn’t that what makes life fun?
Rebekah, why do you have to be so snarky? This person made this recipe to share with the world. You are not entitled to this recipe. So why not show some respect and not ask so snappily. You can come up with a substitution yourself. The person who came up with this recipe probably doesn’t have special dietary needs in the first place, so it is reasonable that they didn’t think about people who do when they were kindly posting the recipe for the world to use.
I agree with Morgan. People change recipes all the time, or they don’t have a specific ingredient on hand, and often times turn around and give a lousy review because it “didn’t turn out as expected”. I read reviews all the time on websites like Epicurious and FoodNetwork when people do this. THEN, give a low rating they ruin the overall ratings!
Come on, Rebekah, figure it out for yourself –leave the pork out of the recipe, it’s a meatball! Just don’t come back and complain about it, — just use your head. 😉
Besides, no recipe blog or website CATERS to one specific person or group — it’s YOUR job to find what you need. Nobody else’s.
Oh, and thanks for the recipe, Chung-Ah! Looks delicious and am making this tonight!
I agree, do some frecken research on your own. It’s not a hard thing and you may learn something from it, heaven forbid! When people post a recipe there trying to share something that THEY really like and hope you do to so quit ripping on it. If you don’t like it don’t make it!!!!! There’s a thought:)
Thank you, Chungah for posting this recipe, and for your lovely responses. I am absolutely appalled at one or more of the people who left the rude comments Obviously you cannot advise on ingredients that you didn’t use yourself, and you are certainly under NO obligation to do so! Talk about looking a “gift horse in the eye!” THANKS ALSO to Morgan, Cindy and Kim for their brilliant responses. We all can substitute to accommodate our likes/dislikes/dietary restrictions/”the moon phases” (WHATEVER), without being rude to the kindly person who took the time and trouble to share her recipe! Be nice!
leave the pork out. short and simple.
Many people I know are Jewish and are forbidden to eat pork..so when they come to my house I tell them there is no pork in the recipe even though I put it in…I really do not give a fat rats ass if they are forbidden to eat pork..I love it and will use it…get over it……OMG…..how shameful is that…lllooolll
I’ve never used pork though I have used venison. I think I’ll try a mixture of venison and ground turkey. You can use any ground meat you want. I think the gravy and the spices in the meat make the dish, not one specific ground meat.
Rebekah, you response is disrespectful to people with dietary restrictions. If you do not have an answer, please do not reply.
I haven’t made these yet, but veal or lamb are probably the best subs. If you don’t want to splurge, you can just go all beef.
Just a comment about substitutions in cooking of any kind. Cooking is an expression of creativity just like art is. If one is not sure about the recipe and it’s ingredients the best thing is to tap ones inner self & think about what you are trying to achieve with the additions or omissions of specified ingredients needed to complete a recipe. For me this is the great fun of cooking, always substituting & changing the original recipes to include the food products & spices that I personally prefer. However, sometimes the original recipe is so wonderful you simply do not want to change anything. I have not yet tried this recipe but I’m definitely going to for a Christmas Eve Party & many of the guests will be Norwegians & Danes who all Love Swedish Meatballs. Happy Cooking.
You need to shut your mouth and not be mad at the world because you have diet restrictions. Let me tell you what we would appreciate…..for you to take your negative, nasty attitude off the internet. The world is rude, crude and ignorant….thank you for making it that way.
Whats wrong with you people? The woman is nice enough to offer her recipe and you berate her? Wow
Get a life,is that straight forward enough?
Aren’t you a bit full of yourself? She said she doesn’t know, actually referred the commenter to another resource to maybe answer he question and THAT’S how you react?? WTF is wrong with you? Time to get over yourself dear…..
Find another recipe, rude hag!
Chung-Ah, I think you, your suggestions, and your recipe are wonderful! Don’t listen to the weirdos who for whatever reason need to bully someone because they are too lazy to look up their own substitutions. Your answer was thoughtful and full of information. I can’t wait to make this recipe. Yum!
Keep up the good work Chung-ah !! Some people are just born to bitch. Listen to the compliments and try to ignore the others.
I have found the recipe I have been looking for. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you
Personally, I would just use more beef in its place…that’s what I plan to do 🙂
Feel free to substitute ground beef for the pork. I am a huge meat lover myself but the ground pork really does add a bit more tenderness to these meatballs.
In place of ground pork, use ground turkey with some italian seasoning. Great substitute if you are trying to not use any pork.
When I can’t use ground pork, I add about a 1/4 cup mayo to the beef mixture (2 lbs). It’s not exactly the same as the pork, but i find it’s a nice compromise.
Here’s a good substitute for pork: Do a google search for “swedish meatball recipe”, look through the results, and find one that does not include pork.
Well, the source of Chung-Ah’s recipe (JoCooks) uses chicken instead of pork. Chung-Ah simply used her own substitution. I’m sure the recipe that was used for “inspiration” is just as good!
You can use just ground beef, but you need more fatty ground beef, the fatest you can find… Add a little bit of liquide, some more breadcrumbs and the eggwhites too and you will get a more similar texture. And a suggestion 😉 skipp the olive oil and use butter or a oil with less fragrance 😉
Meredith, I absolutely love your link! In Chung Ah’s defense, while she admitted that she didn’t know of a good substitute, she did find a link where an answer could be researched, or you could stop being lazy and google it yourself instead of bully a home cook. Jessica, Rebekah, Judy find your own way to substitute things stop being rude. Chungah do you always take this much shit from stupid people? This is my first time on your site, and I like what is seen so far. Making this tonight…
Thanks! We hope you like it! 🙂
I love that you used a mixture of minced meat, as that is exactly what gives them that distinct amazing flavour 😀 I am a Scandinavian myself, and highly approve of this! I wish there was a teleport-take-away service in the world, then I’d ask for a tester 😀 Glad they turned out well, and that sauce — mmmmMh!
Why are people bullying Chungah? I can’t believe how rude people can be over a recipe. Those saying she didn’t answer the substitution question straight forward need to read her answer again and again and again if they didn’t get it. She was as straight forward as can be. Chungah I am making these tonight as written. Thank you very much for sharing and I will post later how they came out. Have a great day!
Kim , I agree with you. If you can’t use specified ingredients, don’t use the recipe. There are plenty of Swedish meatball recipes.
Do some research. Stop complaining about stupid things. There are more important issues in this world to complain about. Finding substitutes for a recipe isn’t one of them! I am trying this recipe tonight sans pork because I don’t have it at home and I am snowed in. And with only 1 pound of ground beef, I will cut ingredients in half. I am sure it will turn out fine.
Amen, Theresa!
Just made these, EXACTLY per recipe and they were brilliant! Everyone loved them and I will definitely be making them again. Thank you Chungha. Also, I would just like to say that I have been reading some of these comments and I think you should be congratulated and having the patience to read and reply to some of these people. I honestly wonder what they want for nothing! Not only do they want to use your recipe, but they want you to make substitutions to suit them individually!!! OMG.
I was raised by 14 (yes FOURTEEN) Swedish Au Pairs (no not at one time, before someone asks) and these are by far the most authentic tasting Swedish meatballs I have had in many many years. I followed the recipe exactly as Chungah wrote it (no substitutions, additions, omissions or witch craft) and it was OUTSTANDING. Nice job, Chungah!!
Wow, I’m gonna try this soon!! I was thinking about using table salt in stead of Kosher salt. Now I’m gonna just follow the recipe exactly too!
exquisito, lo voy a preparar para ver como me sale ummmmmmmmmmmm.
I chanced upon this recipe and made it this weekend for family, to many raves. It makes a ton of gravy, so make sure you have plenty of smashed potatoes or noodles to go along with the meatballs. My grandkids loved it as much as my IKEA Swedish-meatball-loving son-in-law.
As for substitutions, commentators could do a tiny bit of research and check out other similar recipes online. Simply put, Swedish meatballs are made with pork and beef. If you don’t eat pork, don’t make Swedish meatballs. Find a pork-less meatball recipe elsewhere.
Seems to me he went to a lot of trouble to get the recipe so much like IDEA WE should be
Thankful he went to the and sharing. Go ahead change it and just enjoy what you came up with. I’m thankful he did the work. Can’t wait to try it
This week. If this home cook has any more ideas I would sure try them. To the best of my ability. lol, let you know guys.
TerryAnn.
DAMN I like reading your recipes and I believe you are DAMN polite to the DAMN rude people that have posted on here and I say keep up the DAMN DELICIOUS work!!!
She forgot the lingonberries!
I know right the trick is to use potatoes
I can’t figure out how to post my comment without it being a reply…so, here goes..OMG! This recipe is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I followed it exactly and my entire family loved it and that NEVER happens. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe.