Swedish Meatballs
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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?
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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!
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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!