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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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.