Extra Creamy Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs is a creamy and delicious dinner recipe which is perfect for holidays or any other special occasion.

Buttery, Herby, Warm and flavorful Meatballs smothered in a creamy sauce is the definition of comfort food. The combination of Ground Pork and Ground Beef, makes these Meatballs incredibly delicious.

Also the creamy sauce is the best thing about these Swedish Meatballs.

You can serve this with Mashed Potatoes, Egg Noodles, Steamed Veggies or Salad of your choice.

Jump to:

• The Best Swedish Meatballs
• What do you need to make Swedish meatballs? 
• How to make Swedish meatballs 
• How to serve Swedish Meatballs? 
• How to store Swedish Meatballs? 
• Tips to make the Best Swedish Meatballs Ever
• What to serve with traditional Swedish meatballs? 
• Is there any gluten-free alternative for breadcrumbs? 
• Can I replace Beef with Chicken?
• Can I make Vegan Swedish Meatballs?
• More Meatballs Recipes
• Swedish Meatballs

The Best Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs are always a special and delicious treat. Especially, Ikea has made this so popular. However, not every-time you wish to have to you have to visit the store. Here's how to make this popular and loved Swedish Meatballs easily.

The best thing about Swedish Meatballs is of course the Meatballs itself. Small, golf sized Meatballs are juicy and delicious. The combination of Ground Pork and Ground Beef making this taste so good. Then you have the warming spices such as Ground Ginger and AllSpice which makes these taste so good.

Also the creamy sauce is what we love about these Swedish Meatballs. I also add some Worcestershire Sauce and Dijon mustard, to this creamy roux based sauce which makes it even flavourful and delicious.

What do you need to make Swedish meatballs? 

For making meatballs you'll need: 

1. Panko Breadcrumbs 

2. Milk 

3. Cream 

4. Egg 

5. Minced garlic 

6. Kosher salt 

7. Ground black pepper 

8. Allspice, Ground ginger & Nutmeg

9. Onions 

10. Ground beef 

11. Ground pork 

12. Fresh parsley 

13. Butter 

14. Olive oil 

For making gravy sauce for the meatballs: 

1. Butter 

2. All purpose flour 

3. Beef broth or stock 

4. Heavy cream 

5. Soy Sauce 

6. Dijon mustard 

7. Kosher salt 

8. Freshly ground Black Pepper

9. Worcestershire Sauce

10. Dijon Mustard

How to make Swedish meatballs 

Don’t let the long list of ingredients scare you. The making of the recipe is actually very simple.

Let’s start with taking a large bowl. Now inside this bow mix together breadcrumbs with milk and cream. Then add cracked egg, kosher salt, minced garlic, ground fresh black pepper, Allspice, Grated Nutmeg and Ground Ginger. 

Mix everything together and then leave it to rest for about ten minutes. This way the breadcrumbs will be able to absorb all the milk.

Once the ten minutes are over and the breadcrumbs are thoroughly soaked in milk, you can go ahead and add finely the chopped onion, Ground Beef, and pork along with very finely chopped fresh parsley. 

Its time to get a little hands-on. Wash your hands with water and soap before doing the next step. Once your hands are certified clean, you can go ahead and use them to mix the mixture until it gets a consistency in which you can roll it out into small balls. OR, Use a wooden spatula to combine everything.

Clean your hands, then wet them with a little oil. Now start rolling out the mixture into small and even-sized balls.

You should keep them at about the size of a golf ball. That is the perfect size for Swedish meatballs and will look great with gravy. 

Now take a large iron skillet and place it on high heat. Heat up butter and olive oil together on the skillet and fry the Meatballs on it on all sides. You want your meatballs to get a nice light brown crispy outer layer.

Don’t crowd the skillet with meatballs and instead fry them in batches.

This way your meatballs will cook properly and not end up undercooked or worse, get stewed. 

Keep all the cooked meatballs on a large plate and cover them with foil so that they don’t dry out.

In the meantime, add some more butter to the skillet and let it melt. Then add flour and stir it in the skillet until starts to get brown in color. 

Now add the beef broth, Heavy cream, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard to the cooked flour in the skillet.

Mix everything thoroughly until you start getting a smooth consistency. Then put the mixture to a simmer and sprinkle in kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper according to your taste preferences.

Let the sauce simmer for a few more minutes and then turn off the heat. 

Your Swedish meatballs with gravy are now ready to be served! You can now serve it whichever way you want! 

How to serve Swedish Meatballs? 

There are two ways to serve Swedish meatballs. One of them is the non-traditional way that Ikea does and the other one is the traditional Swedish way. You can go for whichever way you like, but we highly recommend you to give both serving styles a try! 

1. If you want to go the familiar and non-traditional way of serving then just serve the meatballs over gravy on a plate. It is not traditional, but it is a classic in its own right!

2. If you want to impress the traditionalists then forego the gravy completely. Serve the meatballs with an aside of Macaroni and Mashed potatoes along with Lingonberry jam!

How to store Swedish Meatballs? 

Storing Swedish meatballs is super easy as long as you follow the steps.

The first tip itself would be to not mix up the gravy with meatballs, as the gravy will make the stored meatballs mushy over time.

So whenever you are serving to the guest serve the gravy and the meatballs separately. If you get any leftovers left then pack them away in an airtight container and store it in the fridge.

Make sure you keep the gravy and the meatballs separately. This way you can expect your Swedish meatballs to easily last as long as four to five days. Whenever you want to have the leftovers just reheat them in the microwave and it will be good as new! 

You also have a very easy option for freezing the Swedish Meatballs. Again, no gravy is allowed here. All you need to do here is make a batch of Swedish meatballs and pack it in a ziplock bag. Seal it securely and store it in the freezer of your fridge. You can easily store Swedish Meatballs for a couple of months if you freeze them in this method.

Whenever you want to use the frozen Swedish Meatballs again just let them first thaw overnight and then heat them up in a microwave. You can also give them a little fry in the pan to get their crispy exterior back. 

Tips to make the Best Swedish Meatballs Ever

1. You don’t need to get the absolute top-class quality of meat to make Swedish meatballs, but do try to get fresh meat from your local butcher instead of getting it from a grocery store. 

2. If you want to go for a more health-conscious approach to making Swedish meatballs then just use an air fryer to make them instead of frying the meatballs on a skillet pan. 3. If you cannot use pork then just make only beef meatballs. They will also work just fine. But make sure you use beef that is not very high in fat content and is more on the lean side. 

4. Want to make the gravy healthier for the meatballs? Then just use reduced-fat cream to make it instead of regular heavy cream! 

What to serve with traditional Swedish meatballs? 

Traditional Swedish meatballs come with no gravy. Instead, it comes with a side of Mashed Potatoes and Lingonberry jam. 

Is there any gluten-free alternative for breadcrumbs? 

If you want to go for a healthier alternative to breadcrumbs then try using almond meal! It is totally gluten-free and also very much less in calories!

Can I replace Beef with Chicken?

Yes ofcourse. If you do not eat Ground Beef or Pork you can replace with Ground Chicken.

Can I make Vegan Swedish Meatballs?

Of course. Vegan "Meat" Balls is so delicious. Try my Vegan Chickpea Meatballs (Make Ahead Vegan Meatballs) or Sticky Cauliflower Rice "Meat" Balls - Vegan | GF. These are perfect Vegan alternative to Meat.

For the Creamy Vegan Sauce, you can use Cashew Cream and Vegan Butter. Replace Milk with Almond Milk for this recipe.

More Meatballs Recipes

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• Italian Turkey Meatballs in marinara sauce
• Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
• Sticky Thai Meatballs with Peanut Sauce
• Ginger Sesame Chicken Meatballs | Asian Chicken Meatballs
• Salsa Chicken Meatballs - Mexican Chicken Meatballs
• Gochujang Chicken Meatballs Recipe
• Authentic Butter Chicken Meatballs (in just 30-minutes)
• Chicken Parmesan Meatballs stuffed with Mozzarella
• Firecracker Chicken Meatballs in Air Fryer

I hope you liked this recipe and shall make it soon. If you happen to make this recipe, then comment below and rate this recipe. Also, tag me with #recipemagik on Instagram.