Amazing recipe for Swedish Meatballs. Soft and juicy meatballs in a rich and creamy gravy sauce that adds so much flavor to the meatballs.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Hey, hey! Valentina with Valentina’s Corner sharing our recipe for Homemade Swedish Meatballs.
Swedish Meatballs Recipe
This is a traditional Swedish dish for meatballs with a hint of allspice and nutmeg that give them a distinct and authentic flavor. These meatballs are served over the most delicious creamy sauce that is so good as a gravy over our Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes or fluffy White Rice.
Once you give the recipe a try, you’ll agree, they taste so much better than IKEA’s famous Swedish Meatballs recipe.
What goes into Swedish Meatballs?
- Panko breadcrumbs- Though you can use bread crumbs for the meatballs, we like the texture of the panko crumbs in this recipe.
- Ground meat- We used a combination of ground beef and pork. The flavors are great and pork adds a tenderness to the meatballs.
- Spices- For this recipe, all you need is nutmeg, allspice, salt, and pepper.
- Onion and garlic- Though not traditional to add these, we love the added flavor they give the meatballs.
- Beef gravy- the combination of butter, beef broth, heavy whipping cream, and dijon makes for a creamy gravy.
How to Make Swedish Meatballs:
Here’s a detailed guide on how to make the BEST Swedish Meatballs in cream sauce.
Make the Meatballs:
- Add the ground beef and pork to a large mixing bowl. Using the star side of a box grater, grate the onion into the meat. In a small bowl mix the panko crumbs and milk, add to the bowl.
- Add remaining meatball ingredients, mix well, and shape into 1″ balls.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat with oil and cook meatballs in 2 batches for 6-7 minutes, turning halfway. Cook until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from skillet and cover to keep warm.
Make the Gravy Sauce:
- In the same skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook until golden brown.
- Stir in the broth, cream, Dijon, salt, and pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until it thickens, stirring as needed.
- Add the meatballs back and toss in the sauce until reheated.
TIPS and Commonly Asked Questions:
- What to serve meatballs with? Serve the meatballs with gravy over mashed potatoes, egg noodles or your favorite pasta.
- Can the meatballs be baked? Yes. Line the baking sheet with foil. Bake the meatballs at 400°F, 12-15 minutes or until cooked through and an instant-read thermometer registers at 165°F.
- Can I freeze the meatballs? Yes. One the meatballs are cooked and cooled, arrange them on a baking sheet and freeze. Then transfer frozen meatballs to a freezer bag. Thaw overnight and continue with the recipe.
- Uniform in size- You’ll want to be sure to shape the meatballs so they are uniform in size for even cooking. Tip: Use a small ice cream scoop for even meatballs.
More Easy Dinner Ideas:
We always keep ground beef and a variety of ground meat in the freezer to make these family-favorite dinner recipes:
- Meatloaf – with the best glaze
- Salisbury Steak – in a rich mushroom gravy
- Perfect Burgers – how to make a juicy burger every time
- Shepherd’s Pie – loaded with veggies
- Mini Stuffed Peppers – in the best sauce
Swedish Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
For the Swedish Meatballs:
- 1 lb lean ground beef , (10%-15% fat)
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 small onion, grated on star side of box grater
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup panko crumbs
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp ground allspice
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, (cooking oil), or as needed
For the Gravy Sauce:
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 cups regular beef broth
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
How to Make Meatballs:
- In a bowl combine the panko crumbs with milk. Add remaining ingredients for the meatballs and mix well. Shape into 24 meatballs.
- Add 2 Tbsp oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, cook meatballs in 2 batches until golden brown and cooked through (6-7 minutes), turning as needed. Add more oil as needed. Remove from the skillet and cover to keep warm.
How to Make Gravy Sauce:
- In the same skillet, melt the butter. Quickly whisk in the flour and cook until golden.
- Stir in the broth, heavy whipping cream, Dijon and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook it thickens.
- Add back the meatballs and toss in the gravy sauce. Cook until meatballs are heated through.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
How many meatballs do you serve to each person? I’m making for 30 people along with noodles and green beans. Thanks!
Hi Debbie, that would depend on how big you make the meatballs. This recipe should serve 8 people. The serving size can be found at the beginning of the print-friendly recipe card (located at the bottom of the recipe post). The nutrition label shows counts “per serving.” Hope that helps!
I hate it when people change ingredients then review a recipe, but here I go. I CANNOT eat ground pork! It makes me violently ill. So I used all lean ground beef. Everything else was followed. I must say, these are some of the best meatballs I have ever made! I’ve already save the recipe and will make them again. Thank you Natasha for the great recipe
Best meatballs ever! Light, moist, and fluffy, not heavy and dense like most. These are delicious.
They were quick and easy to make! My family devoured them and went back for seconds!
Thank you for the delicious meatball recipe! This is definitely a keeper and my go to for meatballs from now on!
That’s wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing.
I made these as smaller meatballs (cocktail style) for a cocktail party. Served with a side of rice and some salads. Delicious!
That’s so great! This is the perfect recipe for a cocktail party!
I made this for a “Goodbye” dinner for my sweet neighbor. I got raves!!
A bit more salt added to the gravy and I had to thicken it up a bit, but definitely a hit!
So far, I’ve only gotten up in the recipe to frying the meatballs but boy oh boy, they’re very delicious! I can’t wait to complete the sauce but will use sour cream instead of heavy cream since I don’t care for cream. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Your recipes are always a winner!
I’m so glad to hear that, Janet! You’re very welcome.
Hi Natasha! I’ve made so many of your recipes which have all received thumbs up from my hubby and boys! Thank you! Big ask, is there a variation here to make the Sweedish meatballs in the slow cooker? Would it work?
I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying my recipes, Kristen, that’s so great! I haven’t tried this recipe in s slow cooker to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I would like to try the recipes but, I do not like mustard at all it makes me ill. Is there a way to leave out the mustard?
Hi Staci! I haven’t tested it without but feel free to experiment with the recipe.
Your recipe is very similar to the one my mother used all the time. It was always served as a part of our Christmas Eve dinner.
Aww, that’s the best!
Followed the recipe exactly and the sauce was way to liquidy. Should have been more creamier I thought. What can I do to thicken it up? I did add some more flour but didn’t help. Maybe less broth next time??
HI Marty, did you make sure to use 3 Tablespoons of flour and not teaspoons? The flour is what thickens the sauce. Also, make sure you are using HEAVY whipping cream which has a higher fat content than half and half or regular whipping cream in which case you would need more flour. To thicken it up quickly, stir together 1 Tbsp melted butter with 1-2 Tbsp of flour to make a paste then stir it into the sauce and simmer it for a bit to cook off the flour and thicken the sauce.
Hi Natasha. Well, turns out it was completely my fault. What I thought was flour was actually powdered sugar. I realized this after I submitted my comment. By the time I was done I used 8 tablespoons of powdered sugar. That explains why it never thickened. My family could see I was very upset but somehow ate some of it. Not much else to do but laugh about it. I hope you and anyone else reading this enjoys a good laugh! With that said, I do give your recipe 5*
Oh no! I can imagine that added quite a bit of sweetness to the recipe as well. I’m glad you got a good laugh out of it, but I hope you give this another try soon!
The meal was delicious! My sauce was thin. How can I thicken it up?
I’m glad you enjoyed it! One of our readers shared this “I use a corn starch slurry instead of flour to thicken gravy and it’s delicious” Hope that helps.
I make sooooo many of your recipes but this was not good. Tasted so bland and I ended up having to turn it into an Alfredo, just super disappointing .
HI Sarah, I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you and your feedback is important to us if there is something we can do to improve. Did you change any of the ingredients or make any substitutions?
Awesome recipe. Lots of flavor. 1st time made it and will do it again.Thank you!
So glad to hear that, David! Thank you.
Bonjour
If I want to make and freeze it, do I have to freeze the sauce apart?
Merci Beaucoup
thanks
Hi Fannie! Since the sauce has heavy cream, I would not recommend freezing it. Cream doesn’t generally freeze well. See my note above for freezing the meatballs: once the meatballs are cooked and cooled, arrange them on a baking sheet and freeze. Then transfer frozen meatballs to a freezer bag. Thaw overnight and continue with the recipe.
This recipe was so good! It’s just me so I halved the recipe and have plenty of leftovers. I didn’t have any heavy whipping cream so I added about 2 T of sour cream to regular milk. I also added an extra tablespoon of flour. This is my go-to recipe!
Hi LeAnn! So glad that this is your go-to recipe! Thank you for sharing your experience.
These swedish meatballs are soft, moist, perfect, tastier than in Sweden
I’m so glad you loved the recipe.
This was another hit in my house. I added worcestershire sauce and a little bit of sour cream to the sauce and it was a-mazing. I love your recipes Natasha. I’d been looking to change up my weekly/monthly dinners and your recipes never disappoint.
Thank you so much for your great comments and feedback, Erica. Happy to know that the recipe was a huge hit!
I made this recipe tonight. It is very similar to several found online. The one thing I felt was missing was depth of flavor, so next time I will definitely add a dash of Worcestershire sauce to help that balance out the creaminess.
Thank you for your feedback, Sonya. I hope you’ll love all the recipes that you will try!
This recipe says it’s freezer friendly, but I’m not finding the instructions on how to freeze. I understand that the meatballs are cooked and then frozen, then put into a freezer bag. Do you then make the gravy and add to the bag?
Hi Susan, we have it under the “TIPS and Commonly Asked Questions”: section of the recipe post. See the “Can I freeze the meatballs?” question.