Swedish Meatballs
These Homemade Swedish Meatballs are bite size balls of beef and pork smothered in a rich brown gravy. Serve them as an appetizer or over mashed potatoes for a comforting and belly warming meal.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Chill Time30 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: easy swedish meatballs, how to make swedish meatballs, ikea swedish meatballs, swedish meatballs, swedish meatballs recipe
Servings: 8
Calories: 454kcal
For the Meatballs
- 2 cups cubed fresh bread, use fresh sliced bread, remove crusts
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 small yellow onion, grated
- 1 large egg
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the Sauce
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups low sodium beef broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Place bread cubes in a large mixing bowl; pour milk over bread cubes and let sit for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until the bread has absorbed all the milk.
Using two forks, shred the bread into tiny pieces.
To the bread mixture add grated onions, egg, garlic, beef, pork, salt, pepper, allspice, and nutmeg.
Mix everything together until well combined. It’s best to use your hands to mix it all together.
At this point, you can chill the mixture for 15 to 30 minutes so it’s easier to roll out the meatballs. This is not a must, but it does help.
Form the mixture into about 24 meatballs. Mixture will be wet.
Set a large frying pan over medium-high heat; heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Working in batches, brown the meatballs on all sides; this should take about 5 to 6 minutes for each batch, depending on the size of the meatballs. Use a spoon to turn them over; turn over gently so they don’t break apart.
Transfer cooked meatballs to a plate and cover with foil.
Make the sauce:
Add 3 tablespoons butter to the pan and melt over medium heat.
Whisk in the flour; continue to whisk until dissolved and brown, about 2 minutes.
Slowly pour in the broth and whisk; the broth will sputter and seize up a bit, but just keep stirring and the sauce will eventually loosen up.
Add the cream while continuously whisking. Don't stop whisking because the heavy cream will curdle.
Whisk in Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper; bring mixture to a simmer and continue to cook until thickened and smooth.
Stir to combine the flavors.
Return meatballs to the pan; cook on low heat just to warm through and gravy to thicken, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve over mashed potatoes or noodles.
Or, add toothpicks to each meatball and serve as an appetizer.
Calories: 454kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Cholesterol: 138mg | Sodium: 596mg | Potassium: 429mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 654IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 2mg