These super easy Swedish Meatballs are ready in about 45 minutes and are sure to knock your socks off!
We love to serve this classic Swedish Meatball recipe over some creamy Mashed Potatoes for a comforting dinner.
Watch out IKEA, these tasty Swedish Meatballs and Gravy are so easy to make at home, you’ll be blown away!
Easy Swedish Meatballs Recipe
Even my pickiest eaters love this delicious dinner.
Italian Meatballs vs. Swedish Meatballs?
The first thing we need to talk about is the difference between Swedish Meatballs and Italian Meatballs. Because there is a difference!
Swedish meatballs contain just a touch of all spice (or you can use nutmeg) for a subtle, yet noticeable difference.
Both Italian Meatballs and Swedish Meatballs contain ground beef and ground pork, along with milk, breadcrumbs and egg for binding.
Swedish meatballs are traditionally served in a creamy gravy over egg noodles or mashed potatoes, while Italian meatballs are served with marinara sauce and pasta.
Ingredients for Swedish Meatballs
Here’s a quick breakdown of what you’ll need to make homemade Swedish Meatballs. You can find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below.
- Ground Beef – I prefer to use a lean ground beef
- Ground Pork
- Breadcrumbs – plain breadcrumbs or Panko style
- Milk
- Egg
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- All Spice (or nutmeg)
- Parsley – make sure to chop finely
- Salt and Pepper
How To Make Homemade Swedish Meatballs
Making Swedish Meatballs at home is actually quite easy! Gather all your ingredients and let’s make some Swedish Meatballs.
CREATE BINDING
Start by combining the breadcrumbs, milk, egg, garlic powder, onion powder and all spice in a bowl and allow the mixture to absorb for about 10 minutes.
SHAPE MEATBALLS
Once it’s absorbed a bit, add in the ground beef, ground pork and parsley, mixing with clean hands and shaping into balls.
COOK MEATBALLS
Heat some oil and butter on the stove top and fry the meatballs (or bake) until cooked through.
Recipe Tips and Suggestions
Here are some great tips and tricks to making these meatballs
PRE COOKED MEATBALLS? When you’re not in the mood for making homemade meatballs, or maybe you just don’t have the time… using frozen, store bought meatballs will work too! Just defrost/microwave the meatballs prior to adding to the gravy.
FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS: You can also pre-cook the Swedish meatballs, let them cool, then freeze them for up to 3 months. This makes it super easy to whip this dinner up on a busy weeknight!
NO SOUR CREAM? If you don’t have sour cream for the gravy, you can also use plain Greek yogurt.
Creamy Swedish Meatball Sauce
Let’s talk about the gravy or sauce that goes along with these tender and delicious Swedish Meatballs!
It’s a super simple beef gravy that’s finished off with sour cream to give it the perfect creamy tang. The combination of spiced meatballs and creamy gravy is a match made in heaven.
Ingredients for Swedish Meatball Sauce-
Here’s what you’ll need in order to make the delicious, creamy gravy! You can find exact measurements in the printable recipe card below.
- Butter – I prefer to use salted butter for this recipe
- Flour – all purpose
- Beef Broth – low sodium
- Sour Cream – you can swap plain greek yogurt if desired
- Salt and Pepper
- Parsley
How To Make Swedish Meatball Sauce
MAKE A ROUX
Just like any typical gravy recipe, you’ll start by melting butter in a hot pan (preferably the one you just made the meatballs in), and then whisk in the flour. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes to really deepen the flavor of the gravy.
ADD BROTH
Once the flour has cooked gradually whisk in the beef broth, making sure to stir out any clumps that may form. Then add in the sour cream and season with salt and pepper.
HEAT MEATBALLS IN SAUCE
Return the seared meatballs to the sauce and let them get heated through. The sauce should thicken as it continues to cook.
What To Serve With Swedish Meatballs
Like I mentioned earlier, Swedish Meatballs are fantastic over fluffy mashed potatoes or even egg noodles.
Traditionally, Swedish Meatballs are also served with Lingonberry Sauce, which has a similar consistency and tartness as cranberry sauce.
Here are some more great side options for Swedish Meatballs…
- Steamed Peas
- Sautéed Zucchini
- Roasted Broccoli
- Brown Sugar Carrots
More Easy Meatball Recipes To Try:
Craving more easy and delicious meatball recipes? Here are some of our favorites!
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Super Easy Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
For The Swedish Meatballs
- ⅓ cup breadcrumbs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp all spice, or nutmeg
- 1 lb. ground beef
- ½ lb. ground pork
- 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
For The Swedish Gravy
- 5 tbsp butter
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ - 3 cups beef broth
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp finely minced parsley, divided
Instructions
For the Swedish Meatballs
- Combine the breadcrumbs, milk, egg, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and all spice in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes to soak breadcrumbs.
- Add in the ground beef, ground pork and parsley and mix with clean hands to shape 24 small meatballs. Set aside.
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, add in the 2 tsp olive oil and 1 tbsp butter. Cook the meatballs in a single layer, making sure to not crowd the pan, and sear the meatballs on all sides. You may have to do this in two batches. Set meatballs aside on a clean plate and cover with foil.
For the Gravy
- In the same pan that was used to cook the meatballs, add in the 5 tbsp of butter. Once it's melted gradually whisk in the flour until it's thick and somewhat crumbly.
- Slowly pour in the beef broth while whisking constantly until it's all added, making sure to scrap any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. Start with 2 ½ cups and if you want a thinner gravy add in the remaining ½ cup. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add in the sour cream and whisk to combine. Season with salt, pepper and half of the parsley.
- Add the meatballs back to the gravy and reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer for 5 minutes, or until meatballs are heated through.
- Serve meatballs over warm mashed potatoes and garnish with the extra parsley. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PIN THIS IMAGE TO SAVE THE RECIPE:
Grilled BBQ Meatloaf Skewers
Josh Sakal
Does the recipe use fresh or dried parsley?
Shawn
Either will work! If using fresh, use the full tablespoon, if using dried, use just 1/2 tablespoon. Enjoy!
Matt Hemmis
Dad doesn’t cook a lot so I look for stuff that is easy but yummy. I made this to rave reviews today! We hand cooked our meatballs though. Also added 1/3 cup of flower to make the gravy thicker. Thanks so much!
Alyssa
This meal is delicious and so simple. The only things I needed to purchase was the meatballs and beef broth and I absolutely love recipes that require ingredients you most likely have in your pantry. Thank you so much for sharing!
Shawn
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Alyssa!
Kelly
Do you think that this recipe would work if I made the sauce and threw the meatballs in frozen into the crockpot in the morning? Thanks in advance for a delicious sounding, easy recipe!
Shawn
Hey Kelly, I’m thinking it would work, but I would definitely cook it on LOW. You’ll have to let us know how it turns out!
Candace
Something was off in the proportions. 1/3 c flour and 3.5 cups of broth made a very thin gravy. I make biscuits and gravy a lot, so I knew how to make it thicker. Flavors were good, but I’ll have to tweak it.
Shawn
You can definitely use more flour, or less broth to get the gravy to be thicker.
Cheryl Lynne Richard
I made this and really cheated! In used 1 jar of beef gravy and 1 small container of sour cream, parsley, mix together add meatballs and heat till meatballs are hot. Serve over precooked pasta or rice, Dinner done in under 10 minutes.
Shawn
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Janet
I made this for dinner. It was quick and easy. Everyone loved it. Thanks,
Lita Watson
How tasty your dish is! Swedish meatballs is the quickest choice since it move around easier and start pulling in more of the delicious flavor. I have run out of the sour cream to make this dish so can cream cheese be used in this recipe as a substitute of it?
Kit Kat
III often use cream cheese in lieu of sour cream. It actually tastes fresher. When you use frozen meatballs, place them frozen in a strainer AND RINSE THEM, LEAVING THEM TO THAW IN the strainer. I also serve these on egg noodles, which loves parsley!
Nose secrets
Looks delicious
Alechia
This was by far the BEST quickest meal I have ever made. The recipe said 15 min and it did not disappoint. My only difference was I used brown rice noodles instead of potatoes and I didn’t have enough sour cream so I missed it with half and half….really could have omitted the salt and pepper. Man this was so good and I didn’t even have to fight my 3 and 6 year old to eat tonight. This will see be my weeknight meal
Anna Wright
Excellent, lovely meat balls, so delicious in look!
KateLyn simoneau
I am making this recipe now! I’m starting with your link to your “make ahead frozen meatballs” this is going to be awesome! It’s pretty much a from scratch recipe wich we love in our house! Thank you for sharing and I’m sure it’s going to be awesome!
KateLyn simoneau
Lol I said this is going to be awesome twice! I guess you can say I’m llooking forward it!
Denise Thibault
We were in the mood for Swedish meatballs and I had some frozen meatballs I wanted to use. Your recipe was quick and delish! I added some mushrooms and a little Worcestershire sauce and had my meal on the table in 30 Minutes! My husband is still smacking his lips!
Shawn
I love that! So glad you guys liked it! 🙂
Kellie
When & how much Worcestershire did you add?
Amy
Was the whole point (of the story with the recipe) that you made the easy dish for a quick dinner that night? It reads like you sent them to an early bedtime with no dinner…
Shawn
Haha! No, my kids did eat dinner that night. 😉 If I recall my daughter had dinner at her friend’s house and I had fed my kids prior to picking her up. 🙂
lori
I just made it for dinner tonight, it was delicious thank you for the recipes
Shawn
Awesome! Thanks Lori!! So glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Dawn
Well Ann, while I certainly appreciate that you’re trying to be helpful, I prefer to try the *blogger’s* recipe. I feel a tad guilty using frozen meatballs to start with but six packages of unidentifiable ingredients in gravy powder? Or a downloadable Irish version of a furniture store’s recipe? Ummm. Thanks Shawn, your recipe was what I was looking for! I had planned to serve these with egg noodles but your pics have me leaning toward potatoes…looks delicious!
Anne
The easiest gravy to make for Swedish meatballs is to get some packets of McCormick brown gravy mix, and use milk in the place of the water the instructions call for… I usually use 6 packets for a large pot. I also add white pepper, allspice, and nutmeg, to taste, after it starts thickening up.
Swedish meatballs also are yummy served over buttered egg noodles, or basmati rice.
On a side note: Years ago I had a recipe for Swedish meatballs that came in an Ikea catalog, but sadly lost it, so I have been making mine from memory since then. When I saw your “Watch out IKEA!” I was hopeful that it would include the recipe. Oh well, I guess I have to continue looking for it. *sighs*
Anne
Um, I think I finally found the Ikea swedish meatball recipe here:
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_IE/img/local_store_info/dublin/Receipecardformeatballs.pdf
Though it isn’t the exact recipe I use, I omit the potatoes, don’t cook the finely chopped onion ahead of time, and use salt, white pepper, allspice, and nutmeg for the seasoning. Also, FYI, rusk flour is basically fine, toasted breadcrumbs.
And do yourself a BIG favor, and don’t fry the meatballs, bake them in the oven instead.
Britney
I’ll definitely be trying these out but had a question, do you think the gravy would freeze and reheat well? I’m thinking it would as long as I reheated it slowly and whisking away. What are your thoughts?
Shawn
I’ve never tried it, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. 🙂
Anne
I’ve never had a problem with any of the gravies found in any of the frozen dinners I’ve eaten, so I think there would be no problem with freezing it… You might want to defrost the gravy, in the fridge, ahead of time before heating it on the stove, or just heat it up in the microwave straight from the freezer.
Laura
Omg! This was delicious!!!! I put it over mashed potatoes and a crescent roll… Amazing!!!! And sooo easy and sooo quick! Thank you sooo much for this recipe.
Julie - Lovely Little Kitchen
Oh you are one smart mama! And these meatballs look amazing… must try soon!
CTY
Oh, what we parents do to survive. When complaints & whining sets in–this is how DH and I have survived. At our house we have a designated complaint hour (between 3-4pm). All complaints must be saved until that time–and then we all (especially me) complain at the same time (personal attacks are not allowed). All of us at once spouting off, nobody is listening to other complaints, this is about venting not solving. Once the hour is gone, it is over. Complaints have never lasted the full hour. Afterwards, everyone feels better and we get on with life. This works extremely well with long car rides.
Julia
That’s hilarious about the clock-forwarding deception. I, too, have 4 kids but they three of them are teens, so that would be very difficult to pull off! I will admit that one year, my husband and I didn’t turn the clocks back during daylight savings and were able to get them to go to bed an hour “earlier”. That was a good year…
RaProost
For a real Swdish touch, add a dash of allspice to your sauce!
Julia Hoff
I did add the allspice, good idea. I usually make my own meatballs and so I added 1 tsp each of Nutmeg and Cardamom to the sauce.
Carol at Wild Goose Tea
I love meatballs. I love easy. So this works for me. Busy time of year, but it’s still nice to serve tasty food.