The Cozy Cookbook is here! These juicy and flavorful Swedish Meatballs are smothered in a savory gravy cream sauce and are perfect over noodles or mashed potatoes. This is like no other recipe you’ve ever tried!
Swedish Meatballs
I’ll just go ahead and say it: I do believe that these Swedish Meatballs are quite possibly the best of the best!
These are not an IKEA replica, (I’ve actually never been to IKEA! 🤯) and I can’t say that I’ve been to Sweden either, but they are amazing, and include some standout ingredients that we’ve come to know and love in America when it comes to this particular dish.
The meatballs themselves are made with a combination of ground beef and pork, along with a touch of allspice and nutmeg. Onions and garlic add flavor and texture, and milk, egg, and breadcrumbs act as a binder. Finally, Parmesan cheese is a little “Cozy” touch that adds a subtle pop of flavor.
The sauce itself is an amazing combination of beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, and sour cream. My secret ingredient? Chicken Bouillon. It adds the best depth of flavor and contrasts perfectly with the beef broth.
How to Make It
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, egg, milk, onions, garlic, salt, oregano, allspice, nutmeg, and pepper. Gently incorporate the meat until evenly combined.
Roll into 1+ 1/2 inch meatballs and chill for 15 minutes, (or overnight). Brown in batches and set aside.
Melt butter in the same skillet and whisk in flour. Add the sauce mixture (beef broth, chicken bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, and parsley), in small splashes, stirring continuously. Add the sour cream to a medium bowl along with some of the sauce, and stir until combined. Stir it into the skillet.
Add the meatballs back and spoon the sauce on top. Cover partially, and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles!
Using Frozen Meatballs
- Frozen meatballs can be used in a pinch, just note that the allspice and nutmeg seasonings are what give the meatballs themselves that traditional Swedish meatball flavor, consider adding 1/4 tsp. of each to the sauce itself instead.
Make Ahead Method
- Roll out the meatballs, cover, and refrigerate for up to 2 days prior to serving, then follow recipe as outlined.
- You can also flash freeze the uncooked meatballs on a tray for 1 hour. Transfer them to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then follow recipe as outlined.
Pro Tips
- The chicken bouillon in the sauce adds depth of flavor and contrasts nicely with the beef broth. Beef bouillon can be used instead if needed.
- Use full-fat sour cream to ensure that it doesn’t curdle.
- Heavy cream can be used instead of sour cream if preferred.
- Any combination of ground beef, pork, and veal can be used in this recipe.
- 1 + 1/4 lbs. of meat is perfect for fitting in a 12-inch, high-walled skillet.
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Leftovers freeze fairly well, let them thaw prior to reheating.
- Reheat in a makeshift double boiler for best results. Refrain from reheating over heat that is too high, as the sauce can break.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- 3-Quart Stainless Steel Sauté Pan– The same size as pictured in this recipe.
- Small Cookie Scoop– This is perfect for creating perfectly uniform meatballs.
- Box Cheese Grater– For grating the Parmesan cheese.
- Better Than Bouillon– This is what I always use for broth in my recipes. It takes very little space and makes it easy to measure out customized amounts of broth.
Try These Next
-
- Marry Me Chicken
-
- Roasted Pork Tenderloin
-
- Chicken and Gravy
-
- Creamy Chicken Pasta
-
- Baked Ravioli
-
- Chicken Marsala
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Swedish Meatball Recipe
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided in half
- ½ cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated from a wedge
- 1 large egg, whisked
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¾ lb. ground beef, 80% lean
- ½ lb. ground pork
Sauce
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 cube chicken bouillon, see notes
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, can sub mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ cup sour cream, at room temperature
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat ½ of the olive oil in a large, high-walled skillet and add the finely diced onions and garlic. Soften for 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, whisked egg, milk, cooled onions/garlic, salt, oregano, allspice, nutmeg, and pepper. Gently incorporate the meat until evenly combined, but without overworking it (otherwise the meatballs will be tough instead of tender).
- Roll into 1 ½-inch meatballs and place on a plate. (A small cookie scoop makes it easier to roll balls of uniform size.) Transfer to the fridge and let them chill for 15 minutes, or up to overnight. Cover if chilling overnight.
- While the meatballs chill, combine the beef broth, chicken bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, and parsley in a large measuring cup with a spout. Set aside.
- Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Brown the meatballs in batches, leave plenty of room around each so that you can easily rotate them with a spoon to brown on all sides. Brown for about 1 minute per side. Remove and set aside. Add additional oil and/or decrease heat slightly as needed throughout cooking.
- Melt the butter in the same skillet and use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until it begins to brown.
- Add the beef broth mixture in small splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Place the sour cream in a medium bowl. Spoon some of the sauce into the bowl (about ¼ cup), and stir until well-combined. Stir it into the sauce over low heat until incorporated.
- Add the meatballs back to the skillet along with any juices from the plate. Spoon the sauce on top. Allow them to heat through over low heat for 10-15 minutes (or until cooked through), partially covered. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
Notes
- The chicken bouillon in the sauce adds depth of flavor and contrasts nicely with the beef broth. Beef bouillon can be used instead if needed.
- Use full-fat sour cream to ensure that it doesn’t curdle.
- Heavy cream can be used instead of sour cream if preferred.
- Any combination of ground beef, pork, and veal can be used in this recipe.
- 1 + 1/4 lbs. of meat is perfect for fitting in a 12-inch, high-walled skillet.
Storage:
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
- Leftovers freeze fairly well, let them thaw prior to reheating.
- Reheat in a makeshift double boiler for best results. Refrain from reheating over heat that is too high, as the sauce can break.
Nutrition information is an estimate, is per meatball, and includes the sauce. This recipe makes 33 meatballs.
I had a bag of frozen swedish meatballs and just needed a sauce. This was outstanding!! It was easy to make because I had all the ingredients on hand. I served it over egg noodles and it was a big hit. Thank you so much!
Hi Marilyn! I’m so happy that this was the recipe you needed to make use of those meatballs!! I love that you served it over egg noodles, definitely the best way to go! Thank you so much for the review! -Stephanie
I have never made Swedish meatballs before and I was so glad I picked this recipe. They were delicious! My family loved them!
I’m so happy the whole family enjoyed the meatballs Olympia! Nice work! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review😃
OMG, these are delicious! All your recipes are but I just had to comment on these. Worth every single second in the kitchen. My husband is raving about them, they should be “Marry Me Meatballs”, lol.
Hey Barb!! I am soooooo happy that you love the Swedish Meatballs! Can you please tell your husband that “Marry Me Meatballs” is genius?! 😂 Thank you so much for the review!! -Stephanie
These are our favourite!! Just made a batch of 60 so we have them on hand when we want. Despite having made them many times, I’ve just noticed that you sauté the onions and garlic before adding the other ingredients – never noticed that before, must be selective reading! I just throw it all in raw and it’s perfect. Thanks for sharing.
You’re very welcome Mara, I’m so happy you guys are enjoying the meatballs! I usually make a big batch too. I’ll even make some for the freezer which makes an easy weeknight dinner idea with noodles or mashed potatoes. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💖
OMG absolutely delicious!!! I followed the recipe completely except I used ground Turkey for the meatballs, I used A1 sauce because I didn’t have Worcestershire sauce , I did also do the heavy cream substitute, and u didn’t have any nutmeg so I used a dash of cinnamon and ginger. This recipe was perfect!!! Couldn’t ask for anything more!! Will be keeping this in my recipe book😋😋🤤
I’m so happy you liked the meatballs Cash, nice work! Thanks so much for the great comments, happy to hear it earned a spot in the recipe book!😃
Great recipe! First time making, had to do a few slight subs but will definitely be making again. Very tasty, enjoyed with homemade mashed potatoes, steamed greens, and even had some lingonberry spread.
Realized after starting to cook that I didn’t have allspice on hand – used a blend of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves which is similar, but definitely adding allspice to my shopping list.
I chose to use plain yogurt instead of sour cream as I already had, worked great. I also only used chicken (better than bouillon) as I didn’t have beef broth – I’m sure using both would’ve added even more depth to the sauce, but delicious either way. Added some black pepper to the sauce (in addition to the meat) and extra parsley. I expect leftovers to be even better once flavors meld even more!
Nice work Hanna, sounds like you pulled it off! I think you’ll really love the leftovers. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💗
This one tastes good. I used ground turkey instead of pork (husband preference). Next time I will use day old bread crumbs instead of panko. I made this with the exact amount of ingredients listed and it gave me 40 meatballs and plenty of gravy. Will go into regular rotation for meal prep.
Happy to hear you enjoyed it Corrie, thanks for the great review!💖
These look amazing and the sauce is heavenly.
I’m so happy to hear that Patty! Thanks so much for the great comments and review!💖
So easy and excellent!!! Thank you!!
I’m sooo happy to hear that Joan! 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review!! -Stephanie
I am giving 4 stars only because this recipe takes a little time to make. It is delicious and a crowd pleaser. I swapped the onion for 1 tsp of onion powder and the milk for half and half. I needed to make it and take it to a family dinner so I didn’t put the meatballs back in the sauce to cook. Instead I put the whole thing in a crackpot on high for 1 hr and 1/2…then took it to dinner. Worked out great. The sauce takes some time but is worth it!
Hi Julie! I’m glad that you liked the recipe! Meatballs are something that tend to be time consuming no matter what, but if you make these again I think you’d find that it goes a lot quicker- especially the sauce! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Just made a variation of this today. I didn’t have Panko, just plain breadcrumbs. I had to omit the parm cheese, had none. But man, the flavors and sauce are spot on! This was a huge it for my family tonight! Definitely a keeper! Thanks for this amazing recipe!
You’re very welcome Katherine, nice work making tweaks! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!💖
To give a recipe a lesser review because it “takes a little time” to make isn’t right, especially when you go on to say that the time was “worth it”. (SMH.)