Perfect Swedish Meatballs
FYI: The origin of this dish turns out to be Turkish, not Swedish as per an official 2018 tweet off of Sweden’s own national account. Apparently King Charles XII of Sweden, resided in the Ottoman Empire for 4-5 years in the early 18th century. When he returned home to Sweden he brought this recipe back with him.
This dish is also widely popular at all IKEA store cafeterias. I’ve enjoyed it there myself. Well the good news is, you don’t have to go to Turkey, Sweden or Ikea to enjoy these beauties. This recipe is a fantastic and delicious delight.
The meatballs are made with not-your-usual spices consisting of allspice and nutmeg. I also sautéed the chopped onions to sweeten the flavor- you don’t have to though. The sauce is so velvety good with the flavor really kicked up with that combination of a butter rue, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon and heavy cream – CHEF’S KISS!
Serve these silky beauties with some mashed potatoes, rice or egg noodles for optimal sauce pleasure – you wanna enjoy all that glorious sauce. Garnish with fresh parsley and freshly cracked black pepper.
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Perfect Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1/2 onion, fine chop
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 lbs ground pork (or beef)
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground all spice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Sauce:
- 4 tbs butter
- 3 tbs flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
Meatballs:
- Preheat your oven to 400° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Sauté your chopped onion in a little olive oil until just translucent – 2 minutes.
- In a large bowl combine the meatball ingredients with your hands. Form medium sized balls and place onto the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until internal meatball temperature registers 160° F.
Sauce:
- On medium high heat, melt your butter in a pan and add the flour. Continuously whisk until the rue turns brown. Slowly add and whisk in the broth and then heavy cream.
- Next, mix in the Worcestershire and Dijon and bring everything to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook until your sauce thickens, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the cooked meatballs to the pan and continue to simmer for another few minutes, drizzling them with the sauce.
I really liked this dish. It had just the right amount of creaminess and thickness, following the recipe. I doubled it for a potluck and added some All Spice and instead did 3# pork and 1# beef. I premade the meatballs and undercooked them slightly and then froze them, and then on party day I took them out of freezer and popped them into a slow cooker on high for four hours with the sauce I precooked the night before. Added cooked noodles towards the end. Delicious.
Hi Holly, thank you so much for sharing all of your feedback with us! Super helpful! I’m glad you liked the recipe!
Would like to make this for a potluck. How many meatballs does serving for 6 make?
made this tonight for dinner…
quick and easy! no leftovers here. thanks Stella.
Just made tonight. SO GOOD! I only used 1 # ground beef and added more Worcestershire and no cream. The sauce is so silky and delicious without it.
OMG, this was really delicious. That sauce 😍😋
We love these. Only recipe for Swedish meatballs i use.
Very tasty 😋 The sauce was such a great addition!
Amazing!! Delicious meal! Thank you for sharing your recipes with us
Cannot wait to make these! You mentioned Lingonberry jam, do you add that to the sauce? I ordered some so I’m ready to make these this weekend!
HI Linda, sorry for the late reply but you just serve it on the side of the meatballs and kind of dip them in with the sauce…
I used 2 cups of sliced mushrooms in the sauce
Deliciuos!
The meatballs were awesome. I used Ground Beef and fresh garlic. The sauce was subtle and needed to be as the meatballs were packed with flavour. I cooked thick egg noodles to the side. Yummy!
These came out really good. I used beef and half a cup 2% milk and half cup half and half. It still was amazing. Next time ill try all milk.
These were INCREDIBLE and so easy to make- thank you!
So easy to make and super delicious. My husband says they are the best he’s ever had.
Hi Janice ! Sweet!!! Glad you both enjoyed the dish! And again, thanks for the great rating!!
i want your Recipe please that look so Good.