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.
Tried these and absolutely loved them! Making them again today ! ☺️☺️
Hi Shanice, That’s awesome! These are some of my faves too! Enjoy…
Made this last night – so amazing!! Bonus, loads of leftovers for lunch and tasted just as good re-heated the next day.
Hi Ashley! Love these meatballs too! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment and rate – much appreciated!!
I just made these and they were AMAZING! So delicious! Everyone in the family loved them
Hi Eva,
Thank you for taking the time to rate and comment! I’m so happy you and your family enjoyed them!
Absolutely DELICIOUS!! Is there a calorie count??
Thank you for taking the time to comment! I will update that now. Cheers!
halved the recipe and it turned out great! saving this one 🙂
I have to admit, I added a bit of horseradish mustard to the gravy and it turned out wonderful… thank you! This is a keeper…
Hi Sandy,
I love the addition of the horseradish mustard – sounds delicious! Will have to try it..
I made this dish twice already and it is absolutely amazing. I have shared this recipe with friends as a must try because it’s that good.
SO happy you loved them! And thank you so much for sharing the recipe with your friends.. Much appreciated!
Wow amazing
Thank you so much Sharon!
Love it
Perfect! Happy you enjoyed!
These were AMAZING. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I made with egg noodles, sauce was perfect consistency and the meatballs came out moist and full of flavor. Added to rotation!
Hi Ashlyn,
Thanks for the feedback and great job cooking the dish!<3
Made this tonight for my family. They LOVED it!!! Thank you so much for the great recipe! I’m excited to try some of your others.❤️
That’s fantastic to read! So happy you all enjoyed the dish! And thank you for taking the time to comment and rate the dish!
Can you substitute beef for chicken or turkey? On both the the broth and meat?
I haven’t tried it yet, but I think it definitely would work here!
This looks good I’ll be making it soon
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Just made this today. Oh my! Fantastic! Definitely a keeper. Thank you for all your recipes. I can’t get enough.
Thank you so much for leaving a comment! Beautiful… I’m very happy you enjoyed the dish!
Making these tomorrow night. They look delicious!!
Thank you! You are going to love them!
This looks so good! Putting on my meal plan for the week
Thank you very much! You will LOVE them!