Easy Swedish Meatballs
There’s nothing better than homemade meatballs and my version of Swedish Meatballs is the ultimate comfort food. Bathed in the BEST Swedish Meatball Sauce that’s a rich, creamy gravy and perched on a pile of buttery egg noodles, these are WAY better than IKEA!
Swedish Meatballs
IKEA. That place stresses me out. If you haven’t been to an IKEA, let me take you on a little visual tour. The place is gigantic….like an insanely huge warehouse filled with 25 or more of your very own dream rooms.
When you walk in, you’re greeted by the biggest petri dish on the planet….the kids playroom. Complete with ball pit. If you know, you know.
Head upstairs on the escalator and you weave through a maze like arrangement of modernly decorated mini abodes. Like room after room is a perfectly showcased urban oasis that you could just pull a tag off the wall and, basically, buy the whole room.
Next up, accessories….tons of them, like a sea of plate, posters, and fuzzy rugs. And finally….the cafeteria….with their famous Swedish Meatballs…which are really good but not as good as mine. They make the whole journey through this sea of home decor almost worth it.
This is the end of the tour….let’s whip up some meatballs, shall we?
What Are Swedish Meatballs
Unlike Italian Meatballs that are stuffed with garlic, parmesan and Italian seasoning, Swedish Meatballs are made with spices like nutmeg and allspice. They’re then cooked in a rich, brown gravy that’s velvety smooth.
How to Make Swedish Meatballs
This easy Swedish Meatball recipe is super simple to make in less than 30 minutes. The Swedish Meatball sauce recipe is just a basic pan sauce that is made flavorful with the drippings and brown bits from the meatballs themselves.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat.
- Add the onions to the pan and cook until softened. Allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, milk, onion, salt, pepper, nutmeg and allspice until combined.
- Form the mixture into 1 inch balls.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet over medium heat and add the meatballs to the pan.
- Saute the meatballs until golden brown on all sides, about 7-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to a platter.
- Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet and return to the heat.
- Add the flour to the pan and whisk until golden brown, approximately 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the beef stock and whisk until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Whisk in the cream and continue to cook until the gravy is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Return the meatballs to the pan and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Serve over egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes.
These Swedish Meatballs are really easy to make and come together pretty quickly. I like to pile them high on a mountain of buttered egg noodles tossed with a bit of chopped parsley. The blend of the two together is like nothing else.
What to Serve with Swedish Meatballs
Other than a pile of buttery egg noodles as the best thing to serve with these easy Swedish Meatballs, these are a few more of our favorites:
- The VERY BEST Mashed Potatoes EVER!
- Super Cheesy Potatoes au Gratin
- Make it low carb with Cauliflower Rice
- Brown Butter Peas with Mint
- Easy Sour Cream and Chive Mashed Potatoes
More Easy Meatball Recipes
And homemade meatballs are always better….like THESE meatballs.…people will be begging you to make these week after week. So…just add them to your weekly meal plan now. And maybe these meatballs too, they were famous on Facebook last week and THESE Chicken Marsala Meatballs are amazing, too. Pretty epic, actually.
Get the Recipe: Simple Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 cups beef stock
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add the onions to the pan and cook until softened. Allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, egg, bread crumbs, milk, onion, salt, pepper, nutmeg and allspice until combined. Form the mixture into 1 inch balls.
- Heat the remaining olive oil in the skillet over medium heat and add the meatballs to the pan. Saute the meatballs until golden brown on all sides, about 7-10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the meatballs to a platter. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet and return to the heat. Add the flour to the pan and whisk until golden brown, approximately 1-2 minutes. Slowly add the beef stock and whisk until the sauce begins to thicken. Whisk in the cream and continue to cook until the gravy is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Return the meatballs to the pan and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Serve over egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes.
36 Comments on “Easy Swedish Meatballs”
I love Swedish meatballs! Growing up it was one of my favorite meals. I love the simplicity of these and that gravy is perfection!
Since I am of Norwegian descent I call them Norwegian meatballs…the recipe is the same. They are delicious!
Thank you for the tidbit! 🙂
I used to eat these all the time growing up and I have never been able to find a recipe that is close to my mom’s. This is going to be the one, I can just feel it! What great Winter comfort food!
These look so tasty. Just the kind of simply. homey dinner I love when it’s cold and raining.
Me too. Thanks, Susan!
I didn’t know that my favorite Ikea treat were this easy!! Best day!
Neither did I…until I tackled it! Now if I can figure out how to build cabinetry in the swedish style. 🙂
My family always got the frozen meatballs from Ikea when I was younger– we loved them! BUT I have a feeling that yours taste a million x better! That first picture had my mouth watering immediately! I can’t wait to try these! Pinned!
Thank you, Stacey! We used to get the frozen too…not anymore! 🙂
These look so good! Gorgeous lighting in your photographs!
Thanks so much, Lauren!
Swedish Meatballs are soooo freaking delicious. I tend to buy the little mix from IKEA. I know. Lazy. Now I’ll be trying it from scratch at home 🙂
I love Swedish Meatballs and can’t wait to try your version! I can totally relate to your feelings about IKEA. We moved our son into a new apartment in a new city recently and spent (way too much) time in IKEA – very stressful place.
Hahahaha! I had to laugh at your very accurate descriptions of IKEA. I am a huge fan of the place. My hubby and I just went on Friday and packed a mini van full of home and office furniture. I’m pretty sure he won’t let me go back for many, many years after that one! Those meatballs there get me every time! I love making them at home too, but I’ll have to try this version for sure. They look amazing!!!
Just don’t serve them over noodles or rice. Plain boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes, that’s what swedish people eat. It’ would be like putting Bolognese with rice…
Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing either…..sometimes it’s good to break the “rules.” 🙂
I’m with you, the thought of IKEA beings on anxiety but their meatballs (and $1 ice cream cones) get me every time. All about making my own at home instead 🙂
I love Swedish meatballs! My mom used to make them when I was a child and serve them with simple noodles and it was my favorite comfort food. I don’t make them nearly as often as I should but definitely need to try this recipe soon!
These are delicious and easy! I tweeked the sauce just a bit, added a dash of season salt, two tablespoons of lite sour cream and healthy dose of Marsala. Wicked good!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Deb! Thanks so much for visiting and sharing your spin on one of my favorite dinners!!!
These look great! And I LOVE IKEA!!!!!!!!
Thank you!
I’ll be trying it…….As soon as I can! !!
You will love!
Made this for dinner last night and had smiling faces all around our dinner table! Delicious!
So glad you loved it! It’s our favorite….on repeat for weeks now.
These are the best Swedish meatballs! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much!
I absolutely love swedish meatballs! Thank you for a delicious recipe!
And now I’m hungry for meatballs! These will be a hit with my boys!
These are so good! I love meatballs and the sauce with these are amazing!
We had your meatballs for lunch today; SO GOOD. Just the perfect comfort food; it’s been gloomy, gray and rainy here for days and this meal seemed to perk us up. Thank you for sharing. It was easy to make and just the right flavor combo. Served with noodles (hubbys favorite side). Yummy.
I’m so glad you loved them!
So sorry you hate IKEA (correctly pronounced E-kay-ya, if you’re Swedish, which my mamma is and I was raised there and that’s my native tongue.)
One major problem with your “Swedish” meatball recipe: The meat is incorrect. To make a correct Swedish meatball calls for ground beef, ground pork, and ground veal. Also, Swedish meatballs are always served with boiled red skinned potatoes (not egg noodles, pasta is an Italian thing, not Scandinavian,) as well as Ligonberry. Anything other than this is the typical American wanna- be. It’s fine to do it, just don’t call it Svenske. Tack så mycket.
Thank you for your meatball lesson! I do try to stay authentic but many americans don’t like veal so I also try to make it adaptable for everyone. I love the boiled red skinned potatoes with the meatballs but growing up we always had egg noodles and that’s why they’re served this way. The beauty of cooking is you can take a recipe you love and make it your own but I do understand they are not authentic. Thank you again for your comment!