In this simple recipe for Swedish meatballs, tender meatballs are suffocated by a delicious, thick gravy. Serve with rice, noodles or potatoes!
I’ve been making recipes for over a decade and it’s easy in my family’s 10 favorite meals! So delicious!
Swedish Meatball Variety
have many Changes in Swedish Meatball Recipes on the Internet. Some use ground pork or ground beef or combinations. Nutmeg or spice powder is usually added, and other recipes don’t use these spices at all. The seasonings are as diverse as meatballs! Thin or thick, creamy or dark.
My Swedish Meatballs recipe leads to the most delicious, tenderest meatballs swimming in a delicious, thick brown gravy. They are so nice.
Meatball Mixture is a simple ingredient combination:
- Ground beef or ground pork (or combination – even Türkiye works well)
- Bread crumbs
- Grated onion
- A hint of brown sugar, spiced powder and nutmeg
- Egg
- milk
- Salt and pepper
Cooked meatballs in a frying pan
The meatballs and sauce are made in a skillet. You can use a 12-inch non-stick or cast iron skillet. However, I found that I often make this recipe in a trusted electric skillet {aff. Related}.
It’s big enough to cook all the meatballs in a single batch. 🙌🏼I almost completely put this skillet on this recipe. (Well, this is a fried rice with ham.)
Here is the process of whipping these Swedish meatballs:
- Make meatballs.
- Brown the meatballs in a skillet and move them to a plate.
- Make a simple roux and beat eggs in broth to make the bottom of the sauce.
- Add the meatballs and simmer slowly until the meatballs are cooked and the sauce thickens.
- Add sour cream.
How to serve traditional Swedish meatballs
Traditionally, Swedish meatballs are also served with mashed potatoes, Lingonberry jam and often marinated cucumbers.
Jam and cucumber may sound like a weird combination, but both have a rich, fresh flavor and balance the richness of meatballs, gravy and potatoes. This is a successful combination!
However (Swedish Meatball Pulpitian, look)…
I rarely have Lingonberry Jam and Cucumbers together. So, in our family, we often enjoy this meal in an easier way: meatballs, sauces, potatoes and simple green vegetables.
Suitable life lessons: Don’t postpone this crazy meal without some more traditional components. It can be enjoyed in many different ways!
Favorite
This Swedish Meatball Recipe for Skilled Swedish is the time we have more time to make dinner, which is one of our top choice meals and over the years many of my kids have requested it as a birthday dinner.
This is a great compliment considering that we accept birthday meal requests Very Seriously. 😉
This recipe is an absolute tried and tested favorite. We’ve been loving it for over 10 years! There is no doubt that this will be passed down from generation to generation.
Be sure to read the recipes and comments for additional tips and insights!
Some other good reviews
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ These are delicious! tasty! My mom is Swedish, so I can prove that these pass the test! Add it to my favorite recipe. Thanks Mel! I feel like every recipe I try is a winner! -tammy
These are the meals my kids need most right now. I used sour cream with double cream yogurt (just because I always put it in the refrigerator) and it worked very well. Delicious spaetzle! ! ! -lauren
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I have done it many times. This is a family favorite of all time. I usually have to double it so we’re left with it. -Kelley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you Thank you. This was my first victory with my teenage son in a few weeks. He loved the dish and everyone liked to include me because it was delicious and easy. -jeri
Swedish Meatballs in Frying Pan
meatball:
- 1½ pound Ground pork, ground beef or Türkiye (see comments)
- 1 Big egg
- ¼ cup milk
- ⅓ cup Breadcrumbs (see comments)
- ¼ cup Chopped or grated onions
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Ground nutmeg (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon Ground green (see comments)
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- 1-2 Spoon Cooking oil
Sauce:
- 1 Spoon butter
- 1 Spoon olive oil
- ¼ cup All-purpose flour
- 3 cup Low-sodium beef soup
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- Chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley
- Cooked egg noodles, mashed potatoes or rice for consumption
Prevent the screen from becoming dark
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For meatballs, In a large bowl, mix all the meatball ingredients together, except the oil, and mix until well combined.
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Place the meat mixture oop into meatballs about 1 1/2 inch in diameter.
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Heat 12-inch, non-stick pan or electric frying pan over medium heat, heat the oil until burst.
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Add the meatballs to the pan, one layer about or so. Depending on the size of the pot, you may need to cook in batches. (*Notes about how to bake the oven.)
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Brown meatballs are in all directions. They will finish cooking in a later step. Move the meatballs to a pot or plate. Repeat the remaining meatballs if needed to add more oil to the skillet. Once browned, remove them from the skillet.
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For the sauce Return the skillet to medium heat and add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil. If the skillet is mostly dry before adding the butter and oil, you may need to add another tablespoon or two tablespoons of butter or oil so the sauce won’t be chunky. Heat until melted. Add the flour and cook, stirring continuously for 1-2 minutes.
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Slowly add the broth, just 1/2 cup at a time, stirring quickly to remove any clumps. Let each add broth cook until thicker, then add the next bit. After adding about 2 cups, add the remaining broth and stir until combined.
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Add brown sugar and bring the sauce to the immer and stir constantly.
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Pour the meatballs back into the skillet and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the meatballs are cooked, turning them over once or twice while cooking.
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Set the heat and stir the sour cream into the sauce (just stir around the meatballs). To help it blend more easily, you can put some warm sauce into a bowl and stir in the sour cream before adding it all to the skillet.
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Garnish with fresh or dried parsley and serve on hot cooked egg noodles, potatoes or rice.
Bread crumbs: You can use a variety of bread crumbs here: Panko, store-made, homemade, and more.
Nutmeg and spice powder: Nutmeg and spice powder add a delicious flavor to the meatballs; however, they can be reduced to every crevicle or completely missed.
Sauce: If you want the sauce to be slightly thicker, add the flour.
Oven method: Place the rolled meatballs on a greased baking sheet lined with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes until cooked. While the meatballs are cooked, place the sauce in a pot on the stove. Immediately add cooked meatballs to the sauce from the oven and serve (or keep them warm until served).
Serve: 1 Served (about 3 meatballs),,,,, Calories: 296KCAL,,,,, carbohydrate: 12g,,,,, protein: 31g,,,,, Fatty: 14g,,,,, Saturated fat: 5g,,,,, cholesterol: 105mg,,,,, sodium: 983mg,,,,, fiber: 1g,,,,, sugar: 3g
Recipe source: From Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (inspired by several recipes online – Cook’s illustrations and damn delicious – there are a lot of changes with my own ingredients and methods to simplify the process and also reduce the butter/oil sauce.
Recipes were originally published in April 2015; new photos, recipe notes, etc. were updated in March 2025
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