Swedish Meat Balls With Pork and Beef

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This Easy Swedish Meatballs recipe is made with ground beef, pork, breadcrumbs and a savory cream sauce. I love serving these tender meatballs over mashed potatoes for a hearty dinner idea!

Looking for more meatball recipes? Try these Baked Italian Meatballs!

Pouring Cream Sauce over Swedish Meatballs

Easy Swedish Meatballs with Sauce

This meatball recipe uses traditional Swedish spices and the creamiest homemade gravy sauce ever. It makes a great holiday party appetizer or weeknight dinner for your family. The breadcrumbs in these meatballs keep them moist and tender, and they taste so good over freshly mashed potatoes!

Serve with a little cranberry or loganberry jam to make your own IKEA dinner at home! It's one of our favorites for an easy family dinner idea. Everyone cleans their plates!

A Plate of Swedish Meatballs, Potatoes and Green Beans

What Makes Meatballs Swedish?

Swedish meatballs are like the meatballs you know and love, but better. They're made with beef, pork, onions, warm spices and a classic Swedish meatball sauce. These meatballs are super popular in Sweden and became popular in the states thanks to IKEA. Now you can make them at home!

What You'll Need

These are the most flavorful meatballs you'll ever make! Make sure you have these ingredients:

For the Meatballs

Ground Beef
Ground Pork
Yellow Onion: Finely dice your onion before you begin making the meatballs.
Minced Garlic
Panko Breadcrumbs
An Egg: To prepare your egg for this recipe, lightly beat it in a small dish.
Whole Milk
Salt & Pepper
Allspice
Olive Oil: The oil will be used to fry your meatballs to perfection!

For the Cream Sauce

Unsalted Butter
All-purpose Flour
Beef Broth: This will give your sauce an explosion of savory flavor.
Heavy Cream: Sour cream also works for this recipe.
Worcestershire Sauce: You could opt for low-sodium soy sauce instead, if desired.
Dijon Mustard
Salt & Pepper

For Serving

Fresh Parsley: To add a pretty garnish to your dish, sprinkle some fresh parsley overtop the meatballs.
Mashed Potatoes

How to Make Swedish Meatballs

Make Meatball Mixture: In a large bowl, combine ground beef and pork. Mix in all the other meatball ingredients by hand, except for the olive oil, until well combined.

Shape Meatballs: Using a cookie scoop or your hands, shape the mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls. Place them on a clean platter, cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes, if possible – this helps them retain their round shape when cooking.

Uncooked Swedish Meatballs Assembled on a Baking Sheet

Fry Meatballs: In a large non-stick skillet, warm the olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in two batches to avoid overcrowding, add meatballs and cook, turning continuously until browned on all sides and cooked through, about 5-6 minutes. Repeat with the remaining meatballs. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.

Swedish Meatballs in a Skillet with Olive Oil

Start Making Cream Sauce: Add the butter to the skillet and once melted, whisk in the flour. Stir to combine and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute until no lumps remain and flour just begins to brown.

Complete Cream Sauce: Slowly whisk in the beef broth and then the heavy cream. Whisk in the soy sauce and mustard; bring to a simmer, then turn down the heat to a gentle simmer and let the sauce thicken, stirring constantly, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Continue Cooking Meatballs: Add the meatballs back to the skillet and simmer for another 3 minutes to finish cooking and warm through.

Serve and Enjoy: Serve your meatballs and cream sauce over mashed potatoes with a sprinkle of parsley.

Tips for Perfect Swedish Meatballs

Refrigerate Meatballs Before Cooking: If you have time, throw your meatballs in the fridge for 30 minutes before you fry them. This will keep them from falling apart or flattening while they cook.
Don't Make Meatballs Too Large: If you make your meatballs thicker than 1 1/2 inches, it will be difficult to cook them evenly.
Avoid Crowding the Pan: It's a good idea to separate your meatballs into batches. They won't cook right if you stuff them all into your skillet at once.
Turn Meatballs as They Cook: In order to get your meatballs nice and brown all around, make sure you turn them constantly as you fry them.

Serving Suggestions

You don't have to serve your meatballs over mashed potatoes if you don't want to. There are so many amazing ways to serve them – they even taste great by themselves! Here are some more ideas for what to make them with:

Vegetables: Meat and veggies will never get old. Serve your meatballs with my easy Veggie Spring Rolls for a healthy, well-balanced meal.
Mac and Cheese: I'm a huge fan of homemade macaroni and cheese. Who isn't? These meatballs taste so good with my Homemade Mac & Cheese Recipe. It only takes 15 minutes to make!
Risotto: Serve these meatballs over a bowl of this easy Sweet Corn Risotto for the ultimate comfort food dinner idea.
On a Platter: If you're making these meatballs as an appetizer, drizzle them with your cream sauce and place a toothpick into each one. They'll be just like meatball cake pops!

A Pot of Swedish Meatballs Beside a Plate of Mashed Potatoes

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you want your meatballs to last longer, keep them in the freezer and they'll stay good for up to 3 months! Just remember to thaw them out in the fridge before reheating them.

To reheat your meatballs, simply cook them in the oven at 350°F until they're heated all the way through.

Yield: 8 servings

Easy Swedish Meatballs with Creamy Sauce

A Dinner Plate with Swedish Meatballs and Cream Sauce

These Easy Swedish Meatballs are made with ground beef, pork, breadcrumbs and a savory cream sauce. They're served over mashed potatoes for a hearty and flavorful dinner recipe!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes