Amazing Swedish Meatballs in Creamy Gravy

Name: Amazing Swedish Meatballs in Creamy Gravy
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1/2 pound ground beef; 1/2 pound ground pork (can substitute all ground beef); 1/4 cup Panko; 3 tablespoons parsley (fresh, chopped ); 1 teaspoon nutmeg; 1 teaspoon allspice; 1/3 cup onion (grated); 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder; 1 egg; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon pepper; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 5 tablespoons butter; 4 tablespoons flour; 2 cups beef broth; 1 cup heavy cream; 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce; 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (I use whole grain Dijon); salt and pepper (to taste)

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Amazing Swedish Meatballs in Creamy Gravy are just about the easiest dish to emerge from your kitchen.

In all honesty, I am unsure which part my family likes more, my meatball recipe or my meatball sauce. I combine a couple cups beef broth with Worcestershire and heavy cream to arrive at this velvety and absolutely delicious level of comfort.

featured image for Swedish Meatballs In Creamy Gravy

All images and text ©Jenny DeRemer for Not Entirely Average, LLC

What Is A Quick And Delicious Ground Beef Recipe?

Why these Amazing Swedish Meatballs In Creamy Gravy of course! These perfectly browned little nuggets of yum are tender and juicy and brimming with beef-y deliciousness.

This recipe is among my KEY CORNERSTONE CONTENT RECIPES on this entire website. Why? It is easy, made in practically no time at all, uses ground beef or ground pork or a combination, and any leftover gravy or sauce is amazing served over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

And the best part is, you do not need to be a wiz in the kitchen to pull this SERIOUSLY AMAZING MEATBALL DISH off. All you really need is my method for Amazing Swedish Meatballs in Creamy Gravy.

a copper chafer with Swedish Meatballs In Creamy Gravy

This Amazing Swedish Meatballs in Creamy Gravy recipe is quick enough for a weeknight meal, but is also impressive enough to serve to dinner guests. And tonight, oh no, here it comes…more comfort food…

I am pairing my Amazing Swedish Meatballs in Creamy Gravy with my Crazy Good French Onion Noodle Casserole.

This is one of those easy one dish recipes that just ‘clicks’ with my meatballs recipe. A silky combination of sour cream, melted butter, and onion soup mix over egg noodles and topped off with crispy French fried onions.

See why they just go together now? I boil my noodles while I shape the meatballs and then fry the meatballs while the casserole is in the oven. Does not get any easier, and you’ll be thankful for the leftovers.

What You’ll Need To Make Amazing Swedish Meatballs In Creamy Gravy

ground beef
ground pork (not pork sausage)
panko breadcrumbs
fresh parsley
nutmeg
allspice
onion
garlic powder
eggs
Kosher salt
black pepper
olive oil
unsalted butter
all purpose flour
beef broth
heavy cream
Worcestershire sauce
whole grain Dijon mustard

This method for Amazing Swedish Meatballs in Creamy Gravy just may be the best recipe for Swedish meatballs outside of Sweden…

How This Recipe Came About…

So, I should begin by stating that this is very close to the traditional dish that you would order off a menu in Sweden. Yes, I am for real.

Traditional Swedish meatballs are almost always a combination of meats, mainly beef and pork, and are served up in a delicious creamy gravy.

The gravy, or sauce, is kind of like something between brown gravy and that which you’d find in the American South, a creamy white gravy.

Swedish meatballs in sauce are also commonly served with a side of lingonberry jam, a condiment that tastes an awful lot like cranberry sauce.

How To Make Swedish Meatballs?

Swedish meatball recipes are all over the internet. Most are very similar, all but for the spices that I incorporate directly into the meat mixture. Bold nutmeg and sweet-scented allspice balance everything in addition to salt and pepper.

AND, I make a point to dust the final product very lightly with a combination of the two just before serving. To me, the nutmeg and the allspice are what breathe life into these beautiful little meatballs with sauce.

And the Swedish meatball sauce or gravy? I know I will be asked if it can be made without heavy cream or with sour cream, or even cream of mushroom soup. The answer is probably, but not here.

close up of raw meatballs about to be cooked

What is a good side dish to eat with Swedish meatballs?

Swedish meatballs sauce with cream of mushroom soup or Swedish meatball sauce with sour cream is unnecessarily heavy in my opinion.

If you are serving with traditional egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or with my Crazy Good French Onion Noodle Casserole, don’t weigh down these two-bite gems with anything dense.

Think of it this way; the meatballs are the stars, the sauce is the supporting cast.

Can I Use Frozen Meatballs To Make Swedish Meatballs?

Gonna again go with ‘no’ here. Again, it comes down to the spices and also the grated onion.

I can pretty much promise you that no packaged frozen meatballs are going to give you what is necessary to call these ‘Swedish meatballs,’ and certainly not Amazing Swedish Meatballs in Creamy Gravy.

Why Must I Use Unsalted Butter Only To Turn Around And Add Worcestershire Sauce?

I made Swedish meatballs using this very Swedish meatballs recipe about twenty years ago for the first time. You might say that I was not necessarily confident in the kitchen back then, and surprised myself a bit.

There is a rule of thumb I use for salting food. I cook with unsalted butter and generally unsalted stock. I add Worcestershire a teaspoon at a time to taste. Why?

Worcestershire isn’t just salt, it’s UMAMI. It gets you to where you need to go with seasoning WAY FASTER and WAY TASTIER then salt.

Can I Make Swedish Meatballs In A Crock Pot?

It was October and already frigid in New Jersey. I busted out my slow cooker once these little meatballs were prepared and used it to keep the sauce and meatballs hot.

And while Swedish meatballs in the crockpot were good, I still think I prefer to make them from scratch to avoid drying them out. Easy Swedish meatballs, with just the littlest bit of planning, are easier than one might think.