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My favorite recipe for homemade IKEA Swedish meatballs nuzzled in a simple yet creamy brown gravy!
If there was ever a captain of comfort food, it would be these juicy meatballs in the most delicious Swedish meatball sauce.
The creamy gravy is loaded with pan drippings, from cooking the meatballs. A simple roux made with flour and butter, a splash beef broth, and a dollop of sour cream to make this cream and delicious.
I use a secret tip that my mom taught me to make the meatballs extra delicious and so moist. The meatball mixture takes minutes to mix up, then we cook them in a cast iron skillet before me make the creamy sauce in the same skillet.
The sauce starts with a simple roux and the results are truly incredible.
You’ll want to sip that sauce with a spoon!
Wondering if its legal to eat this every single day…..yum YUM:) Paired with egg noodles and large green salad. We didnt touch the salad haha! Thanks for a winner, absolutely delicious.
Ingredients for Sweden-inspired meatballs![]()
- Onion: finely chop the onions so that they basically melt right into the meatballs. I don’t use grated onion because we’ll cook them down in a little butter first.
- Butter: we’ll need butter for both the Swedish meatball sauce and to cook the meatballs in.
- Bread: instead of using breadcrumbs or panko, my recipe calls for bread soaked in milk.
- Lean Ground Beef: we’ll need a little over a pound for the meatballs recipe.
- Egg: You’ll need one egg. The egg acts like a binder in the meatballs recipe.
- Seasonings and spices: you’ll need kosher salt, black pepper, along with ground nutmeg, ground allspice, and garlic powder.
- Oil: we’ll add a little bit to keep the butter from burning in the pan.
- Worcestershire Sauce: adds umami to the recipe
- Flour: used to make a roux for the Swedish meatballs gravy.
- Beef broth: feel free to swap the beef stock or broth for chicken broth.
- Sour Cream: makes the sauce creamy and delicious at the end.
- Yellow Mustard: adds just the right hint of umami.
- Egg noodles or mashed potatoes: of course you can also do orzo, rice, or anything else you prefer for serving.
My secrets to the most tender Swedish Meatballs
I’m using an age-old trick to keep these meatballs nice and tender. This is something I learned from my mom and she from hers. Soak a couple pieces of bread in a 3 tablespoons of milk for a few minutes before adding it to the ground meat mixture. Friend, I’m telling you, not a dry meatball in sight.
How to make the best Swedish meatballs
- Cook the onions. Add a pad of butter to the cast-iron skillet and cook the onions down. This is to draw out the excess moisture. Allow the onions to cool before using them in the meatball mixture.
- Soak the bread. Break the bread into small pieces, add it to a bowl andsplash the milk over top. Allow the bread to soak up the milk for several minutes.
- Make meatballs. Combine the soaked bread, sautéed onions, and the ground beef, egg, seasoning, and mix together to fork the meatball mixture. Divide the ground beef into balls. Place uncooked meatballs on a plate.
- Sear the meatballs. Heat a skillet, drop a little bit of butter and oil and sear the meatballs. Sear all over them remove to a plate.
- Make the sauce. In the same skillet, add the remaining butter and allow it to melt. Season with the flour mixture. And prepare roux. Pour the beef broth in as you whisk to keep it from forming lumps. Whisk in the sour cream on low heat to keep it from curdling.
- Soak in the sauce. season the gravy with garlic powder, mustard, Worchestershire sauce and allow it to come to a gentle simmer. add the meatballs back in and let them soak up the sauce. Serve with your favorite carbs.
if you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Comforting French Onion Meatballs
- Cozy Creamy Chicken Tetrazzini
- Chicken Piccata Meatballs
- Mongolian Beef Meatballs
Seriously Amazing Swedish Meatballs in Brown Gravy
Ingredients
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 2 slices white bread torn into small pieces
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 ¼ pound ground beef 93% lean
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or similar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 ¾ cup beef or chicken broth low sodium
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ – 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes for serving
Instructions
- SAUTE: In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the onions and allow them to soften and become translucent about 3-5 minutes. Remove to a medium bowl and allow them to cool.
- SOAK: In a small bowl, pour the milk over the bread and press down with a spoon or your fingers so that the bread soaks up all the milk, let sit 5 minutes.
- MIX: When the onions have cooled, add the ground beef, bread mixture, an egg, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and allspice to the bowl and mix until just combined. Don't overmix the meat as it will result in tough meatballs. Shape into 18-22 meatballs that are about 1- 1 ¼ inch in diameter.
- SEAR: Heat 1 tablespoon of butter along with oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook for 6-9 minutes, turn every couple of minutes to ensure even browning. Remove to a plate. If you don't have a skillet large enough to hold all the meatballs, do it in batches, do not overcrowd the pan, you don't want them to steam as they won't develop that brown outer crust and as a result, the sauce will be very light in color.
- ROUX: Add the remaining 3 tbsp of butter to the skillet on medium-low heat. Sprinkle the flour in and whisk for 1-2 minutes or until it turns golden brown. Slowly pour the beef broth in while you whisk. Lower the heat, whisk in the sour cream until it dissolves completely.
- GRAVY: Add the garlic powder, a ½ teaspoon of mustard, and Worcestershire sauce and let come to a gentle simmer before lowering the heat. Allow sauce to thicken for 6-10 minutes or until it reaches desired consistency. Taste and adjust with additional mustard as desired. Add meatballs in when there are 4 minutes remaining. Keep in mind the sauce will thicken as it sits, so if you aren't serving right away, consider leaving it a little thinner.
- SERVE: on top of buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes. Top with fresh parsley if desired!
Notes
- Edit: 05/19/2019 some readers have mentioned that they thought the mustard flavor was a little strong in this recipe. The original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons, however, if this is your first time making this recipe, I suggest starting with a ½ teaspoon and then adjusting it as desired, up to 2 teaspoons.
- I’ve only tested the recipe with sour cream so not sure if greek yogurt can be substituted. But really, it’s Swedish meatballs, go with the sour cream, just this once.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
i remember seeing this recipe YEARS ago and not yet having the budget, the skills, nor the time to make it. just made it yesterday and worried over having used too much meat (1kg total, .5 kg each pork and beef) and not having all spice, but it was amazing anyway! the sauce was perfectly luscious, and thank you for the tip on mustard (i used only .5 of wholegrain and i could definitely taste it) and thickening the sauce. will be making this again
I just made this. Excellent cozy food. Great recipe!
YES!! I make the Swedish Meatball/Gravy.
It was really good however I had to make a couple of changes. I used ground turkey as we do not eat red meat. And I used vegetable broth instead of beef broth. Instead of yellow mustard I subbed in 2 teaspoons of dijon mustard for the yellow mustard. The sauce was silky smooth too!! Huge hit at home!
Can I double the sauce?
So good! I added rosemary at the end and I will totally make this again. The only problem is I made enough so I could eat the left overs for lunch and….well we ate it all so no lunch, lol.
You are so correct!
Taste is seriously amazing…definitely a keeper
Does anyone know if you are supposed to drain the grease from the meatballs?
I would think so???
This was my first time making Swedish Meatballs.. this recipe was simple & easy! I had all the ingredients in my home already, which is always nice! I’ll definitely be making it again! The only thing I’ll likely do differently when I make it again is that I’d swap the yellow mustard for Dijon or maybe even a spicy or brown mustard. I served mine over buttered egg noodles & topped with Parmesan cheese.. my whole family enjoyed it
Delicious! Added mushrooms sautéed in fresh garlic butter to the sauce and white pepper, and the original 2 teaspoons of mustard was perfect. I did a mix of French’s, Grey Poupon, and Coleman’s. Thank you!
I’ve been wanting to try making Swedish Meatballs for some time now. So, after reviewing several different recipes, I decided on this one. My family loved these! Will definitely be making these again!!
This is my third time cycling back to this recipe and now because my son has requested it for his “special birthday dinner!” Thank you for sharing!
I don’t have all spice. Will they still be delicious without it?
The Swedish Meatballs were wonderful…a big hit with my family. This was my third recipe that I have tried from your site..all of them have been delicious. With what looks like a long winter of lockdown up here in Canada ….I am sure I will trying more recipes.
Hi Ruth, I am so glad to hear the recipe was a hit with your family! I hope these recipes keep you extra cozy in these uncertain times. Appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment 🙂
Excellent recipe. I used GF potato bread. The balls were struggling to stay together at first and I needed to cook in the gravy a bit longer (I made them too big and needed to cook them through) but end result was awesome. Thank you!
Update for those asking about greek yogurt substitution:
I tried it and wouldn’t suggest it! There’s already so much tang (for lack of a better word) from the muster and Worcestershire sauce that it is crazy overkill (and I just did two spoonfuls).
Just go with the sour cream like she says!
Heading to the grocery store and have questions about the bread!
1. Does it need to be white bread?
2. How small of pieces do you tear bread into? (I’ve never made meatballs before). I feel like they’d have to be really small as to not get huge chunks in each meatball.
3. I’m guessing where it says to add “bread mixture,” you don’t pour excess milk, just the soggy bread into bowl. Correct?
3. Are you mixing with mixer or hands?
Hi Collette! Glad to hear you’re giving these a try! You can use whole wheat bread or gluten-free bread as well, so far everything I’ve tried has worked. You want the pieces to be small, anything between 1/2 – 1 inch. The bread will soak up all of the milk, you shouldn’t have any milk left at the bottom of the bowl, if you do, discard. I suggest mixing it with your hands! You don’t want to overmix the meat mixture, or the meatballs will come out dry. Hope that helps clarify things 🙂
Thank you!!!!
I am making a full stereo size tray of Swedish meatballs. Can you send me a recipe for the gravy to cover all these balls. I need it by Thursday of this week. The 15th.
I didn’t have sour cream but I did happen to have buttermilk and that was the perfect substitute.
Everyone really likes this recipe. I would definitely make it again and still use the buttermilk as a substitute for sour cream.
Deee-licious!! I used half ground turkey and half ground chuck because of dietary needs and used only one teaspoon of mustard….it was AWESOME!! (and we DID want to “slurp the gravy through a straw”) Thank you so much!!
Hi Denise! So glad to hear you enjoyed it. Love that you made it your own with the ground turkey/beef mix! Thanks for sharing 🙂