So you're probably asking yourself - who is Omi and are her Swedish Meatballs as good as Ikea's? Let me tell you...
Well, Omi is my mom's mom!! She's responsible for MANY of our favorite recipes here on WGC and in my cookbooks and YES THESE SWEDISH MEATBALLS ARE ABSOLUTELY as good as Ikea's, if not better! Thank you very much and apologies for yelling! They just bring back mega memories of childhood and I'm very excited!
You know those fried potatoes in book 3 - those are hers!! And that green bean salad in book 2 - Omi gets full credit!! Her recipes are packed with flavor but simple and not complicated! The woman had 3 kids to feed back when they were all living at home, she needed max flavor without crazy long prep times. So today, you're getting her version of Swedish Meatballs!
Anya (my sister) and I used to BEG her to make these every time she would come visit or we'd go visit her! They are hands down one of my top 10 favorite recipes from childhood and you guys will be obsessed.
Most Swedish Meatballs are a combo of ground beef and ground pork. I know that many of you don't eat pork or just never have it on hand, so you'll notice the recipe below only calls for ground beef. But if you're into the pork, DO IT! Just do a 50/50 split of ground beef to ground pork and you'll get even more flavor!
And the creamy gravy sauce - omg. It's so simple and perfect. Starts with a little roux and gets finished with some heavy cream (whole fat milk would work too) and beef broth. It's creamy and delicious and PERFECT for dunking the meatballs in to make them extra flavorful. Swedish Meatballs coming in hot!! Enjoy!
Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 ½ lbs ground beef (alternatively you can use ¾ lb ground beef and ¾ lb ground pork if you want to use pork)
- ¾ cup bread crumbs (I prefer panko)
- ½ cup chopped yellow onion
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 beef boullion cube
- ½ cup hot water
For the Gravy
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 cup heavy cream (or full fat milk)
- 1 cup beef stock or broth
- parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Combine the ground beef, bread crumbs, onion, milk, egg, worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper and let sit for 15 minutes. Then shape into balls - a little smaller than a golf ball.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and brown the meatballs on all sides until golden.
- Dissolve the bouillon cube in the hot water and pour over the meat and continue to cook until meatballs are browned. Remove the meatballs from the pan to a clean plate and set aside. The liquid will be mostly evaporated at this point any remnants, don't worry about.
- Melt the butter in the same skillet and add the flour and stir to combine. Cook until the flour is evenly combined and golden brown, about 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in heavy cream and beef broth and cook until mixture thickens, about 3-4 minutes. Nestle back in the meatballs and simmer together for a few minutes before serving. Garnish with parsley and serve solo or alongside any sort of egg noodle or rice.
So so good! There's even room to thin the sauce out for a little extra drizzle over noodles. Everyone loved this!
I made these meatballs with ground turkey and served them over mash potatoes: delicious. Thank you.
Can you freeze the meatballs before cooked or after at all? Or should you just half the recipe if I’m not able to eat all of it that day
you can freeze before cooking no prob
This was truly delicious and so so easy! I have a picky eater in the family and they loved it. I've added this to my weekly dinner rotation!
Recipe was easy to make and DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing!
I made these for dinner tonight using beef and pork. So good!!! My husband loved it too. Easy to make and on the table in no time. Can't wait to make it again. Thank you!
Can I sub almond flour for the breadcrumb?
haven't tested it that way so can't say for sure! please report back if you do! xoxo
These meatballs are UH-MA-ZING! One zillion stars. Seems like a lot of ingredients at first glance, but had most on hand. Easy peasy and SO delicious. YUM.
Do I have to use the bouillon cube?
you can omit but it packs a lot of flavor
Just made your Swedish Meatballs exactly as written, it was absolutely delicious. I could literally drink the sauce. Thank you so much for a great recipe!!
Just love these!! And need to make them more often!!!
No cardamom or nutmeg in the recipe?
not in this one!
Approximately what size should the meatballs be?
the size of a golf ball!
Funny. I come from a Swedish family and haven’t made these in years. Sounds really good. Thanks for the memories.
Hi Gaby,
I will definitely will be making these Swedish meatballs. I was wondering if you have a good recipe for the red cabbage that sometimes these meatballs are served with.
Thank you for this recipe!
Have a great week.
Lucy