Swedish Meatballs
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A cocktail party classic that doubles as an easy weeknight dinner, Swedish meatballs are always a crowd-pleaser.
Swedish meatballs are those tender, savory little meatballs made with a mix of beef and pork, all simmered in a rich, creamy sauce that’s pure comfort. A little retro in the best way, they were once a cocktail-party staple and are still a total crowd-pleaser—especially when served for dinner over mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles for a comforting, family-friendly meal.
This version, inspired by Cook’s Illustrated, has that signature tender, slightly springy texture that sets great Swedish meatballs apart. The trick is mixing the meatball mixture in an electric mixer, along with a surprising ingredient: baking powder. It might sound unconventional, but it makes a real difference. And if you don’t have a stand mixer, no worries—mixing by hand works just fine.
“Made these on Christmas Eve and I can say they have instantly become a new tradition.”
What You’ll Need To Make Swedish Meatballs
- For the meatballs: Ground beef and pork, eggs, cream-soaked white bread, garlic, warm spices (allspice and black pepper), salt, and a little baking powder for a tender, springy texture.
- For the sauce: Butter, flour, chicken broth, brown sugar, cream, soy sauce, lemon juice, and black pepper—finished with fresh parsley for serving.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the meatball mixture. Place the cubes of bread in a small bowl. Whisk together the eggs and cream, and add to the cubed bread. Mash with a fork until the bread is dissolved into the liquid. Next, combine the ground pork, garlic, baking powder and spices in the bowl of an electric mixer and whip until the mixture is smooth and pale. Add the egg/cream mixture and beat until smooth, then add the ground beef. Mix again until just combined.
Step 2: Form and bake the meatballs. Using moistened hands, form the mixture into meatballs and place on a rack over a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes, until lightly browned. At this point, the meatballs can be refrigerated for 1 day or frozen for up to 3 months.
Step 3: Make the sauce. Melt the butter in a large skillet, then whisk in the flour. Add the chicken broth and brown sugar. Cook for about ten minutes, until slightly thickened and reduced, then add the cream, soy sauce, and pepper.
Step 4: Simmer and serve. Let the cream sauce simmer until thick enough to coat a spoon, then add the lemon juice and meatballs and simmer until heated through. Lingonberry jam on the side is traditional.
Pro Tip: You can find the mini bamboo forks pictured above on Amazon.
Video Tutorial
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Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1½ cups cubed white sandwich bread, crusts removed (you'll need about 4 slices)
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pound 85% lean ground beef
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1½ teaspoons soy sauce
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1½ teaspoons lemon juice, from one lemon
- Salt, to taste
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley, for serving
Instructions
For the Meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil for easy clean-up and place an ovenproof rack over top; spray the rack very generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk the eggs and cream together in a medium bowl. Stir in the bread and mash until no large bread chunks remain. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the pork, garlic, allspice, pepper, salt, and baking powder on high speed until smooth and pale, about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl as necessary. Add the bread/cream mixture to the mixing bowl and beat on low speed until combined (so it doesn't splatter), then increase the speed to high and beat until smooth and homogeneous, about 1 minute, scraping the bowl as necessary. Add the beef and mix on medium-low speed until just incorporated, about 20 seconds, scraping the bowl as necessary. Using wet hands, form the mixture into 1½-inch round meatballs and place on the prepared rack. (The mixture is very sticky and wet hands help; keep wetting your hands as you go). Bake for about 25 minutes, until just done.
- Note: You'll notice that the rack will leave little marks on the bottom of the meatballs but they will not be too noticeable once the meatballs are covered with sauce.
For the Sauce
- While the meatballs are cooking, make the sauce. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the flour is golden and fragrant, about 1 minute. (Careful not to burn; it goes from golden to burnt quickly.) Whisk in the chicken broth, getting rid of any lumps. Add the sugar and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, whisking and scraping down the sides of the pan occasionally, until the sauce is slightly thickened and reduced, about 10 minutes. Add the cream, soy sauce and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, whisking and scraping down the sides occasionally, until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the lemon juice and cooked meatballs to the sauce and simmer, turning occasionally to coat with the sauce, until heated through. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, if necessary. Transfer the meatballs to a serving platter, sprinkle with parsley, and serve.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The meatballs/sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated separately. Additionally, the meatballs (without the sauce) can be frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, prepare the sauce and reheat the meatballs in the sauce until hot in the center.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 meatball
- Calories: 89
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated fat: 3g
- Carbohydrates: 2g
- Sugar: 1g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 4g
- Sodium: 121mg
- Cholesterol: 31mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Just a question — did your directions used to say to brown the meatballs before putting them in the oven? I could’ve sworn I remembered that 🙂
No, Tamara, I haven’t made any changes to this recipe! 🙂
I made these to bring to a Super Bowl party yesterday and they were a huge hit!
Everyone loved them despite having way too many other appetizers on the table.
I seem to recommend Jenn’s recipes to more and more people and have tried so many wonderful things on the site & in her cookbook: “Crack”
pecans, Spinach & Gruyere quiche, Chicken Pot Pies, Shortbread Cookies, and on and on and on. I have a kitchen full of cookbooks that are pretty neglected now that I’ve found you Jenn. Cheers and keep up the great recipes!
💗
I actually made it with coconut milk instead of cream. The meatballs tasted great but the sauce didn’t thicken. I think I would use cream instead of coconut milk in the sauce next time.
Hi, I live in MN and have been making Swedish Meatballs for a good 30 years. Could you explain what the baking powder is for? I’ve never seen it in meatballs before.
Thanks!
Hi Betsy, I’m not sure of the scientific reason, but it helps give these meatballs a bit of snap when you bite into them. Enjoy!
According to Cook’s Illustrated, the baking powder keeps the meatballs “delicate and juicy.” I love the “splash of lemon juice” that’s in their recipe, and the combo of beef and pork. (When I can’t find ground pork, I substitute breakfast sausage.)
Delicious! I did as another reviewer – I halved the meatball portion of the recipe but kept the sauce amount the same. Served over egg noodles. Very tasty! Thanks for another winner Jenn!
Super easy to make and delicious! My picky toddlers ate it right up!
Let me start by saying that this is my first time leaving a review. I don’t usually leave reviews or rate anything but I have come to find that I really liked this recipe! My house could be referred as the substitute house. I never have all the items for a recipe. So like all the previous recipes, I had to substitute or leave things out. I did not have ground pork or the allspice and only had 1 lb of ground beef. So I halved all the ingredients for the meatballs. I don’t have an electric blender so I used a rubber spatula and smashed/mixed the ground meat for around 5 to 10 mins till I thought it looked fully mixed. I made around 1/2 in sized meatballs and cooked on the stove instead of the oven. I removed the meatballs from the pan and then used the same pan to make the sauce keeping all the ingredients and amounts the same except I added a little Worcestershire sauce. After it was ready I added the meatballs back to let it simmer for 5 mins, adjusting the seasoning a little and then served it on top of Jasmine rice. I kept the sauce the same quantity even though we had half the amount of meat because we are sauce lovers in this house. Oh, I almost forgot, my daughter and I decided to add frozen peas to the sauce when we added back the meatballs. The kids loved this meal even my son who complained through the whole process until he tried it. Then he requested it more in the future. I hope this helps those substituters like me and apologize to those who aren’t because I couldn’t leave a true review on the recipe itself.
My whole family loved these Swedish meatballs & sauce, which we had served over mashed potatoes. I omitted the pork, only making 1/2 the recipe with 1 LB of 90/10 ground beef, as that’s what was on hand. I used the inside of a slightly stale hotdog bun for the little bread cubes, whole milk instead of heavy cream in the sauce in order to use a lactose-free milk (I have also found lactose-free half & half), regular chicken broth (as opposed to low sodium) and dried parsley flakes, but fresh lemon juice, and it all came together just fine. Delish dish; thanks Jenn!
I absolutely love that you had slightly stale hotdog buns and used those! I’m always amazed at how resourceful people are!
Delish. You are always my go-to for all my recipes. Keep them coming!!
I love this recipe and my kids love this meal, they ask me to make it at least once a week. Thank you for your great tasting recipes!