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 tender, flavorful mini meatballs made from a mix of beef and pork, simmered in a creamy, savory sauce. They were a cocktail party classic in the 1970s and remain a crowd-pleaser today. They’re also a kid-friendly dinner when served over mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles.
This Swedish meatball recipe, inspired by Cooks Illustrated, is reminiscent of the iconic Ikea version, known for its springy yet delicate texture. The secret? Blending the meatball mixture in an electric mixer with a surprising ingredient: baking powder. It may sound unconventional, but it makes all the difference. No mixer? No problem—hand-mixing works well, too.
“Made these on Christmas Eve and I can say they have instantly become a new tradition.”
What You’ll Need To Make Swedish Meatballs
- Eggs: Act as a binder to help hold the meatballs together.
- Heavy Cream: Adds moisture and richness to the meatball mixture, making them tender. Also used to thicken and add creaminess to the sauce.
- White Sandwich Bread: Soaked in heavy cream, it works as a panade to keep the meatballs tender.
- Ground Pork and Ground Beef: The foundation of the meatball mixture. You can use all ground beef if needed, but the meatballs won’t be quite as tender or flavorful.
- Garlic: Adds depth and flavor to the meatballs.
- Allspice: A key spice in Swedish meatballs.
- Baking Powder: Helps to lighten the texture of the meatballs.
- Butter and All-Purpose Flour: Together, they form the roux to thicken the sauce.
- Chicken Broth: The foundation of the sauce.
- Light Brown Sugar, Soy Sauce, and Lemon Juice: Together, they balance the sauce with sweetness, savory depth, and a hint of bright acidity.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the Meatballs
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.
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 2: 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.
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. You can find the mini bamboo forks pictured above on Amazon.
Video Tutorial
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Swedish Meatballs
A cocktail party classic that doubles as an easy weeknight dinner, Swedish meatballs are always a crowd-pleaser.
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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Seems strange that a Jewish family would eat pork and mix meat and dairy in a meal!
I shall try this recipe but perhaps use something other than pork in the recipe, perhaps lamb which might be as fatty as pork. Is pork used because of the fat content?
The recipe itself seems like a different take on meatballs. Will review again after trialling it.
Hi Sharon, pork is used for both fat and flavor. Hope you enjoy them with lamb!
My mother’s recipe had pork and veal in equal portions and beef double that. We cooked them directly on the sheet pan and used the drippings and fond as the base for the gravy. Beef broth and sour cream at the end. But, we are Norwegian. Ha! No Christmas without them.
can I use all meat not pork?
Hi Ann, I would recommend replacing the pork with veal, but if that doesn’t work for you, it’s fine to use all beef. They will still be delicious.
Hmm, I’m calorie counting and I see the nutritional info says 89 calories per meatball(!) With a yield of mini meatballs that sounds like it is a different size. Any clues on real calories of these guys (that sound delicious)
Hi, I’m not sure I understand your question — the nutritional info is per meatball and if you’re eating 4 to 6 (for a main course) you can multiply that info by 4 or 6 and if they’re for an app, just multiply the numbers by the number of meatballs you end up eating. Please let me know if I’ve misunderstood or can help in any other way. 🙂
Very good except for the meatballs could use a bit more flavor and the sauce didn’t work, had to throw it away, it never thickened and I followed the recipe exactly as written.
Jenn you have done it again. This recipe is fabulous and evokes memories of my childhood in NYC. I love the way you shave calories by baking the meatballs. I got rave reviews from the family. Thanks
This was absolutely fantastic. I baked all of the meatballs but froze half for another day. Wonderful! Thank you for posting this recipe!
I’ve been eyeing this recipe for a while now and decided to try it out tonight. Delicious! I subbed ground turkey for the pork because I had it on hand, grated up some leftover sourdough rolls for the breadcrumbs, and left out the brown sugar. The selection of ingredients and using the mixer to combine everything really did make for a tender, moist meatball. I used a 1/8 cup measure to portion out the meatballs so they would be uniform and pretty. I served the meatballs and sauce over your cauliflower purée along with a southern pear salad. I’m saving this recipe to my box and plan to make it again soon!
First time making Swedish Meatballs & it turned out wonderful! Brought it to a holiday party – it was a hit with all the guests. The gravy held up even though I had it in a crockpot on low for 2 + hours! I just gave it a stir every so often. I have your new cookbook which I also love! The recipes are very easy to follow along & turn out fantastic!
What other meat do you suggest instead of pork?
Hi Franki, You could use beef or a combination of beef and veal. Enjoy!
Absolutely amazing! We could not stop eating these meatballs. They hit every taste bud.
I added a little more pepper and a little salt to the sauce.