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 1/2 lbs ground beef (alternatively you can use 3/4 lb ground beef and 3/4 lb ground pork if you want to use pork)
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs (I prefer panko)
- 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 beef boullion cube
- 1/2 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.
Just asking what to serve with these please ?
I usually serve pasta or rice as mentioned in the post 🙂 A big salad is nice too
Where does the onion come in?
step 1! with the meat mixture 🙂
Can I used ground chicken or turkey?
sure can
hi…can i use panko instead of breadcrumb?
sure can!
Oh man, I saw this too late! I made another version of this tonight and it was underwhelming, to say the least. I’m excited to try yours!
Gaby, I’m not sure I’m understanding step 3 & 4 correctly. After we douse the dissolved bullion over the meatballs, what exactly do we set aside? Just the meatballs? Or meatballs AND bullion mixture… ? Thank you in advance!
just clarified!
Drool. Want. Now.
Looks delicious! Can I use better than boullion instead?
sure thing
Never had Swedish meatballs before and decided to give them a try. WOW delicious! The whole family loved them.
this was so good. i served it with biscuits for a biscuits and gravy situation. Def not a low-cal meal but so so cozy and delish 🙂
Looking forward to making this tonight. Hubby is lactose intolerant. Can I sub coconut cream instead of heavy cream?
I think coconut would change the flavor profile too much. I would do an almond milk creamer
This was great! It was easy to make and my husband loved it. It reminded me of something my mom would make when I was a kid. Best of all, there are leftovers! Thanks for sharing.
This was very good and I will definitely make again!
My husband and I really enjoyed these meatballs! Such great comfort food. I made them as written using both pork and beef. The only minor changes included using whole milk instead of cream and “Better than Bouillon” brand beef concentrate instead of the cube. Such wonderful flavors! Exactly how I want Swedish Meatballs to taste!
Gaby I made these for dinner tonight and they were the BEST Swedish meatballs we have ever had!!!! Thank you Omi!!!
So so good! We made this last week and loved it! Served over egg noodles and heated well as leftovers. I highly recommend this. Such an easy recipe. Will absolutely be apart of our regular rotation!
Our grocery store was out of ground pork, so we did all ground beef. Can’t wait to try it next time with the beef and pork.
This was the Election Day pick me up I needed! These are so delicious, absolutely better than IKEA 🙂 Definitely use the ground pork, it really adds a depth of flavor. I made it with egg noodles and the acts as a perfect sauce for those too. This recipe is pretty rich so I consider it more of a treat meal. Thanks Gaby and Omi!
These meatballs are so good! We made this over rice and substituted soy for Worcestershire sauce. Still so delicious and great the next day!
Made these last night and they were delish! I used 50/50 pork/beef.
When serving, I highly recommend a dollop of jam to dip the meatballs in. Lingonberry would be the best, but I only had had raspberry and it still tasted great.
Do you have a good suggestion for the beef bouillon? A few stores around me are out of stock 🙁
So amazingly delicious!!! I would love to make them as a yummy app for the holidays…friends can pick them up with a toothpick! Could these be made ahead of time?
sure can!
Entire family adored this recipe. I did all beef.
My family LOVED these! They were so easy to make and we’ll have them again and again. I was very bad and added a 1/4 cup of sour cream to my gravy.
These were delicious! I served over buttered egg noodles and hubs and our 1 year old gobbled them up. Thanks for sharing!
What size are the meatballs?
about 1 inch!
Really yummy and super easy!
If I wanted to freeze these, would I freeze them cooked or before they are cooked?
I would freeze after cooking
Such an easy, awesome recipe. A huge hit with the entire family. Such a comfort food from childhood but leveled up in deliciousness!
These are the best Swedish meatballs ever!! So delicious! My daughter made these last night and we devoured them. She followed the directions exactly (with all beef) and they turned out perfectly. She made pasta and served them over noodles. Thank you for sharing such an amazing recipe! Can’t wait for her to make them again.
Love these! We double the sauce and sometimes add a little chopped dill before serving, but really enjoy them as is too! It’s a Gaby favorite in our house!
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
Funny. I come from a Swedish family and haven’t made these in years. Sounds really good. Thanks for the memories.
Approximately what size should the meatballs be?
the size of a golf ball!
No cardamom or nutmeg in the recipe?
not in this one!
Just love these!! And need to make them more often!!!
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!!
Do I have to use the bouillon cube?
you can omit but it packs a lot of flavor
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.
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
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!
Recipe was easy to make and DELICIOUS! Thank you for sharing!
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!
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
I made these meatballs with ground turkey and served them over mash potatoes: delicious. Thank you.
So so good! There’s even room to thin the sauce out for a little extra drizzle over noodles. Everyone loved this!
Best gluten free substitute for flour in gravy sauce?
I like the Cup4Cup or Bobs Red Mill GF flours