All it took was a couple of recent trips to Ikea and reading the book A Man Called Ove (pronounced Oovay) for me to crave some good ol’ Swedish meatballs! Now, I don’t think I’ve ever met a meatball I didn’t like, and this recipe below is absolutely no exception. My family devoured this one-dish dinner, and it even had my 9-year-old asking for thirds. And luckily, this is another easy one that can be thrown together in no time at all on any busy weeknight. But if you’re really smart, you’ll double it and enjoy the leftovers for lunch! :)
Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
- 1/2 cup onion minced
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/4 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 pinch allspice
- 5 large carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups broth beef, chicken, or veggie
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
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In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Cook the onions while stirring occasionally until they begin to soften, 2 or 3 minutes.
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Dump the cooked onions into a large bowl along with the beef, pork, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup heavy cream, and spices. Mix well by hand and form into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.
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Turn the skillet to medium high and add the meatballs and carrots. Cook until the meatballs are brown and almost crispy on all sides, about 5 to 6 minutes.
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Sprinkle the flour over top and cook while stirring for another minute to allow it to absorb. Pour in the broth, 1/2 cup cream, and soy sauce and bring to a boil while scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the sauce thickens to a gravy. the meatballs are cooked all the way through, and the carrots are tender when pierced with a fork, 6 to 8 minutes.
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Season with salt and pepper, spoon over whole-wheat egg noodles, and serve.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Carol, you could try Worcestershire (which is what I normally see Swedish Meatballs made with. I’m interested to see how they differ with the soy sauce.
I’m making this tonight! LOVE the idea of adding carrots to it.
I love the title ‘swedish meatball like Ikea’. This attracted my attention. I have now added to this a nice touch of Alaska baked and that’s it, I have a full saturday night favorite. Lisa, as you own this blog and aim to cut processed food, can you suggest some modification to the Alaka baked? Thanks.
I’m sorry. I do not understand your question.
I wonder if you can substitute 1/2 and 1/2 cream for the heavy cream?
I was wondering about this too …
I have made it with 1/2 and 1/2 twice now and loved it!
Looks wonderful! We have a dairy allergy – what would you suggest as a viable alternative to the heave cream?
Hi there. We’ve not tried this without cream. You might take a look at a paleo recipe to see how you might adapt it. :)
This was delicious! I used half and half and it came out perfect! I made double the meatballs the first time so I could freeze half for a later meal. The second time I made it I wanted more sauce so I used 2 cups of beef broth and 3/4 cup of half and half, dash more soy sauce. Perfect amount! New family favorite. Thanks!
I made this with a few substitutions according to what i had available and it was delicious!! I used onion powder vs minced onion, 3/4 lb ground beef and 1/4 lb uncooked breakfast sausage vs 1/2 and 1/2 beef and pork, and organic whole milk vs heavy cream.
Since I had not cooked onions in butter, I added about a Tbsp melted butter to the mixture to keep it moist. Then, I just followed the directions!!
Thank you for a wonderful recipe! My whole family loved it!
I made this for company last night & everyone loved it! I doubled the recipe for 5 people, thinking I would have lots of leftovers, but only had one meatball & a little sauce/noodles left! Thanks!