My family devoured this one-dish dinner, and it even had my 9-year-old asking for thirds. And luckily, this Swedish Meatballs recipe (better than the ones from Ikea) 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! :)
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.
Swedish Meatballs
My family devoured this one-dish dinner, and it even had my 9-year-old asking for thirds. And luckily, this Swedish Meatballs recipe (better than the ones from Ikea) 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! :)
Print Recipe
Servings: 4 people
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Season with salt and pepper, spoon over whole-wheat egg noodles, and serve.
Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts
Swedish Meatballs
Amount Per Serving
Calories 555
Calories from Fat 387
% Daily Value*
Fat 43g66%
Saturated Fat 21g131%
Cholesterol 150mg50%
Sodium 896mg39%
Potassium 666mg19%
Carbohydrates 21g7%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 6g7%
Protein 23g46%
Vitamin A 15965IU319%
Vitamin C 8.5mg10%
Calcium 81mg8%
Iron 2.4mg13%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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Seriously, 10 stars. A few things, though. Literally double the sauce. It is SO good, but there never seems to be enough. I also always use a full pound of beef and pork (also doubling the meatballs), but then I freeze half of them uncooked. That way I always have some on hand whenever I get a hankering. If someone in your house is low-carb, I suggest putting these over a bed of mashed cauliflower. Amazing, one of my favorite recipes EVER.
Thanks so much! So glad to hear you loved them. – Nicole
I love this recipe! I want to cook double and freeze one for a later date. What would be the best way to freeze this meal?
You can freeze the meatballs and sauce together or you can just freeze the meatballs and make the sauce when it comes time to enjoy them again. – Nicole
Double the meatballs only; freeze uncooked. Then just defrost them and start with step #3.
Our family really likes this recipe! The first time I doubled the recipe and it took a long time to cook the meatballs. Maybe cook in the oven in the future. The last time I made this I didn’t make meatballs. I just cooked the ground beef and onions and omitted the breadcrumbs and heavy cream for the meatballs. Still turned out great. Thank you for this recipe it has become a family favorite!
My kids loved this! Had to sub a few ingredients due to being in a rural area during a pandemic, but turned out great!!
We made this tonight and loved it!! Out of heavy cream so we used half and half. Doubled the recipe but kept the breadcrumbs at 1/4 cup. Ethos were the only changes and it was great! Going into rotation!
Wonderful! Glad to hear it. – Nicole
I want to make this for dinner tonight. Can I substitute half and half for the heavy cream? It’s what I have on hand.
Hi Kerry, while we haven’t tried it, you can normally sub equal parts with half and half for recipes that call for heavy cream. Let us know if it works out. – Nicole
Thank you! I ended up using half and half and a 1/4 cup of whole milk for the sauce. It came out delicious. My whole family loved it!
My family doesn’t eat pork. Should I use all beef or mix the beef with another meat?
You can definitely use all beef, or possibly ground turkey. – Nicole
Made this for the first time last night and it was AMAZING! My whole family, including my 3 & 4 year old, ate every bit of it. I will definitely be making this one again!
Followed recipe exactly! Loved by entire family! Thanks!
Loved it!
Making these for the second time tonight… difficult to fit the meatballs and carrots in the same pan and the meatballs are falling apart during the cooking. I like to drain the grease before adding the broth. Despite the crumbling meatballs, this is delicious! 5* flavor! We serve with mashed potatoes.
I made these for dinner this evening. They tasted absolutely delicious & every member of the family LOVED them. This recipe will be a regular. Thanks for sharing it
This meal was a winner! It’s always so hard to find a dinner everyone loves, but this had us all scraping the bottom of the pan for more. So delicious! Thanks Lisa!
What’s the total cooking/prep time for this? I don’t see it anywhere and really love to have that info before I get started. Thanks!
Hi there. Lisa does not include prep time info on her recipes. I’ve made it a couple times and I would estimate about 25 minutes.
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!
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!
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!
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. :)
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!
I made it with half and half and it came out great. It’s a keeper recipe for sure.
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.
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.
We’re going to simmer cream for 8 min??
Yes, that’s correct. – Nicole
What would you recommend to substitute the soy sauce to make the meatballs soy-free? thank you!
Carol, I usually see Swedish Meatballs made with Worcestershire. You could try that.
I’m looking forward to making this tonight!
Coconut aminos is a soy free substitute
A Man Called Ove is the BEST book! One of my favorite of all time. I was ugly crying through the last chapters, so hard I almost couldn’t read, but I had to keep going to see what would happen! I love your website – thank you for your recipes and sharing your life.
If you want to take these meatballs to the next level, make your own homemade whole wheat egg noodles. They are fairly easy, just while whole wheat flour, eggs, olive oil salt and water. Kids love to help! You can roll the dough with a rolling pin and cut with a pizza cutter or use a pasta machine.
To take these meatballs to the next level, make your own whole wheat egg noodles.(white whole wheat flour, eggs, olive oil, sea salt and water). They are fairly easy, especially with a kid or two to help, and taste light years better then storebought. You can roll with a rolling pin and cut with a pizza cutter or use a pasta machine.
A few months ago, my daughter and I tried the recipe for the American Girl Kirsten cookbook. The recipe had us make a sauce out of the pan drippings, which with pastured pork and grass fed beef, was not much. No broth needed. My husband and I thought it was delicious, but my kids prefer our usual recipe using broth.
Made these over the weekend. The meatballs are super flavorful – I need to do the pork/beef blend more often. The sauce was a little bland, but overall it was creamy and great comfort food. We’ve been enjoying it for lunch all week. The only problem is that we can’t find whole wheat egg noodles in any of our stores :(
Made these over the weekend! The meatballs themselves are awesome. Super flavorful – I need to do the pork/beef mix more often. The sauce is a little bland, but all in all it was great comfort food and we’ve been enjoying the leftovers for lunch all week.
Yum! These look amazing! Can’t wait to try them :) I must say, I’ve been loving the quick weeknight meals…. keep ’em coming!
Yum! I must say, I’m loving having these great ideas for quick weeknight meals. Keep ’em coming!
Hi Lisa, love the Swedish meatballs from IKEA. They are so tasty, definitely comfort food. Looking out my window now, it is cold, rainy, and totally yucky. These meatballs would be perfect for dinner.