Frankly, I don’t remember what inspired me to make these. I’ve only had the Swedish meatballs at Ikea once (gasp!) and this is not the type of meal I usually crave. My best guess is that I had some ground beef out and decided I didn’t want burgers and wasn’t in the mood for red sauce.
I find these best served over egg noodles. The noodles stand up to the sauce while bringing a buttery delight to round out the dish. Serving it this way really requires no additional side dishes, but I do like to serve it with bread to sop up all that extra sauce. Of course you can serve it over rice or completely on their own. Trust me, the flavor is good enough on its own, so I don’t like to pair it with anything too strong!
If you don’t have allspice or nutmeg on hand, don’t make a store run for it. It’s a very small amount and brings some good warmth to the plate. You can substitute it with mace, cloves, or even cinnamon, but be very careful not to add too much. While this type of meatball does benefit from a little sweetness, you don’t want to end up with cinnamon meatballs!
Swedish Meatballs
Ingredients
For Meatballs
- 1 Lb Ground Beef
- 1/4 tsp Onion finely chopped
- 1/4 C Bread Crumbs
- 1 Tbsp Parsley
- 1/4 tsp Ground Allspice
- 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/8 tsp Salt and Pepper, each plus more for finishing
- 1 Egg
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Butter
For Sauce
- 4 Tbsp Butter divided
- 3 Tbsp Flour
- 2 Cups Beef Broth
- 1 Cup Heavy Cream
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 tsp Dijon Mustard
Optional for Serving
- Egg noodles or Rice
Instructions
Assemble the Meatballs:
- In a medium sized bowl, combine beef, onion, bread crumbs, parsley, allspice, nutmeg, garlic powder, S&P, and egg. Mix and form 12 large meatballs.
- Heat olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a large skillet. Add meatballs and cook, turning until all sides are brown and cooked through.
- Transfer meatballs to a plate and cover with foil
For the Sauce:
- Using the same pan, and without wiping it out, add remaining 4 Tbsp butter plus flour to the skillet and whisk until it turns lightly brown
- Slowly stir in beef broth and heavy cream
- Add worcestershire & dijon, then bring to a simmer until the sauce begins to thicken
- Add S&P to taste to sauce, then add back in meatballs and simmer for 1-2 minutes, or until sauce is thickened to your liking